How well does your website convert the visitors it receives into leads, subscribers, or customers? Many small-business owners prioritize getting traffic to their website, but overlook what happens when people visit their site. That’s where website conversion comes into play.
Website conversion happens when you get a visitor to take some type of action, such as subscribing to your newsletter, downloading your free special report, buying your product, or requesting a free consultation. Your website conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who take a specific action divided by the total number of visitors to your website. Your number one goal for your website should be to improve your conversion rates.
10 Ways To Improve Your Website Conversion Rates
How do you calculate website conversion? Many web analytics programs, including Google Analytics (free), allow you to set visitor goals. Google analytics has several articles explaining how to do this. Once you know your conversion rate, you can take these actions to improve it. Here are ten ways to improve website conversions.
- Make your site easy to navigate. Your website should be easy to use. If visitors can’t understand your navigation structure, they will quickly leave. Your navigation should be easy to use and it should be clear what you want visitors to do when they arrive at your site.
- Make the buying process simple. – No matter what you are offering, even if it is a free special report or subscription to your newsletter, you still have to get visitors to “buy” what you offer. In the case of a newsletter subscription, visitors “buy” when they add their name and email address to your subscriber list.
- Be honest. - Don’t over-hype your products and services. It’s OK to stress the benefits and make the best case possible, but don’t make promises you can’t keep. Provide accurate descriptions, explain shipping costs, offer a privacy policy, and let people know if your goods are out of stock.
- Use just enough words to convey your message. – Sometimes, you need lots of information to fully explain your products and services. However, if your page content is overly lengthy, it may turn off readers. Consider different approaches to explaining content, such as with pictures or a video tutorial. Assume your readers suffer from attention deficit disorder and cater to their interests.
- Use an attention-grabbing headline. – Your headline is the first thing prospects will read. Does it entice them to read further?
- Provide a unique selling proposition. – Why should visitors buy from you rather than your competitors? What sets your product or service apart from the rest? Give visitors a reason why they should choose you.
- Provide a compelling offer. – What makes your product or service special? What can prospects get from you that they can’t get anywhere else? Build value into your offerings by making visitors think they are getting a good deal by buying from you. Can you add bonuses? Can you offer a limited-time discount? What makes your product or service so special that visitors would be foolish not to take advantage of it right now?
- Build trust. – Why should prospects believe you? What proof can you offer? Do you have client testimonials? Media mentions? Case studies? Degrees or credentials? Also, always include your contact details to ensure visitors you have nothing to hide.
- Provide a call to action. – What do visitors have to do to take advantage of your offer? Tell them the exact steps they must take, such as clicking a link, filling out a form, or clicking your “buy now” button and entering their credit card information.
- Test everything. Experiment with your headline, offer, pricing, and call to action to determine which work best.
Getting visitors to take action isn’t an easy task. The unfortunate reality is that overwhelming majority of visitors won’t want what you offer. Many aren’t yet ready to buy. Others just won’t be interested. But, the more you experiment with your website contents, the higher your website conversion rates will be.
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