Dear All,
The online marketplace is getting more and more competitive and it’s important that you get your web site optimized to not only increase the amount of traffic to your web site, but to also get a high number of those visitors to convert into customers.
And while this might seem like an easy task, it’s actually a lot more difficult than it seems.
The path from someone searching on the Internet to becoming a paying customer should be as smooth as possible.
Yet, sometimes this path is unintentionally blocked with distractions and dead ends that cause potential paying customers to leave your web site in frustration.
So here are my four top web-boosting tips you should try to help increase the chances of turning the visitors to your site into paying customers.
1) Abide by the 7-Second Rule
The general rule of thumb is that you have seven seconds to effectively communicate to someone visiting your web site what you do and, even more importantly, what you want them to do.
As business owners and management, we tend to get bogged down in the specifics of our businesses or try to impress by adding as much information and specifics about our businesses right on the home page of our web site.
But it shouldn’t take any more than seven seconds for a visitor to your web site to determine what kind of business you have and how you can help them (with regards to their initial search term).
For example, let’s say I’m a customer and I type in “where to buy snow tires near me”. I click on the first search result from Google. If right after I click on the link, there isn’t a clear message that A) they sell snow tires and B) they’re located near me, I’ll be clicking the BACK button and going to another web site.
You have seven seconds to let me know how your business connects to my search term. Don’t waste that time telling me about some frivolity like you’ve “been in business for 12 years” or your “Toronto’s number one place for oil changes!”
If you make me think I’ve gone to the wrong place, I’ll simply leave and that’s what your customers are thinking too.
2) Give Me Something to Do
Imagine you need to buy a pair of shoes. You see signs on the road pointing you to this great shoe store. You walk in the front door to this beautiful-looking shop with hundreds of shoes on display. The place is packed with customers because of the popularity of the marketing campaign.
You browse around this good-looking store and see a pair you want to try on.
But there are no shoe boxes with multiple sizes for you to try on. In fact, there are only display models. All the product is locked up in the back. So you look around for a sales rep to help you.
But guess what? There is no sales rep. In fact, there’s no one working in the store. No cashier, no stock clerk the place is empty.
What’s even more shocking is that there’s no counter to pay for your purchase. Basically, you’re in a shoe store and you can’t buy a thing. So, your only choice is to leave and go somewhere else.
This scenario sounds a bit far-fetched, but it happens online all the time.
Companies spend time and money creating a fantastic web site that does get a lot of traffic, but forget or neglect to give the customer a clear call to action to do something.
It doesn’t have to be a sale. It could be filling out a form, calling a phone number, sending an e-mail, downloading a coupon, or watching a video.
Regardless of what you want the visitor to do, it has to be clear on the first page. It can’t be hidden on some other page or in tiny font size at the top of the page. Make it noticeable and accessible within the first seven seconds (see tip #1) of the visitor landing on your web page.
3) Be Current and Timely
I’ll use the snow tire example again to illustrate this tip.
What would you think if a tire company promoted selling winter tires in June? How well do you think they would do by investing in a promotion like that?
Now to be honest, buying snow tires in June might be a savvy way for a customer to save money since you’re buying them in the off-season and may get a deal.
But for the most part, you want to keep your offers on your site timely and current.
In fact, if there is an element to your business that you can connect with a season, holiday, special event, or even some news, then you should be taking advantage of it constantly.
For example, usually everyone takes advantage of the Christmas holidays and promotes their business at that time. But if there’s a “season” that can help boost your business, start promoting around a month before the day.
It could be the change in the weather, a financial deadline (ie. tax day), a big sporting event, recent news that could be linked to your business whatever!
Latch on to these current events to create a promotion that will speak to your visitors.
4) Don’t Fall in Love with Your Web Site
This is the hardest thing to do because sometimes you’ve spent a lot of time and money on your web site and you absolutely love it. In fact, all of your friends and family and your existing customers love your site too.
But you know who doesn’t love your site? New visitors and that’s why you’ve started an SEO campaign to begin with, right?
Don’t be afraid to change or update your web site to help get more leads to convert. Adding new images, changing colour schemes, and re-arranging items on your site might just be the difference between a site that does “okay” and a site that does “amazing” when it comes to getting new leads.
The best part of all of this?
The team at Numero Uno Web Solutions can help you achieve all of these goals. Whether you need new copy to properly convey your business message, a clear call to action, an e-commerce solution to start making money from your site, up-to-date timely content, or a new web site designed, you can contact your rep today and we’ll help you get the conversions on your web site using our team of developers, designers, writers, and editors.
Best regards,
Adrian Newman
Managing Director
Numero Uno Web Solutions
P.S. From our families to yours, we wish you a healthy and Happy Holidays!
