7 tips to improve website conversion today

Unfortunately most business owners don't look at how to improve website conversion. They are sucked into the vicious cycle of getting more website traffic and forget all about the visitors they already attract. This post is designed to give you 7 quick ways to improve the way your website converts visitors into clients.

Tip #1 - Get their attention with a headline

I'm not sure why most websites don't use effective headlines. We're surrounded by them all day in newspapers and on magazine covers yet few business owners apply the same principles to their websites. By simply adding a good headline you can increase the rate at which visitors stay on your website.

Various studies show you have about 3 - 7 seconds to grab your visitors attention and that's where your headline comes in. It needs to both catch their eye and explain in one short statement why they should stay on your website. That's their one job... to explain the biggest benefit of reading what you have to say.

Tip #2 - Explain the benefits

Most business websites don't explain why the visitor should do business with them over their competitors. They vaguely promise the best service, quality and prices (like everyone does) but give no reasons why their business is unique. If you want to have a successful website you need to have a unique reason for visitors doing business with you.

I like to ask the classic Dan Kennedy question "Why should I - a potential prospect - do business with you over all other alternatives including doing nothing at all?" If you're reading this I'll put money on the fact you don't have a really good answer to this question (feel free to challenge me in the comments). But once you get your answer clear and succinct your website's conversion will go up dramatically.

Tip #3 - Back up everything with proof

Going back to our example above about the best service... how do you prove you have the best service? Maybe you really do but because everyone else claims the same thing your voice is lost in the crowd. So how can you show that you have hands down the best service in town?

You might have really amazing testimonials presented in an interesting way. You might have an incredible guarantee (which we'll talk more about in a second). You might have stories about how you bent over backwards to exceed your clients expectations.

The important thing is that you must back up all your claims with proof or no one will believe you.

Tip #4 - Create an irresistible offer

I'm constantly amazed how many businesses fail to make offers and they lose a lot of sales because of it. You need to clearly state what you're going to give the prospect in return for their hard earned money (or even their contact details). You must show them they're going to get an incredible amount of value for money.

Now this doesn't mean you lose money on the deal but you do need to increase the perceived value of your offer. Maybe you can add in items that cost you very little but have a high perceived value. Get started by at least offering something and improve it as you go.

Tip #5 - Take away the risk

When people buy from you (especially online) they fear getting ripped off. Maybe your offer won't live up to it's promises or your product will break in a few weeks. To sell effectively and improve website conversion you have to remove as much of this risk as possible.

This starts with an amazing guarantee that ensures your clients are always amazed. But there are also many other risk reversal techniques to use such as free trials or buy now and pay later approaches. You probably already have a guarantee that's required by law hiding away somewhere and all you have to do is jazz it up a little and put it on display.

Tip #6 - Have a call to action

Nearly all of us are serial procrastinators whether we like to admit it or not. We hold back from taking action because we're afraid of making a mistake or a bad decision. This is no different when someone is looking to buy your products and services.

Therefore you can increase your website conversion rate by having a solid call to action that helps the prospect commit to the decision right now. It isn't about having some strong arm sales tactic but rather helping your visitor over that hump to making a purchase. Your prospects are much more likely to buy if they realize they might miss out on something if they don't act now.

Tip #7 - Have a personality

I find many (if not all) business websites are incredibly boring and business like. They look the same, sound the same... and put their visitors to sleep the same. Sometimes all it takes to have  a successful website is to take what other people are selling and add some personality.

Now it doesn't have to be some big dramatic performance where you where an eye patch and talk like a pirate. But you should at least appear as a real person and not get hung up pretending to be a big company. At the end of the day people buy from people - not companies - so use this to your advantage.

What you do next to improve website conversion

Well there you have 7 tips that should increase website conversion very effectively and they don't take much time to implement. However reading about them won't do much for your sales... you have to take action. So go and pick one tip above and start by implementing it... then once you see your website sales rise I'm sure you'll want to come back and use the other tips as well.