Member Article

Guide to common website conversion elements

Your company website is the digital heart of your online marketing strategy. Each and every link-building tactic that your SEO team uses to drive potential customers to your site and (hopefully) convert will be lost unless you can get users to take some sort of action.

The definition of conversion will vary by niche, but this usually means buying or signing up to something. At the very least it will mean filling out a form or leaving details.

This means that every component of your website needs to be easy to use and even easier for the user to hit that magic ‘call to action’ button. You wouldn’t want to miss out on potential business because yours was hidden somewhere obscure – the placement of these CTA buttons is integral to the success of your site, and there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ answer to this, liveroulette.co.uk have theirs above the fold but FloridaTIX found that placing theirs below the fold actually increased conversion by 20%

The key to improved conversion is to continuously test various elements on your website to find out the best elements for your brand and audience. This is commonly known as A/B testing.

It is often said that often the most frustrating part of website conversion testing is figuring out what to test! Although every website is different, there are a few common elements that are proven to have an effect on sales, regardless of the product or services being sold.

Availability

Online shoppers are obviously unable to hold a physical product in their hand, and want reassurance that what they’re ordering is in stock. In addition to using your Ecommerce software to maintain and display an inventory, you can also use low stock levels to create urgency with your buyers. Amazon do this really well by using language like ‘only 2 left’ which spurs people into making quicker decisions for fear of missing out.

Shipping Cost and Speed

Promoting free (or low cost) shipping on your home page has been proven to have a very positive effect on conversion.

Online shoppers are a savvy breed who like nothing more than a bargain, but also appreciate convenience over the gratification of immediately holding something in their hand. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll be prepared to wait too long to receive their product. Even if your shipping speed is longer than your competitors, it makes sense to be up front and honest about this.

Reviews and Testimonials

Customer testimonials are one of the most effective ways to turn visitors into conversions. They add credibility and provide evidence that your product or services actually work as well as you say they do.

Payment Methods

Displaying payment options early in the purchase process is a good idea. The home page feels a little premature, but the checkout feels a little too late. The product detail page seems sensible, but again you should be testing these elements to find the right one for your website. It could have a bigger impact than you think.

Related Products

If one of your overarching goals is to increase the overall basket value of purchases, offering related products is a great place to start testing. Amazon use this method and yield amazing results from this.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kathryn Thompson .