Last Updated on Jan 28, 2011 by Jeff Lew
When people talk to me about their websites, or internet marketing in general, one of the biggest questions I get is “How do I get more visitors to become buyers?” or more simply, “How do I get more sales from my site?”. The answer of course, is all about the conversion rate. The inevitable follow-up is…”How do I get a higher conversion rate?” My answer is different depending on what type of site they have, and what I already know about it. However, through my research I have found that there are four elements (no, not earth, air, fire, and water) to raise the conversion rate of most any website.
Site Design
How your site is designed from the very beginning is quite important. Keep each of these factors in mind:
- Appearance-Your website should be flashy enough to grab the visitor’s attention right away, but not distract from the task at hand.
- Navigation-Make sure that your user can easily get to parts of your site that they need. Three clicks are all that should be necessary to complete a sale.
- Speed-We live in a high speed internet, on-demand, give it to me now, kind of world. No one wants to wait for a page to load forever. Make sure you haven’t overloaded your pages with so much animation, photos, and video that they are slower than sap running down a tree.
You can find more great tips for Web Design in my previous blog on Designing Your Website For Higher Conversion
Customer Intent vs. Webpage Purpose
This is a vital factor when it comes to conversion rate. There is nothing more frustrating than going to a site expecting one thing and getting something completely different. You know what I mean. You go to a site looking for that 199 dollar flat screen T.V. in the ad, and they spend all of their time trying to lead you to buy the 2000 dollar model instead. If you want a high conversion rate, make sure that there is a lot of overlap between what you want the page to accomplish, and what your visitors are expecting to accomplish. So how do you know if you are doing well in this department? One great way is Google Analytics. If offers you a lot of great information that can help you get there. Also, you might consider asking your visitors directly through surveys and other feedback opportunities. Whatever it takes to get your goals, and those of your customer, in line.
Time
It sounds cliche, but it takes time to achieve a higher conversion rate. You have to build a relationship and a reputation with visitors, search engines, and the niche market you are trying to reach. Patience is truly a virtue, so make sure that you don’t get in a hurry and try to cut corners. That will usually hurt you in the end.
Testing
Oh, I saved the best for last. This is the most important element you need in order to have success. All others pale in comparison. You have to know what is working on your site for you, and what is working against you. To do that, you need excellent, consistent, never ending, testing. You can use A/B testing, multi-variate testing, usability testing, keyword testing, and a host of other tests. Don’t ever stop testing, and you will continue to see better results. To get you started, check out my previous article on How To Use Split Testing To Raise Conversion Rates.
No matter what your current conversion rate is, it can always be improved. By constantly tweaking the design, aligning with your customers needs, and testing for success, over time your conversion rate will soar beyond your expectations.