20 Tips For Making The Most of Your Website Traffic
If a visitor comes to your website via search engine and lands on a page other than your home page, will it hold their attention and provoke them to dig deeper, or will they turn and run?
When so much time and effort is spent on building links it is very important that your site is capable of converting its visitors into customers. There are more factors that affect your conversion rates than I care to explain (I like to keep things short) in a single blog post, so I’ll break this one into two posts with the first focusing on E-commerce websites and the second on brochure style websites.
E-commerce sites
E-commerce sites tend to evoke the most conversation about conversion rates, and as I mentioned before, volumes could be written on this subject but I just want to point out some of the most overlooked steps. My e-commerce check list perpetually changes so I’ve opted to select only a few of the more important tips.
- Include a reassurance box somewhere on the page. It needs to stand out but at the same time; it should not detract from the product picture and description.
- Do not overload your descriptions with technical details. Include only pertinent information and write in terms that most people will understand.
- Create “Buy Now/Add toCart†buttons that stick out. I regularly encounter websites that unintentionally hide their buy/purchase buttons.
- Create an “About Us†type of page where you can appeal to your customers as a genuine, trust worthy merchant. Also, keep in mind that some people prefer to buy from the little man instead of big corporations.
- Make site navigation as easy and intuitive as possible. If your website visitors do not see what he/she wants, they will leave.
- Use the least amount of steps possible for check out, and keep it stupid simple. It is also good to offer multiple payment options (several different credit cards, cod, etc..).
- I have seen some success with websites that offer a small comment box for visitors to make suggestions for the website. Use this tool to refine your pages, and do not place it anywhere that will interfere with your sale.
- Put you phone number on every page so that the shopper always has an option to call. The header is usually a good place.
- If your website does not have a logo, I suggest putting one. Logos really make a website look more professional and they reinforce your legitimacy as a merchant.
An optimum configuration will facilitate the easiest sale (for the customer). They should land on your page, get all the info that they need to make a decision, and then proceed to the checkout. Give them the right amount of text, shopping confidence, and a quick and secure check out. Also, it is a good idea to put your up-sell at the end of the check out process.
Check here later for part 2 of this post.