Are you getting frustrated by your website’s conversion rate?
This vital statistic indicates how many of your visitors are actually doing whatever your call to action asks them to do. In many cases, this means they’re not becoming paying customers, and that affects your bottom line. You may have tried to implement a number of different conversion techniques only to see minuscule, at best, results.
By the way, we have talked a little about what is conversion and why it matter in the previous article.
Let’s start!
Have a great headline
Your headline is what grabs the reader and convinces them to stay on the page. It’s also the text that often appears as the hyperlink in a list of search results. If your headline isn’t interested, then, people may not even click on your page in search engine results.
You want a headline that sums up what your webpage is about while also giving the reader a reason to click on the link—and you have to do this in only about ten words! It’s not always easy, but it is effective.
Some great headlines start out with “The Top 10 ways to…” or “How to…” Lists like these are very popular, especially if you’ve made the text on the webpage into bite-sized pieces of information. Anything with “Free” in the headline is also often attention-getting.
Just remember that you have to actually offer something for free if you’re going to say that you are!
Make your call to action button bigger
Many webpages have their call to action as a button.
This makes sense because you want the user to click on something – the link to your shop, a submit button for an online form, etc. If you’re not getting the attention you want, it may be because your call to action isn’t standing out.
Try making the button a little bit bigger. You don’t necessarily want it to be so large it takes up half the screen, but you do want to be certain it’s seen. More people are likely to see and heed your call to action if the button is large and conveniently located on the screen.
Know your customer
If you’ve created a quick landing page with no specific customer in mind, that’s who it’s attracting – no specific customer. You need to tailor your landing page to a certain type of person. That may mean making different landing pages aimed at different types of people, but that’s okay. How do you decide who your customer is?
Ask yourself who is going to want your product, service, etc. What does that person want? How will they find your landing page? Why are they there?
Tailor your page to this customer’s needs and expectations. This includes everything from the layout of the page to the language you use. If your customers are highly knowledgeable in the field, you can use industry jargon and other specialized terms. If they aren’t, avoid any terms that the average visitor may not know.
Don’t be afraid to start over
Webpage design trends change on a regular basis. Sometimes a trend comes and goes within the span of a year or even less. Some of these trends, such as responsive design, are likely here to stay.
Other trends, such as using pop-ups, may come and go or may not appeal to everyone. If a new trend comes along, don’t be afraid to trash your current landing page design and start over. Keeping up with the current trends, even if they’re only around for a short period of time, is worth it.
These design trends tend to become trends because they’re effective.
Make sure your page is readable
Readability is an important factor in your landing page. If your visitor can’t read your content, he or she isn’t going to stay around for very long.
Readability involves a number of different components of your page design:
- Font. Make sure you use a common and easy to read font for the headline, sub-headings, and body content. You can use a few different fonts to make things stand out, but don’t mix more than two or three at the most.
- Color. There’s a reason many websites use black text on a light colored background. You want to be sure the color you use for the text makes it stand out, but isn’t hard on the eyes. Dark blue text on black is going to be very difficult to read, but bright red text on yellow is going to be just as bad. A subtle background color is usually the best way to go.
- Font size. Small text is hard to read, while large text may seem overwhelming. A body size between 10pt and 14pt is standard. Your headings and sub-headings, of course, can be a little larger if you need them to be.
- Formatting. Using bold, italics, and underlined text is a great way to make certain parts of your content really stand out. This text will catch the reader’s eye, especially if he or she is skimming the content. However, be sure you don’t overdo it. If you put 75% of your content in bold, none of it is going to stand out.
Look at the price
If you’re selling something directly from your landing page, what’s the price? If you have your product for sale for £10.00, chances are you’re missing out on conversions.
Why?
Studies have shown that prices that end in a 9 or a 5 are more attractive to customers. While logically £9.99 and £10.00 are really the same price, the £9.99 is a more attractive number. It seems less than ten dollars, even if it’s really not. £9.95 is another attractive price point. Try changing your prices to end in one of these numbers and see if you notice any difference.
Chances are, your conversion rate will increase.
Keep relevant information above the fold
Give your visitors the strongest reasons to hit that “Buy Now” or “Get In Touch” button by placing core benefits and testimonials above the scroll line. Ideally, people should not have to scroll down at all on a sales or landing page. The best design is that which fits on a computer or smart-phone screen.
This obviously involves building the entire website on the core concept of responsive web design, but that is already a basic prerequisite for all websites. However, you should test your landing page on all types of computers and mobile devices which people currently use to browse the internet to make sure that your best bits of content are above the fold.
Keep it simple
Minimalist design is a big winner if you want to drive conversions. People are easily distracted online. It takes very little to divert people’s attention from your CTA (Call To Action) button and never go through with the purchase / contact form.
You should do everything to keep your visitors focused on what you want them to do: fill in a form, click on a button and complete a purchase. Use a lot of white space, 2-3 complementary colors and a bold and brightly colored call to action button.
Display the price boldly (when applicable)
In a traditional telemarketing or face-to-face sale process, the price is always kept for last. The theory is that once the salesperson has presented all the benefits of the product, people will want to buy it at any price. That is a debatable concept, but one thing is certain: this tactic does not work at all online.
You should display the price in the top half part of your web page, where people can see it and feel that they hold all the information they require and all the reasons they need to follow through with the purchase.
As a side tip: if you have a sale on your products or services, display both the original price and the discounted price on the sales page. Many people will base their purchase decision on the saving they make if they hurry to accept the discounted offer.
Happy, confident faces
This is a simple rule: smiling faces build trust, boost confidence and increase the desire to reach the same happy state by purchasing the promoted products and services. Do not go overboard with groups of ecstatic looking people. A simple stock photo of a smiling face is sufficient to create the right emotion that smooths the path towards a sale.
Be consistent in design
Your website, branding materials, and landing pages must have a consistent design in terms of fonts, colors, images and even words. People feel confident when they recognize the elements from the ad they clicked on in the web page. It gives them the basic human feeling of safety – the idea that they reached the right place, the one they expected to find.
Harness the fear of missing out
If something is available for a limited time or comes in limited quantities, visitors may be afraid of missing out. This can give them the motivation they need to follow your call to action now rather than deciding to come back later. Even if your product isn’t limited, it doesn’t hurt to imply that it is.
These are just a few of the different conversion techniques you could add to your landing pages. You may be surprised at just how much a small change can impact your conversion rates.
As you can see, these design elements are not very complex and require little work to achieve. But the end result is tremendous in term of increased conversion rates.
Good luck with your conversion!
Damian
