Looking to boost conversion rates? Along with funnel tracking and A/B testing tactics, there are a number of ways you can improve your website conversions, which will go a long way towards improving sales and reducing bounce rate, among other benefits.
1. Appeal to Emotions
Most people buy due to emotional reasons. If the company leaves them feeling in just the right way, the consumer is much more likely to take whatever action they’re requesting. You can also use images in this way; using positive images helps elicit positive emotions in a visitor, whether it’s a photo of someone smiling or making a positive gesture.
It’s not a trick; your customers are aware of what you’re attempting to do. Still, nothing gets better results than ensuring your customers are feeling good and wanted, and that you’re delivering a message on par with how they feel. It’s a powerful technique to leverage emotion, but you’ll need to do it right.
2. Mascots Can Help
Chances are you’ve visited a website lately that features a digitally drawn mascot as the face of the company. Website mascots are becoming more popular to help assist with branding and to boost conversion rates. They bond with visitors and develop a reputable image with the brand. Specifically:
- Mascots help establish a marketing motif
- Mascots help invoke an emotional response
- Mascots are more memorable
Mascots are on websites everywhere–and most of these sites are successful. Compared to how many new conversions you’re potentially missing out on, it’s really inexpensive to get a professional drawing completed for your site. There are an abundance of creative designers ready to work out there.
3. Get out of the Box
It’s easy to follow a formula and ride the waves of chance and competition, but today’s technology gives you the chance to think outside the box. Leverage the tools at your disposal and allow yourself to run wherever your imagination takes you. People have seen it all–they want something new and different to capture their attention.
The very nature of having a feature that stands out will help make you memorable. Just be sure whatever you’re adding when making your site also brings value and isn’t merely eye candy–consumers also desire simplicity and easy accessibility, not clutter.
4. Show Proof
Think about why commercials on television are successful. Namely, the people shown during the commercial tend to discuss their positive experiences with a product, explaining how much they love it. They offer all the praise in the world, and it drives consumers to seek out the product. So why is it successful?
Everyone wants a third opinion on a product before committing to the purchase. They don’t want to risk losing their money on something they’re not going to want anymore. They want validation that assures them it’s worth going for and that purchasing the product is the right decision. The more people that express their positive experiences with a product, the surer that consumer will feel.
Your conversion is certain to grow if your website displays happy photos of real customers. This is one of those tactics that isn’t going to change, so it’s best to get on the train. Include a sprinkling of legitimate testimonials and reviews, and you’ll note that your conversion rate will certainly improve.
5. Remember, It’s Them–Not You
Almost no customer visits a website with much interest in what a company is selling. More specifically, they’re looking for something that will answer their question or solve their problem. They’re searching for their own benefit, so you will need to address this question the moment they land on your page.
Show your customers that they’re headed toward the right place. Explain how they’re going to benefit from the product or service in question, and show them how others have already benefited in the past. People will like you more if you’ve already helped people and display a desire to help them.
6. Track Conversion Rates
It might seem obvious, but you can’t improve what isn’t tracked. For best results, it’s good to track rates at their daily and monthly rates. The daily rate allows you to fix immediate, short-term problems, such as a slow-loading website. The monthly rate will reflect how well your marketing strategies are going.
Bonus Tip: Focus on the Whole Picture
As useful a metric as it may be, the conversion rate isn’t worth your entire focus. It’s just a percentage that tells you how many people performed a particular action out of the pool of visitors who were all on the website and given the choice to take that action.
While it’s true that 20 percent is better than 10 percent, it’s possible that you’re receiving better revenue with the 10 percent rate when considering how much each user is spending in total. Besides that, not all users arrive to purchase; others want contact information or want to know your hours of operation. Others still might be reading the company blog!
Additionally, conversion rates alone don’t consider how much time is spent on each page, how many pages were visited or how regularly the user engages with your site. These three behaviors are critical to improving brand sentiment and affinity, which can later result in conversions in the long-term. In other words, while conversion rates are important, you don’t want to develop myopia for them.
By understanding that conversion rates vary across each potential source channel, and by following these six smart tips, you should have no trouble increasing your website conversion rates. Be sure to start tracking this and other related metrics today to figure out where your strategy can be improved.