With over 24 million e-commerce sites around the world and 26,500 new ones joining the list on a daily basis, where does your site stands in the crowd? If this question makes you curious, then this article will probably cure your key concerns- provided you don’t just read but act on the words. What you are about to explore is a well laid-out roadmap to optimize your site for more conversions.
You actually need a scientific approach towards increasing the conversion rate of your website.
Define your Unique Value Proposition
Start by building a clear brand UVP in visitors’ mind that will help them to quickly connect with your business. Use compact and definite language to describe what exactly you have to offer and how will it benefits the customers. How precisely you convey the message determines how deeply it will influence the visitors’ mind. Avoid stop words as much as possible and use power words to build a solid image of your brand.
Instead of creating long-winded paragraphs, just pitch your idea in 3-4 sentences. Flow matters a lot. Start with the challenge statement, i.e., the key challenge of your customers. Then mention how it is affecting their life or business. The last part should be the solution that you are offering and how will it help them overcome the challenge.
Craft headlines that convert
Headlines are among the first things that captures the visitors’ attention. Most visitors quickly scan through your headlines to decide if they might be interested in your products or not. So, create impressive headlines that resonate with the visitors’ intent. You might need A/B testing to optimize the headlines for best results.
Headlines take just a few seconds to shape the visitors’ decision to either continue with the site or hit the back/close button. Your objective is to pack maximum value to those few seconds so that your site stands second to none.
Mix and match:
Perfect headlines seldom come as a flash inspiration. So, be ready to spend time on improvisation. Create different copies, mix and match them, reduce the stop words and juxtapose some words/phrases here and there to finally come up with the headlines that convert.
Answer questions:
What your visitors are looking for? How can you tempt visitors to read the entire text and prompt them to act on that? Are you focusing on current industry trends or concentrating only on individual concerns of the visitors? Replying to such questions will allow you to create attractive headlines.
Show Benefits:
Don’t forget that customers are selling you their time and attention. Before that they first want to confirm what they will get in the return. So, concentrate on the benefits of your audiences rather than what you have to sell. A good headline is the one that tells about the definite incentives for reading the rest of the text.
Steps to create compelling headlines
Start by defining your goals and what would be the best way to communicate them with your target audiences. Target the relevant concerns/emotions of your readers. Incur rest of your efforts to prepare a headline that builds a natural bond between users’ concerns and your goals and presents it in an emotionally persuading manner.
- Prepare an outline- a more detailed text of what you have to offer. It will act as a solid foundation for your headline.
- Shortlist the key deliverables of the text and highlight the single most important reward to give an irresistible appeal to your headline.
- Include the readers’ challenge or your solution/product into your headline. If possible use both of them together.
- Write clear-cut headline with dominant words and a authoritative language and minimum stop words
- Now and then (but not too often), experiment with some ultra-eccentric headline that can bring back the roving eyes and compel people to read further. Humans have the propensity to pay attention to odd things even if they aren’t fully convinced.
- Having said that, there is no 100% sureshot formula to create headline that will definitely convert. So, keep on monitoring your CTR and updating your headlines to multiply impact.
Overhaul the design and text of Call-To-Action (CTA) buttons
The USP of a CTA is its sharp impact and fresh appeal. However, the time and repetition blunts its impact and make them lose their edge. So, keep on testing and experimenting with different designs, interaction and text.
Don’t Steal: Drawing inspiration from the comeptiting sites can guide your efforts in the right way but avoid copying or simple rephrasing as it will defeat the very objective of your CTA, i.e., the unique appeal.
Don’t Repeat: Repeating the same CTA for every product or page will end up giving it a generic appeal and it fails to capture the users’ attention. So, create unique and impressive CTAs for every product and page.
Revamp the offers more often: It is easier to persuade the past clients or regular audiences to act on promotional CTAs. So, along with CTA presentation also consider revamping the promo offer every fortnight to maintain the curiosity of regular/repeated visitors.
Replace generic text with action words: Consider replacing generic button text like “Register” or “Submit” with reward-oriented words like “Start Saving” or “Yes I want to enjoy 50% off”
Be specific: Shopper are more likely to complete the order if your clearly guide them and CTAs play an important role in this strategy. Use words that focus on the desired action or expected benefit. For instance “Add to the cart” sounds very generic but “Enjoy full service at half the price”, “Make the Purchase” or “Complete the order” clearly mention the benefit, action or even guide the visitors.
Create lean and straightforward forms
Lengthy forms with overflowing fields intimidate and frustrate the audiences. The net audiences don’t have the time or patience to fill up 20-25 different fields. Also they start growing cautious when asked to share more than basic information. It takes a lot to make visitor click on the sign up form and you risk wasting all your efforts if your form is lengthy and complex.
Don’t force the “King”: Sign up decision should be optional- never mandatory. Some websites need their visitors to sign up before they continue with the shopping process. Customer is the king and acts like a king too- you simply can’t force them to do something.
Avoid asking sensitive info: Keep your form shorter and add only the most essential fields. As far as possible avoid asking sensitive information or the data that visitors aren’t comfortable to share like credit card number or social security number. While creating the form fields, answer this question: Is there any prompt, solid reason to request this info? If you say “No”, then avoid adding that field.
Keep forms in the first fold: How quickly visitors can discover your form also affects the response rate. Make sure that the visitors can immediately see your form as they visit the webpage. Many people don’t bother to scroll past the first fold, so always place the form in the first fold at an eye-friendly position.
Avoid CAPTCHA if possible: CAPTCHA can act as an unnecessary barrier for the sites that aren’t targeted by spammers. It may also interrupt the form submission process. So, add CAPTCHA only if you have a justifiable reason to use it
Keep your form short and simple
Making your forms simpler and straightforward can multiply the conversion rate. If you need more specific information of the client then consider dividing the things strategically between an initial form and subsequent communication (like mail, chat or call). For instance, if you want to know the major IT security concerns of the prospects before pitching them about your Cyber IT solutions, then consider collecting only the mail address, business type and interest for specific
IT security concerns. It will allow you to send another mail asking more details about the challenges they are facing or the products that they seek to fill in the security gaps. One of the valid concerns of many businesses- especially those eyeing the niche audiences, is that short and basic forms creates lots of guesswork which delays the process and affect the ultimate RoI of their efforts. If that’s the case with you then try A/B testing to determine the ideal length of the form and the type of fields you should include into it.
Cleverly customize your Ad choices for optimum experience and revenue
The websites and WordPress blogs that earn a part of their income through advertising need to focus on the volume, formats and types of their advertisements. You risk irritating your audiences by showing them a chaotic traffic of irrelevant ads. The design of the ads is equally important. A beautiful design attracts the attention and may persuade the audiences to engage with the ads- which increase your ad revenue.
Avoid placing banner ads: Banners annoy the users and also disturbs the visual experience. So instead of that you can use contextual in-text ads that don’t interrupt the reading experience and also hike the chances of clicks
Experiment with Background ads: If you wish to earn good ad revenue without compromising on the user experience then think about Background Ads. These ads enjoy a great popularity and also offer a premium ad income
Use social media as your business booster
Today, almost all the digitally aware businesses have a social media account as a part of their best business SEO practices. However, what really matters is how effectively you use social media’s power to connect with the targeted audiences and reach your goals. You need a definite route map and strategy to get the maximum benefit out of your social media efforts.
Value- and not volume, matters: Many businesses confuse volume with intensity. Having tons of accounts across different social media platforms won’t guarantee a boost in the business. What really matters is how actively you connect with your audiences and influence their decisions in a positive way.
Narrow down your focus: It can be overwhelming to connect with the audiences of all types at the same level. Narrowing down the focus to the specific groups of audiences to make things faster and simpler. Your objective is to create a definite and enduring equation between your brand and the targeted demographics.
Create Videos: Create compelling explainer or tutorial videos in simple languages if you deal in a niche B2B product. YouTube is the best way to connect to your targeted audiences through videos.
You can also create promotional videos to promote your brands and products, all you need to do is find the best promo video templates online, customize them as your requirements, and afterwards post them on all social media platforms to promote your product and business.
Use Pictures: If you are dealing in a lifestyle related business like interior decoration or fashion apparels or another industry where designs and beauty are a prominent part then use Pinterest, Instagram or other picture platform to share impressive photos or creating visual stories
Facebook- the most flexible yet effective marketing channel:
While other networks have a definite format and targeted audiences, the Facebook has a democratic approach. You can use it for selling any B2B or B2C product. Of course you need a different approach to market your product. B2B products are best marketed inside the relevant niche groups while B2C products can be sold using popular approach like facebook ads, daily publishing, public interaction and conversation on trending topics etc.
It is also a wise strategy to use facebook as a part of your customer assistance and feedback strategy. Actively interact with your customers and answer every comment or query. It can considerably help you in branding, marketing and sales.