Website Conversion is the single most important success component for your website and it simply means getting your visitor to take a certain action on your site that supports your business goals. Conversions can mean many things and should be part of your website KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to help you determine how your site is performing. Conversion optimisation is becoming more important as we see PPC (Pay Per Click) and SEO’s prices increasing over the years due to higher competition in the digital space. So let’s have a look at ways to increase your website conversions to make more of the current traffic you have. But first – some examples of conversion goals are:
- Purchasing a product
- Signing up to e-news
- Submitting email address to receive a whitepaper, eBook or other free resource/goodie
- Downloading or signing up for a free trial of software
- Requesting a quote or more information for a service
- Making a phone call to your business
- Upgrading from one level of service to another online
- Spending a certain amount of time on a site to read information, articles or watch videos
- Returning to your site a certain number of times
Mobile Friendly
We’re in the midst of a mobile revolution. Two thirds of Australian’s alone own a smartphone, with just over 70% regularly watching videos on their mobile devices. In the USA 55% of US consumers shop online with their smartphone. Why is this important? Having a mobile version of your website ensures your visitors can perform key functions on your site from any device so that you don’t lose engagement and can ensure you’re converting visitors no matter what device they’re on.
- Make sure you have a ‘tap to call’ function
- Take advantage of the geo locate function for store finders, promotions and shipping costs
- Consider context specific information for mobile users who are out and about. What information will they need, is it location, contact details, or information about your business?
- For ecommerce sites, ensure your checkout experience functions properly
- How do your images appear on the site, do you need retina versions?
- Pay attention to the overall size of your site to reduce load time on devices with slower network connection (3G as opposed to wifi)
Test Your Headlines
To cut through the noise online, your website copy and headlines need to pique your reader’s interest and guide them to take action. Make sure you spend time crafting persuasive headlines to tell your story quickly and with impact.
- Use the 50/50 rule, spend half your time writing the headline for a section of copy
- Outline the benefits first in the headline to draw attention
- Consider what’s trending in your industry to help write a catchy headline
- Avoid phrases that are pushy or overly sales focused
Goins Writer outlines some steps to writing persuasive headlines Use Numbers For example: ‘The Top 5 Must Have’s for Summer’ Use Interesting Adjectives
- Effortless
- Painstaking
- Fun
- Free
- Incredible
- Essential
- Absolute
- Strange
Make an Audacious Promise Dare your readers to read on by enticing them. Promise something (that you can deliver) . Will you teach your reader a new skill or persuade them to do something they’ve done but always wanted to try? Be bold and dangerous!
Have Short Webforms
Use your forms to only collect information you need and nothing more. Use your staff to do follow up of other information that’s important for your records or CRM. Conversions can drop if you overwhelm or provide too many options. Remember users just want to get access to information or leave their details quickly so to get that all important lead, make sure your webform is short, simple and easy to fill out.
Trust Signals with Social Proof
Use social proof to build trust with your users to help them convert. Depending on your business some will determine what type of trust signals you use.
- Use numbers to show credibility, on signup forms have ‘join over 4000 subscribers’, or under your contact form have ‘trusted by over 800 businesses’.
- Have good quality testimonials from high end customers on your home page or landing pages. These can be written or video testimonials.
- Use logos from professional associations to show credibility
- Use logos from high end clients on your site to show the calibre of your work and help attract similar sized clients
- User ratings and customer reviews
Good Usability to Build Rapport
You have to connect with your users quickly, a professional design builds trust, engages your users and leads them to actions clearly . Good web usability is key to building a rapport with your users and establishes your business as credible, professional and trustworthy.
- Have a clear, consistent layout with intuitive navigation
- Focus on the important content first with strong calls to actions
- Have professional web copy and check your spelling!
- Make the site enjoyable to use, your users will come back and remember the experience
Video Overview
We found this great video which briefly introduces conversion optimisation.
Join the Conversion
What do you think? What types of conversion optimisation have you seen work on your site? Join in the conversation and leave a comment below.
