Eight game-changing website conversion tips to implement

Many ecommerce businesses only focus on social media marketing and hiring content writing services to rank higher on search engines. While that’s important, it’s only half of the challenge. The other half is getting those people towards website conversion. This could be either buying the product, subscribing for weekly updates and newsletters, or signing up as a member.

In short, website conversion or conversion rate optimization is converting the traffic you get to your website via SEO, blog posts, social media marketing, and other efforts into paying customers.

1. Time is of the essence

“Time is of the essence”, whether you’re transporting organs for a transplant or trying to get the attention of the visitors on your website. So, you’ve done your homework, and slowly but surely, you are getting visitors to your website. There’s just one catch. Getting them to your website is only half the challenge. Keeping them there to browse your products is a whole other ballgame. Keeping visitors on your website long enough for them to make a purchase can be even harder.

According to research, 92% of visitors to your website don’t have any intentions to buy. What’s even more alarming is that most users will leave your website after 10 to 20 seconds.

According to human-computer interaction (HCI) research using the Weibull Hazard Function Test, 99% of web pages have what is called a “negative aging effect.” This means that while web pages are of variable quality, most visitors seem to be on a ruthless triage to “abandon the drop,” making it even harder for ecommerce businesses to capture the attention of their visitors.

So, what should you do? Roll over and die?

Of course not, this is where having a clear value proposition can draw in the attention of your audience.

As we’ve learned with the ‘Weibull Hazard Function Test’, most visitors are ready to click away, even if they had initially clicked on the link with the intention to buy. The best way to stop your visitors from clicking away at this crucial stage is to give them an offer they simply cannot refuse.

This can be in the form of a discounted price, a free how-to guide for when they do purchase the product or a promise of delivering them the best quality product or service available. That last part will have to be backed up by proof, whether it’s social proof from past customers or independent reviewers of your product or service. The idea is to give the potential customer something to be glad they even considered clicking on your site and not the ten million other options out there.

2. What do your visitors see?

Take a good, hard look at your website. How does it look and feel to you? Is it appealing? Does it provide you with the information you need? And more importantly, does it have a clear call-to-action (CTA) or a request-for-proposal (RFP)? (More on that last one later.)

Needless to say, you will have to put yourself in your audience’s shoes to get an answer.

The websites that have the best website conversion are ones who nailed the following

•         Simplicity – They don’t use gaudy and bright colors to distract the reader.
•         Navigability – They have dropdown menus that are simple to navigate.
•         Hierarchy – The most important information comes first.
•         Consistency – All the pages appear uniform.
•         Accessibility –Web pages should appear the same on mobile, tablet, laptop, and PC screens.
•         User-Centricity – Don’t beat around the bush. Be clear to your audience, and they’ll appreciate it.

If the web page contains multiple products – no problem. Allow visitors to filter through the products according to size, color, style, using AJAX-enabled side navigation. When it all comes down to it, your website should be coherent and lightning-fast.

Now, what does that look like?

Let’s take a look at Mythical.com, a website of our favorite Youtubers Rhett and Link. Go ahead, check them out. Your computer won’t explode. We promise.

Source: Mythical.com

What do you see… is exactly what the website creators want you to.

The example given above ticks all the boxes of what makes a website that converts – simplicity, navigability, hierarchy, consistency, accessibility, and user-centricity.

The visitor is at once guided straight to the page and the information they are most likely going to be interested in:

1. Free shipping (boosts your average order value)
2. Price (be clear, no surprises)
3. Call to Action (make sure your CTA is visible)

3. Add a request for proposal (RFP)

A request for proposal (RFP) is designed for a company website to offer prospective clients an easy, hassle-free way to hire their services. From the point of the website owner, an RFP is an invitation to the prospective clients and outlines what the company requires to get the ball rolling if the client wants to hire their services.

While designing the RFP for your website, it can be tempting to include just about everything on the form from the get-go. However, that’s a big mistake.

Your RFP should be short and to the point. Asking anything other than the person’s name, company name, phone, email address, website, and the services required is not only inappropriate (during this initial step), but is also time-consuming, and will only push away even a prospective customer who just wants to avoid going through a long, drawn-out process.

If you’re looking to use dropdown menus on the RFP, first identify the primary objective of the web page and why the visitor is there in the first place. For instance, if you’re making an RFP for a blog writing services page, you do not want to create an RFP that comes with a lengthy dropdown menu that’s filled with the other services you provide, with blog writing given somewhere in the middle.

The idea is to make the RFP forms you use as simple as possible for the visitors to fill and submit. Also, the positioning of the RFP form is another major factor in improving conversion rates. You will want to make sure the visitors to your website are greeted with an RFP form as soon as they reach your page (and don’t have to scroll down for it).

According to research, RFP forms are most effective when they are placed on the top half of a web page – preferably on the left-hand side. This is mostly where people look when they click on a website.

This doesn’t mean your RFP has to be boring. You can use A/B testing to play around with various color and font combinations until you find one that fits your website.

4. The checkout funnel

For a better conversion rate, you need to shorten the checkout funnel. We already know that the average load time of a website should not be more than two seconds. It has been found that conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second.

But, that’s just the time it should take for your website to appear out of nothingness on the user’s screen of choice.

The checkout funnel is the steps that every buyer has to take. It goes from getting on your product page to completing a paid transaction.

Needless to say, your visitors who have an intention to buy a product will want a simple in and out procedure that doesn’t waste their time. So, the shorter the checkout funnel is, the more likely it is to convert a potential buyer into a paying customer.

For improved website conversion, you need to keep the buying process as fluid as possible by requesting minimal information. Once they become a recurring customer, you can always ask them to subscribe to your newsletter, at which point, they’ll be glad to.

Ideally, this is what a checkout form should look like

1. Simple layout
2. Multiple payment options
3. No redirecting to another website to make the payment

5. Join the virtual assistant scene

Chatbots like Google Assistant are completely revolutionizing the way everyday business processes are carried out (on your website). One of the major reasons why chatbots, automated chat, or chat widgets have become an essential part of the ecommerce model is because they allow visitors to get the information they need on the fly. This is far more efficient than writing an email and waiting for days for a reply or even making a phone call, where the chances of anyone picking up normally depends on multiple factors.

Is this a chatbot?

Don’t know. It’s not that obvious. That’s the beauty of machine learning, AI, and content writing services. But, you get the point, which is, chatbots offer customers the information they need regardless of the time of day or holidays.

Chatbots are great for website conversion because they do not need lunch or bathroom breaks, or need to take the day off. This means your visitors get the information they are searching for in real-time, 24X7.

 This alone is enough to give your visitors a nudge in the right direction.

6. Guide visitors through the journey of becoming a chat qualified lead (CQL)

Now, let’s talk Turkey. You’re not just there to create an “amazing” customer experience. You need their money in your bank account.

A lead bot is a type of chatbot that is more focused on creating an amazing experience for your visitors by capturing the visitor’s intent, whether it’s on your web page or landing page. Lead bots use minimal questioning to lead the prospect gently down the funnel. In short, a lead bot separates the “I’m just window shopping” crowd from the CQL, aka “chat qualified lead”.

This is also where hiring content writing services can arm your lead bot with the answers to anticipated questions of prospective customers. Since content writing services have their finger on the pulse, when it comes to helping ecommerce websites drive sales, they know exactly what information your visitors are looking for. For those of you who think that chatbots are irrelevant to your business, take a look at the chart below.

Chances are, your average consumer loves to use chat services. So, why not use chatbots to get a conversation started on your website?

7. Wording and positioning of CTA

A call to action (CTA) that’s easily visible and easy to read prompts the visitor to take a particular action. Whether that’s to make a purchase or subscribe to your newsletter. This CTA needs to be clear in its intent.

Placement

The CTA needs to be placed at the top of the fold. This is the place where the visitor can easily read it without having to scroll down. CTA’s that are placed front and center are far more effective as compared to those that are below the fold.

Shape and color

The shape and color of the CTA also matter. For instance, in the name of consistency, many businesses make the mistake of designing their CTAs using the same color and font size as the rest of their website. This only blends the CTA in with the rest of the text on the page, making it even harder for it to catch the attention of your visitors.

Being benefit-centric

All too often, we read CTAs that are just poorly written. Bad copy is like putting a gun to the head of your website or landing page… and squeezing the trigger. Bad CTA copy looks something like “buy here”, “click here”, “download”. All of these CTAs do not perform well because they are vague and not action-oriented.

To encourage the visitor to take action, you need CTA copy that is benefit-centric, as in, offers the visitor something in return for their action, and not just a promise of what might happen. Now, take a look at the image above. Everything from the contact information, price, and a little quality assurance (awards and accolades) are clearly visible on the page. Note the multiple contact options.

8. Shoot straight. Always.

An important factor while building an ecommerce website is to remember that getting people to buy from you is all about creating trust. Think about it. You wouldn’t want to invest in a company if you didn’t know where it was based, nor would you lend money to a stranger.

For the customer, buying online is pretty much the same thing. They want reassurance. They want to know where you’re based, your authority in a niche, and even more importantly, that you’re not going to sell them a lemon. Since people tend to rationalize a purchase based on emotion, you need to make them remember that you’re a real person, and your website is legit.

The best way of doing that is by providing your contact information, whether it’s a physical address, phone number, or email address or all three. Your customers need to know that they will have somebody to talk to if there’s a problem. That’s their main concern. So, address it.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these tips should help you get off to a good start with your website conversation rate optimization. Since websites are created for different industries and along different verticals, you can always find ways of tweaking your landing pages and web pages for better conversion using the right combination of A/B testing, industry best practices, and professional content writing services.

Dave Brown is a writer, blogger, digital marketing strategist, and researcher. Having years of experience in the digital sphere, he now determines the content writing practices of his team of content writers at Content Development Pros. He remains passionate about debunking the myths and evolving his audience’s understanding of content creation that sells.