Every website in the world has a problem with conversions – yours included. Generating traffic is all well and good. If that traffic doesn’t convert, however, it’s of little value.
And the bad news is this: the average web conversion rate stands at 2%. The good news is that you can combat that low rate with the strategies below. Here are 50 web conversion tips that will help turn your traffic into takings.
Acquisition
1. Use reverse IP tracking
Want to know the identity of your website visitors? Reverse IP lookup software will tell you who is browsing, as they browse – so you can reach out immediately.
2. Create custom landing pages
For different user types, for different search terms and for different traffic sources. Your customers are looking for specific things, and they want to find them quickly.
3. Don’t direct ad traffic to your home page
Not to state the obvious, but those custom landing pages should correlate with your custom PPC campaigns. Sending users to the relevant place brings them closer to conversion.
4. Keep consistency
Across your ads, your landing pages and your main website. A disconnected look and feel leads to mentally disconnected visitors.
5. Use a heatmap tracking system
And start visualising precisely where your visitors are clicking (or not clicking). Don’t guess which parts of your pages are performant – see for yourself.
Imagery
6. No stock photos
Anywhere. Ever. Stock images instantly make your site look inauthentic, whereas real, quality photos instil trust.
7. Give a 360° view of the product
Show your product from different angles, let users zoom in to see detail, and use screenshots where relevant. A visitor won’t convert if they can’t see what they’re paying for.
8. Don’t stop at plain product images
Show the product actually in use, by a real person. If the visitor can see someone else using your product, they’ll imagine themselves using it too.
9. Include miniature thumbnails in carts
That way, you’ll give the customer a tangible reminder of what they’re buying, and reduce the risk of shopping cart abandonment in the process.
10. Match the imagery to the brand
Your brand is reinforced by the images that come with it. If your written content clashes with your visual content, you’re creating a confusing (and off-putting) experience.
Layout
11. Make your header super clear
Your value proposition must be easy to understand as soon as the visitor sees the space above the fold. Simplicity and clarity sell.
12. Don’t neglect your footer
It’s extra website real estate, and a perfect opportunity to promote your social profiles, share your contact details, and reinforce your call to action.
13. Keep it clutter-free
White space doesn’t have to be filled. If you cram your page with content, you’ll confuse your visitor and bury your CTA.
14. Stick to standard web features
Don’t overcomplicate. Users rely on consistent placement of conventional web features, like a company logo in the upper left corner of your site and a search box in the upper right.
15. Break up long chunks of text
Newsflash: visitors don’t read your web pages. They skim and scan. Make that easier for them by breaking up dense content with headers, images and bullets.
Design
16. Draw eyes to the CTA
Less is more. Have a single CTA (not multiple competing ones), make it stand out, and limit the number of available links and options.
17. Black text, white background
Black on white works. As well as being easy to read, it’s what our eyes are used to – both online and offline. Visitors don’t want to readjust for your site.
18. Stick to neutral colours
A neutral palette with small dashes of colour helps create a clean, elegant aesthetic. Oh, and avoid orange and brown (they’re by far the least popular web colours).
19. Use responsive design
This should go without saying, but a responsive design makes for a superior user experience. And of course, that translates into superior website conversions.
20. Don’t forget about buttons
When a visitor hovers over a “Submit” button, can you make it change colour, gradient, or opacity? The more appealing the button, the more clicks it generates.
Content
21. Focus on verbs
Not adjectives. Adjectives add fluff, verbs add import. Can you see how “Fast-track your conversions” trumps “Drive your conversions wayyyy faster”?
22. Cut the jargon
Overlong sentences are painful to read. So are ones distended with superfluously aggrandised words (like this one).
23. Second person, please
Emphasise “You / your”, not “We / our”. “We specialise in sales software that grows businesses” < “You’ll get specialist sales software to grow your business”.
24. Use video
96% of people say that videos help them make buying decisions online. To convince people to buy, show, don’t tell.
25. Avoid passive language
Always use active language like “Buy” or “Register”. Even better, use it alongside content that creates urgency, like “Only 2 hours left”.
CTAs
26. Test, test, test
A/B test your CTAs. Test the wording, the shape, the placement, the colour, the size… test everything and find out what performs best.
27. Don’t ask for too much
If a visitor has to fill out their name, address, job title, company, email, telephone number, mother’s maiden name and favourite Abba song just to submit a form, they won’t bother.
28. Be upfront
Your call to action should appear before any other buttons on the page. So, place it upfront and above the fold.
29. Make it pop
Always use alternate colours for your CTA buttons. Make it bright, make it stand out from the rest of your design, and make it unmissable.
30. Think about next steps
Great, a visitor has clicked your CTA. But what happens next? Make sure it’s a seamless, logical experience with a smooth flow.
A/B testing
31. A/A comes first
Before you begin A/B testing, you need to be sure that your software is working properly. So, start with an A/A test.
32. Always be testing
Seriously, always. Test everything, all the time. Without A/B testing results from real users, every design decision is ultimately just a hypothesis.
33. No detail too big
Step back from the trees and look at the wood. You can see dramatic conversion changes by testing the big things on your landing pages – like overall message, design and journey.
34. No detail too small
Apparently, Microsoft generated an additional $80 million in annual revenue just by testing and implementing a specific shade of blue. Test right down to granular detail.
35. Check your site search data
What are visitors trying to find on your website? If ‘pricing’ is constantly being searched for, your pricing section isn’t prominent enough.
User experience
36. Cull registrations
Nobody wants to be forced to create an account just to complete an order. It’s a stumbling block that loses custom.
37. Keep journeys short and sweet
Your site shouldn’t be a maze. If the visitor can’t find what they’re looking for in 3 clicks or less, their journey is too long.
38. Make your site searchable
Navigation is easier with search. Your search field should look like a text box on a desktop, or a search icon on a mobile.
39. Be transparent with site location
Use breadcrumbs. Consider sticky menus. And if you have a long checkout process, show a progress indicator. Users should always know precisely where they are on your site.
40. Keep readability in mind
CAPS ARE HARDER TO READ. So are italics. So are Confusing Uses of Capitalisation. You’ll struggle to sell if users struggle to digest your content.
Personalised engagement
41. Incorporate live chat
You can’t give customer care if you’re not there. To offer instant support to visitors as they browse, you need live chat.
42. Display targeted banners
Tracking software can tell you things like visitor location, traffic source, and number of previous site visits. Use this data to display targeted panels, relevant to the user.
43. Show timely, appropriate pop ups
Visitor just finished reading a long blog article? Now’s the time to trigger a pop-up recommending similar content or asking for a newsletter subscription.
44. Surface relevant reviews
Good customer feedback is more convincing than all your clever content. So, when a user clicks on a specific product, dynamically surface its best reviews.
45. Reveal visitor information
Such as how many customers have purchased the product being browsed, and how many other visitors are currently looking at the same product.
General web conversion tips
46. Spread out your testimonials
Don’t make the mistake of lumping them all on one page. Instead, use them in relevant places across your site to reinforce trust.
47. One page, one goal
Each page of your website should be designed with a single goal in mind – not with many. Focus your content and your CTA on that one goal, and make it plain at a glance.
48. Add a review / rating system
To generate more feedback, and to engage more users. Consider offering a small discount or a reward for completing a review.
49. Sell a solution, not a feature
Nobody cares about what features your product has. They only care about how it’s going to help solve their problems.
50. Emphasise authenticity
By placing logos of your prominent customers on your home page, showcasing the recognisable publications you’ve featured in, and the awards you’ve won.
Wrap up
Conquering conversions is no mean feat. But putting these web conversion tips into practice will help you begin, monetising your website and capturing those potential ecommerce customers.
Remember, if you have 2% conversion, just boosting that to 3% is a 50% uplift in results…
Useful links
Converting your online window shoppers
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