Website conversion rates are a hugely neglected area of online marketing. Many spend hours, days and months testing and optimising PPC campaigns but yet neglect the website. By making a few simple changes, the conversion rate can be improved considerably – in turn doubling the effectiveness of marketing strategies.
“Be clear about what the purpose of your website is. Focus on what you want your visitors to do – simple graphics can make a huge difference,” advises Waseem Saddique.
If the intention is to get people to buy a product then a simple ‘Order Today, Delivery Tomorrow’ graphic can attract the attention of viewer’s; in turn increasing conversion rate.
The inclusion of customer ratings on products can also considerably improve conversion rates. A study by Bass Pro Shops found that shoppers who browsed the site's new "Top Rated Products" page, which features products rated most highly by customers, had a 59% higher conversion rate than the site average and spent 16% more per order than other browsers of products. (Bass Pro Shops, June 2008)
How a website is written can drastically have an impact on website conversion. Waseem Saddique says: “Many don’t want to hear about your company. They want to hear what you can do for them. The word ‘you’ is a very powerful word in online marketing.”
May websites get people to sign up for newsletters but fail to tell them the benefits of signing up for the newsletters.
“Offer the client exclusive discounts, enter them into a competition. Give viewers a valuable reason to give you their email address.”
Once opened, companies spend a considerable amount of time and money telling people about what they do but then do not keep marketing consistent.
“You have to remember that a newer company will come along – and people will forget about what you do. Keep your company in their mind, this is important for when they next decide to purchase what you provide,” explains Waseem Saddique.
An e-commerce site could send out a promotional code via email offering a discount. This way when people decide to make a purchase they will instantly be reminded of the company.
Waseem adds: “Finally, pay attention to your conversion metrics, if your website is ranking number one for your top 3 keywords and are getting 20,000 visitors per month – this doesn’t matter if the conversion metrics aren’t adding up.”
