We’ve talked about ensuring that the following fields of expertise require a website: accommodations, tourism, accounting, fishing, and law, to name a few. “What about consulting?” you may ask. Worry not, because we’ll get to that in a minute!
The thing about consulting is, there are different fields in which it’s necessary. Take ourselves, for example; we’re great at consulting our clients about their websites, even going so far as to travel to them rather than their traveling to us, but if you were to ask us about consulting on things like medicine, you’ll be disappointed (and you’re in the wrong place…like, really wrong).
Sports, lifestyle, fashion, graphic design, business, medicine…these are all branches of the same umbrella, so to speak, that is consulting. If you don’t consider what your website should reflect as far as that is concerned, you may need to read this. Here’s what your consulting website may desperately need.
1: A Clear Understanding of Who You Are to People
Like we said, there are many branches of consulting. How you explain to your clients what type of consulting you do will be clearer if you have a solid understanding of who you are to them. This is actually very different from outlining your brand; people want to receive a service from other people, not brands.
Some of the best consultants we’ve met are authentic and humble; what kind of traits do you as a consultant want to show to your clients? These traits should be evident throughout your website and its content. Be consistent with these traits you’re presenting to your clients, and the results will be good.
2: A Suitable Logo
Colours and fonts matter in a logo and nothing will confuse a client more if you’re a business consultant who uses a pink logo (not that there’s anything wrong with the colour, but in some cases it doesn’t work!). Like any business, the logo of your consulting firm should reflect your brand and the best qualities of your firm. Using the wrong colour or font will not help! For more info check out our logo colour meanings blog post, which goes into greater detail.
Placement of the logo will matter as well. It should be featured prominently on your website and any promotional stuff you want to present, such as flyers or business cards.
3: Client Testimonials
How are you going to convince new and would-be clients that your services are worth their while if no one is talking about you? Online reviews and testimonials are one of the first things a new client will look for if they’re not sure about pursuing a service or buying a product. Testimonials will also build your credibility as a consultant, which is an absolute must to have no matter what type of business you run.
If your current or new website plan does not include testimonials, you’re going to need to earn some. Ask for a review each time you’re finished a session with a client, or on social media, and especially on your website itself. Trust us, it never hurts to ask.
Talking about social media…
4: Social Media
To many this is a no-brainer essential, but there are people out there who still aren’t using social media on or for their website! Choosing at least one social media platform for your consulting website will make all the difference between being unknown to well-known. Not only can social media connect people to your website, but also Google will pick up on this and consider your consulting firm to be trustworthy; it ranks social media high on its front page.
Of course, even the most trustworthy social media platforms will be useless if you don’t have the next thing your website desperately needs:
5: A Blog
Content is king, and that rule of thumb applies to consulting websites as well. Unlike other B2B services, consulting has a lot more fluidity in terms of what to talk or write about for your blog. You could create a blog post regarding the latest trends in your field and whether or not they’ll stick, or conduct an hour-long interview and post it as a podcast, or host a live stream on your social media and repost it on your blog. These are all great content ideas (because it doesn’t have to be just blog posts—check out the other content you can create).
The point is, a blog is more than just a place where your content can go; it’s a major distribution channel that, when used well, can attract more interest in your website and even new clients.
6: Accessibility
By this we mean your contact information and, if needed, how you want to be reached out to from new clients. This means not only posting your contact information in your site’s footer, but also on its own page, as well as designing and using a contact form. It’s important to let clients know they’re being heard and that you are in touch with them.
If you listened to us and have social media for your consulting business, keep these links to the accounts as visible on your website as your contact information also.
7: An E-mail Newsletter
Much like the blog on a website, an e-mail newsletter may be reaching out to certain clients and would-be clients who may not use social media every day (or even want to). However, everyone checks their e-mail’s inbox, so odds are high that if you’re not getting the results you want to see from your social media, you may see better odds in your e-mail newsletter.
Having the blog will also help with this part, as it can beef up your content and remind people that you are an expert in your field of consultation. This and the blog are also where case studies can be shared to those interested.
8: SEO
Here’s another no-brainer that somehow gets missed. SEO will help your website be noticed and ranked by search engines, making it more accessible to would-be clients who may need your service, but don’t know who to get consultation from first. Keyword research and optimization will prove beneficial in the long-term as it will help your website rank higher for keywords related to your website. (Please don’t ask us if you’ll get to #1 on Google, however—that is impossible. We have a post explaining why.)
We know this is a lot of steps to take in order to have a consulting website. That being said, all of this can help make your website from being average to amazing. If the latter’s what you’re looking for, give us a call at V3 Media. If you have any questions we’re always up for one-on-one consultation regarding websites, and if you’re reallynot sure what to ask, we have some tips for what to expect, in this post.