15 Ways to Increase Website Conversion Rate

November 18, 2014

Website conversions are critical to making sure that your organisation sees as many new prospects as possible. No matter what type of deal or offer you are providing on your site, converting as many people as you can will help to improve the ROI of your Web presence. Here are 15 of the best ways to increase the conversion rate of your website.

1. Make your offer valuable

No matter how well your page is set up, if the offer that you are providing isn’t interesting to page visitors, it won’t do very well. To ensure that your visitors maintain interest in your website, you need to provide engaging content. Be sure that you do some research to determine what the interests of your prospects are and what kind of offers they are most interested in.

2. Incorporate multimedia

When you use multimedia like audio or video the right way, it can be one of the best methods to increase the conversion rate of your website. The multimedia that you include should not impose on the visitor’s browsing in any way. It should instead offer valuable information that facilitates how the visitor finds out more information, or how they can best navigate the site. Also try to make sure that you give your visitors an option to disable the multimedia if they so desire.

3. Use a clean and simple layout

Simplifying your layout will go a long way to help drive your visitors towards the desired action. The navigation of the site should be straight-forward and give your visitor the best chance of finding what they are looking for. If you have some white space, don’t stress about it; you don’t need to fill up every bit of the page with something, as this may annoy your visitors.

4. Be concise

Save the lengthy stories about your company and its capabilities for in person or more casual meetings. You should try to tell your page visitors exactly what your offer is in as few words as possible so that they don’t get frustrated by the large amounts of text.

5. Don’t distract your visitors

Many company websites make the mistake of providing multiple offers on a single page. If you are offering more than one item of value for your visitors, be sure that you separate the offers in a way that is clear for your readers. In turn, this will improve your conversion rate.

6. Include the important elements above the fold

“Above the fold” is a Web design concept that refers to placing important page information above the bottom of the browser window on the most common resolutions used by your visitors. It is one of the best ways to increase the conversion rate of your website, since visitors do not have to search much to find information.

7. Use strong headers

Just like newspaper headlines, your headers are what draw the attention of visitors and make them interested. It also helps to guide visitors to where you may want them to look next. Properly using headers can help you increase your conversion rate.

8. Decrease your load times

The longer your page takes to load, the less likely it is that your visitors will stay on it and convert the necessary actions. Be sure that you make all the necessary technical tweaks to ensure that your page loads as fast as it possibly can.

9. Use the right button text

Did you know that using the word “submit” on your confirmation buttons can actually decrease your conversion rate? Data from HubSpot suggests that “Click here” or “Go” are actually better to use.

10. Make it shareable

Visitor shares are one of the best ways to increase the conversion rate of your website. Take the time to add options to allow people to share your page on social networks and you can increase the number of visitors you get, which in turn will boost your conversion rate.

11. Use the right colors

Color combinations that are difficult to read can be a major turnoff for your visitors. Be certain that you do not use any bad color pairings, such as red text on a blue background or lighter colors on a white or light background.

12. Include your contact information

Making it easy for people to contact you shows that your organisation has faith in what it offers. Include at least an email address or phone number where you can be reached for information.

13. Simplify your form

The most basic forms should have space for information like a name, phone number, and email address. Requiring too much information from visitors will turn them off of your page.

14. Add testimonials

Testimonials are hugely important for building trust; they show that others have successfully used your products or services and will help convince those that are on the fence about converting.

15. Tweak the page often

Above all, make sure that you constantly analyse and evaluate your conversion numbers so that you can make the necessary changes to improve your landing page and make it better as time goes on.