A Conversion Rate measures how well visitors are converting on their
visit and shows you whether you’re getting more hits from your
marketing efforts than expected (good!)
Each website has a conversion rate, which is the number of people who
take an action on your site as a percentage of total traffic. For
example, if you have 100 views and 10 buyers from those visitors, then
that would be “a conversion rate” or 10%.
A simple formula for calculating it looks like this: Click-throughs ÷
visitors = Conversion Rate
For a website to be successful, it is imperative that they have an
extremely high conversion rate. It’s not enough for them just to
advertise or market themselves effectively; in order for their sales
numbers and revenues to see significant increases, the site needs an
astounding conversion rate of at least 50%.
You might be asking, “What does this mean for my business?” Well don’t
worry. Increasing your conversion rate a little more will lead to
better sales and all you have to do is follow the formula: Increase
Conversion Rate = More Sales!
One percent may seem trivial but converting just one customer over 10
times instead of nine might be enough for them to buy again or
recommend their friends–literally skyrocketing conversions with very
little work on your end.
It doesn’t matter how big or small your conversion is – it can always
be improved. Fortunately, there are 13 strategies you can use to
improve your website’s conversions and get the results that you want
out of them:
1. Persuasive and Transparent Value Proposition
A persuasive and clear value-proposition is crucial for securing
higher conversion rates because it describes how you’ll meet
customers’ needs better than any other competitor they might consider
buying from instead of yours!
The value proposition is the reason a customer should buy from your
business. It helps you differentiate yourself and it’s important to
get this right for any sales person or company who sells their
services in some way. If you can provide what your customers need,
then they’ll flock over to you!
2. Perform A/B Tests
You’ll never know when you have the perfect message if you don’t test
it. A/B testing is one of the best ways to find out which
communication strategy works better and why. Here’s an example:
Say your website has two possible lead photos to run on the front
page. You want to know which photo will draw more interest and sales
so you create a split-testing program where half of traffic goes
through Page A with Photo A, while the other half is diverted onto
Page B with Photo B.
The number of people who click on “Call To Action” for either picture
tells you which one generates better results for your business! This
concept can be applied not only in marketing efforts but also
headlines or even text content throughout your site—anything that
needs optimization!
3. Eliminate the Fluff
Stop making your viewers think so hard! Make sure that you provide the
most straightforward information possible. People are pressed for time
and many of them are also doing other things like running errands or
cooking dinner while they read content on their phones, tablets, etc.
With this in mind, it’s crucial to make what’s written as clear-cut
and concise as possible without overloading the reader with detail
after detail.
Instead of using the outdated and unnecessarily complicated language,
we should use words that are more accessible to customers. We can do
this by avoiding passive voice or “utilize” for a word like “use”
which is clear and credible.
Forget the big words, even if your audience is primarily composed of
highly educated people. Speak from a friendly perspective and make
content easy to digest for all types of readers.
4. Don’t Hurry Into Capturing Sales
The more time and effort you put in, the greater your chances of
success. You need to get people interested enough that they’ll
consider purchasing from you – it takes seven points before a
potential customer is ready to buy!
Your content strategy is the key to long term success in any business.
People want to feel like they are a part of something and that their
opinion counts, so it’s important for you to make sure your customers
know exactly where they stand with you at all times as well as be
fully informed about what kind of product or service they can expect
from your company.
If people don’t get anything out of reading one blog post then chances
are high they will not read another article on your site unless there
is some sort of incentive offered – this could come in the form an
email subscription list which delivers valuable information straight
into customer inboxes but also includes discounts and other offers;
blogs, tutorials videos, podcasts quizzes etc., help keep readers
engaged.
You want your business to be recognized as a leader and have people
visiting you for advice. This will not happen if the top of every page
on your website screams BUY! BUY!.
5. Build Trust
We all know the feeling of sitting in a coffee shop, enjoying our
treat and then someone we don’t know comes in next to us. They offer
you something that seems too good to be true for just $100; do you say
yes or no?
You know what he’s offering you is good- so why wouldn’t you want to
buy one? You could resell it for a profit, and if not then that’s no
problem. Still, chances are you would say “no” because of the fact
that this guy is someone you don’t know or trust.
Every site needs to build trust in order for visitors to feel safe and
secure. The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab has examined how your
website can do this, with some valuable insights on what errors you
should be aware of: spelling mistakes, broken links, incorrect grammar
or punctuation – even if the error is minor it may impact a visitor’s
perception that they are being taken care of by someone credible who
cares about their product/services enough not to make these kinds of
careless mistakes.
As the old saying goes, “Don’t just take my word for it.” Give people
a way to double-check your claims. Link to studies and provide
verification for all stats or quotes that you use in order to be as
honest with our readership as possible.
6. Tend to Objections
The best way to overcome the initial hesitations a customer may have
about purchasing from an online store is for them to feel included and
that their concerns are being addressed.
In order for this process of objecting-and-overcoming obstacles in
your customers’ minds, you must take into account what can be found on
a website or sales material before they purchase anything from it as
well as how much time has passed since someone first visited the site.
First, take the time to brainstorm and list all potential problems and
hesitations that could arise.
Then reach out to current, former customers as well as those who might
buy in future for their input on what they think of your service or
product offering.
Finally, insert this information into a sales letter so you can be
sure not to overlook any possible drawbacks that would inhibit someone
from buying from you!
7. Deliver Value
As a business owner, you have to give potential customers enough
information about the usefulness of your products or services.
Otherwise, they might not realize what’s in it for them and leave
before looking around elsewhere!
It may be difficult to convince skeptics and price-conscious customers
of the value your product offers. To avoid this, try discussing all
aspects of what it does before revealing its cost.
Customers will appreciate that you are up front about potential
drawbacks with their purchase choice rather than trying to sell them
on something they’re not sure is right for them without mentioning any
downsides in advance.
8. Convey Proof
In today’s world, people are skeptical of everything. It is as if they
expect the worst and no one can change that for them. We need to do
more than just give our customers a product or offer; we must prove it
with evidence!
Just imagine how happy you’ll feel when your friends and family start
noticing the pounds melting off, all thanks to that weight-loss book!
It’s a great feeling knowing that someone else is seeing results from
using what you made.
That person might even be in awe of your work enough to recommend it
or buy more products. This is one way that testimonials help people
make important decisions about their lives.
You can have videos showing your product in action. This will allow
potential customers see for themselves how it works and if they want
to purchase the item, then this is a great way of telling them more
about what their buying before doing so.
The power of third-party reviews is that it comes from people with an
objective view on something without having any vested interest in what
happens next.
9. Make Buying Easy
You want your customers to have a painless experience when they
purchase from you. Don’t force them through the process, don’t rush
them and make it easy for people that are just browsing by making
information readily available on their screens like having intuitive
design in which buyers can figure out what they should click next
without getting overwhelmed with too many options at once or clicking
around aimlessly trying to find where certain information is located.
A good rule of thumb: if a grandmother can figure out how to buy from
your site in less than one minute, you’re on the right path.
10. Compare Yourself With Competitors Before Your Customers Can Do It
It’s a buyer beware world out there. When you are on the hunt for
something, it can be easy to let your eyes wander from one store or
website to another without actually committing and buying anything.
If you’re looking for a way to stand out from the crowd, or just want
more sales, there’s one thing your competitors are doing that can
help.
They’re talking about their products and what makes them special. A
great opportunity is staring at you in the face; it might be time to
start telling people why they should buy yours instead of theirs!
11. Lessen or Remove Risk
The risk of any purchase is that it may break or not work as promised.
To help reduce and eliminate the risks, you should work with your
buyer on reducing them in some way: a warranty or promise such as “if
we’re late, its free.”
Companies are known for their 30-day money back guarantees, but what
about your customers? Use A/B testing to find which type of guarantee
will give them more incentive.
12. Use Inducements to Move Customers to Take Action as Soon as
Possible
Research shows that scarcity causes urgency. Time-related scarcity
goes like this: “Only two more days left to buy.” Quantity-related
scarcity goes something like, “There’s only three figurines at the
price you see on screen!”
However, be careful not to overdo it. This may be especially difficult
with digital products such as games and movies, in which case you
should avoid quantity-related scarcity by trying something like: “You
have one day left to take advantage of this great deal!”
Customers can smell a fake scarcity scam from miles away. In the
current climate, customers have more options than ever and are quickly
losing patience with brands that try to play games of one-upmanship.
13. Eliminate Distractions
Your customers should have just one thing on their minds when they’re
browsing your website. That’s why it is important to remove any
irrelevant information from the web page, such as big headlines,
sidebars and stock photos that don’t directly relate back to what you
are trying sell them.
You’ll need to adjust the page layout so there aren’t too many
distracting actions for visitors either – removing extraneous links or
buttons can help with this process.
Conclusion: There’s always something you can do to increase your
conversion rate. For example, optimizing for mobile devices is a great
way to take advantage of the ever-increasing usage of smart phones and
tablets by consumers worldwide. If your site isn’t responsive yet it’s
time that changed!
Your company should also be sure you’re checking your analytics often
so as not miss any information on what website visitors like or
dislike about the pages they visit.
Finally, there is one more thing I would recommend doing – ask users
what else could make them stay longer with each page view? This gives
you an opportunity through feedback surveys specifically geared
towards user opinion.
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