The majority of the clients I consult for all initially came to me with the same want — to increase their conversion rates, which then generates more revenue for their business. You can spend a fortune driving targeted traffic to your website and offers, but if that traffic isn’t converting in dollars, then it’s simply wasted money.
Far too many brands put their primary focus on generating traffic, when conversion rate optimization should be their top priority. Then, when you master converting your traffic, you can then scale, increasing the number of visitors hitting your website.
I want to give you an example, just to show you how impactful CRO (conversion rate optimization) can be in terms of revenue.
If your website is receiving 20,000 unique visitors a month from various traffic campaigns — SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, etc. — and you are experiencing a 1 percent conversion rate, than would translate into 200 sales a month. Let’s throw a $30 sale price on each conversion, to give you a grand total of $6,000 in monthly revenue.
Now, imagine if you were able to optimize your website to convert at a higher rate, resulting in a 2.5 percent conversion rate. Keeping your traffic numbers exactly the same, you would now be generating 500 sales and $15,000 in monthly revenue.
There is a good chance you can see dramatic increases in both sales and revenue simply by implementing a few conversion rate optimization hacks — here are six simple ones to consider, all designed to increase your website’s conversion rate.
Make your call-to-action (CTA) on each page impossible to miss.
It’s important that you place your main CTA (call-to-action) above the fold, making it impossible to miss. When a visitor lands on your website they need to see it, understand it and react to it right away. You literally have two seconds to get their attention or they will leave, never to return, and more than likely ending up converting on a website belonging to a competitor.
You don’t want to make someone potentially interested in what you are offering have to search out your offer — put it right in front of their eyes where they can’t miss it. I see too many CTAs buried in the middle of a page or towards the bottom, requiring a visitor to scroll down before they are even introduced to it. Whether you are presenting a CTA offering a newsletter, a consultation or a direct purchase option, make sure it’s front and center when someone lands on the page. Make it a point to have all of your CTAs in view without having to scroll or navigate. This alone will bump your conversion rate north.
Also, make sure that your CTA is relevant to the ad or content that brought the visitor to the particular page.
Ensure your website layout is responsive and simple.
Every website should be responsive — if your site isn’t responsive then you have already lost. It’s a must-have, as the majority of traffic is coming from mobile and tablet devices these days. They key here is to make sure that your conversion process is easy on every device as well. It’s one thing to be responsive, but not all responsive themes and designs have conversions on smaller screens in mind.
For example, if you are pushing traffic to a page hoping to attract email newsletter subscribers, then your entire call-to-action should be visible on a mobile screen without scrolling, and your fields should be minimal — a name and email address at most. Make the input fields large and the submit button oversized as well.
I like to make sure all CTAs are easily performed one-handed on a mobile device. If not, your conversion rate will suffer.
If you want a good laugh — along with an example of what NOT to do — check out this website. It’s so over the top and outrageous.
Be 100 percent transparent.
Internet users are very intelligent these days. They no longer fall for gimmicks and they are very protective when it comes to their personal information. With all of the stories in the media about data hacks and compromised personal information you need to make your visitors feel comfortable before you can expect them to convert, whether it’s handing over their email address for a coupon code or entering in their credit card number to complete a purchase.
Make sure that your company’s complete contact information can easily be accessed, and you have multiple ways for consumers to contact your company, from a toll-free number to a contact form and live-chat. If your business appears to be difficult to reach you can’t expect consumers to trust you. Transparency is key.
Also, make sure your CTAs are very clear. If you are trying to collect email addresses, make the offer very clear in terms of what they can expect to receive in return. If it’s a weekly newsletter, state that. If it’s special offers and discounts available only to list subscribers, then make sure they know this.
You should also leverage trust signals as much as possible. Are you a member of the Better Business Bureau? If so, make sure that seal is visible. Have you won awards or been recognized for your work? Showcasing your achievements helps to create immediate trust, which translates to a higher conversion probability.
Make the conversion path as simple as possible.
The average visitor that hits your website is lazy, meaning they aren’t going to jump through any hoops in order to award you with a conversion. You have to make it as simple as possible, whether that’s a lead generation form with minimal input fields, or an e-commerce checkout process that has very few steps.
You are paying, one way or another, for every single person that lands on your website.
If you are trying to generate leads and expect the consumer to fill out 15 fields of information, then you are going to experience a very low conversion rate. Most people won’t take the time to complete such detailed information.
If your checkout process requires that the buyer create an online account, not giving them the option to complete the purchase as a guest, then you are going to miss out on easy sales.
The average consumer is always going to opt for the quickest path to the finish line, so make sure your conversion path has the least hoops to jump through in order to complete.
Match infographics and videos with a related CTA (call-to-action).
If you have a complex offer or product, then consider using a visual element, like an infographic or animated explainer video. These can often help deliver your message better than text-based content simply because you are able to command the visitor’s attention and keep them engaged longer.
You are able to deliver the entire pitch or information session to more people since they will be more engaged — if you are hoping they will take the time to read a long-winded blog post you will find that most will skim through it or just skip it entirely.
When you combine a great piece of visual content followed by a relevant CTA, you will experience a nice conversion boost.
Let’s be honest — not every offer is going to be exciting. Not every product is going to be sexy.
If you have a bland or boring offering your conversion rate doesn’t have to suffer — you just need to get creative — videos and infographics are great content formats to test.
Use strategically placed reviews and testimonials as social proof.
Online reviews are such a huge leverage point, so it’s important that you highlight them, giving your visitors reason to convert on your website.
Most consumers will trust reviews left on third-party platforms, and they really put a lot of trust in reviews from complete strangers. If your business reviews reviews on trusted platforms like Google, Facebook, Yelp. etc. — then highlight your best ones, preferably within sight of your CTAs.
This allows you to leverage this social proof, which instills confidence in someone on the fence in terms of completing a conversion action on your website, often helping to push them over the edge.
Image: PEXELS
