101 steps to higher conversion rates -- (tips #11 - #20)

Commercial websites typically have a conversion rate between 1% and 3%. That means that for every 100 visitors to the site, between 1 and 3 of them become paying customers.

You can see the benefit of increasing that percentage! Here are several tips to help you increase the number of website browsers who become buyers:

11. Make your site useful to your visitors. The one thing that all people online have in common is that they are looking for information – after all it is the “Information Superhighway”. So give your visitors what they want and in the process educate them about your industry, your business and your specific offer. If your potential customers become educated about what you do and how it benefits them, they will remember you over your competition when they’re ready to buy.

12. Add a search feature if you have a lot of information. The easier you can make it for visitors to find information that is of interest to them, the longer they will stay on your site. Obviously you don't need a search feature if your site only has a few pages, but if you offer a lot of information you should definitely consider adding a site search feature. You can get a powerful one free from Atomz.

13. Open any external links in a new browser window. This includes all links to external sites such as recommended resources and sites owned by people who gave you testimonials. Otherwise you run the risk of sending your visitors to another site and never having them return. To open a page in a new window adapt this HTML code to include your link information:
Your Link Text Here

14. Be consistent with your marketing message. Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of Guerilla Marketing says that once you get bored of your marketing materials, that’s the point at which they start working. Consistency is equally as important on your web site. People don’t like change. If you change your site every time visitors come they’ll be confused and less likely to make a decision to buy.

15. Make your site interactive. People remember only 10% of what they read. People remember only 20% of what they hear. But people remember 50% of what they both read and hear! It has been found that audio increases the website viewers attention span by 45%. Get creative in how you use interactivity on your site. It can be an audio sales message from you, audio testimonials and even something more interactive like a site demo done in Flash. Use your imagination! To add audio to your website checkout the full service solution Audio Generator or the less expensive option Sonic Memo.

16. Personalize your site to make returning customers feel special. You’ve probably heard before that personalizing email can dramatically increase readership - well the same is true for websites. The simplest form of personalization is to include the potential customers name dynamically on your site. Check out the free Sales Doubler application to use this technique on your site. Another option is to use cookies that remember customer information including their name, contact information, recent purchases, past purchases, hometown or region name and even services that are about to expire or products that it’s time to reorder. You can also personalize your site by creating a members area. This makes people feel special and ensures you get their contact information to follow up with them and sell them your products and services. The key to effective personalization is to use it to make your customer’s experience on your site better and show them your dedication to customer satisfaction. Customers love nothing more than to be remembered!

17. Use popups properly. No matter how you personally feel about them, test after test has proven that popups work. The key is making a powerful offer that your prospects can’t refuse. To avoid having your popups blocked use a “hover ad” or “popover” which can’t be detected by popup blockers. A free online service for generating popups is the JK Popup Window Generator. For popovers check out the free Pop-In Builder.

18. Be careful including “coupon” or “discount code” boxes on your order page. Prospects getting ready to place an order will assume they can get a discount if they find out how to get one of your coupons or discount codes. Once they leave your site thinking they’ll “search later for how to get a discount” you’ve most likely lost them for good. If you offer discounts to certain customers create a separate order form for them.

19. Use audio on your website to sell. If your site’s purpose is to sell a product or service, EVERYTHING on your site should be used for selling – including audio. Instead of an audio introduction from you like many sites have added recently, create a powerful 30 second commercial that tells people what you offer, the major benefits of purchasing from you and/or why you’re better than your competitors. You don’t have to use a hard sell approach. Keep it conversational and show your enthusiasm – but make sure they’re given information that takes them one step closer to buying!

20. Don’t forget “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In other words, if you track your site and it’s generating a decent conversion rate, don’t do a huge overhaul. Instead focus on testing individual site components to steadily increase your conversion rate.

Hopefully these tips have given you some clear actions you can take to improve your site’s conversion rate. The key is to always be working on it and over time you’re guaranteed to see great progress.

Best Regards,

Matt LaClear
517-993-8611 -- direct
www.onlinegoldtraining.com