11 Tips to Increase Your Website’s Conversion Rate

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How to Improve and Increase your Website’s Conversion Rate

1. Make the Best Possible First Impression

   Like any first introduction, you always want to put your best foot forward. And this certainly goes for your website as well. For most websites, the homepage is not only the highest viewed page, but it’s also often the first page of your website that someone will see when visiting.
   
   Stop for a moment and take a look at the homepage of your site. Is it welcoming? Does it have professional imagery and is it overall inviting to visitors? If so, then that’s great. That’s exactly what you want to convey – a sense of professionalism and invitation.
   
   However, if you look at your homepage and think to yourself, “this could really be better,” then perhaps it’s a good idea to improve your first impression. Doing so can be the difference between someone choosing to continue to browse around or hit the back button on their browser.
   
   Put yourself in the perspective of a new visitor. Would you be impressed with what you saw if it was your first time visiting?

2. Establish a Clear Call to Action

   Equally important to having a welcoming first impression is clearly letting people know what action you want them to take on your website. Do you want them to “call for a consultation”, “shop now,” or “learn more?”
   
   Whatever valuable action you want visitors to take on your website, make it clear and obvious of what what you want them to do. Simply letting people know what you want from them is one of the best and most easily implementable tactics you can do to improve your website’s conversion rate.
   
   If you are unsure what your call to action should be, ask yourself, “what do I want my website visitors to do?” The answer to that question is your call to action.

3. Give your Visitors the Information they Want

   This leads us right into the next point, which is understand your visitors. As a business owner or manager, you likely understand who your general customer base includes. Along with understanding this, you probably also have a good idea of the information your customers are interested in learning.
   
   Whatever information about your product or service you think your customers would be interested in knowing, include that on your website. You will not only build credibility, but also trust which is a large component to improving your conversion rate.

4. Make Your Site Easy to Navigate

   This one is a biggie. If people cannot find what they are looking for quickly, they are going to leave – guaranteed. So the easier you can make it for people to find what they are looking for, the happier they will be and the longer they will stay. The longer they stay, the more likely they are to convert.
   
   If you stop and think about it, it’s frustrating when you can’t find what you’re looking for on a company website. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, you’re definitely more likely to leave and look for the information elsewhere.
   
   Bonus tip: If your website has many pages of information or product pages, consider adding a search bar. This way, rather than clicking around, your visitors can simply type in what they’re looking for and be presented with a list of results on your website that closely match what he or she is looking for (similar to a search engine).

5. Aim for Speed

   Have you ever gone to a website just to sit there and wait for what seems like forever for it to load? The likely scenario was one of two options. 1) You either didn’t wait and left or 2) You waited it out, but were feeling frustrated once it finally did load up for you.
   
   Either way, neither of these are a good scenario, because in both cases, you have a frustrated visitor. Not a great combination for conversion. To keep visitors happy, make sure that your site loads quickly (within a few seconds). Among the top of the list of things that website visitors appreciate is speed.

6. When Using Forms, Keep it “Relatively” Simple

   Many business websites use contact forms as a means to allow potential customers to contact the business. However, we recommend when using contact forms, only include form fields that are requesting necessary information for you to adequately follow up with the lead.
   
   Too many form fields and you may turn off people who would have potentially contacted you otherwise if they didn’t need to take 5-10 minutes filling out your contact form. On the flip side, too little form fields, and you may be missing out on key information needed to properly follow up with the lead.
   
   In addition, you may end up with less qualified leads if you’re not asking the right information. So when using forms, it’s best to keep it “relatively” simple.

7. Increase Visitor Trust with the Use of HTTPS

   Have you ever visited a website, just to be greeted with a message in red at the top by the address bar that says, “not secure?”
   
   Web browsers across the board have been letting users know for a while now when a site they visit is secure or not. When a site is secure and on HTTPS, it usually has a little green lock or something similar to indicate the site has a valid SSL certificate installed.
   
   If it’s not secure, you’ll usually see a red message saying that the site is not secure.
   When a visitor sees this on a site, you can almost guarantee that they have a lowered level of confidence and trust in that website. Psychologically, there is something about seeing this that inhibits the trust of your visitors which will certainly hurt your conversion rate, and potentially the perception of your business to that person.
   
   So do yourself a favor and install an SSL certificate on your website so you can run your site over HTTPS. Your visitors and conversion rate will thank you.

8. Use Testimonials and Reviews

   Now, the goal here is not to tout how your company is so much better than the competition. No, the goal here is to let the work speak for itself.
   
   If other customers have had a positive experience with your business and have left a review for your company, it’s okay to let people see that. In fact, in many cases testimonials and other reviews are more convincing than anything you could ever say about your company on your own.
   
   The reason is that people trust online reviews. Potential customers are interested to know what other people’s experiences have been like. Were the experiences, good, bad and why?
   
   Being transparent about what people have honestly had to say about your business will not only increase your credibility, but testimonials and reviews help pre-sell potential customers, thereby improving your conversion rate.

9. Use Real Photos and Video of Your Company When Possible

   One of the best ways to improve the conversion rate of a business website is to make it personal. Now what do we mean by that? We mean make your website real.
   
   This can be done by putting real photography of your team members/staff and office on your website. Let your visitors get to know who you are.
   
   If one of your website visitors was to visit the phsyical location of your business, what would they see and feel? Who would they meet? Whatever that experience is, help them to see and feel this on your website.
   
   When possible, also include video. This could be of the owner talking, other staff members or even customers. When visitors can see and hear who is behind the business, they begin to feel a closer sense of connection to your brand.

10. Include Social Media Links and Contact Information

    Having a well rounded and connected online presence means having your business on social media. Include links to your various social media so visitors can see your activity. This is another simple thing that can help validate your company’s authenticity to new visitors.
    
    In addition, include the contact information for your business such as phone number and physical address if it’s a location people can visit. Make it easy for people to contact you, whether it be through your website’s contact form, over the phone or via Facebook message.

11. Keep it Simple

    Above all, don’t try to do too much. Keeping your website simple is one of the best ways to improve conversion rate. From design, to copy, to functionality, the better your website can deliver on what your visitor wants, the better your conversion rate will be.
    
    No need for a ton of bells and whistles. Easy to understand language, a clear call to action, and professionalism will go a long way in how well your website turns visitors into customers.