6 Ways to Improve Your Website’s Conversion Rate

This article’s approach to the ever-shifting variable that is “Conversion Rate” is going to be addressed much in the way your site should be. That is, with: No fluff, No hype, With Transparency, and with a Clear and Pre-meditated Direction. To presume your potential customers won’t subconsciously detect a lack of confidence, passion, and direction on your behalf is a disservice to yourself. These subconscious signals trigger an intuition in most that will always triumph over an interest in your product and/or services. Your website may be creating an environment that harbours these signals without your knowing it. Realise, if you are concerned with conversion rate then you need to approach your website as a dialogue and not a billboard. Here are some tips to help you achieve this approach.

A/B Testing
This is perhaps the most obvious and common answer. There are plenty of websites and software that provide A/B testing services; making accessibility a non-issue. Just in case you aren’t aware of A/B Testing, basically you create two versions of a page (different wording, colors, fonts, etc.). The A/B testing splits the traffic between the pages so you can see the direct results of said differences. Do this often but do not become obsessed with it. Otherwise your site will come across as rigid and greedy; thereby losing the essential essences that are to come in the following tips.

Create A Flow
Literally. Map out ahead of time how you would prefer a “new click” to flow from your ‘Introduction’ to the ultimate point of your site. If there is no path for people to follow they will turn around and go back. Think of it this way, compare your experience with stores that are messy, disheveled, and with no clear direction or signage to those like Ikea where your experience is literally mapped out with the register being the last thing you see.

Awareness/Education
Teaching people, or offering honest information builds trust. This is because the very nature of education and information is transactional; thereby creating a relationship. Even if that relationship is superficial and short, it holds more evolutionary weight than mindless decisions. Since we are creatures that base our decisions on relatable interactions you need to provide these opportunities.

Create A Clear And Motivating Value Proposition
A Value Proposition is your primary reason a prospect should make your site’s desired action. This is where you point out the strengths of what you are offering. It is crucial to be honest with yourself, therefore the potential customer, and address your strengths with transparent comparative research. Have an accurate and adequate amount of information on your product or services. Customers not only want to know “What’s in it for me?” but “Why buy from you?”

Create A Dialog
With an in-person shopping experience addressing concerns and questions are easily alleviated. Whereas, when shopping online there is a partition of both physical and mental space. You need to find a way to bring this partition down. An example of this would be providing an opportunity for feedback. Provide proof in effectiveness of your product and/or services. Provide a channel for questions (email, Skype, phone calls) so that your website doesn’t become a one-sided vortex of greed. Instead, you want to create a forum of exchange and interaction between you and a potential customer. Again, create the potential for relationship.

Keep It Simple
Make it easy to reach your site’s desired action. If your site looks like the Vegas Strip, you’re on the wrong path. Remove distractions. That is to say, remove or minimise everything that is not relevant to users taking action. You can remove or shrink the menu. Get rid of sidebars and big headers. Remove irrelevant images and text. Do what you can to create a clean and focused path so that users do not become encumbered and confused. Remember, it doesn’t take much to motivate a user to go back. It takes a motivated design, clarity and focus to move them forward within your site. Give the world a reason to listen and the world will reason with you.