20 Ways to Boost Your Website’s Conversion Rate

You can have the most visually appealing website in the world, but if it isn’t turning potential clients into paying customers, then it isn’t really doing you any good. It has to reach right out and grab the readers by the collar, pulling them in closer, and making them want to order your goods or services NOW.

So, if yours doesn’t have that must-act-right-this-moment response trigger, it needs to get it. How? Well, before we get into that, let’s talk a little bit about how to determine what your current conversion rate is, as you can’t figure out how to get where you are going until you first discover where you are.

Determining Your Conversion Rate

Determining your conversion rate will give you your starting point. It will also let you know how much work you need to do to get where you want to be, and ConversionIQ has a really basic equation that can help.

First, you need to identify your qualified visitors. This is not everyone that has visited your website, but rather the visitors that seem the most likely to buy, such as those that went to at least a couple of different pages and/or stayed on your site for longer than 30 seconds.

To figure this out, you may want to use Google Analytics as it can provide a lot of information including how many people have visited your site, how many are unique visitors, where they are coming from (such as direct to your website or via your social media page), and more. Another option is Mixpanel, a newer analytical tool that can help provide the same type of information.

Now, once you know who your qualified visitors are, divide that number by those who actually purchased from you and then multiply that by 100. That is your conversion rate.

For example, if your site had 200,000 qualified visitors last month and 10,000 of them ordered from you, then your conversion rate is 5% ([10,000 ÷ 200,000] x 100 = 5). However, if you had 200,000 qualified visitors and 40,000 of them ordered, your conversion rate is 20% ([40,000 ÷ 200,000] x 100 = 20). What does this number mean?

According to Marketing Sherpa, out of almost 3,000 survey responses, a majority of the 2014 ecommerce conversion rates were 5% or less. They also pointed out that you need to remember that your company has several conversion rates based on how your clients access your site (whether it is via computer, smartphone, or tablet, for instance). Therefore, the more you know about each one, the more you will be able to help improve it.

Boosting Your Conversion Rate

Now that you know what your conversion rate is for your website, you can do different things to help boost it even higher. Here are 20 different suggestions as offered by Jayson Demers, founder and CEO of AudienceBloom and author of 39 Quick Ways to Increase Your Website’s Conversion Rate:

Keep your opt-in form brief, only collecting information you absolutely need, increasing the likelihood that they will actually supply it.
Use action words in your call to action, helping your reader know exactly what it is you are asking them to do.
Provide testimonials as a way to offer social proof that your site can be trusted and supplies quality products and services.
Choose the strongest headlines possible, catching the reader’s attention and getting them to want to know more.
Show how many people are currently subscribed to your site, again, offering more social proof that your products and services are in demand.
Offer similar product or service suggestions so that they know that you provide other options.
Get them to see how your product is the solution to their problems.
Include videos as a way for them to see you as more than just a company, but also as a person.
Tell them the limited number of products that are left in stock as this creates a scarcity response that may entice them to buy now as opposed to later.
Play around with your buy buttons to see which size and wording works best for your target market.
Share how your products and services are different (better) than those being offered by your competitors.
Create wording that excites your reader and makes them really, really want to try your products.
Add reviews as yet another source of social proof, and as a great way for them to tell whether that particular product will suit their needs.
Keep your images professional looking, showcasing your goods and services in the best possible light.
If possible, provide live chat services so you can answer customer questions right when they have them.
Display your products in a single column as studies show that conversion rates increase 681 percent when using this layout versus two columns.
Price-match your competitors to show that you’re willing to outdo your competition.
Test content length to determine whether your audience needs more or less content to seal the deal.
Make your contact information clearly accessible so that your potential customer feels they can reach you if need be.
Limit the options you offer as, when faced with too many choices, people wind up taking no action whatsoever.