How do I increase my conversion rate?
This is a question we get asked a lot at SGD. What is my site missing? How can I encourage people to go through with their purchases, or convert my number of visitors into customers? Over the years, we’ve noticed that there is a huge difference between a site that looks great, and a site that is designed and functions around the User Experience – which has a major influence on conversion rates. These key elements, including mobile friendliness, the search option, and speed, are just as important as the content of your site. Here’s why!
1. Compatibility
We now know that more internet users browse the web via their tablet or smartphone rather than their desktops. With this in mind, it’s a no brainer that your site must be multi-platform friendly.
Aside from uniform aesthetics and functionality, in terms of SEO, mobile-friendliness now affects your Google ranking – another great reason to prioritise your compatibility across all mediums.
2. Speed!
The longer your page takes to load, the higher the risk of losing your visitors. Sadly, browsers just don’t have the patience these days. So if you’re going to keep up with your competitors you’ll need to make sure your site is loading quickly, and running smoothly.
Not sure if your site is fast, slow, and what factors affect page load time? You can assess your site stats at Google PageSpeed Insights https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
3. Sign ‘em up!
Every time someone clicks on your site they become a potential client. If they aren’t ready to commit to your service or product on the spot, having a pop-up email sign-up form, or even a sidebar form, gives them the option to stay in touch and potentially convert down the track. This one is a no brainer. Building your database is crucial to the future of your business.
4. Search
The search tool on your site should not only exist, it has to work! Which means you and your team need to spend a bit of time in the back end of your site setting up tags. The result will be well worth it though, as you’ll increase the visibility of your products and services, boost your blog readership, and increase your user experience – encouraging them to spend more time on your site as well as the likelihood of them returning to you.
5. Social Media Schedule
So your site works well for your customers, but what about getting them there? Having a voice on social media is crucial, and to accompany this, a social media schedule is paramount to effectively and consistently gaining traffic to your site. By planning your campaigns, promotions and more, you can have a clear view of what’s happening and when. And with so many scheduling tools available, planning ahead has never been so easy.
SGD recommends: If you’re looking for a platform that schedules Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and more all in the one place at the same time, we recommend www.hootsuite.com and www.sproutsocial.com
6. Cookies + Tracking Tags
Want to know where your clients are enjoying your site the most? The pages that aren’t getting much love, and where you’re losing them? Or perhaps, which products are being added to shopping carts before they leave without making a purchase? Get inside your customers’ minds by adding cookies and tagging. It’s the best market research tool you will find!
Head here to get down and dirty with cookies, tagging and general insights: https://www.google.com/analytics/
Is your site mobile friendly? We ensure all of SGD sites work seamlessly across multiple platforms. We also ensure your site works at a high speed, and we can implement email sign-up forms for you in a flash. Get in touch today!
