Your business website is the primary touch-point for your target audience. Whether you have an e-commerce website or use your site to better market your product/service offering, ask yourself whether your website is capable of providing users a memorable experience and prompting them to action.
Many a business owner is left wondering, regardless of how beautiful their websites are, why the conversion (converting a visitor in to a customer) rate remains low.
This week we explain some of the features that you need to consider when building your website to ensure your online presence is strong and complements your overall business objectives.
Clarity of Purpose
If visitors who land on your website cannot determine what it is about, within the first few seconds, they will move on and you have lost your chance to convert them.
Decide who you want to target and match your message to that audience. Avoid making the mistake of targeting your message to the wider community in the belief that the more visitors you attract the greater the likelihood some of them making a purchase or an enquiry. Unfortunately, many enquiries generated in such a manner are from tyre kickers, not serious buyers. What you need is targeted traffic – visitors with a greater probability of becoming customers. Ensure the content, appearance and functionality of your website is congruent with this audience.
Design Considerations
The appearance and design of your website should be simple and easy to navigate. The content should comprise a balance of text, video and images so they appeal to the different senses through which information is consumed – visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. Loud contrasting colours are a no-no, unless your brand demands it.
The navigation buttons should be clearly positioned so visitors can find the information they seek with just a few clicks. It is best to position the main message or offer prominently, with links to additional information, in case the visitor needs to take action.
Remember to include a strong call-to-action. One of the ways to get prospects to engage with your business is to offer valuable information they can use in exchange for their contact details. This gives you an opportunity to initiate a conversation with them through e-mail which could eventually result in a sale.
Ensure your contact details are clearly visible in the “Contact Us” page and there’s a simple form that anyone seeking further information or having a query can fill in. Also include a mailing address on this page as this will save you hours of time giving people your address if they need to visit your premises or send you an e-mail enquiry.
Speed of Loading
Although people are spending more time than ever on the internet, nothing is more frustrating than staring at a screen, waiting for a website to load. Periodic checks should be carried out to see whether your website loads quickly. If it takes more than seven seconds for your website to load, you may be losing potential customers to your competition.
Harness the Power of Mobile Platforms
Recently there has been a phenomenal increase in online searches conducted on smartphones and other mobile devices. In fact, more than 40% of online searches today are done on mobile devices. Mobile websites should be purposefully designed with vertical scrolling bars so that visitors can get the information they want quickly and in a format that is easy to view on a smartphone or tablet. To make the website more interactive, features such as “Tap to Call” buttons should be built in so visitors can easily call the business by a simple tapping on the button. Click here to find out more about making your website mobile-friendly.
Designing E-commerce Websites for Higher Conversions
While e-commerce should look appealing enough to attract prospects, functionality and security are two essential factors that increase the likelihood of users clicking on the “Add to Cart” button. For instance, displaying a Verisign logo reassures buyers they can buy safely and their financial details will not be compromised. Search boxes should be prominently displayed so that visitors can easily find items they need. Furthermore, to improve the users’ experience, ensure they are able to search based on product features such as size, colour, material etc.
Optimising Websites for Search Engines
Without an effective search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy, your website may end up as a search engine’s best kept secret and never be found. Using keyword rich title tags and content are important factors for search engine ranking. The number of relevant back-links from highly ranked websites is another important consideration for search engine ranking. With Google giving importance to local search, businesses operating in a local area should ensure their websites are optimised accordingly.
If your website is not generating sales or enquiries like it should, consider making changes based on the above tips and you are assured of a significant increase in results. A few simple changes could be all you need to give your website its “WOW” factor and increase your conversions. Of course you can always use the help of a website developer like solomoIT to help you take your business to a whole new level on the internet.
About solomoIT
SolomoIT is a digital marketing agency, based in Sydney, Australia, offering fully integrated social, local and mobile marketing solutions.