So, your website is getting hundreds of visitors, great, but what really matters is your conversion rate. If you have a lot of traffic and you’re getting little (or no) conversions, you need to be asking yourself why. Don’t know where to begin? This post will outline a few of the changes you should consider to help improve your conversion rate and make your traffic count.
DO judge a book by its cover (because your audience will be)
These days, people expect to receive results instantly; if they can’t readily find what they are looking for on your website, they’ll go elsewhere. When it comes to UX, think: simple is effective. You need to make the user journey clear and prioritise functionality over elaborate design. This doesn’t mean your website has to be boring – there’s still plenty of room for creativity – but you do need to consider things such as whether your chosen font is legible and if key features (such as the navigation bar) are where the user expects them to be.
Think of it like going to a supermarket, if you visit a new one that doesn’t follow the sequence you’re used to, you end up spending what feels like an eternity searching for something that should be easy to find, get frustrated and leave to do your shopping elsewhere. The same applies to your website. If it’s not easy to navigate, you may as well add a big red button that directs all of your traffic to your competitor’s site – because that’s where they’ll be going.
Here are a few key things to remember:
- Include images and videos
- Make your calls to action clear
- Ensure text is readable
- Test your site speed (loading time is important)
- Optimise your site for use on mobile devices
Say hello to your new best friend
The most effective way to build trust and establish a relationship with your audience is to communicate with them on a personal level. While having a one-to-one conversation with your audience is the most effective way to build a relationship, this can be time-consuming and in most cases, not possible until further down the sales funnel. To overcome this issue and establish that initial connection is easier than you think.
While it’s nice to say hello to your customers, the best friend we’re referring to on this occasion is marketing automation. Thanks to technology, you can now communicate with your site’s visitors at key touchpoints without… well, without actually having to communicate with them. This can include things such as personalised pop-ups based on pages they’ve visited and welcome or thank you emails triggered by actions such as completing an enquiry form. And the results speak for themselves. 80% of those who have used marketing automation services say they have seen an increase in leads and 77% agree it has improved their conversion rates.
Content is king
The content of your website has arguably the most significant impact on your conversion rate. As with UX, your content should be clear, easy-to-follow and created with your customer in mind. Here are a couple of ways you can optimise your content for conversions:
- Make it relevant – if someone has ended up on your site after searching for something specific, you need to ensure they’re greeted with the information they would expect to find. Think: does your content address a need or offer value to your user? If not, you probably want to think about updating it.
- Offer value – linking to the above, adding informative and insightful content to your site will increase your credibility and give your audience a reason to come back and repay the favour. Stuck for ideas? Check out our previous blog post (here) to see what content your accounting firm should be posting.
- Keep things simple – it may be tempting to fill your site with pages of text demonstrating your expertise or highlighting every service you offer, but to a user, this can be overwhelming. Think about the purpose of the page and focus on including only the most relevant information.
- Show them what you can do – you may claim to be worth an investment from your audience, but doesn’t everyone? If you want to drive conversions, you need to prove why you’re worth their time and money. The easiest way to do this is with testimonials and case studies. They are a great way to highlight your successes and get recommendations from the people your audience trust and relate to the most.
- Include a powerful call-to-action – your CTA should be clear and concise and as the name suggests, motivate your audience to take action. Create a sense of urgency by using words like ‘now’ or ‘today’ and make sure they know exactly what they are getting and how it will benefit them.
Learn from your mistakes
Using and understanding your website’s analytics is a simple yet (very) effective way to boost your conversion rates. Along with identifying which pages are most successful, you can also assess when and where your site is losing the most visitors. Once you have identified any weaknesses, you can develop a plan to improve them and keep a note of what to avoid moving forward.
Put it to the test
While market research can provide you with a certain level of knowledge about what will be effective with your audience, there are always other variables that will impact results. So, rather than assuming the best solution, put it to the test: the split test. A/B testing (also referred to as split testing) allows you to compare the performance of different versions of a selected page to identify which is most successful and should be used going forward.
Seems simple, right? Sometimes, it’s the smallest changes that make the biggest impacts. While the effects may not always be immediate, good things come to those who wait: if you’re consistent with the above, over time, you will see results. Looking for more ways to transform your marketing strategy? Check out our ultimate guide to marketing for accounting firms here or contact us for a free consultation to see how we can help your business.
