Website usability – improving conversion rates

[harley]

Anyone got any suggestions on increasing your websites usability?

I want to increase my conversion rates.

[bob477]

Well, to be honest I do not understand when you say conversion rates. Are you talking about drawing traffic? If that is the case, then I guess you need to update the content that you are posting on your website as the present content might not be fetching you any users. I guess this is the only reason that is hampering the growth of your website and is not bringing you any users. You better update it otherwise things will remain as they are right now and won’t change. This is what I personally call a ‘Sorry State of Affairs’. So I would like to tell you that you need to get in touch with a professional or a group of professionals who would help you with your work and would help your website get a better PageRank. When you have a good pagerank, users on the web will be automatically drawn towards your site. This way, you will also be happy with the efforts that you are putting in as they will be consistently rewarded.

This term ‘conversion rates’ that you are using is referring to something else. I am not too sure about the matter that you are referring to. In case if you are talking about increasing the traffic on the site, then I would suggest that you go ahead and purchase some softwares from the market like Traffic Builder, which will not only use legitimate ways to increase your site’s fan base but also will be helpful in drawing considerable amount of traffic. By using these softwares, you will feel very satisfied with the results that you get. I myself have used such software and before using this, my website was not at all getting any kind of traffic. But let me tell you, once I got into the act and started making use of this software there was no looking back at all. I not only started getting users for my site but also got permanent members. These are the people who keep visiting my website even now and are completely devoted to the site. They give me invaluable inputs which have made the job of maintaining the website even easier. So keep all these things in mind and you will not have to worry about the traffic that you wish for. These factors would automatically generate the traffic for you and would also help in making things easier for the good. Cheers. Have a great time.

[helen.carter]

Sheesh Bob. If you don’t know what a conversion rate is….what are you doing posting a reply and giving advice about it for???!! Whenyou don’t know about something, better to keep quiet and let someone who DOES know what they’re talking about show up.

@ harley – you wanted to improve your conversion rates?

There’s a few basic tips I can give you, things that you could try, that might give you some clue about it. As you know, a conversion rate refers to the percentage of persons who visit your site and go on to make a purchase. Most website owners believe that by increasing traffic they can increase the conversion rate. While this makes perfect sense, you should also keep in mind that all the visitors in the world aren’t going to help if there is something fundamentally wrong with your website. Increasing traffic is all very well, but before you plunge into a different marketing plan aimed at attracting more customers, perhaps you should just give your website a look-over. Check if everything is working properly.

There’s nothing as annoying as finding a website that you like and want to do business with but can’t because of some flaw in the setup that doesn’t allow you to go to the next page or submit your information or things like that. I remember once ordering a box set of Asimov’s works from a website, only trouble was that the page where I entered my credit card information would refresh before it loaded properly. Can you imagine?!!! I went from being annoyed to livid to plain scared because I was convinced that someone was phishing me. You cannot imagine my relief, when I found I wasn’t being cheated. The website just sucked. Simple. They had some coding problems.

But do you think I ever returned to that website? Nope. This is the kind of thing I’m talking about.

On your website, first of all, make sure it’s easy to navigate. Make it accessible. Keep it simple and straightforward. Don’t make the visitor feel like he has to be Bill Gates to find his way around – you don’t want to be perceived as an elitist.
Make sure your website is compatible with other browsers as well as Internet Explorer. The excuse that 99% of net users use IE doesn’t wash. What about the 1% that don’t use it? Aren’t they important to you? You can’t afford to be exclusive. Not in this business!
Make sure that the buttons are clear and bold, so that when your visitor wants to click on ‘buy’, he doesn’t have to search high and low for it.
Let your visitors find the information they need about the product easily. If they ant to know more about the product they’re buying, they should be able to find the info, make a decision and get it over with. If the only information on your website is a picture and some sales rap, it isn’t going to sound too convincing for the consumer. Don’t forget that.
If you don’t have a product in stock, say so! Don’t dither about it. Your customers will respect you for the honesty and straightforwardness you display now. And that will force them to come back.
That’s it for now….if I can think up more ways of increasing your conversion rates, I’ll let you know.

Ciao.

[michaelw]

Improving conversion rates?

@Helen – You got most of the basics right but everything you’v�entioned is perhaps too basic. Not to say that it won’t h�……it j�….won’t he�very�ch. lol. Relax Helen, I’m not bullyin�ou or anything.

@Harley – Understand tha�hen you talk about conversion rates, there can be a couple of very different things that can qualify as conversions. It all depends upon what the business of your site is. According to the objective of your website, the conversion rate could be getting the user to download a file, submit his email address, and click through to another page to seek more information about your products or make a purchase. In most cases, making a purchase qualifies as a full conversion. Clicking through to find more information about a certain product is a micro conversion or partial conversion that has the potential of turning into a full conversion in the event that the user is convinced and satisfied with the information on display and decides to make a purchase on his next visit or after clicking through. Getting a user to download a file can also be seen as a full conversion if that is the business of your website.

A full conversion is getting your customers to do what you want them to do. A full conversion can be brought about by instilling a sense of curiosity in your users. If you have an option to ‘opt in’ for infor�ion on�ur website, it is firstly, a way to test and measure your website and content, and secondly, it is a lure. When you ask your users for their name, address and phone number or email address, should they reply, you have accomplished two things. First, you have determined that the user who left his name and number is curious and interested in your product and second, you have gained a chance to talk or contact them again, through means of an email or audio file. People visit websites to gain information, so you should give them the chance of gaining it.

Next, you need to differentiate your website from the millions of other websites selling the same thing. How are you going to do that? By stressing on your USP. You must have a USP…if you don’t….you don’t belong in � �iness, a�business. Set yourself apart from the others. And make sure that your site is useful to your users or nobody will remember you.

Your website should be relevant to your users. If you run an online toy store and stock everything under the sun, then all your products should be displayed properly on the site and should be linked properly. If a user searches for an action figure of Darth Vader and you link appears, then he should be able to click on your link and find himself on the Darth Vader page. But if he is directed to your Home page where Darth Vader is sandwiched between Chewbacca and Han Solo…..it’s not going to help your�sine�much.

Finally, everything depends on trust. if your audience does not trust you then you won’t be getting very far. Make sure�ur privacy policy, shipping procedure and other terms and conditions are displayed prominently. Use SSL encrypted protection for the forms filled on your site so that customers are confident that their credit information is safe and sound, that hundreds of satisfied customers have bought your products. And make it very easy to find contact information like name, phone number, address and email. So that your customers can trust you and deem it safe to part with their money on your website.

That’s about it, I guess. Good luck mate�