7 Proven Ways To Get Higher Website Conversion Rates

When it's all said and done, your conversion rate - how effectively you can turn your website traffic or visitor into a sale or lead - will greatly determine how well you succeed in your online marketing. This magic number will obviously play an important role in the profitability of your webpages or site.

The higher the rate, the better you will do.

If your goal is to earn more revenue, then your main objective is to raise your conversion rate to the highest possible level that you can achieve. If you have 100 visitors coming to your site and you make one sale, then your conversion rate is 1%. Increase your conversion rate to 10% and you will make 10 sales.

Obviously, the last scenario is the one you want. However, this is easier said then actually done. If it was so easily done, we would all be sporting Donald Trump hairdos and buying up half of Manhattan, even in these tough economic times.

However, there are many things you can do to increase your conversion rates. Some of them are very simple and some of them not so simple. Since I am a full-time affiliate marketer and run two sites on Internet marketing tools, I am constantly testing out new tools and strategies to help increase my conversion rates.

I would like to give you some tactics and tools which I am using to increase my sales and leads. These are strategies/factors you should examine to see if you can use them with your own site and webpages. Sometimes, it is just a matter of tweaking your sales copy, using a pop-in form, putting viral elements on your pages, or simply targeting the right keywords.

So here are some things to consider if you want to increase your conversion rates:

1. Content/Salescopy

You must have great content or salescopy on your sites that will convert into a sale. The better your copy sells or converts, the more sales you will get. This is the reason top copywriters can demand the big bucks, they know HOW to write copy that sells.

Now, if you can afford one of these top copywriters, by all means, hire them to write your website copy for you and you will get higher conversions. However, in the real world, most of us can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on a top copywriter, so you will probably have to learn how to do this marketing task yourself.

When I am stuck with a problem, I always search out the top experts in the area relating to my problem. There are some very good free help/courses/newsletters on copy writing and website conversion on the net. Two of the best experts, in my opinion, are Bob Bly and Dan Lok. If you need to improve your sales copy just Google those two names and check out their sites, join their newsletters... you will get the help you need to improve the copy on your site.

2. Profitable Keywords

One of the best ways to get higher conversion rates is to pick the right profitable keywords and then follow up with keyword related content on your landing pages or site. Closely design your web content to match your chosen keywords. Give your visitors what they're looking for and you will get higher conversions.

And remember, all keywords are not created equally. Some general keywords are virtually useless while others can be pure gold mines to those marketers who know exactly how to exploit them. Many savvy marketers target long-tail multi-worded keyword phrases because these have proven to have better conversion rates.

Some keywords are more commercial in nature and will lead to higher sales. If you want to check the commercial intent of keyword queries try this link:

http://adlab.msn.com/

3. Marketing Funnels

Experienced online marketers create complicated marketing funnels in order to increase their conversion rates. Marketing funnels are used to move a potential customer/prospect along several steps which lead to a sale. These marketing funnels can encompass the whole web, taking in countless sites, the major search engines, social networks and even newer playthings like Twitter.

For example, one of my most successful marketing funnels involves distributing 'how-to' articles all over the web, a potential customer clicks thru to my landing page from a link in the resource box of the article, then they enter my autoresponder where 6 to 7 follow-up messages are sent, giving them helpful information but also enticing them to purchase a product. One of the best ways to increase the conversion rates of these potential customers is to offer special coupons and discounts.

Such a marketing funnel takes some time to set-up and may involve thousands of sites but once it is in place, it all runs automatically. I use Ezinearticles for the article distribution, I use aWeber for all my autoresponder follow-up messages and for collection of contacts, I use Commission Junction which has many Top Brand name companies that regularly offer coupons and discounts where buyers can get $100's off the purchase price.

Savvy online marketers will put hundreds of these marketing funnels into place in order to promote different services/products and to increase their conversion rates. The key is to make it irresistible for any potential customer not to buy from your link. Offering special bonuses, coupons, discounts will always bring higher sales numbers so use them!

4. Art of the Pre-Sell

I am basically into affiliate marketing so my conversion rates mainly involves pre-selling a particular service or product. Your marketing procedure would be slightly different if you're selling directly to your customers. However, in affiliate marketing you are mainly giving a potential customer information. This can be product information or it can be helpful information on how to go about picking or choosing a particular service or product.

For example, if you're going to buy a laptop or computer, wouldn't it be helpful to have a buying check-list of the things you should consider: How big a hard drive should you have? How much RAM do you need? What kind of operating system should you get? What are the top rated computers... and so on.

Many customers want to comparison shop. They want to compare products or services before they buy. One way to get higher conversion rates is to give them all this comparative information on your webpages and they will reward you with a sale. If you're marketing affiliate products, one crucial tactic is to "cookie" all your potential customers with your affiliate IDs... this way no matter when they buy the product, you will get credit for the sale. Many companies have cookies lasting up to 90 days or even more.

5. Site Design That Converts

One aspect of website conversion you must not overlook is your design and layout. This includes all your graphics, color schemes, and your site's navigation. You must have a professionally looking site that immediately grabs your visitor's attention and don't send them looking for the back button. Your site must be user-friendly with easy-to-use navigation.

Your layout and design should suit the kind of site you're running, conservative colors if you have a business site, or bolder layout if you're appealing to a younger audience. Many times, matching your site's design to its purpose will increase your conversions. Going with professionally designed graphics, logos, buttons... will give your site a professional feel.

Remember, you only have a few seconds to convince your visitor your site is worth their time. Don't blow it by having a poorly designed site. Make sure your page loads quickly in all the major web browsers such as Internet Explorer, FireFox and now Google Chrome. You might be horrified to discover how some of your pages look in the different browsers, especially if you're designing all your web pages yourself.

Remember, always put your visitor's biggest benefit in a bold headline at the top of your page. Your website is not about you, it is about solving your visitor's main problems and questions. Cater to your visitors' needs, give them what they're looking for and you will make more sales.

6. Short-Term vs Long-Term Conversion

In trying to improve your overall sales numbers, webmasters must distinguish between short-term and long-term conversion objectives. When designing your webpages you must include elements that will immediately increase your conversions: such things as security logos or seals, BBB icons, credit card banners... will instantly build trust with your online visitor and potential client.

In affiliate marketing, I have found promoting well known, top brand name products and companies will increase your conversions because potential customers are instantly familiar with the products. An Apple is an Apple is an Apple. So too is using popular online shopping portals such as Amazon greatly increases your sales - people instantly trust Amazon and will not hesitate to buy from them.

Over the long-term, if you're selling your own products or promoting your own website, you have to build up trust over the long haul. Using opt-in newsletters, creating interactive blogs, having membership sites, using Twitter, building a Google Profile page... will all build your online credibility and trust with your potential customers. Selling to clients who have bought from you before will be much easier so don't forget this tactic to improve your conversions.

7. Conversion Tools

There are some simple tools you can use to increase the number of sales you make, many savvy marketers use pop-in or slide-in forms to capture the contact information of their visitors for follow-up emails. Studies have shown that many prospects will finally buy after 6 or 7 follow-ups. Most professional autoresponder services such as AWeber, GetResponse... will have these pop-in forms as a part of their service. Adding free bonuses and gifts to get prospects on your contact lists will increase your conversion rates. So too is building a membership site and having repeat visitors.

Personally, I like using onsite attention grabbing tools like Peel Away Ads which has a pulsating corner that peels back to reveal a special offer or ad. There is also a new exit page tool called ExitSplash which captures traffic leaving your site and directs it to a new page or offer. This will increase the conversion rate of your traffic.

ExitSplash also has several other simple PHP scripts such as one that lets your visitors send viral Twitter messages to help you build your Twitter contacts. Of all the recent programs that have hit the web, Twitter probably has unlimited marketing possibilities and will help increase your conversion rates. It is a great tool for building a direct relationship with your potential customers.

These are just some of the things and tactics you can try to increase your site's conversion rates. Putting just a few of these into play, should help you make more sales and build more contacts. The main idea is to grab your visitor's attention to help them solve their problem or answer their questions. Placing simple lead capture forms and building your list of potential customers, even building up your invisible list of "cookied" prospects will increase your conversions. Improving your sales copy, making your site totally professional and setting up marketing funnels will definitely increase your overall conversion rates.

One final note, you should be using Google Analytics to test all your webpages and to improve your conversion rates. It is simply an invaluable tool you can use to tweak and fine-tune your sites and your marketing. Google Analytics will show you what works and what doesn't, plus, it will show you ways to create better content to increase your conversions. Just use it.

Post Script If you want further help with sales conversion - try these 3 posts by SBI. How To Write Product Reviews That Convert - Part One
How To Write Product Reviews That Convert - Part Two
How To Write Product Reviews That Convert - Part Three
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Everyone has a story! Mine is called: "In Search Of The $100 Click or How I Found A Full-Time Online Income And Came To Love The Internet" It's located here: Online Income Copyright 2009 Titus Hoskins.

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