A conversion happens when you get people who visit your website to take any action designed to lead to an immediate or future sale. While it can be a long road from getting a person to give you a social media share or signing up for a newsletter to an actual purchase, even these types of conversions are getting future customers into your funnel.
Make a purchase, submit a form, click an offer, read an entire blog post, reach a landing page – these are the conversions you want to see from website visitors to grow your business. The percentage of visitors who take an action, or convert, is your conversion rate.
What Kind of Conversions Do You Need?
Increasing website conversion rates is a high-ranking goal for any growth-focused marketing strategy. To raise your conversion rates, you first must determine what it is you want your website to achieve for your business. Which website conversions are important for your business are dependent on the purpose of your website?
If you sell products or services online, then the most important website conversion rates will center around purchases. But most local businesses use their website to grow awareness, generate leads, and convince website visitors that they are the best option to fulfill whatever need the consumer is searching for. If you fall into the latter category, website conversions that feed lead generation will be the most important.
Once you determine which conversions are the most important, you’ll need to know what your current conversion rate is for each action you want your website users to take. The easiest way to determine your website conversion rate is to use a tool like Google Analytics, where all the data sets you need are just a few clicks away.
Here is how conversion rates are determined: If you have 10,000 website visitors a month and 500 take one of the actions you want them to take then your conversion rate is 5% (because 500/10,000 is .05). A website conversion rate of 100% is impossible, but you should optimize your website for conversions so you can get this number as high as possible.
How to Increase Website Conversion Rates
1. Get Micro-Commitments
Micro-commitments are small steps you ask your visitors to take towards a conversion goal. They are so small that your website visitors don’t need to think too deeply about doing it because it doesn’t cost them anything.
You can build on these micro-commitments to create engagement, familiarize visitors with your brand, and move them through your conversion funnel.
2. Use Enticing & Bold Calls-To-Action
Calls-to-action tell your website visitors what to do next. Clearly communicate the benefits of taking action now and use power words to inspire conversion. Remember, it is important to deliver what you promised immediately.
3. Get Website Visitors on the Phone
Use call-back solutions like phone lead engagement software on your website to convert traffic into leads and new customers. This new click-to-call technology lets you build on high-value engagements; creating a unique experience for prospects and customers.
4. Build Trust
Use social proof such as reviews and testimonials on your website to build trust. With trust, you are more likely to get the desired conversion.
5. Use Soft Conversions and Nurture Leads
Soft conversions are actions that indicate a demonstrable interest in your products or services. Every visitor to your website isn’t ready to buy right now. An overwhelming majority of your online traffic is seeking more information before making a final decision. Smaller conversions such as opt-ins for free information can still be valuable leads, though they may require more time and nurture.
Investing Resources in Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) to increase your website conversion rates needs to be part of your digital marketing plan. You don’t need to implement all of these CRO tactics to increase your conversions within days or weeks.
Start where it’s easiest for your business to optimize today. It’s possible to see small wins almost immediately, so try one or two CRO tactics at a time, track effectiveness, discard what isn’t working and invest in the activities that make a difference.
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