Website Conversion Optimization
A successful website puts the same kind of effort into conversion as they do into driving traffic to their site. Traffic without an emphasis on conversion limits your growth and reduces your profitability. No company wants to spend money on driving traffic only to turn away potential customers If your website isn’t optimized for conversion, it will turn away potential customers by confusing them, distracting them, and frustrating them.
A website optimized for conversion is an engaging, attractive, simple, convenient, secure website. Continually improving your customer’s experience on your site is the key to conversion optimization.
Are They Confused?
Confused visitors will leave your site. Because your site is so familiar to you, it’s almost impossible for you to see how your visitors could get confused by your navigation, product descriptions or internal linking, but what if they do? Reducing visitor confusion has to be the #1 goal of any conversion optimization plan.
Is it Consistent?
Visitors expect a uniform and professional look across all pages of a website. Any lack of consistency causes visitors to become uneasy and leave.
Are They Engaged?
Engaging your visitors is another conversion optimization goal. An engaged visitor is more likely to become a customer. An engaged customer is more likely to become a repeat customer. Sites that are written for the benefit of the visitor and not the business are more engaging and will convert better than sites that are written solely from the perspective of the business.
Creating Personas
You can’t engage your visitors if you don’t know who they are. The first step is to define your visitors by types and then create a persona for each visitor type. Sites that relate well to only one or two types of visitors (personas), will not convert other visitor types as well as they could.
Conversion Funnel Analysis
People move through your site following a particular path called a conversion funnel. Each page from the point where the visitor enters your site to the point that they make the purchase or click on the button for more information is an opportunity for the visitor to get distracted and leave your site. Conversion funnel analysis works to eliminate distractions and ensure that willing visitors stay on the right track to conversion.
Having a Conversation
Your website is having a conversation with your customer, so your web copy must:
- Be easy and simple to read
- Have clear headings that guide the visitor
- Be easy to scan
- Written so that your visitors questions or concerns are fully addressed
Website copy provides information vital to understanding a business’ product or service. But you also want to make the sale or generate the lead. Your copy must persuade qualified customers to take that next step and say yes to your offer.
Can I Trust You?
Before people will spend money with you or give you their e-mail address, they have to trust you. What generates trust in a website?
- Security symbols
- Professional certifications
- Testimonials
- Clear shipping, return and privacy policies that seem fair and reasonable
- Customer service availability by phone and e-mail
Optimized for Conversion
Optimizing your website for conversion is the process of continually improving your visitor’s experience on your site. The rewards are too great to ignore: increased sales, more leads and a greater number of repeat customers from your existing traffic.
