How to Improve Conversion Rates in WordPress
The conversion rate refers to the percentage of people registering with your website and then converting into paying customers. Many marketers use conversion rates as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
You've got a good idea. You've got some excellent content. You've got a great design. All you need to do is convert that visitor into a customer, and there's a good chance you'll be off to the races! But you may not be doing everything you can to convert that visitor into a customer. So what can you do to improve conversion rates in WordPress? In this guide, we'll walk through a couple of different ways you can improve conversion rates for your WordPress site.
The world of internet marketing is constantly changing. It's not enough anymore to publish good content, and hope it attracts traffic. Today, you must attract the right audience and convert them into customers. To achieve this, you need to focus on the conversion rate.
This article will improve your conversion rates using content, social media, and other online marketing techniques. We'll also look at the various types of content and how you can use them to improve your conversion rate.
Table of Contents
How to Increase Conversion Rates on Your Website
Use a CRO tool
CROs (Conversion Rate Optimisation) are crucial to a successful digital marketing campaign. It is vital that every single part of a digital marketing plan, including landing pages, website copy, social media posts, email campaigns, and even the sales funnel, is designed to work together in unison to maximise conversion. If you clearly understand how all your components fit together, you will have a much higher chance of successful campaigns.
CRO tools allow you to analyse and review the entire digital marketing campaign data in one place. This lets you see everything from the landing pages to the email drip campaign.
CROs help you to maximise your results. They provide:
- Information about the content on your landing page.
- The number of clicks.
- The time spent on each page.
CROs help you to understand where your visitors are dropping off and help you to optimise your sales funnel so that you get the best return on investment.
In addition to helping you to find and fix issues with your landing page, CROs help you to analyse your email drip campaign to see what messages are being opened and clicked. CROs help you to create and execute effective follow-up emails that continue to build trust with your customers and drive sales.
CROs can be used to monitor the success of every aspect of your digital marketing strategy and help you to make informed decisions based on the data.
Show social proof
Social Proof is a psychological concept that refers to how people respond to an action, product, or service based on how others respond. It is a powerful tool in marketing and sales.
Social Proof: Why People Buy From You
If you want to sell something to a customer, social proof is one of the most effective ways to do it. A study done by Stanford University concluded that people would make almost two times more purchases if they saw that a significant number of their friends were buying from a company or business.
Another study by Harvard Business School found that a simple picture of a friend buying the product increased the chances of someone purchasing by 100%.
So, what does this mean? It means that you have the power to convince your audience to buy from you. All you need to do is get your customers to share the sale with their friends.
How Does This Work?
It is essential to understand that the people who will be the most receptive to your product or service are already convinced to buy from you.
Your goal is to get them to be the first to tell their friends about you.
The key to achieving this is giving your customers something valuable in return for sharing your offer with their friends. A small incentive like a coupon or discount makes it easier to get people to share the information, which increases your chances of getting more customers.
What Are Some Examples of Social Proof?
Many companies are leveraging this concept in their marketing efforts to increase sales. One example is Zappos.com, a shoe store that gives people free shipping for every purchase.
When people realise that many others bought the same shoes from Zappos.com, they follow suit. Giving away free products or services is unnecessary to get the results.
The key to making it work is offering incentives to people who share the deal. Another example is Uber, a transportation company that offers people a chance to earn money by referring friends to the company.
As a result, the company can tap into people's desire to help people. So, if a person's friends are using Uber, there is a greater chance that they will too.
Look into the Analytics
Every click, view, scroll, and impression is valuable. If you're using an analytics tool, you have the power to measure conversions and improve your marketing strategy.
A website conversion is when a person performs a specific action to achieve a goal. This may include filling out a form or submitting content. If you want to know what kinds of people are visiting your site, the answer is “all of them.”
Every page view, video, image, and email campaign has the potential to impact conversions. For example, if you send an email to your mailing list, you're getting a new visitor and potentially converting them into a customer.
Tracking these conversions can be done manually, using spreadsheets and software, or through an analytics tool. By automating your website conversions, you can more accurately measure your success and optimise your website to reach more of the right people.
How Does Tracking Conversions Work?
Tracking conversions is as simple as setting up an event in Google Analytics. When someone visits a particular page or makes a purchase, it's recorded as a conversion. You can then measure the effectiveness of individual pages, campaigns, or entire websites based on conversions.
The following are three examples of tracking conversions in Google Analytics.
Example 1: You have a form on a single web page and want to know whether visitors fill out the form. Set up a new view to see which pages your visitors are coming from.
Example 2: You create a special promotion on your home page and want to know which pages your visitors are coming from after they visit your homepage. Simply set up a new view and segment your visitors by page.
Example 3: You run a landing page where people are encouraged to sign up for your newsletter. You want to know what percentage of your traffic converts to newsletter subscribers. Set up a new view to see which pages your visitors are coming from and segment them by which pages they land on.
You can also view the entire conversion path in the URL report.
What Should I Track in My Website Conversions?
Google Analytics is a comprehensive analytics tool, so there's much data you can track. For this guide, we'll focus on the most popular events to track.
Websites that aren't fully optimised can convert more visitors into customers. Tracking these conversions gives you a better idea of which pages and features drive traffic to your site and encourage conversions.
Page Views
The number of visitors who visit a single page is essential. Tracking page views shows you the most common types of pages your audience views.
Landing Pages
This report tells you the pages where your visitors are landing and the pages that convert.
Forms
A form is the content that prompts a visitor to take action. Form submissions are a type of conversion that is easy to track in Google Analytics.
For example, a form may ask visitors to sign up for a newsletter or contact you for more information.
Add live chat
Live chat is one of the most effective ways to get people to engage with your website. This engagement leads to higher conversions, increased retention, and happier customers. The best part is that live chat isn't tricky to set up or manage.
Live Chat Is Easier to Set Up Than It Seems
Setting up live chat is much simpler than you might think. Live chat is a no-brainer if you have a simple website that doesn't include complex functionality. You must create an account on the live chat provider's website and configure the service. It's that simple.
Live chat doesn't require advanced coding skills or complicated integrations. When you add live chat to your website, visitors will see a button inviting them to talk to a live agent. Clicking this button automatically loads the live chat widget on your website, so you don't need to worry about managing anything.
Live chat is one of the easiest ways to get visitors to convert. That's because your visitor needs only to click a button to initiate a live chat session with your agent. Unlike other forms of online communication that require more clicks or typing, live chat is a streamlined, fast, and hassle-free way to communicate.
Live chat is also less expensive than email and phone support. Since your visitor needs to click a single button to initiate the live chat session, you're only charged when the visitor communicates with your live chat agent. That means your costs will remain consistent, regardless of how many customers you have.
Live chat is the most cost-effective way to engage with your customers. The key to success is choosing the right live chat provider. Your visitor doesn't have to install any software or spend time installing a plugin. Simply click a button, and live chat is ready.
There's a wide variety of live chat providers to choose from. Live chat providers are available in every budget range and come in several different features, styles, and designs. Choose from simple, traditional chat boxes or modern, stylish widgets. Many providers offer custom widgets that you can customise to match your brand and look.
Moreover, live chat providers often offer additional features to improve customer satisfaction and boost conversions. These include pre-recorded and real-time call waiting, auto-attendant options, and multi-user chats.
When you add live chat to your website, you'll increase the likelihood that your visitors will convert and stay on your site. By engaging with your visitors in real time, you'll show them that you care about their experience and want to help them solve problems.
Conduct A/B testing
A/B testing evaluates two versions of a website (e.g., one with and one without a specific feature) to see which version performs better. By comparing these two versions, you can determine which factors increase conversion. You might wonder, “Why would I want to do this?” Here are three reasons why you need to A/B test your site:
A/B Testing Improves User Experience
User experience is often the most crucial factor when deciding whether or not to make a purchase, so improving your site's user experience through A/B testing will improve your conversion rates.
You Want to Increase Conversions
This might seem obvious, but your website's conversion rate is its biggest problem. That's right, the biggest problem with your business is that it doesn't generate any sales. So, if you can't improve your conversion rate, you will not be able to increase your revenue.
You Want to Increase Sales
If your business is already profitable, you might think: “I'm happy where I am. I don't need to test.” But here's the thing: it doesn't matter how much profit you're making today if you don't know how much profit you'll make tomorrow. What if your competitors are increasing their conversion rates, and you're not?
To increase your conversion rates, you must find ways to improve the user experience. But you can only do this by A/B testing your site, which is the first step in optimising your conversion rates.
How to Increase Landing Page Conversion Rates
Communicate your value proposition
If you've ever tried to sell someone something, you know that they might not even consider buying if you don't communicate your value proposition. When you ask a question like “Why do I need this?” and listen closely, they will answer with their reasons why they need it.
In business, the same principle applies. The value proposition is what your product or service provides, how it will benefit them, and how it will make them stand out in their industry. This is why people will come to your website. It's also why they will buy from you. Your value proposition makes them want to click through to get to your site.
You have to get into their minds and communicate what they need. That's where the value proposition comes in.
How to Communicate Value Proposition
You'll get higher conversion rates when you present a compelling value proposition because the customer understands how your offer benefits them. However, the challenge lies in creating that message and getting it to resonate.
You must write value propositions to engage the reader and make it easy for them to understand why they should buy your product or service. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Write for an audience.
Your value proposition is a sales pitch, not a description. A description describes your product or service. It's not the value proposition that moves your reader to action.
Instead, your value proposition focuses on why your product or service differs from everything else available and benefits the reader. When you're communicating the value of your product or service, you're trying to convince the reader that what you're offering is something they'll want to get.
Make it specific.
You don't want to say, “I'm great.” Instead, you want to say, “I'm great for you because….” When you put yourself in your readers' shoes, you'll realise what benefits they'll receive from what you're selling.
You must be specific. This is where you should include the main benefit your product or service will provide for your readers.
Don't get too detailed.
Details are essential, but you want to keep your value proposition brief and direct. It won't be easy for your readers to grasp if it's too wordy. They won't be able to picture themselves using the product or service you're offering.
When writing your value proposition, you'll need to take a step back and consider what your reader needs. What problems are they facing, and what will your product or service solve?
Create a story.
Even if you don't have a background in writing, your value proposition needs to be a compelling story that's easy to read.
Start by putting yourself in your reader's shoes and thinking about what they need. Then write a story that explains why your product or service is the perfect solution. If you're struggling with this, here's a simple exercise you can use to help you figure out the value of your product or service.
Write a character.
Your value proposition is all about your product or service. You'll need to describe it in detail, but if you're stuck, you can try writing a character. Write a short introduction to the character and then use what your character would say to answer the question, “Why do I need this?”
For example, if you were selling a tool, you could create a character like a construction worker who uses a hammer all day. Then you could ask your character why he needs a hammer, and you could use his response to explain the benefits of your product.
This is a powerful technique for getting your message across because you're engaging with the reader from their point of view, not yours.
Test your value proposition.
Once you've created your value proposition, you can test it by presenting it in various ways. For example, if your product is a digital camera, you can make a video with your value proposition in the opening.
Another idea is to create a short ad with a tagline relevant to your product or service and then test it on your site. If people click through to learn more, that's a good sign that your value proposition is clear and compelling.
In addition to testing, you can also see how many people click through to the page that presents your value proposition. That's a good indication of how well you've communicated your value proposition.
Write strong CTAs
A great Call to Action (CTA) helps visitors convert or move through your website. This is a critical element of effective SEO, as it determines how well your page appears in search results.
Your CTA is usually located at the top or bottom of your landing page and is the final element that guides someone to purchase your product or service. You'll see higher conversions if your CTA is clear and concise.
According to research, there are several reasons that a CTA performs poorly:
- Poorly written copy.
- Incorrect use of colours.
- Bad contrast.
- Poor call-to-action (CTA) placement.
- Unclear messaging.
How Can I Improve My CTAs?
Here are a few tips to improve your CTA copy and performance:
1 – Use keywords. Ensure your CTA copy is written in plain language, using keywords that match what people type into Google.
For example, your product or service is called “Browsers.” Then you might use the keyword phrases “browser” and “internet browsers” to describe your CTA.
2 – Don't forget to add emotion. Most people will agree that they want to do business with someone who cares and is empathetic.
Companies use phrases like “You won't regret it” or “We don't take it lightly.” These phrases evoke emotions in your potential customers, encouraging them to click.
3 – Include a specific action. Adding an action word or phrase to your CTA is often helpful. For example, if your CTA is about an online course, include words like “Learn,” “Register,” or “Enroll.”
If your CTA is to a sales page, use words like “Order,” “Download,” or “Buy.”
4 – Use an arrow. When you add a CTA to a web page, it should appear at the top.
This is because people scan web pages from top to bottom. If they don't find the desired information at the top, it's unlikely they'll continue to scroll down.
In addition, research indicates that when people read arrows, they are more likely to click on them.
5 – Avoid ambiguity. If your CTA is unclear or vague, it can leave visitors scratching their heads. This is why it's essential to include the following:
- A benefit or reason for purchasing your product or service
- A call to action that asks for a response.
- A link to more information or a phone number.
In addition to the above, your CTA must be consistent across all marketing materials.
For example, if you have a website, email, social media post, and other forms of advertising, the same message should appear in each.
How to Increase Mobile Conversion Rates
Improve your page speed
What's important is your page speed, or how quickly a web visitor can navigate through a website and find content that matters to them. If your page takes more than 4 seconds to load, that's too long!
When you first open a site, it takes anywhere from 1.5 to 3 seconds for your browser to connect to your server and send the HTML files necessary to show the page. Then, it takes the browser about 200 milliseconds to start rendering the page and displaying the actual content.
So, your page could take anywhere from 2 to 6 seconds to load.
After that, there are various steps involved in loading your content:
- Fetching images: this includes images used in CSS, JavaScript, and other parts of the page.
- Fetching fonts: this is the time it takes to download and apply a font to the HTML.
- Loading scripts: this is the time it takes to download and execute scripts such as jQuery, bootstrap, etc.
- Loading styles: this is the time it takes to load any external style sheets and CSS.
After all, your visitor must wait until the page finishes loading before they can start interacting with it.
The longer your page takes to load, the more likely visitors will click away from your site and go to a competitor's site. And the longer your site takes to load, the more likely it is that your site will appear sluggish and slow.
How Can I Speed Up My Page Load Time?
You have a few options for speeding up your page load time.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A content delivery network is a large cache of copies of your site's HTML and other assets that sit on servers worldwide. The idea is that the faster your visitors' browsers can connect to these servers and retrieve your content, the faster your page will load.
Adding a CDN to your site can reduce your page load time by half or more.
You can use a CDN that serves static resources, such as your HTML files, and you can even use a CDN to serve images and other assets from a cloud storage service.
However, there are some drawbacks to using a CDN.
CDNs are expensive. It costs money to purchase a CDN, and it costs money to use it.
CDNs are not perfect. If a visitor is connected to a CDN, but the CDN cannot provide the file that the visitor is requesting, it can slow down your page load time.
There are also some security risks associated with using a CDN.
Using a CDN requires technical expertise to set up correctly and can introduce latency to your site. A poorly configured CDN can slow your site and make it appear sluggish.
Make sure to test your CDN carefully and ask for assistance if you need it.
Consider Using a Cache Manager
A cache manager is a software or plugin that automatically stores frequently accessed content on the visitor's computer. If your visitor is viewing a web page that contains a frequently-used image, the cache manager stores a copy of the image on the visitor's computer.
The next time the visitor requests the same image, it loads the cached copy instead of connecting to your server.
This reduces the amount of time it takes to render the page.
It is possible to set up a cache manager on your own, but most caching solutions have more features than are needed for a primary cache manager.
Some of the features include:
- Ability to manage cache settings for different content types.
- Include different expiration times for different content types.
- Include different cache settings for different URLs.
- Include the ability to store images from an image gallery.
- Include the ability to detect when a site is down and remove stale files.
Optimise for mobile
Most people use a desktop or laptop for much of their computing needs, yet a mobile device is usually the most convenient choice. That's why it's essential to design optimised websites and landing pages for mobile devices.
As more people become familiar with mobile devices, they're more likely to engage in an action you want to encourage. If your website has a high proportion of mobile visitors, it means they are probably more likely to take action, which is great for conversions.
Mobile conversion rates are nearly double that of desktop conversion rates.
Why Your Website Must be Mobile-Friendly
There are a variety of reasons why websites are mobile-friendly, but most importantly, it's a necessity.
According to research, around 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, while the other 46% comes from desktop computers. Mobile sales are a critical part of the success of a business that sells products. Customers' use of mobile devices has changed significantly over the past few years.
Today, people are more likely to purchase on mobile devices than desktop computers. To sell online, you must optimise your site for mobile users.
It's important to note that even though you have a mobile-friendly site, it doesn't mean people on mobile devices won't navigate it. Your goal is to ensure that your site loads quickly and appears consistent on all devices.
Google Analytics: Optimised for Mobile Devices
Google Analytics allows you to measure how many people access your website through a mobile device. You can also track how long each visitor stays on your site, how many pages they visit, what links they click on, and what actions they take. All this information can help you improve your site to be more effective.
This information is also useful when it comes to SEO.
You can see the number of times each page is accessed through a mobile device, which helps you determine if it is a significant page and whether the mobile version is a good fit for the content.
For example, if your homepage is accessed 2,000 times, but the mobile version is only accessed 1,500 times, that may indicate that the desktop version is a better option.
How to Test if Your Website is Mobile-Friendly
You can test your site to ensure that it's mobile-friendly using Google's Mobile-Friendly Test.
When you enter your URL in the box, Google will analyse the website and tell you if it meets Google's mobile-friendliness requirements.
The Mobile-Friendly Test is a valuable tool for website owners, and you may be surprised to learn that some sites don't pass.
Many sites fail the test simply because their mobile-version URL ends with a question mark, which indicates that it is a static HTML file.
That means your website is mobile-friendly, but the mobile version may not be accessible. Google recommends including the mobile version of your website as a separate link, with the mobile-friendly version as a fallback.
Enhance the purchasing process
Purchasing decisions are often influenced by price. When buying a specific product, you want to know what's on offer before you part with your money.
However, your time is valuable. If you only have 30 seconds to decide whether or not to purchase something, your brain has to work hard to evaluate the options available. And the last thing you want to do is waste valuable time researching, debating, and comparing prices just to discover that a cheaper option could have worked just fine.
You're better off spending that time improving your conversion rate than losing the sale through a poorly planned purchase. That's why building trust and ensuring that your website and products match your audience's needs is essential.
How do you do this?
It enhances the purchasing process with personalised product recommendations.
Personalised product recommendations are great ways to increase conversions. They help to guide potential buyers toward the best products on your site.
There are three critical components to making these recommendations:
- Knowledge
- Data
- Integration
You must fill your product database with accurate information to provide valuable recommendations.
Knowledge
Your knowledge is one of your most significant assets when making personalised recommendations. However, you'll struggle to find a suitable product recommendation if you have limited knowledge about your customers.
Ask yourself what your customers need and what they value. Then ask yourself where you can add value. Knowing more about your customer's needs and interests can provide them with more relevant recommendations.
Data
The second essential component to successful product recommendations is the data. How well do your products match your customers' needs? How often do they buy similar products? These questions are essential when finding a recommendation that is truly a good fit for your customer.
Integration
Finally, you need to take all the information gathered and combine it into a single, cohesive recommendation. You'll struggle to deliver a complete recommendation if you don't have the correct integration.
Integration is the final step that makes personalised product recommendations effective.
If you don't have the data you need, you can't offer your customers a suitable recommendation. If your recommendation doesn't fit your customer, they're less likely to convert.
Include all your customers' data and combine that with your product information. Only then can you deliver an effective recommendation.
Best-selling products are not the only ones that provide a great experience. Your customers are looking for value, quality, and expertise. Your recommendations should reflect your brand and ability to deliver on those values.
Be creative with your mobile marketing
Marketing is about targeting and reaching the right person at the right time. However, it can be challenging to know who your audience is and when to reach them.
Marketing agencies often focus on demographics or consumer behaviour trends to develop strategies. But these methods aren't as effective as they used to be.
As the population grows more mobile and social, the traditional tactics and advertising that once worked well no longer do. That's why companies are turning to mobile marketing, which lets them target people based on location.
The mobile audience is growing so fast that “mobile-first” has become a part of everyday language. So what does this mean for your business? It means you need to create a mobile strategy that is unique and tailored to your specific market.
Here's how to make it work for your company:
1 – Determine your target market
You should customise a mobile marketing strategy for your specific customer base. A good rule of thumb is that if your customers would be interested in receiving a text message from you, they should receive a text message from you.
You can learn much about your audience by looking at your website and social media pages. Take a look at what types of posts get the most engagement and where your audiences are. This information can help you determine which parts of the country you need to focus on.
If you're an eCommerce store, look at where your customers are clicking and where they're located. This will help you decide whether to start your mobile marketing campaign in a larger city or smaller town, where your customers live, or in a nearby town that doesn't have the same demographics.
2 – Create a mobile strategy that is consistent with your brand
Once you've determined your target audience, the next step is to build a mobile strategy consistent with your brand. You'll want to consider whether or not you want to make any changes to the content of your website.
Mobile marketing is different from web marketing. Mobile-friendly websites are designed to be optimised for smartphones, so the copy is written in a smaller font and is more limited in length. But your website won't need to be significantly changed.
To adapt your mobile strategy to your branding, consider improving the user experience. For example, a restaurant that sends text messages about upcoming specials could include information about its phone number and address.
You can also try adding videos to your mobile strategy. Videos are an excellent way to engage your audience. They don't take as long to load and provide more engaging content than text. Plus, they're usually less expensive than ads and can be shared through social media.
3 – Find out how you can reach your audience
After creating a strategy that is consistent with your brand, you need to find out how you can reach your target audience. Depending on the type of business you have, you may be able to send a message to your entire customer base or only to a specific group of people.
Depending on the amount of time and money you want, there are different options for reaching your audience. You can hire a company to perform a mobile app audit, or you can do it yourself by setting up a free Google Analytics account. The app audit will let you know which apps your users already have installed. If you don't, you can set up a landing page that will allow you to download the apps your customers want.
There are several ways to choose the best option for your business. Choose the one that is the most cost-effective or the one that is the easiest to implement.
4 – Get started on your mobile strategy
If you're ready to switch to mobile marketing, starting small and testing your strategy before rolling it out to the entire customer base is essential.
You should test your strategy by sending a message to a small percentage of your customers. See what percentage of customers open the message and what percentage click on a link in the message. You can use this data to determine whether you should keep it.
5 – Keep an eye on your ROI
The next step is to find a marketing company familiar with mobile marketing. The company should be able to track your ROI or return on investment every month.
This is an excellent time to keep track of your mobile marketing budget. Ensure that your marketing company tells you you're getting your money's worth.
Conclusion
Your conversion rate is one of the key metrics that will determine whether or not you are successful.
One of the things that you can do is to improve the copy that you write. The more compelling your copy, the more likely people will take action.
You can do many things to increase your conversion rates, but the most important thing is to keep improving.
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