Get more leads on website and increase your sales

9 easy ways to increase conversions online

So you’ve created a great website with professionally designed graphics, easy-to-use navigation, and engaging content. But instead of the constant stream of traffic and purchases you expected, you don’t even get a trickle.

So what’s up?

Too many entrepreneurs and small business owners have a “if you build it, they will come” mentality. They think that building something that looks good is all they need to do to attract buyers.

The truth is that creating a website, no matter how visually appealing, is not half the battle.

The hardest work comes after your site is up and running, when it’s time to market your product or service, attract leads, and convert them into leads and sales.

Whether you’re struggling to see your offers, build your list, or want to increase your sales, these tips will help you effectively use the best marketing tool you have – your website.

1. Look under the hood.

Is there something technically wrong? There are many aspiring developers who do not understand what it takes to create a strong and responsive site.

Follow the path a customer would take from the moment they land on your home page, throughout the entire purchase process. There could be an error message when you try to put a certain product in your shopping cart, or a 404 page where your shipping and returns information should be.

Make sure to check your site across several different browsers and devices as well, ensuring responsiveness looks good everywhere and not just in the typical browser you use.

Checking your site speed is a good place to start. If a page takes forever to load, people won’t wait.

2. Pay close attention to your headline.

The average Internet user using a search engine visits approximately 25 sites in just 3-4 minutes. It is not a long time to get someone’s attention.

To increase online conversions and increase your sales:

• Avoid saying “Welcome to my website …” or any other kind of wasted space. You don’t want to waste your precious seconds on words that don’t encourage your visitors to act.

• Be short and sweet. Your headline is not the place to cram all the details. Focus on 6-12 words that contain your target keywords to capture interest.

• Be descriptive. Using a thesaurus is the perfect way to find different ways of saying things that tap into people’s emotions. Think beyond words like “good” and “excellent” and excite your visitors.

3. Show people how your product or service will benefit them.

Don’t get caught up in explaining the mechanics of what you are selling. Instead, answer the questions your visitors will have, such as: How will you change people’s lives for the better? Why do they need it? Take advantage of your visitors pain points and tell them the right story in a video, blog post, headline …

This is an example from one of our clients, the Financial Recovery Institute. Rather than telling people the names of the courses or how she teaches, Karen describes the benefits they will gain from taking the Money Coach training.

4. Inspire your visitors to act.

Using tangible action verbs can help increase conversions online. Get your visitors excited about whatever you are selling and include a sense of urgency.

For example, instead of saying “Register now” for a webinar, you can use “Save your seat here.” Instead of “Get the course” for a program that teaches, try something like “Start learning today.”

Create more compelling value propositions than just “Buy It” or “Buy Now” to motivate people to take advantage of your offer.

5. Have strong calls to action.

Whether it’s filling out an online form or clicking a button, tell your users what you want them to do next. Like the title and body copy, your CTAs need to be concise and profit-oriented.

That said, don’t put CTAs everywhere in your body text, thinking more is better. You want one main call-to-action per page or “action” you want someone to take, not one in each paragraph of content.

Read Smart calls to action for each stage of purchase to maximize conversions on our website.

Have you ever wondered why some websites convert better than others? You may have the best copywriting in the world, but if you don’t have effective calls to action on every page, you won’t get the sale.

This article provides examples of effective calls to action to reach buyers at each stage of the buying cycle to drive conversions.

6. Make it easy for visitors to give you information.

People don’t like filling out long forms to download an e-book or subscribe to email newsletters. Popular digital marketing entrepreneur Neil Patel increased his conversion rate on NeilPatel.com by 26% just by removing a form field.

To get more leads on the website, ask for what you want in as few fields as possible. We ask our visitors for just a name and email address before giving them our free Definitive Guide on how to improve profitability and conversions.

7. Make the right visual impression.

It’s time to take stock of your stock photos and take a good look at the images you are using to represent your brand.

Your visual branding needs to be consistent across all your marketing materials, from your blog images to your email newsletter photos. Too many small business owners use tacky stock photos or low-quality images simply because they’re easy and readily available to them.

Images are worth a thousand words, and none of those words are going to be “leads” or “sales” if you don’t carefully choose the images that represent your brand.

And please, speaking of stock photos, never, whether on your website, on social media, or in your newsletters, use a stock photo that has not been purchased and still has the watermark on it. Not only does this look very unprofessional, it is also an illegal use of the stock photo and you could be fined if discovered.

8. Use reviews and testimonials as social proof.

We use social proof every day to navigate our decisions, online and in the real world. Here’s a real-world example: When you choose a place to eat, are you more tempted by the lively restaurant full of happy customers or the emptiness across the street?

Now think about how you shop online. I am sure you have used a review, positive or negative, to influence a decision. BrightLocal research shows that positive reviews increase the likelihood that 91% of consumers will use a business, while 82% will be put off by negative reviews. And the average consumer reads 10 reviews before feeling able to trust a local business.

A unique way that the TrustPulse online marketing platform provides shoppers with social proof is by dynamically sharing the name and location of people who have subscribed to its services.

9. Never stop testing and adjusting.

To get more leads on the website, you need to know what works and what doesn’t. Use A / B testing to offer visitors different versions of your site, or test a variety of headlines over several months.

Remember, what helps one site owner increase online conversions may fail miserably for another.

It can be challenging to successfully create the most engaging text, images, and calls-to-action, so consider hiring a professional marketing company to help you get results.

Whichever method you use, you’ll have to try, test, and test some more … getting the right formula to increase your sales is an ongoing process.

For the success of your business,

Susan