A creative and compelling content can easily attract tons of visitors to your website day in and day out. While that sounds all good and well, wouldn't it be better if you could convert your web visitors into paying customers?
Keeping the end goal in mind, which is none other than to sell, your website should have something more to offer to your visitors than just aesthetics. It needs to have the bells and whistles to influence your web visitors to reach out to their pockets, and click your “Buy Now” buttons.
If that’s exactly what you are looking to do, then this guide is exactly what you're looking for. I have listed nine tips that can turn your website into a cash-collecting selling machine.
Let's get started!
1. Sell in Bulks & Variations
Trying to sell on your website, as you would sell in a store is often times a solid guiding principle to follow. No matter how big or small a store is, the owner should be able to display a number of options for a specific product for the customers to choose from.
This gives the customers a chance to decide on what to purchase without feeling limited.
In your website's case, when your visitors click a specific product, other variations and options must be readily available. If you don't have a "recommended for you" feature on your site, you should seriously consider adding one.
Related Article: B2C and B2B Ecommerce: Whats the difference anyway?
2. Add a Lengthy and Value-Packed Product Description
Adding a lengthy and value-packed product description on each of your products can be such a hassle. This is especially true if you have more than just a handful of product variations on your site.
However, in most cases, a lengthier product description will tend to give you better results in terms of sales (provided that your description is value-packed and not all fluff).
If the only thing you’ll see after clicking a product are bullet points of curt details to describe it, I’d bet that you won’t be as compelled to buy it.
However, if you’ll see a lengthy description that focuses on how much value you can get from purchasing the product, you can easily be influenced to click the “Buy Now” button.
Since you are in the position of being the provider, you must always demonstrate the value of your products or services as explicitly as you can. Elaborate on the features, shipping details, quality and other information that your customers would want and need to know.
By doing so, you can build your website's credibility and earn your customer's trust.
3. Use Discount Offers
If the big players in the online E-commerce industry like Amazon and eBay are using discount offers, then so should you.
Way back in 2013, about 90 percent of consumers used digital coupons as they transacted online. That’s quite a telling indication of how powerful using discount offers can be when it comes to growing your online business, isn’t it?
There are a couple of things that you can consider to maximize the kind of results that you can get from using discount offers:
- Use percentage based discounts, instead of a fixed dollar amount. This encourages the shoppers to buy more, since the more they buy, the bigger the discount they’ll get.
- Show the original price of the product. Doing so gives your prospect buyers a clear idea of how much they can save should they buy at your discounted rate.
- Highlight the price. Since you’re using discount offers to drive more sales, be sure to highlight this element. You can do so by using a contrasting color on your discounted price, or you can just use a bigger font.
This site pretty much demonstrates the usage of all three points. In addition to that, they also added several elements to increase the chances of their web visitors of buying product.
Their phone numbers are highly visible, they took the time to emphasize how secure their website is by showing the Comodo Secure logo at the bottom, and they even have a “request a price match feature”.
When you add all of these elements to your website in addition to the three points that I shared above, it’ll surely help improve your conversion rate.
Related Article: Promo Code Paradise: Using Discount Coupons to Skyrocket eCommerce Sales
4. Have a Highly Visible Contact Information
You'll be surprised to find out how displaying your contact number or email address above the fold can significantly increase your website's conversion rate.
But what's so special about showcasing your contact information?
Your customers need to feel at ease when transacting with an unknown provider. By making your contact information accessible, you are establishing trust, accountability and credibility. It is recommended to have a clear and complete contact information that can be seen easily.
5. Social Proof
When people are unable to make a decision for themselves, they rely on testimonials and feedback from other people. This is called social proof. And most of the time, the decision to purchase is amplified when it is backed up by social proof.
So how can you utilize social proof on your website? Well, the most common technique is to encourage comments, reviews or ratings whenever a customer should decide to purchase a product. If not that, you can at least show how many people bought the product.
Another strategy is that you can use is the "sold out" sticker. Instead of taking down the links of sold out items, you can still display them on your site but add a sold out sign. It lets customers know that a lot of customers have been purchasing your items and that you are a reliable provider.
6. Add a Clear Call-to-Action Button
Did you know that the positioning and the designs of your CTA (call-to-action) can drastically improve your sales?
If your prospects aren't clicking, then you need to consider modifying your CTA buttons.
Here are a few things you have to keep in mind when it comes to designing and positioning your call-to-action:
- Is it distinctively clear?
- Where is it located?
- Is it relevant?
It’s important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to how your CTA buttons should look, and where you should put them.
Most marketers who are worth their salt, take the time to track their results and to test which design, or placement is the best performing.
*Note: As a general rule, you need your CTA's to be above the fold, and in different areas in your landing page where you’ve provided information that can entice your readers to buy. The idea is, when your web visitor decides that they want to buy your product, they need to be able to see your “Buy Now” buttons immediately. The longer it takes them to find your “Buy Now” buttons, the bigger the chances of them changing their minds.
Related Article: Beacons to Guide You: Mixing Online Marketing and Real Life Sales
7. Avoid Downtimes
If your website is down, then you’ll get zero sales. It’s that simple.
It’s exactly because of this that you need to make sure that you are using a reputable hosting company. One that won’t let you down.
While there are several points that you need to consider when choosing a hosting company, this guide can give you the information that you need to figure out whether the hosting company you’re thinking of using, is a perfect fit for your business.
Remember that choosing the wrong hosting company for your website can lead to a lot of problems. You might end up with malware and security attacks, it can lead to a loss of revenue, and it can also impact your website’s SEO negatively, among others.
8. Facilitate a Free Flowing Process
At the end of the day, convenience will play a huge role when it comes to influencing your customer to buy your products.
You should be able to wrap up your process in about three to four steps so your customers won't find it taxing to transact with you.
Be clear with your process and simplify it. This brings us back to point number five. Your CTA's must be able to point your customers towards the desired directions with every click.
9. Invade the Social Media Channels
This should come as a no-brainer for the modern marketers but unfortunately, a lot have remained stagnant in the era of social media. With cut throat competition, you have to take advantage of the available resources.
Did you know that the average user consumes around 1.72 hours per day on social networking sites? Most likely, your potential leads are just scrolling through their Twitter and Facebook feeds.
You need to capitalize on that. And you can do so by integrating your website with the social media platforms. You can use plugins that would automatically publish the posts on your website to your social media accounts.
This is a good way of making things more convenient for your prospects, amplifying your brand's scope, nurturing your leads and reaching out to your target audience 24/7.
What's Next?
So what are you waiting for? Start revamping your website and watch how your sales skyrocket to enormous heights.