Every business website needs a “contact us” page. Okay, we know, that’s a little obvious. (In the next section, we’ll let you know that the sun rises every day.) It’s as essential to a site as putting your phone number and email address son a business card. If potential customers and clients can’t contact you, it’s going to be awfully hard to sell them on your services and products.

However, when your chief goal is to convert leads into customers — which is the chief goal of most business websites — every aspect of your site must contribute to that goal. In something like your call to action, conversion is the main goal. But it’s at least a secondary goal in everything from your contact form to seemingly unrelated aspects such as your “About Us” page or even a FAQ.

These pieces of website content exist to achieve lots of goals, from establishing trustworthiness with leads to optimizing your site’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). But when used effectively, they also achieve the goal of turning leads into customers. When reviewing your site to see how well it converts, it’s important to scrutinize every section to be sure it’s doing what it can to convert leads.

Getting back specifically to your Contact Us page: Not only does it provide a way for potential customers to connect with you, it should also offer multiple contact options and ultimately deliver assurance that assistance is just a phone call or click away whenever the need arises.

While many websites smartly display their phone numbers on every page of their site — and make it clickable so visitors can directly with a click, which also allows you to track where calls come from through analytics — this is no replacement for a well-crafted Contact Us page. Unfortunately, some sites make their contact page (and even their phone number and/or email) difficult to find.

Making it easy for a lead to contact you is especially imperative if you have the kind of business where customers will be doing substantial research before selecting a business, such as home improvement or auto/home repairs that can be several hundred or even several thousand dollars.

These leads need to make smart, informed decisions, and they’re not going to do that unless they can get their questions answered quickly and easily. No one (well, at least almost no one) makes a big-ticket purchase or signs up for a very pricey recurring service without speaking with the provider first. When questions come up and you’re not available to answer them, you can be sure your competitors will — and they’ll get the sale.

When site visitors don’t believe they can reach a real person to address their questions, problems or concerns because of limited contact options, they are far less likely to buy. It’s one of the basics of customer service that can really differentiate you from competitors who don’t place a premium on accessibility.

In addition to having your clickable phone number in your header and a Contact Us link in your primary navigation, be sure to provide easy-to-find contact information throughout your site. This greatly increases your sales and lead generation capabilities. You can change up the wording in places to attract people in different ways: “find out more, “request a quote,” “talk to a representative,” etc.

In today’s digital age, a phone number is not enough. Be sure to provide an email address link and Web form — the third option is especially useful for analyzing who’s visiting your website and whether your advertising is reaching your target demographics. Visitors all have their own preferences, and not everyone likes (or even has the option) to pick up the phone and call.

If you have the type of business (and the resources) where an online chat option makes sense, that’s another great way to connect with a visitor. That alone can allow you to make the sale right now. The more options you provide, the more secure shoppers feel about your ability to assist them in times of need.