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Conversion

Turning website visitors into paying customers is the ultimate definition of conversion. However, for many businesses the buying process is more complicated than simply placing an item in a shopping cart and checking out. Delivery terms, technical discussions, payment options, samples, site visits, quoting and requirements analysis are among some of the milestones potential customers must complete before a formal buying decision can be reached. In these cases conversion is defined as any positive action a website visitor takes to advances the buying process. Conversion actions can include both direct and indirect actions as follows:

Use Multivariable Testing to Increase Conversion Rates

65% of Website visitors give up before they find what they are looking for. 40% of users who abandon a website will never come back. (Source: Boston Consulting Group)

Many companies spend significant money driving traffic to their website, but fail to measure what happens to these visitors once they reach the website. Increasing your conversion rate is critical to maximizing your online ROI. Each page on your website should be designed with a clear conversion path in mind. If the goal of the page is to generate inquires (email and phone calls), then consider the following:

• Phone, fax and address in a visible location(s) of each page,
• Clearly defined contact us link in multiple locations and formats (top of page, bottom of page, within main body content and right/left navigation)
• Get started now option (see top of this page)
• Help desk functionality (see right side of this page)
• Ask the expert link
• Click here to qualify for a free sample

A good strategy is to test different variations of these conversion tools to see which work best for your site.

We have found that each time a visitor navigates another layer into your website you lose 40% of these visitors -- a 40% drop off rate. To minimize the drop off rate, it is important to make your navigation scheme as flat as possible.

Many home pages have links to a "products" or "services" page with no other entry point to their detailed product or service information. Assuming a 40% drop off rate this means that for every 100 people entering a website, in a best case only 60 of these visitors will view the product or service information. This becomes extremely frustrating especially if you are paying for this traffic.

A better navigation strategy is to provide links directly from the home page to your detailed product information. This will ensure that more users view the most valuable content.

If you have more questions about measuring or improving your conversion rates Contact Site-Seeker today.