When you’re building your business online, it’s vital that your website conversion rate isn’t overlooked.

Your website may look great on the surface, but by ‘popping the hood’ and delving a little deeper it may reveal a few truths about how your website is actually performing. 

Just knowing your user numbers isn’t enough; you may have hundreds of visitors to your website each week which is continually growing in number. 

That’s great!

However, one key fact remains, if no one is performing the action that you want them to take on your website (a conversion), then it’s all a waste. 

Think of it this way, if your site traffic grew on average from 1,000 to 10,000 unique visitors per month, that’s an amazing increase. 

But, what if no one contacted you about your products and services, regardless or this increase in traffic, then something is seriously wrong. 

Your website conversion is the entire reason that you have a site, to generate more business. 

Knowing your Conversion Rate will help you determine how successful you are online.

This short article will answer some burning questions and point you in the right direction to improve your website conversion rate.

What is a website conversion rate?

We briefly touched on this above, however we’ll go into a bit more detail. 

In the simplest of terms, a website conversion is when a visitor performs an action that you have predetermined on your site. 

It could be anything from a potential customer filling out a contact form, signing up to a newsletter, purchasing a product to sharing you web page on their social media accounts.

Website conversions can be anything that in an ideal world you want someone to do on your website and they ‘do-it’, it’s normally calculated as a percentage.

If you have a goal for your website (e.g. sell more products) and the results can be measured against it, then this will be what is classed as a conversion. 

Examples of a conversion rate.

Depending on what your business does and the type of website that you have will determine what your conversion goals are likely to be.

Ecommerce store conversion rate:

This is an easy one to explain, the main goal of an online shop is to sell more. So, this website would class a sale as a conversion.

Services website: 

Let’s say you provide services like a plumber or an electrician; a conversion would probably be the number of enquiries that the website generates either by phone or through a contact form.

Blog: 

If your website is mainly about providing blog and news posts, then the conversion could be based on how many people signup to newsletters or alerts for example.

All companies are different and will have various ways of what they consider to be a success or in other words what a conversion to them should be. 

Websites can also have multiple conversion targets too. It could be making a sale, getting people to signup to an alert and for people to like their social media accounts to name a few. 

No two businesses will be identical in what they want their website visitors to do or what they class as a successful conversion.

How is a website conversion rate calculated?

Now you know what a website conversion rate is, it’s time to look at how you calculate that figure. 

This is very easy to do

Total number of people that have performed that action (conversion) / Total website visitors x 100 = conversion rate 

Let’s say you run an online store selling cakes.

Last month you know that you sold 25 cakes via your website. 

You also know that you had 75 visitors on your website, so the calculation would be 

25 cakes sold / 75 visitors last month x 100 = 33.3% conversion rate. 

Meaning that one third of visitors bought a cake from you last month that visited your website.

How do I know if my website has a good or bad conversion rate?

By now you know what a conversion rate is and how to calculate it, however this question is by far the hardest to answer.

You’ll probably want to know if your conversion rate is good or bad.

There are many ‘average website conversion rate benchmarks’ out there, they can tell you what a typical website should achieve. However, the honest answer is there is no specific conversion benchmarks that can say whether your site has a great conversion rate or not. 

Many factors will contribute to this such as: 

• What industry you’re in
• The type of products or services you offer
• The price you sell at
• The type of website you have
• Who your market is
• Time of year Demand
• Whether a consumer will make an instant buying decision
• Competitors

Many more factors will impact what your website conversion rate is and what will be considered as effective or good for you.

Let’s use another quick example: 

Online Jewellery Company A sells mid-priced fashion jewellery targeted towards women, ranging from £50-£100 in price

Online Jewellery Company B sells high-end diamond and platinum jewellery with a value of £5,000 upwards per piece.

On the surface, both are online jewellery stores. To say that each should have a conversion rate of around 10% to be considered as good is crazy. 

Most visitors of Company B would never be able to afford that type of jewellery. However, they may go to the site just to have a look at inspirational pieces with never any intention or ability to purchase.

So, in theory Company B could have a massive amount of website traffic but a low conversion rate compared to Company A. 

Company A may have a higher conversion rate as many more people could afford this type and will easily buy online. 

We know this is an extreme example, however it illustrates the point. 

When using ‘average website industry conversion rates’ be careful of what your expectations are and what the reality is as yours may be higher or lower based on many factors. 

The main goal of knowing your website conversion rate is to at least keep it stable as a minimum, however you should aim to improve it, month on month. 

So, if you had 1,000 website visitors this month and a 2% conversion rate, aim to increase that rate next month and the following months and so on.

Another point worth mentioning is that your website will hit a brick wall in terms of the conversion rate at some point. 

You’ll never achieve a rate of 100%, if you did it would mean every visitor that came to your site would perform the required action.

How do you improve your conversion rate?

Now you know what a conversion is and how it’s calculated. It’s now time to look at how to improve it. 

Once you have crunched the numbers and understand what your conversion rate is it’s time to focus on increasing it. 

Don’t get hung up if you have a small conversion rate, the ‘average is around 2.25%’, but as we said before, take that with a pinch of salt.

At least now you have a benchmark and are taking steps to increase this.

There are tasks that all websites can look at to try and increase a conversion rate. There are also some that depend on whether you have a brochure website or an ecommerce store. There also varying techniques depending on specific conversions you’re looking to achieve.

There are literally hundreds of ways you could try and improve your website conversion rate.

It goes without saying that there are some aspects that all websites should have regardless of whether a focus is placed on conversion rate or not.

Things such as great website design, that the site is fully responsive, that it’s fast to load and error free are just some of them. In the short guide we will cover some of the easiest tips you can do today to start improving your website conversion rate. As previously mentioned it excludes the basics of design and technical aspects as they should be taken care of regardless.

General website conversion improvement techniques for all websites

1) Less is more when asking for information

When asking for a website visitors’ details, the fewer the number of fields you ask to be completed the better.

No one likes filling out lengthy forms, the more fields, the less likely you will successfully get someone to do it. Stick to only fields that are necessary.

2) Testimonials from real customers

It is stated that over 93% of cosumers buying decisions are influenced by reviews.

By including testimonials on your website you have a much better chance of converting someone to take the action you want them to. They help build trust in your audience which has been shown to improve a positive action to be taken on a website.

Include these on relevant pages of your website, especially on product pages

3) Guarantees provide trust

Like testimonials guarantees help a web visitor feel more confident in using your services or buying your products. By showing guests that you offer a watertight – no questions asked refund it will improve your chances of getting the outcome you require. 

Make sure that your guarantees are clearly displayed on your website in a prominent position on multiple pages.

4) Clearly show the benefits

Internet users have near unlimited options when it comes to finding a product or service online.

With lots of competition and choice for a consumer, a web visitor can very quickly scan a site, feel that it’s not right for them and then click the ‘back button’. Then look elsewhere.

Most web visitors want to know if a website is right for them, fast. It’s been report that a website visitor will spend no more than 15 seconds on deciding whether a website is a good choice.

By clearly showing the benefits of your products and services you’re more likely to keep a visitor on your site for longer, which in turn will encourage them to keep browsing and perform the conversion you want.

5) Powerful headlines

Following on from the above point, headlines are crucial not just for good SEO but for drawing a visitor in. 

People tend to quickly scan a site, as headlines stand out, they increase the chance that they will encourage someone to read further. 

When trying to create great headlines for your website, try inserting something that would be of a benefit to a visitor, offers something of amazing value or something unique. 

6) Incorporate video into your website

Video is more powerful on a website than just text alone. They are more engaging and potential customers are more likely to watch a 60 second clip than read swathes of text. 

It’s predicted that by 2022, 82% of all internet traffic will be made up from people watching video. So you can see that video does play a major role in what consumers want.

If you have a video about your products and services, include these in prominent positions. They are much more likely to help a visitor convert into becoming a customer.

7) Call to actions (CTAs) with dynamic verbs

When you include CTA on your website, try and make them as inviting as possible to encourage a visitor to perform that action. 

Try using language that spurs action from someone on to perform that task (for example, “Let’s talk!” “Reserve your spot”). There are also many other ideas to improve your CTAs to increase the chance of a conversion.

Again, less is more, if your homepage for example has 15 CTAs then it will be very confusing. Focus on the most important ones.

8) Keep the most important elements above the fold. 

As we mentioned previously people can tend to scan websites. 

Include the most important elements on your website right at the top before someone needs to scroll or above the fold. 

For example, if your online store has a massive 50% sale, then this should be displayed right at the top. It’s of major interest to the visitor and a clear way for you to sell more products. 

Don’t place this information in a small box halfway down your website.

9) Try not to be overly clever with your language and words

It’s probably an obvious point but your website should be written for its intended audience. The wording and information should be easy to read and digest by them. 

If your language and terminology doesn’t match with them, then you will quickly lose a visitor.

As an example, if you ran website promoting health supplements for young children. Your web visitors are more than likely going to be parents or careers. 

They would only want to know that vitamin A is good for certain reasons. They probably aren’t interested or wish to understand the chemical structure or how it interacts at a cellular level in the human body.

On the flip side if your website was aimed at degree level student doctors, this information would be important and they would more than likely read it. 

Keep your text aimed at your audience to help improve your conversion rates.

10) Utilise pop-ups sparingly 

Pop-ups can be a great asset on your website if used sparingly. If you do decide to use them then make sure that the pop offers a visitor some major value such a discount in return for their email address.

A study in 2016 reported that 50% of people found pop-ups annoying. Make sure you use them wisely.

Also, if someone refuses to interact with it, please don’t keep forcing it on every page they visit on your website. This is a sure-fire way to lose a visitor and ultimately a conversion.  

11) Clear navigation and site structure

This again, is a no brainer.

Ensure that your website has clear and uncomplicated navigation, so a visitor can easily find their way around your website. 

By helping them find what they need very quickly it will help improve your conversion rate. Otherwise visitors may aimlessly wander around your site, get frustrated and leave.

12) Include chatbots

Chatbots on websites are a great way of someone getting in contact very quickly with you with minimal fuss.

They are big news, it’s been predicted that between 2019 and 2024 the use of chat bots will grow by 29.7%.

If a visitor does have a question that is stopping them from making a purchase or booking an appointment for instance, it can be the difference between them doing so or not.

Many websites are now are adopting chatbots to help customers get the answers they need. Many today also use AI and machine learning to provide answers to commonly asked questions automatically, with human operators getting involved in a converstation when needed.

13) Focus on hype-free information

Most consumers are fairly clever when it comes to the copy on your website. 

When you do produce content make sure that it is clear and compelling without over-hyping. They will see straight through it which can be a massive turnoff.

Ensure that the wording on your website doesn’t sound like you’re trying too hard or over selling, be honest and don’t over promise.

If customers trust what you have to say they are more likely to feel at ease and will convert easier.

14) Keep registration simple

If your website does require someone to register then it makes life much simpler if they can register using a Facebook or Google account etc. 

Should you need more information from your web visitors then keep your forms as short as possible. If requesting address data for instance, try and incorporate a postcode enter field to allow them to select an address without the need to enter the full data.

15) Clearly display contact information

This goes without saying, but if you want consumers to quickly contact you then don’t keep all of your contact details in some hidden part of your website.

It creates a challenge for a visitor to locate them and can be very irritating to say the least. 

Ensure your contact details are prominently placed on all pages of your website.

Summary:

At the beginning of the article we mentioned that there are literally hundreds ways that you can try and improve your website conversion rate. The above is really meant to help you on the journey for improving yours.

A key part worth mentioning is that every at stage and every change that you make to your website keep tracking whether it’s having a positive effect on your website conversion rate or not.

The best advice is to create a great user experience for your customer, give them what hey need and hopefully you’ll improve your conversion rate.