Your website has been up and running for a while and it’s doing pretty well. In fact, you’re receiving a reasonable amount of traffic. However, these visitors aren’t always going on to purchase from you or request your services. Why is this?
Well, conversion rate optimisation is simple in theory. It’s all about finding out why your visitors aren’t converting, and then making alterations so that they do in the future.
Essentially, it’s about finding effective ways to close a sale. If you’re not sure where to begin, here are five things to ask yourself you want to improve conversion rates on your website.
1. Is your website user-friendly?
Your landing page is the first thing that a visitor will typically see and first impressions are important. Is your website easy to navigate? If they have to go searching for your products or services, they’re not going to bother.
Anything from colours to font to imagery can affect how a person interacts with your page. Don’t forget to make it clear what your call-to-action is. Do you want them to e-mail you? Fill out a form? If you don’t know what you want from them, don’t expect your audience to know it either. Make it crystal clear.
It is also worth considering that 10% of website visitors are on a mobile phone and is set to rise as smartphones become more sophisticated and internet access becomes more widely available. This is a great thing for viewing your site, but does your checkout process translate well on a small screen?
2. How simple is your checkout process?
According to Forrester Research, the basket abandonment rate of websites has remained stable at approximately 70% for the past few years.
Remember, just because visitors are adding goods to the basket doesn’t mean they want to purchase. Think of all the people in a high street store that will try on clothes and not buy.
Make sure there are no distractions at the last hurdle. If your visitors have made it to the checkout point, ensure that your prices are clearly displayed and there are no hidden costs to make them close the window. Avoid advertisements, images or add-on purchases that could distract or take away from the checkout. The only focus here should be closing that sale.
3. Are you targeting the right keywords?
Think about who you are hoping to attract. Is there another niche that you may be relevant for? You may be bringing in an enormous amount of traffic with your current keywords but if they aren’t converting, they’re not worth the time and money. Invest in some research into which keywords actually convert into sales. You may receive fewer visitors, but a higher percentage will go on to buy.
4. What other marketing strategies are in place?
If your company also receives attention from PR, make sure any promotional material is consistent with what is displayed on the website. If there is an offer being promoted offline, make it available on the site too. If your visitors are brought to your website on the false pretence of an offer, they will feel misled and your credibility will become flawed, lowering any likelihood of future sales with that visitor.
5. Are you asking yourself why it works for them and not you?
This is simple. Don’t worry about it. In fact, using other businesses as a template may work in some areas, but unless they are incredibly similar to you, this doesn’t apply with conversion rate.
Conversion rate is quite specific to a website’s needs and will depend on the user experience you are offering as a whole.
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