To start with, in order to ensure conversion rate optimization (CRO), it would important to remember never to rest on laurels. The prudent thing to do is to consistently test theories, match them to past data, test the assumptions, and then put them to action. CRO is a process that must be carefully thought out and meticulously executed.
Never underestimate the power of content – relevant, interesting, and engaging copy on the landing page of your website could be the difference between ‘visitors’ staying and taking action on the website versus them leaving within a few seconds. Ensure that the website’s landing page has information that is clear, concise, and readily useable, pointing visitors in the direction that your company would like them to take.
For a more constructive and workable conversion optimization plan, ensure that your company understands its customers – how they think, what they need, why they buy and behave in a certain way and other such points. Such qualitative data about customers will help your company to customize products and personalize the information for them – ensuring that not only do customers buy repeatedly but encourage others, through referrals and shares, to do so consistently.
Customers love to feel valued and important – one of the ways to make them feel special is by handing out discounts, incentives, freebies – anything that will get them talking about your company, its products, and the brand. ‘Giveaways’ have great potential to convert casual visitors, to actual buying customers and generate enough excitement to ensure that others ‘join the party’. This not only retains existing customers, but also draws in many more hitherto untapped customer bases. Free stuff to customers would not be a great expense for a company, but the payoffs are many and long standing.
Ensure that your company runs regular A/A and A/B testing. These are important to create and sustain a robust conversion optimization plan. These are not one-off tests, but must be done consistently in order to know whether your company is making improvements or whether the current practices are falling flat with regard to conversions.
If changes are required to the optimization plan, they should be done, since even the slightest of changes can have major and lasting effects. Ensure that the landing page is relevant and stays true to the advertisement or promotional feature that attracted the visitor to the website to start with. No connection or very little relevance between what attracted them and the first page of the website, could lead them to ‘bail out’ as soon as they get to the website. This would negate the efforts your company is making towards conversion rates optimization.
Personalize as much as possible – use language that tells customers that it is all about them. You need to show them that your company cares about them, so address them using words such as you and your, rather than words that refer to your company. Content and information in the second person speaks directly to the person reading it – you need to address their problems and specific issues, so let them know that whatever you do is for them.
Increase reach, awareness, and opportunities for conversion by putting in appropriate calls to action. Appropriate means just enough that they are able to take action to share the content if they wish, but not too many CTAs that leave readers overwhelmed and confused, leading them to leave the sight without taking any action.
A website is the window to a company and it must display the company’s empathy and focus on the customer. If your website is everything that ‘visitors’ want, and highlights an understanding of their pain points and specific needs, optimizing conversion rates would not be too hard. Showing visitors that your company understands and delivering personalized and real time visitor experiences, would keep your visitors ‘glued’ and get them engaged enough to take the next step – buying. See what works for your company, test it consistently, and ensure that maintaining a focus on customers – both current and prospective, remains a priority. Better conversion rates would become the easiest thing your company could do!