http://www.increaseonlineprofits.com

52 Ways to Increase Your Conversion Rate
Rick Henkin

It's incredibly important to always

work on increasing your conversion rate (the % of visitors who act on your desired goal). What if 10%, 25%, 50% or 90% of the people who visit your website actually purchased, subscribed, registered or whatever your goal is for them instead of the 2% Internet wide average? How much greater would your sales be, your cash flow, your profitability? What if you could dramatically increase your conversion rate just by testing and changing a few things?


And here's the great thing:


Just a little increase in your conversion rate can mean a huge increase in your sales and cash flow.




Conversion rate example


$100- average sale amount

$500- lifetime value of each customer (total purchases while they

remain a customer)


If your current conversion rate (the number of visitors who purchase ÷

the total number of visitors) is:


2%

style="font-weight: bold;">(2 out of 100 visitors)


$200- average sales

$1000- total lifetime value


5%

(5 out of 100 visitors)


$500- average sale

$2500- total lifetime value


style="font-weight: bold;">10% (10

out of 100 visitors)


$1000- average sales

$5000- total lifetime value



You can see that by just converting a few more visitors, you're getting a huge increase in total revenue. I stopped with a 10% conversion rate, but nothing says that you can't test and tweak until you get that conversion rate higher. What about 20%, 50% or more?  All of a sudden, the numbers become huge and all without a lot of extra effort or expense on your part.


You won't be able to achieve a 100% conversion rate, because a certain of portion of your visitors arrive at your website accidentally and really didn't mean to land there. But even if that were to represent as much as 10 % of the total, that still leaves a possible 90% conversion rate.




52 ways to increase your conversion rate


  1. Write for the web- make your content scannable- headings,

    subheadings, bullets and boldface



  2. Make your content easy to read- font size, font style,

    color and background



  3. Answer your visitor's questions, before they're asked,

    especially- "What's in it for me"?



  4. Make it clear why they should do business with you


  5. Improve your navigation- guide visitors to the action you

    want them to take



  6. Keep your navigation consistent through out your website


  7. Make sure your website is easy to use


  8. Test, test, test- headlines, colors, fonts, images, call to

    action buttons, placement of elements, etc., etc., etc.



  9. Use A/B split testing and multi-variate testing


  10. Reduce your download speed by reducing large image files

    and eliminating flash animation



  11. Use web analytics software (free or paid) to understand

    your visitor's behavior



  12. Make sure your content is relevant


  13. Use simple language, not industry jargon


  14. Match your landing message to the marketing message the

    visitor clicked on



  15. Contact customers who abandon their shopping cart, ask why

    and offer them an incentive



  16. Offer multiple ways to pay and to order


  17. Offer a toll-free phone number


  18. Offer customer service


  19. Cross-sell or up-sell on order confirmation page. Customers

    are more likely to buy when they already have their credit card out



  20. Add a tell-a-friend script to the order confirmation or

    thank you page



  21. Use trust badges and reassurance logos such as href="http://geotrust.com/" target="_top">GeoTrust,

    Verisign,

    BBBOnline

    and others



  22. Place your privacy, security, shipping, guarantee and

    return polices or links at the points of greatest customer anxiety



  23. Offer a free trial


  24. Provide full contact information


  25. Anticipate objections and answer them in advance


  26. Offer free shipping


  27. Add incentives


  28. Don't ask for unnecessary information


  29. Test your site's usability


  30. Focus on benefits rather than features


  31. Offer reviews/testimonials


  32. Make sure your USP (unique selling proposition) is clear


  33. Use psychological triggers


  34. Test your pricing


  35. Test different offers


  36. Ask for the sale- tell your visitor exactly what you want

    them to do- "Buy Now", "Order Here," "Add to Cart," etc.



  37. Survey your current customers


  38. Create an exit survey for visitors


  39. Add a site map


  40. Address needs of different personas


  41. Place your important points above the fold


  42. Check your spelling


  43. Make sure your links work


  44. Create both thumbnails and full-size images of products


  45. Design your site so that it's accessible for impaired

    individuals



  46. Use eye-tracking and heat mapping software


  47. Check how your website looks with href="http://browsershots.org/" target="_top">different

    browsers and screen resolutions



  48. Hire a proven copywriter


  49. Position your website and yourself as the authority/expert

    in your industry



  50. Use conventional icons- don't make your visitor think

    because they'll just leave instead



  51. Be upfront about pricing and shipping costs- before your

    visitor has to give any personal information



  52. Use all of the tools and information available to you at href="http://www.increaseonlineprofits.com" target="_top">IncreaseOnlineProfits.com



ARTICLE DATE: 2009-06-01

REVISED DATE:




href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Great%20article%20@rickhenkin%20on%2052%20Ways%20to%20Increase%20Your%20Conversion%20Rate%20http://

bit.ly/C8LqX">Share this Article as a Tweet on Twitter






52 Ways to Increase Your Conversion Rate ">