Conversion Optimization

How to Achieve a Higher Conversion Rate for Your Website

Here’s what you need to do to be like the highest converting sites.

Businesses are constantly on the search for new methods that will help them increase their conversion rates. Everything from a website’s layout to its copy plays a critical role in whether or not your site will have a high conversion rate. UXAX explores top tips and techniques for achieving a higher conversion rate for your website in its latest article.

square homepage
Right from the start, Square informs viewers the exact percentage rate per swipe, dip, tap, and keyed in transaction their credit card users are charged.

Design an Enticing and Informative Homepage

By crafting unique headlines, writing concise product descriptions, and describing your company’s expertise, you can clearly articulate its value propositions to viewers. Including key numbers and statistics, such as the number of followers your social media channels have or the amount of new customers you gained over the past week, can show customers why they should buy from you.

Helzberg Diamonds Facebook likes
Having 12,266 likes on Facebook alone proves the amount of followers the company has.

Test Your Headlines

Users typically leave a page between 0-8 seconds after viewing your headline or landing page. If the headline isn’t compelling enough, this will not bother checking out the rest of your content. As a result, your headline can make or break your sale based on the first impression it gives your visitors. Figure out what word choice and tone tend to resonate the most with your visitors and stick with that. In order to find out what it is though, you will need to go through a few trial and errors.

QVC headline
Notice how they also offer $5 off your first order. That’s a great way to get customers to sign up even just to take advantage of the first time offer.

The worst headlines don’t tell your users about the benefits you offer. Something like “Start your trial,” is ineffective. Why should they start a trial? What’s in it for them? There are more effective variations that start with something like “Save __% and try [product name] free for 30 days.” Starting your headline with words such as “How to,” “Why,” “Because,” “If,” “Advice,” or “Wanted,” automatically indicates you have something to offer or inform your users of. You can also focus on your product’s benefits by using a testimonial headline, telling a story, or asking a question.

Awesome headlines that make visitors want to stay:

  • Why This Little Mistake Cost a Restaurant Owner $15,000 a Year
  • Google Hit With Record $22.5 Million Penalty for Improperly Tracking Safari Users

Awful headlines that make visitors want to leave:

  • Make $1 Billion in One Day
  • The Money Saving Trick Everyone is Talking About
  • We Left a Stick of Butter in the Sun - You’ll Never Guess What Happened Next

And, as always, do everything to avoid language that suggests spam.

Test Your Call to Actions

If you made it past the 8 seconds because your headline rocks, then don’t let your call to action fail you now. Your call to action is the tipping point between a bounce or conversion. Check out Schwan’s call to action below for instance. They have one of the top conversion rates of 41.7% and it’s easy to see why.

They didn’t simply stop at “Sign up for emails” because that would be lame. Instead, they convince you WHY to sign up. Not only will signing up allow you access to special offers and promotions, but Schwan’s provides a special offer on your first order.

Schwan's call to action
Schwan’s makes their call to action clear with no obstacles.

Weak call to actions that confuse viewers:

  • “Subscribe Today.”
  • “Buy now”
  • “Click here”

These CTAs are vague and uninformative. You don’t know what you are subscribing to or buying.

Strong call to actions that convert visitors to customers:

  • Subscribe today and save 75% off the cover price!
  • Grammarly makes sure everything you type is easy to read, effective, and mistake-free.
  • Remember Everything - Inspiration strikes anywhere. Evernote lets you capture, nurture, and share your ideas across any device.

Include Product Videos

Did you know that 96% of your viewers don’t come to your site ready to buy? Chrome came prepared for these users. They included a video right on a landing page that demonstrates how great the browser is and what it has to offer like the ability to search faster and type less. Including a video on your homepage or landing page can also increase your conversion rate by 80%? This is a great way to help ease any concerns they had about purchasing a product from you.

chromebook product video

Stick to Shortened Forms

Have you ever come across a website and started to sign up for something only to find 20 fields to fill-in? If you’re like me, you probably gave up on trying to fill it out. It’s important to take into account your user’s time and lower your exit rate by making these forms minimalistic.

Webflow shortened forms
Webflow only asks for the necessities in three short forms: full name, email, and password. No usernames, security questions, birth date, re-entering password, etc.

How can you tell if your forms are too long? Test it!

Simplifying your form’s fields can clean up your page and increase conversion rates. Sometimes longer fields are necessary depending on what your form is for. However, you just have to test and find out for yourself. Every site is different, so figure out what works for you!

Chat With Your Visitors or Provide Surveys for Feedback

Understanding your customer’s confusion or what they are really looking for can help you design a site that experiences higher conversion rates. Qualaroo, for example, helps you survey specific groups of website users to gain insight into their motives and get a clear picture of who your customers are.

Apple support communities
Apple offers numerous support options for customers.

Not sure which chat or feedback method to use? Try them all and see which works.

By now you should’ve noticed a pattern but if not, it’s to test, retest and test again! What works for others may not work for you. There’s no better way to find out other than to test anything and everything on your site. Check out UXAX’s blog for more insights and advice.

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