They say you’re only as strong as your weakest link. We say your website is only as strong as your website conversion rate. So you’ve done well with PPC and SEO and can get people over to your website. None of that matters if your website conversion rate is nil and those folks are leaving without becoming customers. Your website conversion rate is the best indication of the effectiveness of your website, and your entire online marketing strategy.


If website conversion is something that your business lacks, you’ve come to the right place. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of actionable tips for improving your website conversion rate:


Four Simple Ways to Improve Your Website Conversion

1. Take a look at what’s working for your competition.
   
   Consumers have a lot of options. That’s the beauty of our free and thriving marketplace. However, one thing that could be hurting your website conversion is simply that your site visitors are choosing your competitor over you. The trick to improving your website conversion is putting yourself in the shoes of your target market and understanding why they would choose a competitor’s product over yours.
   
   
   Take some time to visit the website of your competitors. Look at their advertisements. Take a look at their social media profiles. Add yourself to their email newsletter list. Understand what their brand message is. Look for the appeal that your competitor offers through their online marketing.
   
   
   We aren’t saying that you should try to mimic your competition. Just understand what is drawing your clients to them, so that you can recognize any shortcomings in your own online marketing plan.




2. Make it personal.
   Target marketing is an incredibly valuable tool in online marketing. You might notice if you use Amazon Prime (who are we kidding, we know you use Amazon Prime), you’ll see a message that says “Welcome back — insert your name here –!” and then you’ll get suggestions for products you might be interested in.
   
   
   The more your website caters to exactly what your visitors are looking for, the more likely you’ll be able to convert them to customers. Studies show that websites that have target marketing integrated into their code experience about an 150% increase in conversions compared to their counterparts who do not have it. Using target marketing is not incredibly difficult to do implement, there are a variety of online tools that can be integrated into your website for these purposes.
3. Make the mobile experience your priority uno.
   As of June of 2014, there were more online user joining the world wide web from their mobile devices than desktop computers at any given time. Mobile web surfing is here to stay and it is very VERY important that your website is equipped to offer a smooth and seamless experience to your mobile visitors.
   
   Here are some statistics to backup our point:
   • About 80% of online shoppers are coming to your from their phone. Approximately 78% of online purchases are made from a mobile device.
   • If your website is not responsive and is cumbersome to view or navigate from a phone, about 40% of your visitors will abandon it without clicking a single link. You will literally bleed potential conversions if your page isn’t mobile-friendly.
   • Mobile users are far more likely to lead to conversions than desktop users. Some studies suggest that a mobile user is three times more likely to close the deal within one hour of researching a product than those on a desktop.

   Being mobile-friendly is so important that Google won’t even suggest your page if it doesn’t pass their mobile-friendliness test. In other words, your page MUST be responsive and easy to utilize from a phone. Take it a step further and offer an app, and your followers will love your for it.

4. Don’t let lost conversions fall through the cracks.
   
   Approximately 65% of customers who put something in a shopping cart will abandon the site without checking out. And about 70-90% of your visitors will abandon your site altogether after adding something to the shopping cart without clicking “pay now.” This is the American way. It doesn’t mean that they are lost forever. Implement coding to send these clients an email or a targeted banner to remind them, “Hey, we’re still here!” You’ll be surprised how many conversions just need that last push.