Expert Tips on Conversion Rate Optimization

Whether you pay for Facebook Ads or use a professional marketer to create your website’s sales funnel, you want to see a high return on your investment. In addition to getting more page views, you want to increase your conversion rates.

Conversion rate optimization campaigns use proven strategies to increase the number of website visitors, or leads, who perform the desired action. Depending on the approach and your goals, a conversion could be a:

• New email subscriber

• Sale from an e-commerce store

• Facebook like

• Download of a lead magnet in your sales funnel

• Entry into a contest or giveaway

Improving Your Conversion Rates

You can calculate your conversion rate by taking the number of interactions, or views, and dividing it by the number of conversions. For instance, if 5,000 people click on your Facebook Ad and 250 of those people make a purchase, your conversion rate is 0.05, or 5%.

If 5,000 people click on your Facebook Ad and 250 of those people make a purchase, your conversion rate is 0.05, or 5%.

If you’ve already invested time and resources into creating your company’s website and marketing campaigns, then it’s time to start focusing on optimizing your conversion rates. It is more cost-effective to spend money on converting the people that you’re already attracting to your site than trying to find more customers who don’t know about your brand. Here are some tools that you can use to improve your conversion rate optimization campaign outcomes:

Customer Reviews

Before customers make an online purchase, they look for reviews from existing customers to see if the product or service meets their expectations. The reviews can be embedded on your website using software, like Yotopo, or on third-party websites that they trust. A review that only mentions how amazing the product is without citing any faults won’t be as convincing as a detailed review of the pros and cons of the product. Customers will be wary about the authenticity of entirely positive reviews, especially when they lack details about the product experience.

There are several ways to increase the number of online customer reviews of your product. A simple method is to send an email to every customer a week or so after they’ve made their purchase. The email should ask for a review and include a link to where customers can leave their review.

You can also give a product sample or service demo to a blogger, influencer, or review site in exchange for their honest opinion. Remember, you don’t need the review to be 100% positive. You want it to be honest, so people are more willing to buy it. You can share the review on your company’s social media feeds and blog. Although bloggers disclose when a company gives them a product for free, it is perfectly acceptable to do so and it won’t affect the outcome of the review.

Remember, you don’t need the review to be 100% positive. You want it to be honest, so people are more willing to buy it.

Some website owners don’t ask for reviews because they’re worried about getting negative reviews. As long as you stand behind the quality of your product, a few negative reviews won’t necessarily hurt it. If you do get a lot of criticism, you’ll know to examine and improve your products based on customer feedback.

Engaging Photos

People are incredibly visual. If two retailers sell the same product, the one with more engaging photographs of the product will usually get the sale. It is the same principle as staging your house or selling household goods online. A staged home has a better chance of selling quickly, and for the full asking price, than an empty or cluttered house. By the same sentiment, if someone sells kid’s clothes on Facebook Marketplace, dark, unclear pictures will get much less attention than bright photos that look professional.

People are incredibly visual. If two retailers sell the same product, the one with more engaging photographs of the product will usually get the sale.

There are two things you should do for your photos to impact conversion rates. First, use clear pictures of the product that highlight its quality. This includes having pictures taken from all angles so people can see the entire item. 

Second, use lifestyle photos. These are photos that show customers how to use the product and its various purposes. If your company sells takeout containers, showing photos with different types of cuisine in the containers can showcase a product’s versatility.

Clear Calls to Action

In a traditional sales environment, you have to ask for the sale. The same is true online. Even if you offer highly valuable content that emphasizes the need for a particular product or service, it is critical to include a clear call to action that explains what you want customers to do.

For instance, if you want readers of a blog post to sign up for your company’s email newsletter, include a way for people to sign up at the bottom of the page. Write clear messages such as: “Use this link to sign up for our email newsletter to have proven, conversion rate optimization strategies delivered weekly to your email inbox.” If you want website visitors to buy a product from your e-commerce store, the message should be a request for them to purchase the product, and it should make it easy for them to do so.

Be Clear About Your Customer Service

People are more likely to buy from a company that stands behind and guarantees their products. Customers also want to shop at sites that provide convenient ways to access customer support, whether through a phone number or a chatbot. Nobody wants to buy something that they won’t be able to return if there’s an issue. Make sure that your website is clear about the types of customer service and support that customers can expect from your company. 

Nobody wants to buy something that they won’t be able to return if there’s an issue.

If your company does offer a money back option, be sure to mention that prominently on your website. It can be something short in the product description, and it can also be in the About Us page if it is a policy that applies to all of the products that your company sells. If you don’t have access to a chatbot, letting customers know how and when they can get in contact with a customer service representative can go a long way toward establishing trust with potential customers. 

Many companies try to obscure their contact information from their websites to limit the number of phone calls or unrelated emails they receive; however, this can be a turnoff for customers who want to know that they’ll be able to contact your company if they have an issue. Putting your company’s direct phone number on the home page and in the website footer can help alleviate these concerns.

Professional Copywriting

Hiring a professional copywriter can make a big difference in conversion rates. Someone who really understands how to write sales and marketing copy can create a more persuasive campaign or advertisement, often in less time, than a business owner who is trying to develop their own campaigns. Copywriters who are independent of the business might be able to offer a different perspective on why someone might convert, which they can incorporate into the written content.

New Product Descriptions

New product description pages can revive older pages, especially in search engine results. If your company still uses vendor-supplied product descriptions, you should create original product descriptions that aren’t in use on other competitor websites. 

There are many ways to incorporate conversion rate optimization tactics on product pages. For instance, Mack Weldon prominently features information about the premium quality of their products and their guarantee for customers who don’t like their first pair of underwear. There is information about how the design that Mack Weldon uses is better than other pairs of underwear. If someone wants to spend extra money on quality, this information shows customers why their product is worth the additional cost.

On Everlane.com, there are seven highly detailed photographs for all ten color combinations of the shoes, which makes it easy for customers to see what they’re buying. It also gives specific statistics about its manufacturing process. Claiming that they manufactured a product using energy-efficient machinery is a lot less effective than writing that they use “54% less virgin plastic.” These types of concrete details can have a significant impact on conversions.

Follow-Up Campaigns

Customers place items in their shopping carts and end up abandoning them. Sometimes they spend a significant amount of time on your website before they walk away from the purchase without any plans to return. Other customers may make one purchase but fail to become a regular customer.

A follow-up email campaign can be a useful tool in these situations, especially to increase conversion rates. A customer who spends a lot of time shopping on your website and their abandons their cart is likely someone interested in what you’re offering. An email offering an additional discount or free shipping could help them go through with their purchase. It’s better to lose a few dollars to a discount or to cover the cost of shipping than losing an entire sale and having to find new interested customers.

As a business owner, your goal is always to increase your bottom line. Marketing campaigns will help bring potential customers to your site, but using these conversion rate optimization strategies will help you improve your conversion rate and make more money.

References

• Moz – Conversion reate optimization
• Hubspot – Conversion rate optimization guide
• Neil Patel – What is conversion optimization