Convert Website Visitors
Building a website is a challenging process. So often we get caught up in all the technical side of things like registering domains, structuring the site and adding in your products. (If you want to know more about this I’ve gone into detail on my blog post 8 Steps to Creating your Ideal Website).
But to create a truly effective website – one that converts, you need to go beyond just the technical. You need to look at the experience as a whole.
Here are 5 suggestions that you can implement on your site today to help improve your website conversion rate (along with a free checklist, no email address required to look through before you hit “publish”)
Convert website visitors strategy no. 1: Consistent, Expressive Branding
One of the best ways to make people want to engage with you and your business is to make a connection. The best way to do this is through your brand.
I’m not just talking about the logo and imagery. It’s the feeling people get when they encounter you.
The best websites give an instant vibe. A personality. A style. Something that breaks through the crowd and makes them stand out.
Stop and think for a minute: What do you want people to feel about your business when they first encounter you? Is it a feeling of calm and serenity? Or of fun and vibrancy? Or or elegance and beauty?
Then try your best to express this in both your imagery and your words. What colours bring about that feeling? What fonts? What photos and graphics? How much white space do you need to create? When you talk about your business and what you can do for someone, do those words bring about the feeling you need to convey?
Once you figure that out, go through your site and make these fixes. Make sure you are consistent throughout, so that each time someone clicks from one page to the next they are reminded of this feeling and personality.
If you need a little more guidance on this point, I go into this a lot deeper in my post “10 Steps to DIY Your Brand“.
Convert website visitors strategy no. 2: Tell your Story
So many times I go to websites and they just go straight into the sell. You have a logo, a menu and then a list of products. Maybe a few pictures thrown in as well.
But what if this was the first time I’ve encountered your brand? What should I know about you? What makes you and your products or services unique and interesting? Do you understand me? This is another way to make a connection and make potential customers want to read on.
You can do this in a number of ways:
- A well-crafted Tagline
- A catchy header image or slider with text overlay
- A short intro statement or paragraph.
Don’t be scared to make the text bold or in another colour for your key points.
This doesn’t just cover the home page. Do this across all your key product & services pages and your “landing pages” (more on those in a moment). Even if it’s just a line or two, it will help visitors to understand what makes you, you.
Another way is to create an “About” page. Many people avoid this because they don’t like talking about themselves, but you’d be surprised how often, especially in small business, people want to know your story. The about page is your chance to tell this story in a way that goes deeper than your quick statements on the other pages.
Convert website visitors strategy no. 3: Create Landing Pages
A landing page is any page on your website where a new visitor might visit first. Your home page is normally your number one landing page but you don’t need to (and shouldn’t) stop there.
Have a think about what someone would type into Google if they were looking for your product or service? Is it just the product or category itself? Is it the location? Or is it a problem they want to solve (e.g. how do I do X)?
Choose the top few keywords and create landing pages around those terms. These could double-up with existing product pages or could be completely new ones.
You could choose to include the pages in your menu or you might choose to leave them just for this purpose.
The key here is to design these pages around those keywords. Use the words in your URL, your meta description, your page title, your header, in your text and in the alt text for your images. Without going overboard of course… you still want to stay true to your brand and your story.
Convert website visitors strategy no. 4: Always have a Next Step for them to Follow
Another aim of your website is to have people stay on your site as long as possible. So you want to make this easy for them.
There are a number of ways to do this:
- Include Hyperlinks within your text that connect to other areas of your site. This also helps SEO. Bonus Tip: Give these another colour so they stand out.
- At the end of every page or post, include a link for something else they might be interested in.
- Create great images or graphics that prompt them to click onto something else or a special promotion you are offering.
- Make your menu easy to navigate, and even appear as they scroll down the page.
- Make your “Call to Action” really stand out. This can be your email opt-in , your contact or your visit my store.
On the flip side of this make sure any links you have that go to external websites, open in a new tab or window. This even includes your social media accounts. The idea is you don’t want someone to happen to leave your site until they make the decision to do so by clicking the x or typing in a URL to go to a new site.
Convert website visitors strategy no. 5: Catch the “Maybe Later” Crowd
How many people visit your website and purchase immediately? You could be lucky and have a high percentage (in which case you must be doing the previous steps pretty well… keep it up!). But there is always the group that thinks “this is great” or “I Love This” but don’t purchase then and there. Maybe it’s because they want time to think about it or they might think that that will be great for someone’s birthday present in a few months time.
Just because they aren’t ready to buy right in that moment, you want to make sure you stay in their minds.
There are two main ways to do this: Getting them to follow you on social media and getting them to sign up to your email list.
While following you on social media is a great way to keep them reminded (and you should definitely still point them to your links), you cannot guarantee that they will see your stuff. The various platforms have a habit of changing their algorithms that make it harder and harder for businesses to be seen (without paying for advertising). So unless you can get them to engage with you consistently on those platforms, you might rarely be seen.
Email Lists are a different story. You will always own your list. And while you can’t always guarantee that people will open or stay subscribed, you can send what you like and at least they’ll have the option to see it.
The trick here to have a really enticing offer for them to sign up to your list. Because of the digital overwhelm these days, no one wants to “subscribe to a newsletter” unless they REALLY love you. Instead offer a great freebie opt-in. A free e-book or checklist or article. Something your target market is interested in but isn’t a direct sales push of your products.
Next, keep your emails interesting. Don’t do them toooften and don’t only include promotions or news about yourself. Share more about what they are interested in so that you provide even more value. Give them something they can’t get anywhere else. Then in the occasional email send out your special offers or include a little bit at the end about your latest products.
By adding just one of those above practices into your website, you should see a significant improvement. But combined they are even more powerful.
What do you find converts the most visitors on your site? I’d love to hear it in the comments below.
Still Looking for Some More Help?
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if your own website is truly reaching it’s potential. Kind of like how you can spot spelling mistakes in other people’s writing but not in the post you’ve been writing and have proof read 5 times.
So that is why I have now released my “Website & Marketing Checkup” service. For those of you who don’t want full on one-on-one coaching but still want that pointer in the right direction. My checkups include a full review on your website & key social media platforms and you will receive a comprehensive report with specific action points for you to take.
