5 Ways To Improve Your Conversion Rate

A website isn’t just a brochure that happens to be online, it has a job to do. In fact, websites need to deliver in several key areas. The success of your website will always be measured in conversions even if it doesn’t use obvious conversion markers.

Without traffic, there can be no conversion. But even with all the traffic in the world, your site may still be unsuccessful or not performing to its full potential. So the question is; how do we get users to take actions that we want them to take?

What is a Conversion?

A conversion is an action that a user takes when they visit your website. A high conversion rate is always what we should aim for, and this can be achieved by tweaking many factors, but overall, the conversion rate is determined by user experience. A user’s experience of your website starts the minute they click the link to your website or type in your URL in their search bar. Your website will be built to guide your users on their journey and will ideally lead them to convert quickly and easily.

5 Ways to Improve Conversion Rates

1. Website speed

Did you know that 40% of users abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load?

User attention is very short and online competition is fierce, so any seconds that delay your customer from finding what they need will hinder your conversion rate performance. 

Your website is competing against so many things including all the other tabs your user has opened, other devices that they are using at the same time and a barrage of other apps, conversation and other online activity. If they can’t get to your site quickly, then they will bounce and look for what they need elsewhere! So, your website’s first indicator for conversion success is how many users it keeps on each page, long enough for them to read your content.

In short, optimize website speed to decrease the bounce rate on your pages. This is an essential first step in improving the customer journey on your site.

2. User-Friendly

Your website should be user-friendly and easy to use. Your potential customers will leave immediately if they are confused or irritated in any way by a confusing site! They will also abandon your site if it isn’t immediately obvious that they will get what they need right then and there. So make sure that your site is clear about what it offers and conveys your ability to service your customer.

3. Make users stay put!

Ensure that the clicks your customer makes are encouraging them to progress along the user journey on your site. That means they are going deeper into the site, exploring relevant pages and items, adding things to cart (if applicable), sending online forms, engaging with chat or any forms of contact. In other ways, make your site engaging and worth using.

44% of users say that Live Chat with a real person helps them to convert online. Knowing this, we can deduce that engagement is highly beneficial in helping users stay on their user journey.

Another thing to note is that while external links are important and can be beneficial for user engagement, you don’t want them to get too distracted and always want them to come back!

Tip: locate your social icons at the bottom of the pages (they’re important, but not as important as your site content).

4. Remember the 3 steps to the conversion rule

Whether you are selling wholesale rhinestones or expensive software, the journey to conversions should be three steps long; give customers the solution they are looking for, help customers trust you, tell customers what to do.

Give Customers Solutions: Answer their questions and address their concerns. Clearly state and illustrate the benefits of your solution. You also want to give them a reason to stay because the longer they stay, the more time you have to help them convert. The user has come to you looking for an answer, don’t be shy and make sure they know you have what they need!

Build Trust: Include evidence to support all your claims like stats, endorsements, case studies, testimonials and reviews. Show client names and logos as well as affiliations, memberships and trade associations. Most importantly, ensure that you carry out your promises and do your job well in order to truly build trust and relationships with your customers.

Tell Customers What To Do: Incorporate a clear call to action throughout your site and be specific with them. Make it easy for your customers to understand them and use them.

5. Measure Conversions

Whether your website exists for lead generation or for online sales, the first step is to install conversion tracking and analytics. As the saying goes, you can’t improve what you can’t measure. Measuring your website’s performance will show you which areas need to be improved. Without data, you could break things that you didn’t know were previously working! In fact, 42% of B2B marketers say that their lead generation is hindered because they lack data behind their work. If you need help with installing conversion tracking and analytics tools, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Where To From Here?

A website should never be built and left alone. Constant improvement is always required in order to achieve better conversion rates. Your ongoing work will be informed by your analytics, which in turn is informed by changes in online trends and customer behaviour. Use this checklist to see where you can improve your website’s conversion rates:

1. Does your website take less than 3 seconds to load?
2. Can you tell at a glance what your website is about?
3. Does your website answer your visitor’s top questions quickly and clearly?
4. Does your website illustrate trustworthiness?
5. Does your website have a clear and compelling call to action?
6. Does your website make conversion easy – for example, is there Live Chat or a lead generation contact form?
7. Is your website measuring conversions?

Arcadian Digital can assist you to understand your conversion data and adjust your website to optimize your conversion rates, no matter where you are in your marketing journey. Contact us to get in touch with our friendly staff for more information.