So it’s Monday morning and your Slack notifications are blowing up. Your boss is asking questions.
Google Analytics is showing a huge uptick in traffic on your site. You’ve implemented a new content strategy, a new SEO strategy, started doing paid ads and you even started working double-time on the social engagement front yet here you are with little to no conversions to show for it. So what is happening?
The Design Sucks
A terrible website design is more influential than you think. I’m not saying keep up with all the website trends as they happen but at least put some effort in. Think about it, would you give your email to a crappy looking website? Probably not.
If your website looks like a Geocities page then you’re in trouble.
Another thing to remember is that majority of users are viewing your website on their phones. So if your website isn’t responsive or optimized for mobile then you can kiss their conversions goodbye. You can also kiss ranking on Google goodbye. In 2015 Google started boosting the search rank of pages with mobile-friendly designs. If your website isn’t currently using a responsive, mobile-friendly design then stop reading this right now and go fix it. Or contact me to help you do that.
After you’ve optimized your site for mobile here are some other dos and don’ts you should adhere to (if you want):
DO
• Whitespace is your friend. Use it.
• Make links look like links so visitors know where to click.
• Use proper site navigation. Not mystery meat.
• Reduce page load time.
• Combine stylesheets when you can.
• Use forms with a few fields.
DON’T
• Too many CTA (call-to-action) buttons. Visitors need one clear path of action.
• Slideshows. Trust me, no one wants to click through these.
• Autoplay videos with sound on. No no no no.
• Don’t have links open in a new tab unless they are outside of the website. For example: Microsoft.com should link to Microsoft.com/products within the same window, not in a new tab.
There’s a lot more do’s and don’ts. But these should get you started for now. I can help with the rest if you’d like.
What’s Your Website About?
When you visit a site it should be very clear what the site is about. If I go to https://www.uxpin.com/studio/ebooks/ I know what I’m getting right away.
UXPin is offering me free UX-related eBooks. It’s clear right from the hero. I now feel comfortable giving them my email.
But if you look at this page.
You have no idea what happens after you submit your email. Am I signing up for a free trial? Am I going to watch a demo? I have no clue. So I’m going to pass on giving them my email.
I Don’t Have My Credit Card Numbers Memorized
This happens to me all the time. I’ll be browsing a website on my phone and I see something I want to buy but then when I go to checkout I see I have to type in my credit card number and billing info. Darn. You just lost me.
Why? Not because I’m cheap but because I have no idea what my credit card number is off the top of my head. And I’m pretty proud of that. I am not going to stop whatever it is I am doing to go dig out my card. But if I see a website has a PayPal or Amazon Pay integration then I will most definitely complete my transaction. Nothing makes my online shopping experience better than trusted integrations. I can’t remember my credit card numbers but I can remember my PayPal login.
Start Small and A/B Test
There is no cure-all to getting conversions on your website. And these are just some of the issues that could be plaguing your website. Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic pill to getting more conversions. But imagine if there was? There are, however, some tactical ways to face this dilemma head-on: small changes and a/b testing.
Please do not make tons of changes at once to your page and hope for the best. You will have no idea what caused the change — good or bad. Instead, do small changes and a/b test as you go. That way you can figure out what works and doesn’t work. When implementing any changes remember to keep a spreadsheet or log so you can remember what you did and when.
I hope this gives you some direction on your conversion quest. Go ahead and try out some of these tips and see if your conversions improve over time. This isn’t a guarantee so I am making no promises. Take these tips with a grain of salt. And please be kind and don’t attack me on Twitter if your conversions drop.
I believe in you. You got this kid.
_____________________________________________________ A
I’m Allyssa. I am a hybrid designer who likes to front-end code, who loves marketing ops and marketing automation, growth hacking and content marketing. You can find me on Twitter usually tweeting about sports, music and whatever podcast I’m listening to. If you want to chat over email you can jet over to my website to send me a message.
