Tips on Website Conversion Optimization

For every $92 spent driving traffic to websites, only $1 is spent converting visitors. This is a huge oversight and as click costs skyrocket and SEO gets harder, people will slowly realize conversion optimization is an essential part of any Internet marketing strategy.

Start with your specific business goals and then apply calls to action to your website that move people toward the goals you have set. Then you can figure out what your conversion rate is and make plans to improve it.

No discussion of conversion optimization would be complete without a shout-out to the amazing Dr. Robert Cialdini, whose principles can be used to influence people in your marketing.

6 Key Principles of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini 

from his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

• Reciprocity– People tend to return a favor, this is why you see so many free samples in marketing.
• Commitment and Consistency– If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self-image.
• Social Proof– People will do things that they see other people are doing. This is why McDonald’s says over “one billion served.”
• Authority– People tend to obey authority figures, eve n if they are asked to do bad things.
• Liking– People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. They also buy from you more because if you like them, they figure you will treat them well and “have their back.”
• Scarcity– Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying specials are available for a “limited time only” encourages sales.

Keep these principles in mind as you decide which tests to perform. Following these principles can greatly increase conversions.

Now that you have some background on conversion rate optimization, let’s dig into some practical things that you can test on your website to see if you can increase sales.