Simple tips guaranteed to improve your conversion rate
Upping your conversion rate is one of the best uses of your time as a website owner, and should not be taken lightly. Having said that, it’s not difficult to find examples of conversion killers on the majority of business sites out there, so if you haven’t studied CRO (conversion rate optimisation) you may be confused about how to get prospects clicking through your offers.
But before we dive into the good stuff, there’s a certain level of care you need to attain before any of this can make a difference to your bottom line. Broken links, 404’s, slow-loading pages, poor browser compatibility and usability problems, if found on your site should be fixed before following any of the advice in the rest of this article. It doesn’t matter how good your offer is – if your page is broken, not loading, or moved without redirection, people won’t buy from you.
Right, with that out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
Create a strong incentive
In the information age, it’s never been easier to offer something of value without having to spend big bucks. Give your prospects something free, but make sure it’s something that represents genuine value. For example, ‘the new iPhone owner’s cheat sheet’ is a good example. Don’t give away copies of your self-published poetry anthology. Whatever you decide to give, make sure you get something useful in return. Often this will be a name and email address, and the permission from the prospect to send them marketing messages. Once you have this, you can build a long-term campaign to sell the prospect on the benefits of your products and services, leading up to a single or multiple conversions.
Limited offer ends Friday!
What is it about scarcity that drives us to buy things, even when we don’t need them? Like buying bread at Christmas, the more people do it, the scarcer bread becomes, so everyone buys more. By creating a time-limited, hard-to-refuse offer, you increase demand, albeit in the short term. Make sure your offer doesn’t last too long, though. An autumn offer that runs until the following spring isn’t going to create the kind of urgency you’re looking for. So keep it short. If conversions slow down after your offer ends, think up a new one. Even the best offers run out of juice eventually.
Trusted endorsements
I bet you’ve never wondered why big sports brands pay through the nose to get top players to use their gear and appear in their adverts. Because it’s so obvious. Get someone well-known, well-respected, and at the top of their game to endorse your products, and the cash follows quickly after. Literally. People can’t help to respond to these kinds of endorsements.
Of course, not every brand can reach the kind of world-famous endorsees you see on Nike ads, so pitch yourself at an realistic level. Your prospects don’t even need to know the name of the endorsee, so long as you can demonstrate that they’re considered experts in their field. You see this on toothpaste ads. There are no world renowned dentists (that I know of) so a serious-looking man in a dentist outfit is used instead. It works, because we trust dentists to know more about our teeth than we do.
Ask for action
And finally, whatever strategy you use to get your prospects’ attention, you must ensure that you tell them what you want them to do, with a strong, direct call to action. “Buy one today,” “Sign me up now” or “Send me my free sample” are all examples of a strong call to action. Use active words, and always talk directly to the customer. Failure to include this simple element could cost you the conversion.
About seoblogger:
Our SEO blogger is an expert in Web Marketing, Usability and Interface Design. He has been a vital part of The Blue Cube Communications since 2003. As the West Midlands fastest growing web marketing agency, we always strive to maximise return on investment for our customers.
