7 Tips to Increase Your Website Conversion Rate (CRO)

What is Website Conversion Rate?

Your website conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your website who complete a specific action. Many people think of conversion rate as simply how many visitors are converted into paying customers. However, not every visitor is ready to buy the first time they visit your website. Therefore, that specific action could be joining your mailing list, downloading an e-book, viewing a pricing page, etc.

Calculating your conversion rate is pretty simple:

Conversion Rate = number of people who joined your mailing list/total visitors x 100

For example, let’s say you have three people join your mailing list out of 120 people who visited your website. You divide 120 by three, which is .025. Multiply .025 by 100, and you get a conversion rate is 2.5%. CAUTION: Only count the number of visitors to the page(s) that offer an opportunity to join your mailing list instead of ALL visitors to your website (unless the option is on every page).

At this point, you may be wondering, “What is a good conversion rate?” Unfortunately, there is no magic number. It depends on your industry, product price, desired action, etc. However, statistically, the average website conversion rate is somewhere around 2.5 and 3%. 

Your conversion rate shows how well you’re moving visitors to your website through the sales funnel and turning them into paying customers. Higher conversion rates mean increased revenue. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of improving your website to increase conversion rates. 



7 Tips to Improve Conversion Rates

CRO can occur anywhere on your website – homepage, blog, landing pages, formatting, etc. – through various methods. Here are ten tips to improve conversion rates on your website.

1.   Create Compelling Calls to Action (CTAs) – A call-to-action tells visitors the specific action you want them to take. While we’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, there is a phenomenon called “banner blindness,”- “a form of selective attention, in which web visitors ignore information presented in banners.” Therefore, it’s good to mix it up, creating CTAs in banners, images, and text. Check out these tips to create more compelling text CTAs.

2.   Shorten Forms – In an ideal world, you would want to collect as much information as possible from website visitors; however, people don’t have time to complete lengthy forms. Plus, many people have become mistrustful. Keeping your forms short – collecting only crucial information - allows visitors to complete the process more quickly and build trust with you.

3.   Provide Social Proof – “In today’s ‘fake news’ culture, consumers are having more and more trouble identifying who or what to trust,” Trustpilot reports. “This year [2020], we observed an 11% decline in trust globally, with only 71% of people admitting they trust consumer brands.” So how do you build trust that encourages people to take a specific action on your website? One way is with social proof – comments, reviews, etc., about your business or product. According to Trustpilot, “89% of global consumers check online reviews as part of their online buying journey, and 49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top 3 purchase influences.”

4.   Add Live Chat – Perhaps someone isn’t making a purchase because they have more questions. Live chat allows them to get the support, guidance, and answers they need in real-time, making them more likely to take the desired action.

5.   Retarget and Re-engage – While a good website is the cornerstone of any online marketing effort, many other tools, such as social media and Google ads, are available to you. Retarget by tracking visitors and providing online ads as they visit other sites on the web.

6.   Create Abandoned Cart Email Campaigns – “An abandoned cart email is an email sent to customers who almost made a purchase to encourage them to complete their transaction,” Hubspot explains. “Abandoned cart emails are one way to convert lost business and turn a lost prospect into a brand enthusiast.” Research shows that “Half of Frequent Cart Abandoners Will Purchase When Remarketed.”

7.   Test, Test, and Test – Not every first effort will be a home run. Test and analyze everything you do – copy, headlines, CTA’s, offers, etc. – to know what is and is not working, and adjust accordingly.



Start Conversion Rate Optimization Today

Don’t have time for CRO? PMI specializes in first driving traffic to your website (Search Engine Optimization) and then converting visitors into paying customers (Conversion Rate Optimization). So give us a call at 484-297-6395, or contact us online to get started today!