Do you feel like you’re getting the most out of your website right now?
If you answered “no”, you’re not alone. It’s the answer that most business owners will give.
The answer stems from the slow realisation that having a website online won’t guarantee new customers. Of course, your website is a great first step, but it needs to be optimised to ensure you’re getting the most from it.
Wouldn’t it be great to have more conversions? More visitors becoming leads or customers would help grow your business and bring more success.
In this blog post, I’m going to walk you through a number of key elements that you can change on your website pages to improve conversions. Let’s get started!
WEBSITE SPEED
Before making any changes to individual pages, you must ensure your website loads quickly. Slow websites are one of the easiest ways to lose a potential customer. Your website pages need to load in under 3 seconds; otherwise, you risk visitors becoming impatient and visiting a competitor’s site instead.
TEST RESPONSIBLY
It’s easy to get inspired by the tips in this blog post, but I urge you to test changes cautiously. Try to limit changes to 1-2 items per page. If you change too many items, you won’t know which change was the most effective for your business. You can always change another item next time.
HEADLINES
Headlines often have the biggest impact when visitors first arrive on your pages. Humans will naturally skim-read, so they’ll scroll down a page and look at the headlines to decide if they want to continue reading. Try testing headline variations that focus on your ideal customer’s problems, which are why they’re looking for your products or services.
WEBSITE COPY
The main body text on each page is your website copy. This text should engage your visitors, reinforcing any points you’ve made in your headlines. Look through the text on each page as if you are a visitor. Does the text feel engaging to you? Ensure your website copy focuses on your visitors and not your business. You should limit any use of “we” or “I”.
IMAGES
Images enhance the text content on your web page. Using good-quality images that resonate with your content will engage your visitors and encourage them to stay on your site. If possible, try to avoid stock photo images. These often appear generic, for example, a calculator on an accountancy website. Good images help to tell your story rather than appear dull and boring.
VIDEO
You can use videos to show visitors how your products or services work. For example, you may have a demo video or a ‘how-to’ style video that shows potential customers how to get the most out of their purchase. Sharing valuable content or ideas through your videos will increase the time a user spends on your website. The longer someone is on your site, the better your chance of converting them into customers.
CTA
The most important element on each page is your CTA (Call to Action). A CTA indicates the desired action you want visitors to take. For example, you may want a visitor to purchase a product, send an enquiry, download a free guide or join your email marketing list. Ensure you use descriptive wording with your CTA rather than “Click here”. You can also test different colours and design styles to help your CTA stand out from the rest of your content.
SOCIAL PROOF
If there’s one thing that helps to encourage a customer to purchase more than anything else, it’s social proof. Your social proof is formed of reviews and testimonials from your happy customers. According to TrustPilot, 89% of consumers will read reviews before purchasing. Ensure that you include reviews on each important page of your website. Don’t forget to include video reviews (if you have them), as these can significantly increase a visitor’s trust in your business.