Do you find that people are coming to your site but not doing anything while they are there? It can often be difficult to understand why your conversion rate is low. People are obviously interested in what you are offering because they have clicked on your ad, so why aren’t they going through with a purchase? Below I will discuss 9 tips that Michael Mattis at the Yahoo Search Marketing Blog claims will improve your conversion rates.
1. “Connect the search experience to the landing page experience”
This means you should use the same keywords on your ad as on your landing page. If your ad says that you are offering web design service then make sure your landing page isn’t selling graphic design services. The person that clicks on your ad is going to want to see that thing when he arrives on your landing page.
2. “Integrate your landing page into your site”
As always all the pages on your site should be consistent and this includes your landing page. If your landing page is different from the rest of your site it could appear unprofessional and this could worry people and prevent them from buying your products.
3. “Gain their trust”
Of course many people are still skeptical about buying online due to a fear of fraud. This anxiety may be keeping people from purchasing on your site. A way to overcome this is to use third party security providers and make sure that their icons are displayed where they are easy to see.
4. “Offer tips and suggestions”
A good way to get consumers to buy your product is to give them examples of what they can do with it. This can be anything from providing food recipes to or explaining 30 ways to use VoIP. The object is to let the customer envision what they can do with your product. This is also a good opportunity to introduce another one of your products. You can put more than one of your products in a recipe or explain how your shampoo works even better with the conditioner that goes with it; but be very careful not to push it.
5. “Stay on target”
This one is similar to number 1. If your ad is for great red wine make sure your landing page is not full of different types of reds, whites, roses and champagnes. People clicked on your ad because it said red wine, so this must be what they like. Of course nothing prevents you from having links to other pages but don’t try to sell everything at once.
6. “Cut the clutter”
This is pretty similar to the tip above. Keep it simple. A page that is too cluttered or generic seems unprofessional. Additionally you are allowing people to get lost and that is the last thing you want. You want to keep their attention focused. If they stop thinking about what they want they will just go back to what they were doing.
7. “Ban your bling”
Somehow people have been lead to believe that if they had a lot of sound and animation on their page people would pay more attention. Today these things are synonymous with low quality and low reliability. Plus animation and sound are just plain distracting; remember you are trying to keep people focused. Make sure your page is simple and professional. People will judge your webpage by its design.
8. “Give them something to do”
It is a good idea to be a little interactive. This is especially important when you are selling big ticket purchases. Examples of this are 360-degree tours and photo-galleries. Extra information will help your consumers feel more reassured and reduce cognitive dissonance.
9. “Write right”
The language you use is important. Try to be concise and get straight to the point. And try to include some persuasive messages.
