7 Must-Have Pages for Boat Dealer Websites
Building and maintaining a boat dealer website can be a time-consuming and expensive effort. For those in the marine industry however, having a website can be one of the best ways to make sales and generate leads. Because of the digital landscape of the world today, it is essential for boat dealers to have a website.
Customers search online more often than not when looking for goods or services to buy. Boats are not an exception. There are 7 main pages that are essential to the makeup of a boat dealer website:
- Home Page
- About
- Products and services
- Blog, news, and/or articles
- Contact
- Testimonials and reviews
Home Page
This page is critical. For customers, looking at the home page of a boat dealer website is like window shopping. A home page is your chance to make a lasting first impression, leaving users wanting (and able) to find out more.
The page should clearly display your business name and logo to promote brand awareness so that customers and prospects know what company’s website they are on.
The main purpose of a home page is to direct users around your site, so it is important that they can do so with ease. Make sure that all menus are in an easily visible spot, and simple to navigate.
Including a search bar somewhere near the menu can also help customers navigate to a spot on your boat dealer website if they already know exactly what they are looking for.
The main navigation area should reveal the most important content of the site so that users have an idea of what they will find. That means you should include a succinct overview of your products and services. Providing basic contact details is also a good idea.
Remember that your boat dealer website is effectively the first thing that many people see when they visit. According to Go-Globe, the design of your homepage can break or make your conversions.
In fact, 94% of first impressions are design-related. The first step in winning the online game is to ensure that you create a good first impression because you will never have a second chance to create a good first impression.
About
The “About” page on your boat dealer website is also very important. It is an opportunity for potential customers to get to know your business and story.
Communicate who you are and what you do.
Consider adding photos of your physical business, as well as your employees in action. People like to know the faces behind businesses and brands they are working with or buying from.
Don’t just slap up a picture of your team and rewrite your company’s mission statement. You are underutilizing an important page on your website.
The “About” section can effectively communicate your team’s values and how they may align with a potential customer’s goals.
Products and Services
The products and services that your business offers are usually the reason why anyone is on your website at all. Images help you to build trust in your business and will build credibility and recognition for your brand.
Including price, estimates are useful because any potential customer looking at your products and services want to know approximately how much it will cost them to work with you or buy your boats.
Get creative with how you advertise your boats on your dealership website but keep it concise. A short summary can lead to more information elsewhere.
Blog, News, and/or Articles
A blog page on your boat dealer website can be used for various things. First, however, it is good to note that having fresh, interesting content improves your website’s SEO, making it more “like-able” by search engines. This will help customers find you because it improves the likelihood of your business’s website appearing in the top results.
Some other beneficial uses of a blog page include:
- Communicating business developments and changes
- Sharing achievements
- Discussing news in the marine industry/local boating updates
- Sharing tips for boating (E.g. boating safety tips, how to clean your boat properly)
- Promoting upcoming events related to your business or the marine industry
A blog page presents users with a chance to learn, share, and engage, and search engines with more information to return for user searches.
Contact Page
Getting leads and prospects is likely one of your main business goals.
Contacts lead to conversions. While your business contact information should be displayed in multiple places across your boat dealer website, you should still have a specific page dedicated to getting in touch with users.
This page should include a phone number, email address, physical address, business hours, etc.
You might also want to include photos of employees with their work contact information in case a customer needs to get in touch with the specific person they need to work with.
You can add a direct contact form to the contact page or embed a calendar in which customers can book appointments or calls directly.
Testimonials and Reviews
No matter how great your website is, there will still be people who may question your credibility or services. Most people look at reviews of a product online before making the decision to purchase something.
The same thing goes for boat dealers. A little positive feedback from a previous client can be what ultimately persuades another to work with you. Let happy customers vouch for your business.
Testimonials and reviews add persuasion to new visitors, and they are also great for your SEO strategy.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Having a FAQ page on your site will not only save your employees time in answering common questions, but it also saves customers time.
If their questions are answered on the FAQ page, they won’t deal with the frustration of having to make time to contact you during their already-busy day.
They might do a Google search for their questions regarding your business, which can lead them to this FAQ page directly on your site if the page is well-optimized for SEO.
This also allows them to have an easy user experience.
Key Takeaways
Keep these 7 pages in mind when planning what your boat dealer website will look like:
- Home Page
- About
- Products and services
- Blog, news, and/or articles
- Contact
- Testimonials and reviews
- FAQ
Remember that your website should stand out in comparison to your competitors’. It should be filled with useful information, but still simple enough to provide a smooth step in the customer journey. Good luck building or re-building your boat dealer website, and if you need more advice, contact us today. We are more than happy to help!
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