What if you could double your leads in 7 days or less?
We all want a website that stands out in the midst of countless other sites vying for the same consumer's attention. We all want our website to look great, but a great looking website is pretty useless if it's not converting visitors into customers. What if there were some simple and proven ways to increase your conversion rate? What if you could double your conversions on your next website redesign? Even triple? Making even the smallest of web design changes can yield immediate results.
Driving traffic to your site is great, but converting that traffic into customers is where the rubber meets the road. Our 47-point homepage checklist is a great tool to keep handy, but don't worry, you don't have to master all of these to see significant results. Many of us are visual learners; therefore, being able to see how these ideas are executed goes a long way in providing that motivation to jump in and get started. Following are some good examples of sites that incorporate many of these easy to implement tips to significantly increase your website conversion rate. These are only a handful of the 47 tips available in our free download:
Professional Photography: AGWRAPS demonstrates the use of professional-looking photos of using images from finished projects. Their business is vehicle wraps of many different variations and they include photographs of their actual work.
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When designing your website, you should try to avoid using stock photos. Following are several reasons why:
- Your photos should tell your unique story. Effective photos portray emotion and tell a story, and emotions play a part in purchasing decisions. The photos on your website should tell your story, not someone else's story.
- Custom photography allows you to present something to your visitors that they have not seen before. Seize the opportunity to allow your picture to convey the old adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words". It allows you to create a unique identity and develop your brand.
- Studies have shown that utilizing real photographs increases engagement by visitors on your site. Studies have also indicated that stock photos are often ignored by people. Real photos encourage site visitors to not just browse, but engage in your site.
Big phone number top right: A study conducted by Kissmetrics provided evidence that including a prominent phone number increases conversion rates. The study compared the difference in volume of calls over the course of 6 weeks when a prominent phone number was included. Results after 6 weeks indicated a 0.5% increase in website conversions. The industry average conversion rate for business to business websites is 2-4%, so a 0.5% increase is significant in comparison.
In addition, a prominent phone number builds credibility and trust. Businesses who display a prominent phone number communicate to visitors that the business is personable and encourages customer interaction on a human level.
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Key Auto Detailing displays their phone number prominently in the upper right hand corner. The design draws the visitor's eye immediately to the contact phone number making them appear readily accessible.
Interesting image or video partially above the fold : The term above the fold originated in the print world. It refers to the upper half of the front page of the newspaper. Online, above the fold refers to what can be seen on the web page without scrolling. Body Logic Massage and Chiropractic does this well. Three messages scroll above the fold on their home page. Feel better, live better, move better. Who doesn't want to feel, live and move better? They also display a professional logo top left and prominently display their phone number in the top right corner of their home page. In addition, social media icons are incorporated prominently.
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Their home page is also easy to navigate. Elements that make a site easy to navigate include:
- Keep it simple enough for even the slowest machine
- Make it simple enough for an eleven year old to be able to navigate it
- Avoid backgrounds and colors that distract from your products or services
- When linking to another page, it should be obvious to the reader that they should click even without "click here"
Keyword rich body copy: Body Logic Massage and Chiropractic incorporates keyword rich body copy that easily describes who they are and what benefits they offer. This aids significantly in appearing higher in Google rankings during a search.
PUSH demonstrates a clear and unique value proposition. Readers are invited to register to win a free professional branding package. There is a prominent "Register" button in the middle of the page as well as a secondary register button. Map and location data is displayed prominently which is another proven way to drive conversions to a website.
Simple 1 to 2 form field opt-in:
This one element packs a big punch in regards to your conversion rates. Keep the following tips in mind when designing your opt-in form:
- Make your form stand out: Utilize white space and a unique design to draw attention to your form. Adding a simple splash of color can evoke an emotional response and make it easier to read. Directional cues can also help draw attention to your form and increase opt-in response rates.
- Keep it concise: Use as few fields as possible. Aim for 1 to 2 fields and no more than 3 to 5. There are some websites that require longer forms. In this case, try to break the form into chunks to make it easier to fill out.
- Consider an incentive: Consider offering an incentive for visitors to fill out your form. This is often referred to as a "lead magnet". In exchange for their information (email, phone # etc), visitors receive something of value to them.
PUSH also includes a simple opt-in with the recommended 1 to 2 form fields. This makes it stand out and simple to opt-in. Asking for just one or two items is the best way to maximize conversions.
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Breast Cancer Car Donations demonstrates several elements done well:
Clear and unique value proposition: In this case, the value proposition is the satisfaction of helping a cause. "Ready to help save lives? It's fast and easy"
3 Key Benefits: 3 Ways to Donate Your Vehicle is displayed prominently on the homepage. In this case, the benefits touch on a financial benefit (your contribution is tax deductible), emotional benefit (you help save lives) and lifestyle benefit (vehicle is picked up at no cost to you).
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Big phone number top right and easy to navigate homepage. Buttons are lined up clearly along the top of the page and the information needed to donate your car is clearly laid out.
Interesting image or video above the fold: A photo of women linking arms in solidarity is a strong photo to use on a page asking for car donations for breast cancer.
Rock’s Carolina Furniture has a strong image that immediately draws the eye into the site. A compelling headline is placed right under the photograph with arrows on both sides indicating to the reader that additional photographs are available by clicking; your website needs to communicate what you have to offer within three seconds to keep the visitor engaged. This is placed right above the fold and the reader is drawn to scroll down the page to view additional categories available such as Bedroom, Living Room, Dining Room and Entertainment. The small box under each, "View Collection", indicates that there is more to be seen by clicking on the box. A sub-headline should supplement the headline and offer a brief description of what your business has to offer.
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Partner logos: Logos of furniture brands that can found at Rock’s Carolina Furniture are displayed together on the home page. This establishes product quality, trust and credibility.
Map and location data: A Google map is included with a clear depiction of location. Their phone number is included here as well as the top right corner of the page. Once again, acknowledging that including these elements has been proven to increase conversion rates.
Customer Testimony: Rock's Carolina Furniture understands that what other people have to say about them holds more weight than what they say about themselves.
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Take a look at Red Letter Directory's website to take a look at good examples of the following:
- Professional logo: Your logo is a powerful marketing tool that helps establish your identity. It also creates your image and helps to solidify consumer loyalty. Once consumer loyalty is established, it's important that your logo appear every time your business is mentioned. This aids in building your brand, which in turn leads to increased conversions.
- Clear and unique value proposition: Visitors are invited to discover places to eat, stay, shop or visit by a local expert.
- Interesting image or graphic above the fold: A simple arrow pointing to boxes that invite the reader to "discover the highlights" of the various categories (i.e. food, play, bakery, park etc) provides simple navigation to the areas of specific interest to the visitor.
Call-to-Action:
The call to action should be clear and encourage participation. It should stand out with unique design and colors that are contrast to the elements surrounding it.
Uber is a great example of a website with strong calls to action. They highlight different CTA's for different targets. One CTA targets drivers looking for work and the other targets those looking for a ride. The call-to-action stands out on their page so you can't miss it. The primary photograph on the page draws the visitor in by evoking emotion. They also do a good job outlining three key benefits to using their service. The site is easy to navigate and the forms are short and simple.
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One of the keys to a site that has high conversions is to test and then test some more. What works well for one site may not knock the ball out of the park for another. Keep an eye on your competitor's sites and see what works well for them.
Eternal Works is a branding and online marketing agency, in Virginia Beach, Va, with a focus on small details and big results. At Eternal Works we love to make what is good even better. We offer a full suite of services to grow your business. We offer complete branding, web and marketing strategies as well as à la carte solutions with a strong focus on website conversion optimization. We've also put together several free resources that we hope can help you improve your overall marketing efforts and increase your conversions with just a few, simple steps. Click here to download our free 47-point homepage checklist before you start your next web site redesign. We hope you will find that this is a great reason to sign up for our newsletter.
Visit us at Eternal Works for more information and other free resources or call us today at 757-271-4539. We'd love to help you double your leads and grow your business.
