How To Increase Website Conversion Rates. Website Conversion Tips and Strategies.

Any business will understand the difficulty of generating leads from your website. In B2B industries the cost of a PPC visitor can easily exceed $10 per click, which can add up to a large expense quickly.

And whether you use PPC or some other method to attract site visitors, all forms of marketing incur a cost. To maximize the value of your marketing investment you need a high percentage of visitors to take action on your website. Following strategies will help you improve conversion rates on your website.

Make It Clear

Consider the times you have filled in an online form with your personal details. How did you feel about providing your name, phone number, and email address?

When we complete a detailed form we incur a cost. We know our information is going to be used in some way, but we aren’t sure exactly how. Will we be added to a mailing list? Or will my phone ring with an aggressive sales pitch? The lack of clarity about what is going to happen next can deter people from taking action.

There are ways to reduce this friction (ie social signals). But in the end visitors will only act if they believe the value they are going to receive will outweigh the cost of providing personal information.

 Offer Something They Can’t Refuse

Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Ask yourself, what’s in it for me? What would compel you to take action? What would make you curious to know more? What messaging would make your skeptical self willing to to take a chance on filling out the form?

The answer is an offer you can’t refuse! {Optional homework: Watch the Godfather}.

A compelling conversion rate optimization strategy may include following:

Provide a Bonus

Providing a tool or content the visitor needs to achieve their goals works well. Someone learning about marketing tactics might download a white paper or an ebook with the exact steps required to set up a cold email program.

Reduce Risk and Make It Irresistible

Reducing or eliminating client risk is hard, but not impossible. And for the prospective client, it’s very appealing. Imagine you want to buy a $1000 watch online, but you aren’t familiar with the seller. In this case, you might not be willing to take the risk. But if their terms of business included “Cash on Delivery” then buying became much easier.

The same principle applies in service businesses but can be a bit harder. A personal accounting example might be, “pay nothing if we don’t reduce your tax bill by $200 or more”.

Focus on Content

Sometimes just providing information is enough for visitors to act. In the ‘information age’ buyers do extensive research before they begin sales discussions. By providing the information you make your solution a ‘known’ quantity. If a buyer sees your solution matches their expectations then they don’t need to contact your competitors.

Specialize

How do you show you are different than your competitors? It’s not always easy, but developing a narrow specialization can help. An accountant who works exclusively with doctors will have credibility with health professionals.

Loss Leader

In retail, a loss leader is a product sold at a loss to bring in new customers. Your local supermarket might sell milk below cost because they know you’ll probably do the rest of your shopping in the store. The same principle can applies to some service industries. Solutions that have a high, long-term lifetime value, are perfect for offering a loss leader.

Be Empathetic (And Skeptical)

Put yourself in the position of your ideal client. Why should they believe you are credible? If you were them, what would move you to take action?

Consider the following example:

“Personal accounting begins and ends with customer service. Contact us today”

vs

“Pay nothing if we don’t reduce your tax bill by $200 or more. Valid until April 1st.”

Which one would you be more likely to act on? More people would probable act on the second offer. The value provided is specific and there is a time constraint.

Increasing Website Conversion Rates Is Worth The Effort

Bringing qualified visitors to your website isn’t cheap. Regardless of how you get them there, it costs money. And the health of your business requires you to achieve a high ROI on your marketing spend.

Consider the cost of a competitive search term. The cost per click might be $10 and 3% of visitors convert to leads. In this case your cost per lead is $333. But if your conversion rate is 10% then your cost per lead drops to $100.

In the example above the difference in conversion rate is the line between success and failure of your business. Knowing why visitors will take action will help you bridge the gap between an ineffective message and one that brings in business.

Author: Matthew Murray is the Managing Director of Notable a B2B lead generation provider in Singapore. Notable helps companies connect with prospective clients looking for their services.

Infographic: Reduce Website Bounce Rate & Increase Conversion