Thank you to my guest blogger, Katie Wilson.
Your website is the hub where all other online and offline marketing leads. If it’s failing to convert, your marketing efforts may be ineffective.
So, what is a conversion? A website conversion happens when a visitor completes a desired action on your website, like making a purchase or filling out a contact form. Every website should be built to generate conversions.
The average conversion rate is 2-5%. If your website has 1,500 visitors a month and you achieve a 2% conversion rate, this would lead to 30 calls (or conversions) per month. If you can increase your conversion rate to 5%, you would generate 75 calls per month.
Here are 10 ways to increase your website’s conversion rate:
1. Use Strong CTAs
A huge component of conversions is your call-to-action (CTA). Your CTA could be to request a quote, gain access to content, share a post on social media, or subscribe to your email newsletter.
Whatever it is, you need to include CTAs throughout your website and landing pages and make sure visitors can access the CTA no matter where they are on a page.
2. Include Social Proof (Reviews)
Reviews have a significant influence on consumers’ buying habits, and in some cases, may have more influence than your company’s website.
In fact, 92% of consumers hesitate to make a purchase if there are no customer reviews and 97% say customer reviews factor into their buying decision. Make sure your reviews are front-and-center on your website.
3. Use Video
According to Forbes, 90% of customers say video helps them make buying decisions and 64% of customers say that seeing a video makes them more likely to buy.
4. Shorten Your Forms
Have you ever had the intention of filling out an online form, just to be scared away by too many required fields? It’s one of the best ways to kill your conversion rate.
Remove all unnecessary form fields, leaving only those that are essential to accomplishing your goal.
5. Add a Pop-Up to Your Site
According to a study by Sumo, the average conversion rate for all pop-ups is 3 percent. However, if you do it the right way, you can reach the top 10 percent of pop-ups which average a 9.28 percent conversion rate.
Here are some quick tips for getting the highest conversion rate from a pop-up:
- Try several offers until you find a winner
- Add a 30-second delay timer to the pop-up to keep it from annoying visitors
- Make it easy to close the pop-up
- Set a cookie so the pop-up only appears once for each visitor
6. Add Live Chat
Live chat enables your company to assist your visitors exactly when they need it.
Just like a pop-up, live chat tools are easy to add to any site and can have an immediate boost to your conversions.
7. Get Creative with Your Offers
Think outside of the box and test multiple offers to find the one that resonates best with your audience.
8. Clearly State the Benefits of Your Product or Service
Listing the features of your products and services may be important, but it’s even more important to communicate to potential customers exactly how your product or service will help them or solve their problem. As copywriter Debra Jason says, “Remember benefits, benefits, benefits. How do you make your customer’s life (personally or professionally) easier? How do you solve the problem/challenge/issue they’re facing?”
Write your copy specifically for your target audience and address their goals, motivations, and pain points (or as Debra says, “push their buttons“).
9. Always Be Testing & Tracking
It’s not always easy to know what’s working and what isn’t. Conducting A/B testing provides valuable insights.
With A/B testing, you can test and determine what types of headlines, colors, copy, layout, and CTAs work best for your audience.
10.Pay Careful Attention to Your Headlines
According to Copyblogger, on average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. Imagine that. Eight out of every 10 people who visit a page on your website may neglect to read past your headline.
When A/B testing your headlines, experiment with variables such as:
- Length
- Tone
- Use of statistics
- Use of numbers
How to Calculate Your Website’s Conversion Rate
Divide the number of goals achieved in a given time frame by the total number of visitors to your website, then multiply that number by 100.
For example, if your website has 1500 visitors a month and you achieve a 2% conversion rate, this would lead to 30 calls per month. If you can increase your conversion rate to 5%, you would generate 75 calls per month.
How can you optimize your website for conversion in the real world? Take a look at it and use this list to assess what needs to be added or improved upon.
Are you ready to create a successful website and online marketing strategy for your company?
About Guest Blogger Katie Wilson: Since 2001, Katie’s company, Aspire ID (Internet Design), has helped hundreds of businesses grow and succeed online by creating goal-driven websites and online marketing systems that have produced measurable results. Whether you’re interested in website design and development or search engine optimization (and more), contact Katie for a free consultation and proposal today.
