Websites are used as a primary driver of sales for online businesses. People who find your business on various social media platforms might want to visit your website and see if you have a legitimate business or not.
When these people end up visiting your website, you want to make sure you make a great impression. Not only that, ideally, but you would also want them to perform conversions and hopefully make a purchase.
Here is how you can truly optimize your site to drive more conversions and sales:
1. Create valuable content.
If you want to make a lot of sales, you have to put in a lot of work beforehand.
Traditional marketing strategies and methods have slowly been replaced with new ideas. In the past, businesses didn’t have to deal with the nuances of today. They made an advertisement that appealed to a large enough audience and broadcasted it on radio and television.
Things and practices have changed quite a bit since then. Today’s consumers are much more aware of their rights as well as their own interests. If something does not appeal to your online audience, they will not be bothered to make a purchase.
To make your website stand out, you will need to take an inbound approach to digital marketing. You will need to provide value.
Having a blog component as a part of your site is a great way to help your audience with topics related to your niche. You can also choose to give free whitepapers, free trials, free ebooks, anything, and everything to please your target audience.
2. Focus on SEO.
People buy what they see, and if the people are not able to find your website on Google, you won’t convince them to purchase something from your site.
SEO is one of the most inexpensive online marketing strategies that continue to provide results, even if you break from doing it.
There is a lot to do in SEO. Forum participation, blog commenting, site submissions, directories, and listing are all a part of SEO, but guest posting might be one of the most effective SEO methods.
You will need to find a website with a similar kind of target audience that your website would like. You ask the website’s admin if they would like to have you on as a guest post author.
By finding opportunities and writing guest posts when you can, you will get a chance to not only show your expertise or authority on a topic that you are passionate about, but you will also be able to drive high quality, engaged traffic to your site if the content you provide is good enough.
3. Make your website load as fast and quick as possible.
People have an increasingly short attention span these days. If you want people to see something on the internet, you have to make it eye-catching, but you also have to make absolutely sure that the offer displays instantly.
Having a slow website these days is a sin these days, especially since every other website makes a conscious effort to improve its page load speeds.
The easiest way is to outsource your hosting to a reputable hosting provider.
If you’re on an economical shared hosting plan and your site is growing rapidly, maybe invest in something like a VPS or a dedicated server. Sure, these options cost a bit more money, but they help you improve your chances of making conversions and sales in the larger scheme of things.
4. Place CTA buttons in the right places.
You have to periodically remind your online visitors that you have something to offer.
People are swarmed by information these days. There are simply too many options, too many choices. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to focus. This is not only bad for consumers; it is also bad for your website.
You will need to find a balance between providing value to your audience and selling your products.
Arguably the best way to convert people on your website is to include a relevant CTA (call to action) button at a place where your audience is most likely to look. You might find the middle of an article to be a great place to place your CTA. The top and bottom are also common areas to place CTA buttons.
One thing that you have to remember with CTAs is that you don’t want too many. If there are too many CTA buttons, you are providing too many options, which makes conversions and sales more complicated. Using a live chat app is another great way of making people click on a CTA.
5. Ensure that your site is responsive.
Consumers are using their smartphones now more than ever. By the end of 2020, 45% of the entire US eCommerce market will come from mobile.
You will need to ensure that your website looks great on all kinds of devices.
If your website is not responsive, you will also get a penalty from Google. Google and other search engines value the user experience. A website that does not work for mobile is difficult for the user, which means that you will not be able to convert a lot of your online visitors.
If you plan to build your website on WordPress, you will be glad to know that almost all new WP themes these days are responsive and mobile-friendly. Before launching your website, test it on various devices, including other smartphones and tablets.
6. Make your website a well-trusted resource.
Trust is essential for businesses, whether they are offline or online.
For starters, get an SSL certificate for your website. Websites that have an SSL certificate are safe for eCommerce. For a website that doesn’t have an SSL certificate, Google will warn the user by showing a red lock right next to the URL that starts with HTTP.
Make sure that your website looks appropriate. If it is not designed or developed correctly, people will have a hard time believing that they can trust the website.
Your blog should look like a credible resource. Invite industry leaders and famous people in your niche for an interview, guest post, or collaboration on your website.
Conclusion
Every online business and website would want to increase conversions and sales. But that depends more on how much work you’re willing to put into your site.
It’s going to be a tedious process of trial and error. But ultimately, you’re going to end up with a website that not only provides value to your audience but also proves to be an asset for your business.
Author – Hamzah Adil is a digital marketing executive currently working for a startup that has developed a live chat app called SwiftChat.