I scrutinize a lot of different websites all day long. I do SEO consulting for a living. It’s my job.

But after starting this blog, I got into peculiar habit of studying the websites of other SEO consulting firms.

Some guys watch football to pass the time. I dissect websites… and watch football.

After trolling a good number of these consulting sites something struck me: 1.) Most consulting website’s don’t practice what they preach. 2.) Most sites aren’t set up to convert visitors to leads. (Which if you think about it is the point of having a business website in the first place.)

Hi. I’m a blogging/new media consultant. I don’t blog. Please pay me $10,000.

I bet you’ve seen this before. But these transgressions have become so common you barely notice them.

How many of you have seen the following characteristics on a consultant’s website before:

They consult about blogging, yet they don’t blog.
They develop elaborate social media plans but they haven’t Tweeted since New Year’s Eve of last year.
They discuss the necessity of a link building program, however, there own site almost no inbound links.

Point number 1: Do what you consult for. If you do SEO consulting, get some backlinks to your site. If you’re a social media maven, establish some sort of following online and prove it.

Getting some hand-ons experience establishing your business presence will do more than just make you a better consultant. It will make it difficult for people to call you out for having no online presence.

But not actually doing what you charge consulting fees for isn’t the biggest mistake your website can make. Not even close.

There’s a larger problem that’s allowing potential clientele slip through your cross hairs. Before you invest any more time and money into pay-per click or organic search to generate leads, you need to implement this simple but overlooked component as a part of your website.

The Most Important Part of Every Consultant’s Website

Let’s completely break down this process to emphasize the value of this often overlooked website component: What’s the ultimate goal of a consulting website?

Market your business? Yep.
Explain your services to potential clients? Okay.

The above points are true, but what your website really needs to do is carry someone to the next step in the sales process. I.e. They’re picking up the phone to call you or requesting info through a form opt-in.

Either way, you’ll want to be connecting with potential client one-on-one very soon.

So What’s Missing?

What’s the little ingredient that’s causing consultants to miss out on easy leads month after month: A simple email opt-in combined with some sort of special offer for parting with their contact information.

It’s not complicated, but it works. And it’s something I see a ton of people not taking advantage of on their own sites.

Use this website as an example. My website wouldn’t be doing me much good if I didn’t have a clear Email Opt-in located above the fold of every page offering a clear benefit to visitor: In this case a free Fast Start Kit and awesome email blasts from yours truly.

Sticking this e-mail opt-in on each page gives me the added benefit that while a visitor might have entered my website while searching for “do-follow blog links” on Google, they don’t need to navigate to my Contact page to get enrolled on my list.

SEO Websites That Use Different Kinds Optin Forms

Of course, using my site as an example isn’t really fair since I’m not directly trying to attract SEO clients here. So let’s review some real ways SEO consulting agencies combine special offers with email optins.

First of all, different SEO websites have different goals for their email opt-ins. Some have the goal of converting visitors to clients as soon as possible by offering a free website analysis combined with a sales call that get straight to the point. (Sign a contract or stop wasting my time.) Others go the more indirect route by offering free reports to establish themselves as an authority in hope of going viral and attracting a groundswell of clients.

One common way to encourage email-optins is to offer a free website analysis followed by a sales call like they do at the agency below:

Here’s another simple example where the SEO agency trades a Free Website Evaluation in turn for a name, email address, and telephone number. Kudos to these guys for keeping their optin above the fold.

Another way to use the email optin form is ask the visitor a question. Yep, it can be that simple and it’s infinitely better than having no optin. Sometimes, prospective visitors have a simple question they need answered before moving to a phone call. Creating a simple opt-in form like the one on GetMeOnTop.com can be enough to get some initial contact information.

Now That You’re Convinced to Add an Email Optin Field

Now that you’ve got adding an email opt-in to your list of things to do, it’s time to start thinking about the special offer you’ll give visitors in return for the opportunity to speak with them.

Here are a few special offers I’ve found on a few different SEO websites. Try putting your own spin on these offers and you might be able to conjure something way cooler:

• Sign Up For a Free Website Analysis
• Free Ranking Report
• Free Competitive Website Analysis
• Free Keyword Research for Your Website

I’m sure you can think of something infinitely more original.

The End.

In closing use common sense when creating your consulting website. I.e. Do what you consult for. If you do Facebook consulting, get a Facebook fan page, publish content, build an audience.

And remember, you’ve worked hard to get that visitor to your website. Now optimize it for conversions by adding an email optin form above the fold and combine it with a special offer.

Follow these two simple rules and you’ll raise yourself above the herd of mediocre consultants that propagate the interwebs.