If your website isn’t generating leads and sales, you have a conversion problem. That means your website visitors aren’t taking action, and instead, they’re just backing out because your site isn’t meeting their needs.
If your website isn’t converting, it could be due to one of these 7 mistakes
1 ) Your copy is difficult to scan
- Eye-tracking studies show that online users tend to scan content rather than read it word for word. In fact, they scan web content in an F-shaped pattern. This means you need to format your copy in a manner that’s easy for visitors to quickly scan. You can do this by using short paragraphs, bullet points, numbered lists, subheads, and bolded phrases throughout your copy.
2 ) You don’t have a strong headline
- As soon as someone lands on your website, they’re greeted with the page’s headline. If the headline doesn’t connect with the visitor and pull him in, he’ll back out of your site quickly. You need to have a benefit-rich headline that’s clear and interesting.
3 ) Key information is hidden below the fold
- Web users spend about 80% of the time above the fold on websites. This means you need to put your offer and key benefits up top so readers can see it without scrolling down. Also, get rid of those huge banners that push key information below the fold.
4 ) There isn’t a clear call to action
- What do you want people to do when they land on your website? Fill out a form? Place an order? Subscribe to your newsletter? Figure this out, and tell the reader what to do next.
5 ) Customers don’t trust you
- Online shoppers are more skeptical than ever before. The internet is full of scams, and savvy customers just don’t trust companies they don’t know. How can you gain their trust? Include testimonials on your website, and eliminate risk with money back guarantees.
6 ) There are too many distractions
- Your website needs to be clean and easy to digest. Don’t fill every single space on your site with widgets, graphics, content, videos, etc. Leave some white space, and direct the user’s eyes to your main message. Anything that is unnecessary and distracting should be eliminated.
7 ) You’re targeting the wrong keywords
- The wrong keywords bring the wrong traffic. That’s all there is to it. You need to make sure your site is optimized for relevant keywords that attract your buyers.
What tactics have you used to increase your conversion rates? Share your best tips by leaving a comment.
This is a guest post by Eric Branter.
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Article by Eric Brantner
Eric Brantner is a freelance copywriter who has helped hundreds of clients achieve online success. Beyond writing for the web, he also provides brochure copywriting and other print copywriting services.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the tips Eric. It’s really hard to improve the conversion. but after I made some research about it, I was able to improve it a bit by 3%-5%. It’s not that big yet, but at least I was able to increase it.
I will be more consistent in tweaking and testing and will see the results in the near future.
Regards,
Gary
Great point about tweaking and testing. Improving conversion rates isn’t just a matter of following best practices and then just leaving it. Different strategies work better for different sites. So you need to be split testing various onpage elements to see what works best. Sometimes the smallest things like button color can make a huge difference in conversion rates.
And if somebody clicks on ‘buy’ button, make sure that there are not further 10 steps involved to checkout.
Yes form length and the kind of required info plays a huge role in conversion rates. Many people simply do not want to fill out long forms. Also they sometimes don’t want to give out unnecessary personal info.
Lovely ZK. You actually made a great list here! Personally, conversion rate optimization has always been the hardest one for me
As Uzi mentioned – the less steps a visitor has to take to purchase the more likely they will complete the purchase. Thanks for the other great tips too.
I think the most important thing in conversion is your content copy and your headline.Your content should be easy to read and understand and your headline should be catchy.
But then again your product is important too.It must be a good product which will help your buyers in one ways or many.
Patrick@Reverse Phone Lookup recently posted..How to Trace Mobile Phone number in USA Canada and Caribbean Islands
Indeed! But i think the most important thing is, having visibility for your product. If your customer is suffering when they’re trying to find some information of your products, then i wouldn’t say that is an optimized conversion tactic
As long as you can convert your potential customers to actual customers with a good conversion rate, i’m sure everything will be fine
A very helpful article, hopefully my conversion rate will increase after I fix some of these mistakes on my sites.
Mathew Day recently posted..How John Chow Makes 40K Monthly Blogging-FREE Ebook Win iPad
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the conversion process simplified like this. Great post without the blah! Call to actions are vital. Never assume that the reader of the copy knows what or how to do anything. You have to walk them step by step and tell them what to do
Matthew Loop recently posted..Before you Buy a Custom Facebook Page- Read This-
@Uzi–Great point about making the checkout process easier. Shopping cart abandonment rates are insanely high all across the web.
@Patrick–That’s true. Great copy can’t save a bad product or offer.
wow, Thanks ! thats a lot of good pointers. Thanks for sharing!
So I have a hit counter on my website, but cannot tell if they are converting. I do not have Pay Per Click with Google, so I don’t think I can get the Google Conversion tool (or can I?). Does anyone know of a free conversion tool that isn’t going to mess up my site? Thanks!
Dany Event Planning recently posted..Make your events planned by an expert
I find myself having to do this often just to stay current. You are always going to have to test thinks and tweak them.
Don’t forget – “You aren’t providing a valuable service or your content sucks or is too spammy.”
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