When you’re selling a product or service through your website, your goal is to get conversions. Taking people through your sales funnel from browsers to prospects to customers to advocates is a process that doesn’t happen all on its own. By having the best possible website, you can make sure to convert as many website visitors as possible, making your website efficient and effective. Here are 8 proven ways to make that happen.
1. A/B Testing
Marketers love A/B testing. This is when you set up two versions of a website to test which element works better, option A or option B. But there are two ways people go wrong with A/B testing.
- Change more than one thing at a time. This means that you don’t know what is causing the change in conversion, whether it improves or not. You must change one item at a time to truly understand what’s changing.
- Details that can’t be properly measured. If you change one item, you can’t expect that to immediately make your sales skyrocket. Instead, set a specific, measurable goal. You might want more people to click through to another page, sign up for a mailing list, or stay on your page longer (thereby reading more information). Whatever you measure, know what and know why so that you can interpret your results properly.
2. Valuable Content
People come to your website because they want to know more about your product or service. A huge part of having a website that converts isn’t just describing what’s on offer; you also need to offer up content that informs, educates, and entertains. Your customers will stay on your page longer and be more interested in your company if you offer them content they value.
3. Clean Design
We’ve all clicked on websites that look like they were built on Geocities in 1997. Modern website designs are sleek, user friendly, mobile responsive, and easy to navigate. Don’t have a million pop-ups or videos that start to play and can’t be stopped.
4. Great Landing Pages
Make sure that the pages your potential customers get to first do their job. Landing pages focus on a specific feature of the company and may be localized by city or state. If you want to rank for a particular keyword, consider whether or not a landing page might be an appropriate way to draw SERP attention. But make sure you’re up to date with SEO best practices before you start writing; incorrectly written landing pages can hurt your SERP standings as much as a good one can help.
5. Be 100% Clear About What You’re Here To Do
There’s nothing more frustrating as a customer than clicking on a company’s page, browsing through their information, and realizing that while you’ve read a vast amount of information about the company, their philosophy, and their founders, you don’t have the least idea what the company does. Whether you sell great chairs or design amazing websites, your customers need to know that right away. All the value propositions in the world don’t mean anything if you can’t explain why your company is there.
6. Build Trust
From the first moment a prospect clicks into your website, you must be building trust with that prospect. There are thousands of scams on the internet, and you must prove to your customers that you are not a scam. You do that by having high quality, clear information, customer reviews and experiences, and real information about your product. You also give multiple ways to contact your company; you are clear about your address, phone number, and email information.
7. Don’t Ask For The Sale Or Sign-Up Right Away
Pop up newsletter subscription boxes are a huge mistake. Customers aren’t going to give you their information before they even know what you have to offer. Many pop-ups are difficult to dismiss on mobile devices; people don’t have the patience for slow or annoying websites. They’ll click back and go to the next relevant result on the search page.
The best way to collect customer information is by demonstrating that you have something to offer. This means that you need to show them your high-quality content and let them know they’ll get more if they subscribe.
8. Descriptions, Not Bullet Points
For e-commerce sites, it’s critically important for companies to ensure their products have descriptions that sell the item, not just bullet points of features. Choice fatigue is real, especially when the internet means that customers have limitless options to choose from. By using high-quality descriptions, businesses can give customers a taste of what the ownership experience of an item would be. Product descriptions can also include useful keywords that can help items and sites rank well on searches.
No matter how big your brand is, keeping an eye on these details will always help you get the best results from your sales funnel. Ensuring that each step of the website takes customers an appropriate step further along is key. Let these proven tips take you one step closer to a great website that converts visitors.
