If you had to guess how many articles are written each week about SEO and driving traffic to your website, what number would you throw out? A crazy one, probably.
But what if the challenge you’re facing isn’t getting traffic to your website, but actually converting that traffic once they’re there?
Okay, so you have a ton of traffic coming to your site, but once people get there, they don’t DO anything. Conversions are tricky, especially on a website. You can’t even use your slick sales-y skills to persuade your potential customers into pulling the trigger and buying.
Check this out: I’m going to skip over all that SEO and driving traffic to your website stuff, and I’m going to throw out a few suggestions for things you can do to convert website visitors into paying customers. Here is goes.
The copy on your website matters
Every page on your site should have a precise and clear message. For example, your About page should be a place where people can connect with you and your business. This is not a place to try and sell to your audience. This is a place to tell them about what your business does, why it’s different from any other business, and how you will help them.
Also, I don’t need to tell you how important your Sales and Opt-in pages are. The smallest tweak on a Sales or Opt-in page can mean the difference between someone signing up (or purchasing your product or service) or not.
For example, if the copy on your Sales page doesn’t clearly explain what problem your product or service will solve for the customer, then why would they even want to buy it? Don’t simply talk about what the product or service is – talk about why someone should want to purchase it.
Before you start working on your Sales page copy define your audience, and keep that description in front of you to refer back to as you write. Then, think like your customer. Include points on your Sales page that answer the following questions:
- What’s it in for me?
- Why should I buy this from you vs. you competitor (why is it different/special/better)?
- What specific problem will it solve for me?
Pay attention to your analytics
If your site analytics are telling you that people are going to page, but not following the call to action you have in place (CTA), then take that as a hint that something on that page needs to change. Most likely, your CTA itself.
Media makes a difference
If you have a page filled with tons of text that isn’t easily scannable, then you may be in trouble. Ask yourself:
- Can I communicate what I’m trying to say through an image instead of text?
- Would a video help me communicate what I’m trying to say even better?
- Would a visual representation of my point (infographic) make it even stronger?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then try it out. Using images and videos make a page more visually appealing, and a video with you in it can be a huge connection point between you and your customers. When they can actually hear and see you, you’re creating an opportunity to build trust and a relationship with them.
Add a timeframe
If you’re selling a product or service, put a time limit on it. For example, say “For the next 48 hours I’m offering special pricing on X (product or service). That’s a savings of over Y%!”
Giving people a specific timeframe to make a purchase is proven to make them feel as though they have to take action now, or else they won’t have another chance.
Same goes for an online store. You could run a sale on a certain section of your online store and create a banner for your site that advertises “Sale ends tomorrow – don’t miss out on these great deals!”
Design to impress
Design matters! How you set your website up is very important: the colors scheme, the tone, the complexity, the layout. If you make it difficult for people to find what they’re looking for, and you could lose them the second after they land on your page.
I was searching Google the other day for a website that sells custom t-shirts. When I clicked on one of the top search results, I was taken to a page that looked like a huge cluster of text, links, columns, features – there was way too much going, and way too many different things for me to sift through. I left without even trying to find where I might start my custom t-shirt order.
Think about how the design and layout of your site might effect the way people interact with it. You don’t want to search for a product or service, and then after having finally found a site that appears to offer it have to then dig even farther to figure out how to get it.
Make it easy for your audience to navigate and find what it is they’re looking for, or risk loosing them altogether!
So if you are all set with driving traffic to your website, but you just can’t seem to get people to convert once they’re there, then take these things I’ve mentioned here into consideration.
