Editor’s Note — The easiest way to think of a business website is to think of it as a virtual salesperson. And to be considered successful, it has to convert traffic into paying customers. This article will tell you how to increase your conversion rates.
One of the biggest myths online is that it’s acceptable to have a conversion rate of 1% or 2%. Although this is the average, it IS possible to far exceed this. So if you’re sitting comfortably thinking you’re doing as well as you can. Think again!
Many sites have double-digit conversion rates. Although it takes work to initially get to that point, you’ll reap the rewards for a long time to come.
These great tips will help you get started:
- Use audio on your website to sell. If your site’s purpose is to sell a product or service, EVERYTHING on your site should be used for selling – including audio. Instead of an audio introduction from you like many sites have added recently, create a powerful 30 second commercial that tells people what you offer, the major benefits of purchasing from you and/or why you’re better than your competitors. You don’t have to use a hard sell approach. Keep it conversational and show your enthusiasm – but make sure they’re given information that takes them one step closer to buying!
- Make it a goal to create a “sales system” that works. Your ultimate goal should be to create a system that you know (with complete certainty) will make a sale to a certain percentage of people you put into it. This system should be mapped out from start to finish – that is, from the time a prospect first arrives at your site until they are a lifelong customer. Get started creating your system by planning out the steps you’d like customers take (or if you already have customers ask them what steps they took). Once your website, marketing materials and advertising plan are set up to work with your system, track every step and make improvements as necessary to make it as efficient and profitable as possible.
- Make your site navigation simple and straightforward. Studies show that when a customer cannot find what they’re looking for in less than 2 minutes, they leave and usually never come back. Make sure you don’t lose their attention by providing a consistent navigation system on every page. Also, remember that a link to your home page from every other page on the site is essential. That way, if the search engines bring a potential customer to a page other than your home page, they’ll be able to easily find their way around.
- Make it a habit to ask customers how they found your site. Although you should be tracking all of your site traffic it’s also a good idea to add a field to your order form asking people how they found your site. You may be surprised by the answers! This is another way to get a detailed picture of the best places to get targeted traffic from.
- Get their contact information so you can follow up with them again. A potential customer has to hear your message an average of 9 times before they purchase something. If you consider that only 1 in 3 messages actually gets read, you have to contact people an average of 27 times before they’ll be ready to buy! Therefore having a strong follow up system in place is key. If possible automate this with an autoresponder series using a service such as AWeber. This will allow you to set the messages and forget them!
- Make testimonials and endorsements credible. The best way to do this is to include lots of information on the person who submitted it. Some information to consider using is their full name, city and state, URL, photo, signature or an audio testimonial/endorsement. If the person is willing to take phone calls from potential customers then also include their phone number.
Website conversion rates of 1% may work for other site owners; however when you want to maximize your returns, 1% is just not enough. You must increase your conversion rate to increase earnings, and using the tips above is the perfect place to start.
Ben Euporian of Omsho.com makes it easy to learn from Website Sales Conversion Experts. For details, visit this site now: Increase Website Conversion
September 10th, 2007 at 9:10 am
There are a couple of interesting points in this article like doing a follow up of your costumer and all but i must say i very much doubt the use of audio will attract customers. It might attract some but i truly hate it when a website starts talking to me or starts playing some music.
A lot of people play music when they are on their home computers and a website with audio is really disturbing then.
On the other hand you also have a lot of people using their computers at work to make their sales. And what do you think will happen when the pc starts making all sorts of noises and colleagues start looking in his or her direction? indeed, the visitor will close the window as fast as he can.
So, generally speaking, i’m very much against the use of audio on the internet and i hope a lot of people share my opinion.
regards
Thomas
September 13th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Great article, wonderful tips for just about any web site owner or designer to pick up information from.
Having some kind of referral base is extremely important for any web site, also. Word of mouth can be uncontrollably powerful.
It worked for pyramid schemes, why not use it for legit things.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I agree with Thomas. A site which is user-friendly and well constructed won’t need 30 second commercials playing in the background.
Also,, what if the user is deaf? This means nothing essential will be said via audio - so it’s not really needed.
The other tips are good though.