Creating a website for your business is a great way to establish an online presence. However, don’t just expect that launching a business website is the end of the process. You could be missing an opportunity to take advantage of all your website has to offer.
You see, if you set-up your website correctly, it’s very possible that it can become your number one sales person. It’s available to your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s able to answer customer questions without interrupting any other work processes. It’s also able to help influence visitors to make a buying decision. On top of all this, it’s also able to improve your overall conversion rate, resulting in more sales and increased profits.
Yet there are so many small business owners that don’t truly comprehend the power of having an effective website operating for them.
Do you understand your website’s function?
It is important that you know the purpose of your site and map out the user journey. As a comparison website Finder.com.au goal was to be a one stop shop for user. This helps them to determine the best product or service for their needs, along with helping them to compare prices before they proceed. Mastering this step requires research into your audience and where you take them once they land on the page.
Yet many business websites still suffer from low conversion rates. This means they get plenty of visitors arriving on their site and looking around, but nothing much happens from here. Visitors either click away to another site, or they simply close the site after they’ve found whatever information they were seeking.
Boosting your conversion rates
Once you’ve established your desired visitor outcome, it’s time to work on positive ways to get people doing what you hope they’ll do.
- Attracting the right visitors: Watching your traffic counter mount up with big numbers is one thing, but if all those visitors have no interest in your business they’re pointless. You really want to find ways to attract those people within your target audience. This can mean optimising your site so that your keywords appeal to the right people.
- Easy navigation: When people arrive on your site they want to know what’s available and where they’re supposed to go next. Make it easy for them to navigate around the site and locate the information they’re seeking.
- Offer information: Showing visitors a list of your available products is great, but it won’t help them to learn more about those items in order for them to make a decision. Offer information relating closely to your products and services. Be upfront about delivery times, returns policies and any online tracking processes you have available. This can help people to feel more confident that what you’re offering is right for them, but it also helps to build trust that you’re not just a fly-by-night operation.
- Clear call to action: Many people won’t know what to do next unless you make it glaringly obvious what the next step should be. If you want them to buy now, insert a button or graphic that tells them where they should click to proceed with the purchase. If you want people to opt in to your mailing list, make it obvious. Offer a clear call to action that encourages people to take the next step.
- Offer different payment alternatives: Many people hate the idea of putting their credit card details into a website they don’t know, so they’ll click away rather than making a purchase. Offer alternative payment options that make it easy for people to pay for orders.
Boosting your site’s conversion rate should be all about finding ways to help your consumers to make a buying decision. Think about how you would respond if you landed on your own website and consider other sites you’ve visited that prompted you to take action. Then, put those things to work for you on your own site.
(Image credit: mattw1ls0n)
