Thousands of website visitors each day don’t help your revenue if your conversion rates are poor. Fortunately, you have a lot of control over your conversion rate optimization (CRO) and can make the necessary tweaks to improve your numbers.
Littledata looked at 1,994 online stores and found an average conversion rate of 1.3%. To rank with the top 20% of stores, you’d need a 3.3% or higher benchmark. Look at other businesses in your industry to get an idea of the number you should set as your initial goal.
The purpose of CRO is figuring out what your goals are as a brand and encouraging customers to complete the objective you’ve set. If you run an e-commerce site, the goal is almost always to get the lead to purchase. However, if you have any other type of website, you may have a different result in mind, such as capturing contact data or educating the user about your business.
Here are five simple site additions to boost your CRO.
1. Robust Headlines
The first thing people see on your website is often the H1 headers. Your headlines appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) and on your site’s landing pages. A header must use active verbs and paint a vivid picture for the reader in a short number of words.
One way to learn how to write great headers is to study what other businesses use to draw people in. You should also think about the opening lines of your favorite movies, books and articles. What is it about the first sentence that makes you want to read or view more? How can you incorporate this into your site?
Serta does an excellent job of pulling the reader in with a play on words for their headline. The first line you see reads, “Bedtime is finally cool.” The word cool stands for something trendy and the cooling feature available with some of their mattresses they’re currently promoting. Since one of the big problems people buying memory foam mattresses face is the heat factor of the bedding material, this addresses the concern and engages the reader.
2. Calls-to-Action
Your CTAs can make or break your landing pages. Once people have an idea of the product and decide to move forward in the buyer’s journey, they look for the next step. A CTA should have enough contrast to pop on the page and use concise language explaining what happens if the user clicks it. Researchers found the vast majority of CTAs use action verbs such as “learn” to get users to start the journey through the sales funnel.
3. Augmented Reality
Technology changes rapidly, and something improving every year is augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Shoppers no longer have to go to a showroom to look at large items. Instead, they can upload an image of their home and plug appliances or decor into an app to see what the piece looks like in their house. AR gives you a chance to immerse your user in the experience. It’s the next best thing to seeing it in person.
Halo Overhead Doors uses a virtual reality program where you upload an image of the outside of your home and try different garage doors to see the finished look. Since not every door looks good with every house style, trying different colors and designs gives consumers a clear idea of what they want, saving them time and money when they are ready to order a new garage door.
4. One-Click Ordering
The ordering process can be quite cumbersome on mobile devices. Imagine trying to input your name, address and billing information from a tiny screen while on your lunch break at work. Implement one-click ordering to make it as simple as possible for people to place an order. Integrate with PayPal, Square, Google or Apple Pay to make purchasing a simpler process. Enable autocompletes for those who have them saved and don’t want to waste time filling in information again.
5. Home Page Videos
According to one survey, 45% of businesses use an explainer video on their home page, and 83% of them say it’s effective. An explainer video gives your target audience a glimpse of how you can solve their problems and why you’re the best person to do so. Any type of video on your home page improves engagement with your viewers. It’s more likely people will stay to the end of your video and absorb the complete message rather than bounce away.
The Outpost uses a hero video on their landing page to set the tone for what they do and the professional quality of their services. You can click on the reel to start a video explaining what they do and how it benefits their clients. The combination of clips from campaigns, digital elements and workers imagining displays and promotions all come together to create excitement for the viewer.
Test Additions
As you add new elements to your site for CRO, test each newcomer to see how your conversion rates improve. Some things will be worth keeping, and others might need replacing. Don’t grow too attached to any design or feel ownership over an idea. The end goal is to boost your numbers, so there is only room for what improves your bottom line.
Lexie is a graphic designer and UX strategist. She enjoys taking her goldendoodle on walks and checking out flea markets. Visit her design blog, Design Roast.
