9 easy ways to increase conversions online

So you’ve built a great website with professionally designed graphics, easy-to-use navigation, and engaging content. But instead of the steady stream of traffic and purchases you’ve come to expect, you’re not even getting a trickle.

So what gives?

Too many entrepreneurs and small business owners have an “if you build it, they will come” mentality. They think that building something that looks good is all they need to do to attract buyers.

The truth is that creating a website, no matter how visually appealing, is not even half the battle.

The hardest work comes after your site is up and running, when it’s time to market your product or service, capture leads, and convert them into leads and sales.

Whether you’re struggling to view your offers, build your list, or want to increase your sales, these tips will help you effectively use the best marketing tool you have: your website.

1. Look under the hood.

Is there something technically wrong? There are many aspiring developers who do not understand what it takes to create a robust and responsive site.

Follow the path a customer would take from the moment they land on your home page, all the way through the purchase process. There might be an error message when you try to put a certain product in your shopping cart, or a 404 page where your shipping and returns information should be.

Be sure to check your site in a number of different browsers and devices as well, making sure that responsiveness looks good everywhere and not just in the typical browser you use.

Checking your site speed is a good place to start. If a page takes forever to load, people aren’t going to wait.

2. Pay close attention to your headline.

The average Internet user using a search engine visits approximately 25 sites in just 3-4 minutes. Not a long time to grab someone’s attention.

To increase online conversions and grow your sales:

• Avoid saying “Welcome to my website…” or other ways to waste space. You don’t want to spend your precious seconds on words that don’t encourage visitors to take action.
• Keep it short and sweet. Your headline is not the place to cram all the details. Focus on 6-12 words that contain your target keywords to capture interest.
• Get descriptive. Using a thesaurus is the perfect way to find different ways of saying things that tap into people’s emotions. Think beyond words like “good” and “great” and get your visitors excited.

3. Show people how your product or service will benefit them.

Don’t get caught up in explaining the mechanics of what you’re selling. Instead, answer questions your visitors will have, such as: How will you change people’s lives for the better? Why do they need it? Take advantage of the pain points of your visitors and tell them the right story in a video, blog post, headline…

Here’s an example from one of our clients, the Financial Recovery Institute. Rather than tell people the names of the courses or how she teaches them, Karen describes the benefits they will gain from taking the Money Coach training.

4. Inspire your visitors to take action.

Using tangible action verbs can help increase online conversions. Get your visitors excited about whatever you’re selling and include a sense of urgency.

For example, instead of saying “Register now” for a webinar, you could use “Save your seat here.” Instead of “Get the course” for a program that teaches, try something like “Start learning today.”

Create more compelling value propositions than simply “Buy It” or “Buy Now” to motivate people to take advantage of your offer.

5. Have strong calls to action.

Whether it’s filling out an online form or clicking a button, tell your users what you want them to do next. Just like your headline and body text, calls to action should be concise and benefit-oriented.

That being said, don’t put CTAs everywhere in your body copy, thinking more is better. You want one main call-to-action per page or “action” you want someone to take, not one included in each paragraph of content.

Read Intelligent calls to action for each purchase stage to maximize conversions On our website.

Have you ever wondered why some websites convert better than others? You can have the best copywriting in the world, but if you don’t have effective CTAs on every page, you won’t get the sale.

This article provides effective call-to-action examples to reach shoppers at each stage of the buying cycle to drive conversions.

6. Make it easy for visitors to give you information.

People don’t like filling out long forms to download an eBook or sign up for email newsletters. Popular digital marketing entrepreneur Neil Patel increased his conversion rate at NeilPatel.com by 26% simply by removing a form field.

To get more website leads, ask for what you want in as few fields as possible. We ask our visitors for just a name and email address before giving them our free Ultimate Guide on How to Improve Profitability and Conversions.

7. Give the right visual impression.

It’s time to take stock of your stock photos and take a hard look at the images you’re using to represent your brand.

Your visual branding should be consistent across all of your marketing materials, from your blog images to your email newsletter photos. Too many small business owners use tacky stock photos or low-quality images simply because they are easy to use and available to them.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and none of those words will be “leads” or “sales” if you don’t carefully choose the images that represent your brand.

And please, speaking of stock photos, never, whether on your website, on social media, or in your newsletters, use a stock photo that has not been purchased and still has the watermark on it. Not only does it look very unprofessional, but it is also an illegal use of stock photo and could be found if discovered.

8. Use reviews and testimonials as social proof.

We use social proof every day to navigate our decisions, online and in the real world. Here’s a real-world example: When choosing a place to eat, are you more tempted by the lively restaurant full of happy customers or the empty one across the street?

Now think about how you shop online. I’m sure you’ve used a review, positive or negative, to influence a decision. BrightLocal research shows that positive reviews make 91% of consumers more likely to use a business, while 82% will be put off by negative reviews. And the average consumer reads 10 reviews before feeling confident in a local business.

One unique way that the TrustPulse online marketing platform provides shoppers with social proof is by dynamically sharing the name and location of people who have signed up for its services.

9. Never stop testing and adjusting.

To get more website leads, you need to know what works and what doesn’t. Use A/B testing to offer visitors different versions of your site, or test a variety of headlines over the course of several months.

Remember, what helps one site owner increase online conversions may fail miserably for another.

It can be challenging to successfully create the most compelling copy, images, and calls to action, so consider hiring a professional marketing company to help you get results.

No matter which method you use, you’ll have to test, test, and test some more…getting the right formula to increase your sales is an ongoing process.

For the success of your business,

Suzanne