Key Factors in Successful Website Conversions

01 November 2010

As you're first starting to build your web business, you may hear a lot of emphasis placed on driving traffic to your website. This is a huge percentage of your business getting people to visit your site. However, if you wish to truly be successful with any business venture, you can't simply have traffic show up. You have to be able to convert your visitors to buyers.

Having a strong conversion rate can transform your startup or middle-of-the-road web business into a successful venture virtually overnight. Of course, taking the necessary steps to ensure your methods convert visitors is a longer process in itself, but if done correctly it's a process worth its wait in gold.

Website conversion is a term that's explained very easily. It's the number of potential customers visitors that go on to become customers. Too often, websites work on increasing their total traffic instead of their conversion rates. While this may help in the SEO aspect and name recognition, it doesn't do that well for the bottom line.

There are a few key factors in successful website conversion that you should pay attention to. First up, the idea is to make your site easy to use and accessible to the public at large. Strong emphasis should be placed on the design of both your website and your ads. You don't want to exclude anyone.
This includes everything from the content you use on your site to your site's payment methods. Take time to make everything accessible; make your visitors feel at home.

Step outside of what you know as an Internet user. What this means, basically, is to set up your site so it works well in all browsers: Opera, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, mobile applications, and more.

When it comes to your products, be honest about everything. If you're currently out of a product, be sure to update your site and tell your customers that you're out of stock. It's also important to be up front with all fees associated with the product. Nothing will drive a customer away like hidden shipping charges or high hidden tax rates.

You also have to pay attention to the way you market your site. The keywords and phrases you pick out can drive traffic, convert traffic, or do both. A lot of people opt for the more popular phrases to simply drive traffic, but the more sophisticated (coherent) phrases will help to convert customers, as they come across infinitely more legitimate.

One of the most important factors here is to come across as a real person or real people. Letting the user know you can be trusted is always important, and posting your address and other personal information on your site makes it seem far more trustworthy than just some order page.

Lastly, it's important to provide some insurance. Potential customers want to know that what they're purchasing is worth the money. Products with a solid return policy do a lot better than products sold as-is.