You might have heard of conversion optimization but may be worried that this strategy falls somewhere in the practice of dark arts. Not true. When you optimize your web pages and calls to action (CTAs) you can make the most of your existing traffic and be ready for when you have even more visitors to your site.
Conversion optimization simple means making sure each and every element in the sales process, from the first contact to the Thank You page, is created to ensure that you get the sale, but also get the most bang for your marketing buck.
With the goal of maximizing visitor experiences and making more sales, let’s look at some of the best ways to ensure that all your website pages and marketing offers are optimized to their fullest.
Conversion Optimization: What to Consider
Focus on using the right keywords – Make sure you are using the correct keywords on the page the right way. This is critical for not only making sure you are found in search engine result pages (SERPs), but also helps you get found in social media and video searches. The best practice for optimizing for keywords is to focus on one main keyword and a few select secondary keywords (or synonyms), so that your page is targeted and focused on the best keywords for your search topics.
Testing – Test everything: colors, headlines, calls to action (CTA), content, etc. Everything that you write on your site plays a part in getting found on the search engines, getting clicks and conversions. Also, be sure to test one item at a time. If you need to constantly tweak your content and calls to action until you’re satisfied with the results – and your pages are SHOWING in the search engine results. Even though you think it might be faster and more expedient to test multiple items at once, you’ll only have doubts as to what exactly is responsible for any improvements or failures you experience.
Use videos – Studies show that it’s far more likely to get a conversion if the visitor has viewed a video on your site. The importance and impact of video is only going to get more widespread: by 2018 75 percent of all web traffic will be video oriented in some way. To get ahead, get going with video right now!
Be mobile ready – Since more than half of all Web searches are now done on a mobile device, it’s important that you make sure your website pages and offers are mobile-friendly. This can pay huge dividends! It may mean that your website that you launched in 2000 needs to be completely redesigned from scratch, in the long run, it will be worth it. To see if your site is mobile-friendly, Google has a handy mobile-friendly website checker you can use. Also, make sure your website hosting company serves up your mobile pages quickly – most mobile users are impatient.
Use social proof – Nobody wants to pull the trigger without at least feeling as though they’ve gotten some third-party proof that something is a wise decision. That’s why 85 percent of people visit at least one social network before clicking on the buy button. More and more people are also seeking out reviews on your company’s products or services, so make sure that you solicit and receive great reviews from your happy customers. (To see how we get positive reviews, check out our Reviews page.) Use social proof in your offers and respond to any reviews on social media or review sites promptly.