5 Easy Things Every Business Can Do To Increase Conversions On Their Website
Having trouble getting website visitors to convert into leads for your business?
Join the club.
The majority of small business websites do a terrible job at creating a compelling website experience where people become engaged and will want to take action.
Most of the time they simply don't ask people to take action or they fail to make it clear what actions people are supposed to take.
Here's a test for you. When someone visits your website, if you could have them take any one action on your website, what would it be? Now look at your website, is that action crystal clear to people that visit your website? Is your website set up to move people towards that conversion action?
If not, then you need to think about the end result you're looking for people to take on your site and start creating your website experience to support it.
Below are five relatively easy, but powerful changes you can make on your website to start turning it into a lead generating machine for your business.
Create a Powerful Value Proposition
A value proposition is a statement telling visitors what value you can bring them if they do business with you. When people land on your website, the first thing (the only thing actually) they want to know is, how is this business going to help me and make my life better?
A value proposition is not a catchy headline or a self-gratifying statement ( we are #1 in sales), it is a value based message, letting people know what they stand to gain if they decide to do business with you. It can be a combination of your headline, supporting statement and value based bullet points letting people know all of the value your are ready to give them.
You can read more about value propositions and how to create them here.
You can read this for help on writing a great value proposition.
Make an Offer They Can't Refuse
The easiest way to create more conversions is to make an offer where people are thinking, “Hell, Yeah!” Create an irresistible offer where the benefits far outway the costs of choosing your business over any other. How do you do this?
- Make it very clear the end result the customer will receive
- Take away the risk of this type of purchase
- Make the benefits far outway the risks of choosing you
- Make it a no brainer
So what are some things you can offer?
- No questions asked, money back guarantee or a double your money back.
- Lifetime warranty, or warranty far longer than your competitors
- Extended free trial period
- A value-add that has a large perceived value to a customer but low cost to you
- Get a second product or service free with purchase
- Free training or free resource access with purchase
These are just some examples, but you get the point.
Look at what your competitors are offering and then make an offer that puts them to shame. Afraid to offer a money back guarantee or rock solid warranty? If you deliver what you promise, the vast majority of people will never take you up on your offers, but will feel comforted knowing they are there when they make the purchase. Even if you do have a few people that want a refund or call you on your warranty, the increase in business you get by putting yourself out there will far outway the occasional person who wants a refund.
And if you do have a lot of people wanting refunds or requesting multiple warranty calls? Then stop what you are doing and go fix your business because it's broken.
Want to learn how to create irresistible offers? Learn from the best. You can also read more about creating irresistible offers here.
Place a Contact Form and Call To Action Right On The Homepage
Turn your homepage into a conversion-centric landing page. Too many business websites bury their contact form in a single place, their Contact Us page. Why are you making it so hard for people to contact you? Make it easy for people to contact you by placing contact forms throughout your website, along with strong calls to action.
And if you can't place the form on your homepage, then at least have a call to action and a button that will direct people to your contact page or to take some sort of action that will move them closer to contacting you.
The two easiest places to add a contact form is right on your homepage as well as all of your secondary pages, which usually has some sort of sidebar waiting for you to add some value to it.
One mistake many website owners make is to assume everyone is starting their visit on the home page. If you have a lot of pages on your site, especially if you have a blog, then many visitors will be starting on a page other than your homepage. So what do you need to do? Look at every page on your website and make sure each page has everything people need to know about your business and an easy way to contact you. Essentially, every page on your website is a landing page.
Add Testimonials and Social Proof
If people are coming to your website from an ad or an organic search, chances are they do not know you or your business. They don't about your high level of integrity or the awards you have won over the years, you need to let them know that it is safe for them to trust you. How do you do this? By adding trust and credibility elements to your website such as:
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Links to 3rd party review sites
- Trade associations you belong to
- Industry awards you have won in the past
- Media outlets that have interviewed you
Let people know that is safe for them to trust you. Most of the time businesses bury their testimonials on a dedicated testimonial page…..that is not very effective because you are assuming every visitor to your website will visit that page. If you look at your Google Analytics, you will see that is not the case. Best practice is to spread out your testimonials, customer reviews, awards, etc across you entire site, especially important pages like the homepage and your service pages.
Learn more about the power of social proof here.
Get Clear With Your Copywriting
Copywriting. While the design and images on your website will get people's attention, it's the words on the page that will turn them into leads. Don't be wishy-washy with your copy. Good copywriting for a business website should be clear, specific and value based, so the reader knows exactly what benefits and outcomes they will be getting by doing business with you.
Your website should talk about 3 things:
- The features of your product/service (size, ease of use, technical details, etc)
- The benefits people will receive by using it (how using it will help them)
- The outcomes people will have by using it (How their life will be improved by using it)
Unfortunately, most businesses never get past the features, which is the weakest part of the value chain here. People want to know the benefits they will receive, and more importantly, the outcomes.
Here's an example using an Apple iPod Touch.
Features
- Comes in 5 colors
- 8 megapixel camera
- 32 megabytes of storage
Benefits
- Bring you entire music library with you wherever you go
- Take stunning pictures while on vacation
- Enjoy hi-definition stereo sound for a full music experience
Outcomes
- Capture precious family moments anytime the moment strikes
- Relax while listening to your favorite music in hi-definition, you'll feel like you're at the concert
- Create customized playlists, to push you through that last grueling mile on training day
If you want to create powerful words on your site that will engage readers, focus on the benefits and outcomes your product/service can offer.
You can read more about creating great copy for your website here.
Start getting more conversions on your website
If you do the above 5 things for your website, you will be ahead of 99% of all other business websites on the internet. Think about that, not just your competitors, but all business websites. Start a plan today to start turning your website into the lead generating machine you always dreamed it would be.
Gary
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