The age of business marketing is constantly changing, with the importance of a viable online presence increasingly obvious. This extends beyond basic SEO and SEM principles, however, as the demands of content marketing mean that brands must also use relevant blog posts and rich media to enhance the appeal of their website.

This is supported by the fact that 57% of business reported acquiring a customer through their company blog last year, and this number is set to rise over time.

The aim of all online optimisation is to drive on-site sales conversions, so here are five of our tips to help you achieve this aim when deciding on how to create a business site:

Understand the purpose of your website

This may sound obvious, but your website must have a clearly defined and overt purpose if it is to drive conversions. A simple and easy transaction process is central to this, but customers must also be able to comfortably navigate your site and access vital information concerning a specific product or service in real-time.

>See also: How your website can make or break your business

Your blog can support this function, but without it you may find that your sites confuses visitors or fails to help them make an informed decision.

Optimise your website for mobile usage

According to the Centre for Retail Research, UK businesses in this sector are sacrificing £6.6 billion per year through a lack of investment in their mobile viability. This is a huge sum, and one that underlines the important of a responsive, optimised mobile website design.

By ensuring that the website’s layout is optimised for mobile devices and that each landing page takes no longer than seven seconds to load, you can reach a larger target market and increase your sales conversion rate.

Lead your visitor to action

What is the point of driving sales conversions? Essentially it is to create profit, and it cannot be achieved without leading your website visitors to a direct action. This can be done through numerous methods, but the development of a strong branding proposition, establishing a reputation as an industry thought leader and the deployment of a succinct call to action are all pivotal.

>Related: Four ways IT investment can drive growth

With a clearly defined call to action that is supported by strong data sets and compelling content, you can direct customers’ towards a desired outcome.

Understand your target market

When it comes to shaping and underpinning your marketing strategies, knowledge of your target market is crucial. This must first be married with a core understanding of your product and business proposition, so that you can align these closely with the needs of your customers.

This process must be reflected by your website, which should boast a layout, design and content that looks to engage your target market. This may not necessarily increase the flow of visitors to your website but it will drive a higher conversion rate and increase the efficiency of your campaigns.

Use a combination of rich media to distinguish your content

We have already touched on the importance of content, as this drives everything from the optimisation and popularisation of your website to the ease with which you can engage unique visitors.

Not only must your content by unique, high in quality and relevant to your product or service, but it must also be created using a combination of rich media elements. From embedded videos to imagery and large, clearly defined icons, your site must provide an easy to understand and visually rewarding experience if it is to drive a higher conversion rate.

Further reading: Growing a company with data in its DNA