[T]hese days, everyone seems to be talking about conversion rates. And no wonder – in today’s increasingly crowded and competitive online marketplace, just a small increase in conversions can have a big impact on your business’s overall profitability.
It is easy to get bogged down in the more complicated aspects of digital marketing by analyzing keywords and diving into pay per click strategies. But many of the most effective ways to improve conversions come from the overall design and layout of your website. Here we take a look at three aspects of web design that can make all the difference.
Get the Content Right
Every piece of content on your site needs to be there with the visitor in mind. Gear your content towards providing a solution to their problem or answering the question that brought them there in the first place.
It sounds obvious, but so many sites end up with a mass of content that does nothing. If this sounds like you, it might be time to do a content audit. In doing so, you can check that your content is relevant, useful and on-brand.
Make it Beautiful
Of course, all that great content is not going to help your cause if visitors cannot find it. Today’s websites need to be fresh, clear and intuitive, or visitors will rapidly leave and look somewhere else. As soon as your visitors arrive, they need to be greeted by engaging calls to action. Users also clear signs & headings that will encourage them to stay on your site.
Experiment with different color schemes, fonts and themes. Consider images that are keeping with your brand and your service offering. Here are two simple extreme examples: 1) a kid’s club will be looking to present a friendly, welcoming homepage with bright primary colors. 2) whereas a law firm will want to convey a more formal, professional look.
Also, remember that fashions and approaches change over time. As a general rule, websites need to be refreshed and updated every three years, so if yours is looking anything less than cutting-edge, now could be the time for a change.
Mobile First
Some say that the future is mobile, but the fact is that mobile is now. It is two years since mobile overtook desktop as the preferred platform for surfing the Internet, so if your website is not optimized for mobile platforms such as tablets and smartphones, your conversion rates will be through the floor.
A mobile first approach means ensuring that load times are acceptable, pages display properly and all buttons and calls to action work equally well across every platform.
Bonus Tip: Link to Other Beneficial Website
Part of improving sales and conversions is improving your ranking in Google. An element of this is linking to value added websites. For example, let’s say you are in the remodeling business. And one of the products you suggestion is a slimline radiator. Then you may want to link to other articles or the manufacture like this, that would support the products you recommend.
Watch your Conversions
Following the above tips will be certain to have a major impact on your conversion rates, but do not rest on your laurels. The Internet is a place of constant evolution, so keep a regular eye on your conversions through the reports on Google Analytics to ensure that you follow a process of continuous improvement and refinement.
Feature image courtesy of Aleksi Tappura.
