Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Optimize for Conversions

By Carrie Serienz


A specially designed experience on a website that has the intention of converting a visitor into a paying customer is what is known in internet marketing as conversion rate optimization (CRO). Many people simply call it CRO, for short. Conversion rate optimization isn't only important for e-commerce and transactional sites. Specific methods must be designed for every website, to increase conversion rates for the company.

As marketing budgets are only so big in a company, the maximum benefit must be extracted for the money spent on marketing. Utilizing a retargeting campaign produces a much higher ROI than a dollar spent on traditional display advertising in many cases, because of the ability to zero in on potential customers who have already visited your website and shown interest in your products or services.

For conversion rates to go up and the cost per action to go down, be aware of where the ad you create will take the consumer, as the less the cost per action, the higher the ROI. Websites that have proper conversion optimization, will ensure that a visitor to the page has many more chances to purchase your products or services.

You should have a call to action that will be easily seen by a page visitor, and will show customers how to take advantage of your services and products. The online method of marketing is not for the weak of heart.

Visitors who come to your site through display ads have different needs and wants, and are in a different part of the sales cycle than organic visits. If a visitor is there because of an ad that they clicked, the page should be tailored toward their particular needs. For a newer website, a basic page for all visits that come from non-direct sources will do, but in time, they should be tailored to suit these specialized leads.

Continuous testing brings you closer to finding the exact path to seamless usability for your web visitors. If a website visitor has an easy time navigating your site, they will be more happy and likely to become a paying customer. People get to your page one way or another, and they are there because your particular business has what they are seeking. They are looking for a solution to a problem, and you are looking to resolve issues they may be having.

Effects must be maximized by optimization techniques in the proper areas. The highest rate of conversion must be sought out, by knowing where to start. A 100% increase might be possible on the last page of the ordering process however the increase in sales will be minor as a smaller percentage of overall site visitors see this page. Pages that get more visitors are a much better place to start, since more people will see them on the homepage, even if the bounce rater is higher there.

Engaged visitors are more confident and appreciate the experience more, so ensure this is how your site is, which will have a better chance of conversion, You need to built a trust element in the visitor's mind to be able to persuade them to convert on your website.




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