Website Tips: Converting Visitors into Contacts and Customers

Just because your website is ranking well on Google and the other search engines and people are clicking onto your website, does not mean they are going to move any closer to becoming a customer. Once they get to your site something there must move a visitor to act – to contact you or something else. We call this transition from visiting to engagement “conversion.” Is your website set up to convert visitors? Here are some helpful tips:

1. Wording. Very basic – does your website make sense? Not to you or people in your company, but to outsiders. The wording should describe well what you do, who you are, and your services, benefits, etc.

2. Clear Calls to Action. Does you set clearly tell the visitor what you want them to do and how to do it?

3. Speed. Here we are talking about load times. Does the website initially load quickly and move well between pages of the site? Searchers are very impatient people. They will click off your site and head for your competitors the instant your “website” tells them it is wasting their time.

4. Safety. Do everything you can to make visitors feel safe. Provide secure transaction and make sure they know their security and privacy are important to you.

5. Avoid distractions. Remove distractions – like ads or superfluous eye-catchers. Help them concentrate on what is really important on a page.

6. Working links. Make sure all your “buttons,” menu items, and links – particularly those providing navigation around the site – work. I clicked on the “Attorney Profiles” page of a law firms website recently and it went nowhere. Not a good “selling moment” for that firm.

7. Test. Schedule tests of your site where you make changes and see how it effects conversions. These A/B tests take time, but help you perfect your online “sales” model.

8. Offer alternatives. You may want to have all your initial contacts with visitors to be through email. They might not be built the same way. Maybe they are phone callers. Make that phone number highly visible and let them know you will be happy to take their call. What if they prefer dropping in? Give them a map and clear directions and office hours. Be all things to all people.

9. Watch your analytics. Google will tell you where your visitors are coming from. If these analytics have not been set up for your site, get with your webmaster now. Knowing how people find you may have a lot to do with help you organize your website to capture conversions.

10. Be responsive. We have talked about this in prior articles, but your website should be easily viewable and operable on any device, computer, laptop, tablets or smartphone – the technical term is that your website is said to be responsive.

There are many, many other things you can do to help with conversions, but these tips provide you with some good, basic points for review.