We’ve all heard the phrase, “If you build it they will come”. It used to be that you could just build a website and you’d automatically get visitors. But these days, just having a website isn’t enough. The internet is getting more and more crowded and if your website is nothing more than a digital brochure than you will likely face an uphill battle when it comes to getting quality traffic and visitors. What is the value of a website that does not attract, convince, convert and delight your users? The answer is very likely absolutely nothing!
On the web you typically only have, at most, 10 seconds to get a visitor’s attention, so it’s important that your website is focused on them and delivering the information they are looking for quickly and clearly.
So what exactly is a conversion-focused website?
Simply put, a conversion focused website is designed to turn visitors into committed customers. This is done by incorporating different conversion elements that are designed to create action and engagement from the visitor.
Some examples of conversion elements:
- Book an appointment
- Watch a video
- Buy a product
- Download a file
- Subscribe to a newsletter
- Request a quote
- Follow us on Twitter
- Like us on Facebook
- Subscribe to our blog
- Email us
- Call us
All of these elements are ways to continue engagement with your site visitors in an effort to delight them and make them long-term users and ultimately customers.
Is my site conversion focused?
Here are some questions to help you quickly analyze and determine if your website is conversion focused.
- Can your visitors see who your business is for? They should be able to quickly decide if what you provide on your website is meant to be for them.
- Can visitors identify what you do? They should be able to immediately understand what you provide.
- Do your visitors know what to do next? When a visitor hits your site they should be able to quickly figure out what to do. Should they call, click a button, watch a video or fill out a form?
- Can your visitors find what they need? Your navigation and content should help your users find what they need. Too many options can lead to no action.
- Can they contact you? You should make it very easy for visitors to contact you as you never know what stage of the buying process they are in.
How can I make my site more conversion focused?
There are many variables that come into play that will help your website become a converting machine – including site design, content and imagery. Here are four specific examples:
1) Call to Action
A Call to Action (CTA) is an extremely important part of a conversion-focused website. A CTA is something that indicates to a visitor that they can do something (thereby converting them into a lead). There are many things involved in a CTA, for example, a CTA button would include font, size, color, shape and more. But more important than what a CTA button looks like is where it is placed on the page.
2) Site Design
The design of your site is about more than just looking good. Of course it’s important to look good and to represent your brand but it’s equally – or more – important to be sure that your site is designed with an effective UX (user experience) in mind. When a potential customer can easily navigate your website and enjoy the experience along the way, they are more likely to become a lead or customer.
3) Color
Color is obviously a major design element but it’s more than just a design element. The impact of colors correlates directly to conversion too. The psychology of color is powerful and impacts emotions and can make the difference between whether a button gets clicked or not.
4) SEO Friendly Content
When relevant keywords are incorporated naturally into your page’s content they are an important part of your conversion equation. When visitors are attracted to the content of your site because it’s written in a natural, organic way, then they can more easily understand the user flow and actions to take – leading to conversion.
