Your “conversion rate” is simply the amount of visitors to your website that actually do what you want them to – whether that’s buying a product or service or simply signing-up to receive your free weekly email.
There are many factors that can lower conversion rates – and below are some of the main pitfalls to avoid.
Your website design is outdated
Consumers are so internet savvy these days that, if they think a website sucks, the chance of making a sale diminishes exponentially. Consumers are much more likely to buy from a business whose website showcases everything they have to offer in a visually appealing way – one that has a simple design and attractive colour scheme. It’s also important for the most important information to stand-out. Large blocks of text should be avoided on the home-page, and substantial content should be incorporated into blog sections and other great resources that modern websites can accommodate. Broken links and other errors need to be avoided at all costs – and your website should adapt easily to the browsers of all modern devices.
Your call to action should be one of the first things your visitors see
Whether you’re offering a free no-obligation quote, a product, a free trial or a subscription, make it clear what you’re offering and how customers can obtain it. Your call to action should lead potential customers to a place where they can sign-up or make a purchase – and it should be one of the more prominent visual elements on your website. Also make your “Buy” or “Sign-up” buttons easy to see as people don’t want to have to search for them.
Your content sucks
Today’s customers love companies who provide interesting and informative content that is easy-to-find on your website and, more importantly, is easy-to-read on whatever device they want to read it on. Your content should confirm that you’re an expert in your niche market, and blogs, articles and videos can showcase this expertise. Also make your content easy-to-share over multiple platforms as this offers great potential for attracting new customers.
Make navigation easy
Don’t make information hard to find as consumers will quickly stop looking. Make menus clean and simple – and don’t be afraid of checking out the competition to make sure they’re not doing something way better than you.
Your content isn‘t authentic
Consumers love to recognise the real people behind an online business. Pictures of you and your workforce working on the production process or a photograph of the premises you operate out of all create this authenticity. Consumers also like transparency when it comes to products and services – so be open and upfront about them.
Build some trust
Offer customers a place to review their experience of your products and services and the process of purchasing them – as first-time visitors like to get a feel for you from other customers. I mean do you ever book a holiday without flicking through the reviews on Trip Advisor and other such sites? So why should buying products and services be any different.
Here at the Tourism Marketing Agency we develop and implement digital marketing strategies that maximise conversion rates.
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Chris and his team will send you a weekly email offering high-value insight and advice about a variety of marketing and business development topics related to the tourism industry. We address specific destinations, tours and activities, and the hotel industry. We also provide important travel industry news and updates.
