Professional guidance to successfully increasing website conversions

How important is conversion rate optimization to your website? Companies are twice as likely to see large increases in sales, according to a 2016 Econsultancy study. Web traffic is precious, and in the age of search engines, it’s crucial to capitalize on people who are interested enough to visit your website.

Here’s how to increase conversions for when they do visit your site. After all, attention can be as good as cash.

Do A/B testing until you get the formula right

A/B testing simply means that you try different formats, appearances, layouts and headlines with the intent to maximize your conversion rates. For example, your visitors might be attracted to a blue theme combined with catchy headlines that are designed to close them on a sale. People have shortening attention spans and studies show you have less than seven seconds to pique their interest or they’ll click away. And this isn’t a one-time project. You must continuously test your site presentation to figure out what works (and what doesn’t).

Your value proposition should be clear

Your landing pages should clearly define a compelling value proposition. Specificity helps your leads and customers understand exactly what you’re offering and why it’s better than other providers. If you want to sell, you literally have a couple of seconds to meet their expectations (if they’re buyers) or they’ll move on to other, potentially competing sites. Complexity, vague language, confusing layouts and difficult navigation are all counterproductive to your online business.

“When we designed our site, we wanted our visitors to immediately understand that they can conveniently buy sports and concert tickets and that they could trust our website,” says a spokesperson for VIP Tickets Canada, a ticket vendor. “On our main landing page, visitors can easily click on the sports or concert events they’re interested in and buy tickets in as few clicks as possible.”

Use product videos

A picture (or video) is worth a thousand words. Multimedia represents a quick way to explain your product or service, and it clarifies for leads what tangible object that they’re buying. If you’re selling motorcycle helmets online, your customers would appreciate a brief explanation of the exact features and price; how it looks; and how they might use your product when riding on the road. A video lets them see exactly what it is they’re considering to buy. If done right, multimedia can more than double your product sales.

Maximize your site speed

Every second counts and slow servers can be a death knell to your visitors’ limited attention. First, site speed is a ranking factor for search engines. And secondly, the more you make your visitors wait (because of slow loading times), the more likely they’ll get frustrated and click away. For each second of delay in your site speed, your conversion decreases by seven percent, according to Kissmetrics. It’s key to conduct due diligence and figure out which hosting providers offer the best speed. Make your sales process as fast and seamless as possible.

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DISCLAIMER: This article expresses my own ideas and opinions. Any information I have shared are from sources that I believe to be reliable and accurate. I did not receive any financial compensation in writing this post, nor do I own any shares in any company I’ve mentioned. I encourage any reader to do their own diligent research first before making any investment decisions.