Getting good traffic to your website is something we always appreciate and want for our business. In fact, most marketers are focused on generating traffic in the hope that the traffic will convert into leads.
However, if you are not making the most of this traffic – if you are visitors are not converting (whether your goal is to generate a sale, lead or sign up to your email newsletter) – all of that traffic serves no purpose and all that money you are spending is going to waste.
That’s where conversion rate optimisation (CRO) can help. In this guide, we share our top 9 conversion rate optimisation tips to help boost your sales and revenues.
Use Powerful Headlines
Headlines are usually the first thing visitors see after landing on a page/site. A headline is nothing but your sales message presented in a single, bold sentence. It should pique your visitors’ curiosity, solve a problem, answer a question or be instructional.
In the absence of a well-constructed headline, you risk losing a lot of prospective leads. Be sure to use any one of the following types of headlines for best results:
- Direct Headlines
- Command Headlines
- Question Headlines
- Instructional and How-to Headlines
- Problem Solving Headlines
Add a Pop-Up Banner to Your Website
If you thought pop-ups don’t have a place in digital marketing, think again. When done right, pop-ups can boost your conversion rates.
A study by Sumo found that the conversion rate for the top-performing pop-ups is 9.28%. Here are some things you can do to propel your conversion rates using pop-ups:
- Try different offers (premium content, different products, PDFs, or other freebies) until you land a winner.
- Make it easy for visitors to close the pop-up banner.
- Put a 30-second delay timer on your pop-up banners, to keep them from annoying visitors.
- Install cookies so the pop-up only appears for each user only once.
Add Social Proof
People want to do business with companies that others trust. If others are happy with your offerings, your visitors are more likely to convert.
More often than not, the most convincing of websites aren’t enough to convince people to make the final decision. By displaying other customers’ opinions about your brand and products/services, you can overcome their hesitation.
Social proof like reviews, testimonials and awards/accolades help put people at ease.
So be sure to add reviews, logos or testimonials on every critical page on your website.
Create a Sense of Urgency
The more time that people spend making a decision, the higher are the chances of them having a change of heart or getting distracted by other deals and offers.
When it comes to improving conversion rates, your goal should be to limit the time a visitor takes to make the decision of converting.
The idea is to create a sense of urgency.
One great way to accomplish this is to place a time limit on your offer. For instance, “Buy One, Get One Free – Only for the Next 24 Hours”.
Improve Page Load Time
Page load speed can have a direct impact on your website’s conversion rates.
Today’s consumers are impatient and distracted. They expect things to happen at the blink of a second, and if it does not, they are simply going to go back to the search results to find another website that does.
The quicker your website is, the better the conversions. Take a look at these numbers:
- 25% of visitors will abandon a site that takes any more than 4 seconds to load.
- A one-second delay in load speed can reduce conversion by 7%.
- Websites that load in 5 seconds (compared to sites that take 19 seconds to load) on average see 70% longer sessions.
One of the best ways to reduce your page load time is to use a fast hosting service. Other ideas include image optimisation, minification and data compression.
Add Live Chat
Some visitors are ready to buy but something is stopping them. They have a question or lingering doubt that keeps them from converting.
A live chat tool is an ideal way to help these visitors.
Live chat tools are very easy to add to any website and can have an instantaneous impact on your conversion rates.
Bolster Your CTA Copy
Generic CTA buttons like “Start Trial” or “Sign Up Now” won’t deliver the best conversion rates. Spend some time to improve your CTAs and see your conversions rise.
Your CTA should begin with the word “Yes.” It has an excellent impact psychologically as it shows the offer in a positive light. Here’s an example:
Yes, I want my 30-day FREE trial
So try this simple formula: Yes, I want [your offer]!
This is sure to deliver better results compared to a generic CTA button.
Make it Easy to Take the First Step
Humans are psychologically primed to finish things that they begin.
So when you are making an offer, ensure the first step is extremely easy to complete.
Instead of asking people to fill out a lengthy form, simply ask for their email address to get things started. You can provide the remainder of your form in step 2, hoping they will provide further information.
Even if they don’t you still have their email address.
The easier it is to take the first step, the higher are the chances of visitors taking the desired action and following through right to the end.
Simplify Your Navigation
Navigation is at the core of conversions. The direct traffic coming to your landing page is not the only traffic you must be paying attention to. In fact, the simpler the navigation is, the better it is for visitors all over your website to head back to the landing page and CTAs.
- Use inbound links in articles to improve traffic to the landing pages.
- Use directional text and arrows to direct people to CTAs.
- Create a customised menu that’s distinctive and features easy to understand navigation items.
Parting Thoughts
Conversion rate optimisation is a proactive process. These tips can go a long way in boosting your conversions. Need help designing a CRO strategy for your website? Contact Numero today!