Social Proof App Things To Know Before You Buy
Conversion optimization is such a technical and complex field. With all kinds of tests to run, from A/B and Multi-Variate testing to heat maps, the terminology alone is enough to send the less technically savvy marketer running for the hills. While even those intimidating tests are simple in reality, there are lots of less-frightening tips and tactics you can easily implement to start boosting your conversion rates today.
1. Make sure your contact information is clearly visible on your landing pages. If you're asking visitors to take an action, such as call you for a custom quote, you want them to immediately know how to go about doing so. When your phone number is hidden in the depths of your page footer, you're not going to receive many calls even if you're generating tons of traffic.
2. Respond, respond, respond. You're taking a step in the right direction if you've included your contact information clearly on your landing page. But what about all those emails and voice messages you're receiving? You're throwing your marketing dollars down the drain-along with your reputation if you have a mile-long list of contacts you're putting off calling back. No one likes a business that doesn't return phone calls and other messages.
3. Be transparent. Today's consumers like to be in the know. They don't want to guess about hidden fees and shipping times, especially if they've never ordered from your company before. Make sure the information on taxes, shipping fees, shipping options, shipping timeframes, and of course overall prices are clearly visible on your website and ordering forms. There have been more than a few visitors bounce from a nearly completed shopping cart transaction due to a lack of transparency, which creates a sense of untrustworthiness in the minds of customers.
Being upfront and clear from the get-go will benefit you in the long-term, anyway, because you'll have fewer customers coming back saying they were inappropriately charged or not notified in advance about an additional fee. It's a good idea to have customers read and indicate that they've read and agree with a standard disclosure form, which details policies such as refunds, additional fees and so forth, to protect yourself legally in the event of an unforeseen misunderstanding.
4. Include robust information about your company. This is best achieved through the use of an "About Us" page, which means you won't take up a bunch of space on a simple landing page bragging about yourself and your accomplishments. But you do want that information to be easily accessible to visitors who reach your landing page but aren't quite convinced they trust you enough yet to fork over their hard-earned cash.
5. Include a call to action. How are your visitors supposed to know what to do next if you don't tell them? A clear call to action is just as important as providing the contact info for potential customers to reach you. Calls to action let the visitor know exactly what step they're supposed to take next. Really good CTAs create a sense of urgency and are compelling. Examples include:
- Add to Cart
- Buy Now
- Start Your FREE Trial
- Sign Up
- Download Now
- Start Saving
- Join Our List
- Many others.
6. Use arrows to direct eye path to your CTAs. It may seem weird to include a big, glaring arrow on a landing page-but you've seen it done plenty of times. There are more sophisticated and far more subtle ways to direct users' eye paths to the most important areas of the page. But if you're looking for a quick and easy way to boost conversions, include an attractive arrow image that points directly to your CTA. Visitors are so used to seeing graphics such as this that they won't even realize they're being gently pushed in the right direction.
7. Break down your content into easily digestible sections. Does your landing page have big blocks of text with no subheadings, no bulleted lists and no clear differentiation or indication of what the content is about? If that describes your page, you need to break it down. Cut back on the copy, or at least chop it up into logical sub-sections, identify them with subheadings that break up the space on the page and make the content appear more scannable. Visitors don't want to read a novel when they're looking to make a purchase-they want to get the info they need to make an informed buying decision and be done with it. Give it to them.
8. Simplify your sign-up and purchase forms. If there's one thing that's more likely to turn visitors away after they've already started the conversion process, it's cumbersome signup forms. How many times have you filled out a web form only to feel like you're being asked to reveal far too many details about your personal life? It's frustrating to hand over information you know the company will never actually need. Keep your signup forms simple and easy, eliminating all those extraneous form fields that you really don't require. You can always obtain more detailed information from them later once you've signed someone up.
Conversion rate optimization doesn't have to be a Social Proof App time-consuming and complex process. Often, a few simple changes can make the difference between throwing your hands up in frustration and converting visitors like crazy. Which group do you want to fall into?
Conversion optimization is such a technical and complex field. With all kinds of tests to run, from A/B and Multi-Variate testing to heat maps, the terminology alone is enough to send the less technically savvy marketer running for the hills. While even those intimidating tests are simple in reality, there are lots of less-frightening tips and tactics you can easily implement to start boosting your conversion rates today.
1. Make sure your contact information is clearly visible on your landing pages. If you're asking visitors to take an action, such as call you for a custom quote, you want them to immediately know how to go about doing so. When your phone number is hidden in the depths of your page footer, you're not going to receive many calls even if you're generating tons of traffic.
2. Respond, respond, respond. If you've included your contact information clearly on your landing page, you're taking a step in the right direction. But what about all those emails and voice messages you're receiving? If you have a mile-long list of contacts you're putting off calling back, you're throwing your marketing dollars down the drain-along with your reputation. No one likes a business that doesn't return phone calls and other messages.
3. Be transparent. Today's consumers like to be in the know. They don't want to guess about hidden fees and shipping times, especially if they've never ordered from your company before. Make sure the information on taxes, shipping fees, shipping options, shipping timeframes, and of course overall prices are clearly visible on your website and ordering forms. There have been more than a few visitors bounce from a nearly completed shopping cart transaction due to a lack of transparency, which creates a sense of untrustworthiness in the minds of customers.
Being clear and upfront from the get-go will benefit you in the long-term, anyway, because you'll have fewer customers coming back saying they were inappropriately charged or not notified in advance about an additional fee. In fact, it's a good idea to have customers read and indicate that they've read and agree with a standard disclosure form, which details policies such as refunds, additional fees and so forth, to protect yourself legally in the event of an unforeseen misunderstanding.
4. Include robust information about your company. This is best achieved through the use of an "About Us" page, which means you won't take up a bunch of space on a simple landing page bragging about yourself and your accomplishments. You do want that information to be easily accessible to visitors who reach your landing page but aren't quite convinced they trust you enough yet to fork over their hard-earned cash.
5. Include a call to action. How are your visitors supposed to know what to do next if you don't tell them? A clear call to action is just as important as providing the contact info for potential customers to reach you. Calls to action let the visitor know exactly what step they're supposed to take next. Really good CTAs create a sense of urgency and are compelling. Examples include:
- Add to Cart
- Buy Now
- Start Your FREE Trial
- Sign Up
- Download Now
- Start Saving
- Join Our List
- Many others.
6. Use arrows to direct eye path to your CTAs. It may seem weird to include a big, glaring arrow on a landing page-but you've seen it done plenty of times. There are more sophisticated and far more subtle ways to direct users' eye paths to the most important areas of the page. If you're looking for an easy and quick way to boost conversions, include an attractive arrow image that points directly to your CTA. Visitors are so used to seeing graphics such as this that they won't even realize they're being gently pushed in the right direction.
7. Break down your content into easily digestible sections. Does your landing page have big blocks of text with no subheadings, no bulleted lists and no clear differentiation or indication of what the content is about? If that describes your page, you need to break it down. Cut back on the copy, or at least chop it up into logical sub-sections, identify them with subheadings that break up the space on the page and make the content appear more scannable. Visitors don't want to read a novel when they're looking to make a purchase-they want to get the info they need to make an informed buying decision and be done with it. Give it to them.
8. Simplify your sign-up and purchase forms. It's cumbersome signup forms if there's one thing that's more likely to turn visitors away after they've already started the conversion process. How many times have you filled out a web form only to feel like you're being asked to reveal far too many details about your personal life? It's frustrating to hand over information you know the company will never actually need. Keep your signup forms easy and simple, eliminating all those extraneous form fields that you really don't require. You can always obtain more detailed information from them later once you've signed someone up.
Conversion rate optimization doesn't have to be a complex and time-consuming process. Often, a few simple changes can make the difference between throwing your hands up in frustration and converting visitors like crazy. Which group do you want to fall into?
Make sure your contact information is clearly visible on your landing pages. You do want that information to be easily accessible to visitors who reach your landing page but aren't quite convinced they trust you enough yet to fork over their hard-earned cash.
Cut back on the copy, or at least chop it up into logical sub-sections, identify them with subheadings that break up the space on the page and make the content appear more scannable. Make sure your contact information is clearly visible on your landing pages. You do want that information to be easily accessible to visitors who reach your landing page but aren't quite convinced they trust you enough yet to fork over their hard-earned cash.