Your website can be optimised to perfection, bringing in thousands or even tens of thousands of visitors on a daily basis. But if those visitors don’t convert, they may as well not be there in the first place. This might not sound like a common occurrence, but many businesses struggle to turn visitors into paying customers. According to WordStream, Facebook ads have conversion rates of around 9.1 percent, while website conversion rates sit at a measly average of 2.35 percent. There are many reasons for this. One of the biggest is that businesses don’t know what works with their audience. They haven’t taken the time to identify their wants, needs and pain points. Once you have this knowledge, you can use elements such as enticing offers, well-written copy, attractive visuals and effective calls to action to make an offer your visitors can’t refuse. With this in mind, here are 5 simple ways to increase your conversion rate.

 

Simplify

 

In this case study, it was found that just one additional form field created an 11 percent decrease in conversions. Whether it’s on your newsletter form or your checkout process, make it as short and simple as possible. This will give the user less time to reconsider their decision and eliminate the frustrations that come with a lengthy opt-in process.

 

Perform A/B Testing

 

You’ll never know how effective your strategy is unless you compare it to another. Also known as split testing, A/B testing is the process of creating two alternate versions of a page to determine which provides the best conversion rate. Ideally, you should be running A/B tests at any given time on your website. If you are looking to reduce bounce rate by identifying which elements work best on each page, the process is explained in detail on StatusCake’s blog, where you can learn more about increasing conversions through their detailed guide on reducing bounce rates.

 

Reduce Perceived Risk

 

By assuring your customers that their purchase is backed by an attractive warranty or refund policy, they’ll feel more comfortable with putting their money down on something they’re unfamiliar with. What you might lose in refunds and returns, you’ll make up for in sales. Amazon’s generous policies paint a fitting picture here.

 

Use Testimonials

 

In a similar light, testimonials are a great way to further improve trust in your brand and reduce the perceived risk that comes with buying your products. Just like other forms of

social proof

, such as subscriber and social media follower counts,

testimonials can greatly benefit your conversion rates

when used properly.

 

Master Your CTA

 

Your

calls to action

are instrumental in guiding your users towards the checkout button. Ensure that they precisely and effectively tell them exactly what they should do next at every stage of the process. There are many additional ways to increase your conversion rate. Ultimately, it all comes down to reducing the amount of time a visitor takes to convert by streamlining the process and showing them why they should do business with you.

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