Conversion Rate Optimization (Source – CC0 License)
What is a conversion?
It’s a bit complicated to explain as it can mean lots of things. If someone visits your site and buys a product, then that’s a conversion. However, if they visit your site and fill in a form, then that can also be a conversion.
The technical definition is that a conversion is when a user completes a desired action. You decide what that action may be, but you want them to complete it. It’s important that your website has a high conversion rate as it shows you’re making the most out of all your traffic. Conversions can, directly and indirectly, lead to sales – which will increase your profits.
Surprisingly, boosting your website conversions isn’t that complex. Primarily, you should focus on these vital areas:
Website Design
Your website design is integral for conversion optimization. Consider this, will you stay on a website if it looks terrible? You won’t, and neither will other people. So, if your site doesn’t live up to the current standards, then you’ll miss out on conversions. The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is to work with a website design company. As a result, you will have a professional website that looks the part. Your traffic will be taken in by how it looks, which stops them from leaving. That’s the first task when improving your conversion rate; you have to keep people on your web pages!
User Experience
Following on from the visual design of your site, you need to look at how it’s set up for users. Is it easy for people to use your website? Do the pages load up instantly? Can people search for things? Do you have clear menus with lots of options? Are you linking to other pages within your content? Ask yourself all of these questions as they’ll help you create a site that’s more user-friendly. Thus, your traffic is likely to stay on your website for even longer, as it’s easy for them to use. The longer someone stays on your site, the easier it is to convince them to complete an action.
Call-To-Action
You’ll never see conversions without clear calls-to-action. In essence, this refers to something on your page that tells users to do something. As an example, a large button with ‘Click Here To Sign Up’ written on it. Buttons are usually the best call-to-actions around, but you can use other things as well. Don’t overdo it – too may call-to-actions can annoy users and force them away. The best practice is to have one at the top of a page, then one at the bottom. Make your call-to-action persuasive as well, show users what they will gain from completing the action. If you don’t have anything on your website like this, then you’ll never convert your traffic.
On a base level, conversion optimization is as easy as one, two, three. In practice, things can be a bit harder than that. It will take some time – and trial and error – before everything falls into place. But, if you want to start seeing improvements as quickly as possible, then these three areas are the best things to focus on.