How to Improve Your Website Conversion Rate, Increase Web Lead Generation, Sales Online and Profit

Conversion rate is a measure of the number of potential customers that go on to buy. In the context of a website, it is usually the percentage of visitors that make a purchase.

Improving a website conversion rate can be relatively simple. Here are techniques for doing that:

1) Accessibility

A well designed website should aim to prevent nobody from buying - to allow 100% of the people who want to buy to do so. So where do they go wrong? Many designers only pay attention to Internet Explorer. Percentages of people not using IE varies from site to site - over 60% of visitors to this site use an alternative browser. What happens when a user decides to buy a product? They add it to a shopping basket. How do they add it? They click a button. What happens when they can't see the button? They go elsewhere. Make your site accessible, make sure it works in common browsers, and you should be in a position to start converting the people who want to buy.

2) Don't Waste Visitors Time

One of the biggest mistakes sites make is asking for too much information. Don't waste the user's time asking for things you don't need to know.  A user may not want to buy from you twice - so why make them create an account so they can buy again later before processing their first order? You can give the user the option to do all of these things by all means, but make sure it's not compulsory.

3) Shout Your Strongest Benefit in the Headline (like Newspapers)   

One of the most important parts of your sales copy is the headline and it should show your strongest benefit.  “Learn to Speak Spanish in 21 Days!”, “How to Fire Your Boss”.  Each of these headlines tells you what is offered in no uncertain terms.  It may require a number of tests before you find that perfect headline, but just a change in the headline can work magic for a website. Let your headline act as a qualifier for your visitors.  Your readers should know after reading the headline whether your site is for him or not.  You don’t want to waste your time with an unqualified prospect.

4) Do NOT Use common Advertisement on Your Site

We are bombarded everyday with advertisements.  We are pitched with ads on television, in print, radio and now the Internet.  Our brains are now trained just to ignore commercials. Don't Use common type of advertisement. Use sepecial type of advertisement that makes customers WANT to see it, instead of Repelling them from your site. New Breed of Ads that's not only pleasing to the eye, but also incredibly effective in drawing in your customer's attention, causing them to click, and most importantly getting more of them to reach for their wallets because they're actually interacting with your ads now instead of running from them. For example FLASH PEEL OF YOUR SITE 

5) Fill Your Site with Emotion and Passion -  Don’t Bore Your Customers 

It’s a known fact that people make purchases based on emotion and then rationalize their decisions based on facts... What does this mean for you?  You have to fill your site with emotive words and translate facts into feelings. Tell what would happen if they don’t order your product. The two main emotions that copywriters aim at awakening are "fear of loss" and "hope for gain".  

6) Help The User Trust You

Most people are still afraid when buying online. It's important to give the potential customer every reason to trust you. An address - bricks and mortar, not a P.O. Box - is a good start. A phone number, with people answering the phone, also helps. Showing a privacy policy and explaining shipping procedures clearly can also help the user to trust you. If you have a SSL certificate, show the "VeriSign Secured" logo to the user. Design and content also play a part in trust. A poor design gives off an unprofessional feeling. If a company can't afford a decent website, or won't spend the money on it, how can a user be sure their order will be treated with the importance it deserves? 

7) Have a Clear Returns Policy

Returns on the web are, and are likely to remain, a major issue for consumers.Users are impressed with sites with a good returns policy and are more likely to buy from them. Have people phone for returns - they can then explain the problem to a real person, which is always a good first step. Free return shipping is usually a good option, if commercially viable. People don't like to pay to return things, especially if it is a mistake by the retailer. Finally, give the user plenty of time to return things.

8) Keep the User Informed

When somebody buys something online, they want to know when it's going to arrive at their door. People are impatient. Giving them an estimated delivery date during the checkout process is a good start. Emailing them when their product is dispatched is great. Giving them a tracking number if using a delivery service that supports online tracking is even better. Leaving the customer happy once they have made a sale means they are more likely to speak favourably about you later. They may even recommend you to their friends and within online communities. They are also far more likely to buy from you again.

9) Offer Different Payment Options

It might sound obvious, but you should offer the user a reasonable selection of methods of payment. Not everybody has a credit card, and those that do don't always want to use them. Now You don't have to accept cheques, but when deciding on payment methods, consider alternatives to the usual methods. There is a lot of payment system and Easy to use ( paypal.com, moneybookers.com, e-gold.com, neteller.com, aertpay.com ) and if Your consumer will have some money in payment system that you support? Make the user's life easy and give them what they want.

10) Include at Least One Free Bonus

Bonuses add value to your offer. The more value you extend, the greater your chances on making the sale. These bonuses do not have to be expensive but should have a high ‘perceived value’.  In fact you should NOT give away bonuses without building the value of the gift first. Keeping in mind that ‘value’ and ‘cost’ can be very different entities.

11) Be Clear, Open and Honest

If you have a product out of stock, say so. Few things annoy users as much as reading all about a product they are after, adding it to a cart, and starting the checkout process - only to find out the product isn't actually available. The same applies to pricing.

12) Write as If to One Person - Not to a Group or the Whole World 

You must write as if speaking to one visitor – just as if he or she were sitting right across from you. The reader must feel that you are speaking to him, now, at this very moment. You must connect emotionally with the customer. And you can because you sense his problems, you’ve been there and now you have found the solution. Keep foremost in your mind that Internet marketing may be equally called ‘Relationship Marketing’ – because that’s what it is really. So, write in a conversational tone.

13) Be Memorable

A good site will include information. A poor one is just an online catalogue. Information (articles, advice, reviews and so on) all help the user early in their buying process. Users start with research online, just as they do offline. If you can make contact with the user at that stage of their process, and give a favourable impression, there is a good chance that they will come back and buy from you when they finally decide to make a purchase.

14) Unique Selling Point

Finally, the most important point of all - your Unique Selling Point. Your is what sets you apart from your competition. If a visitor goes to several sites looking for a product, why would they decide to buy from you instead of somewhere else?

Almost all companies have one, but not all of them are aware of it. If you are a family run business, that's a potential Unique Selling Point. Great customer service, low prices, products that can't be bought elsewhere, free delivery, great support, FLASH PEEL ... - all of these are Unique Selling Points.