No matter what type of business you have, you always want to increase your conversion rates. Your website should be designed to bring in more leads and sales so that your business can grow.
The number of clicks and conversions you get indicates how well your website is designed and the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. If you’re not getting enough clicks and conversions, there’s a problem with your website or your marketing.
There are a lot of things that can make or break your website’s conversion rate, such as how user-friendly it is, what the layout looks like, how clear your calls-to-action are, and the quality of your content. If you’re getting a lot of web traffic but not many conversions, don’t worry. You probably just made some mistakes that can easily be fixed.
This article will explain the most common mistakes that reduce conversion rates, and how they can be fixed.
1. Your Website Is Still Slower Than a Snail
Please update your website so that the site loads faster. It is 2022 and people do not want to wait 5 seconds for it to load.
A single second of delay has the potential to reduce conversions by 7%. In addition, up to 79% of online shoppers will avoid returning to a slow website. Not only will they not come back, but they will also tell their friends about the bad experience. Is this really the kind of first impression you want to make on potential customers?
It is time to test the speed of your website and optimize it for maximum performance. Google has a tool called Google PageSpeed Insights that can help you with this.
Enter your URL and click “Analyze”. This will provide you with a detailed report on the issues that slow down your website based on two major parameters:
- Above-the-Fold Load – The time that the page spends to display content above the fold when requested by users.
- Full Page Load – The time that the browser takes to fully load the page when requested by users.
It then generates suggestions regarding how your page may be improved Google PageSpeed Insights provides you with information about how well your webpage performs on both mobile and desktop devices. The tool loads your URL twice, once with a mobile device user agent and once with a desktop user agent. It then uses this information to generate suggestions about ways you can improve your page.
A good Pagespeed score is 85 or above. If you want to increase your conversion rates, you need to turn that “good” into “excellent.”
PageSpeed Insights can help you figure out what is dragging down the performance of your website and provides suggestions on how to fix the issues.
In general, to speed up your WordPress website for maximum conversions, you need to implement the following:
Implement a Good Hosting Provider
You need a hosting provider that will improve your website’s speed and performance in every way.
Most hosting providers will give you a great deal, especially on shared hosting packages that allow you to start your website for only a dollar per month!
Share hosting is when more than one website is located on a single web server. This can cause decreased speed on your website if the other websites located on the server are getting more traffic.
The four key benefits of using a managed hosting provider are:
- Better Security: Managed hosting services offer unparalleled security compared to other types of web hosting. A managed provider applies the highest level of security, daily backups, malware scanning, and updates that prevent hackers from attacking your site.
- Monitoring Uptime: Speed and performance have a direct impact on search rankings. Most of the managed hosting providers offer 24/7 website monitoring, which means that you don’t have to dwell on your website’s performance
- 24/7 Support: Managed hosting providers have trained experts that understand the technical details of the platform, and know how to solve common and complex problems.
Most managed hosts can support a wide range of businesses, from educational blogs to eCommerce websites. The solution is adapted to your business needs, not the other way around.
Reduce the Number of Plugins
Installing too many plugins on your WordPress site will slow it down, as each plugin adds new code to your site that the browser has to load. The fewer plugins you have installed, the faster your site will load.
Use only the plugins that you need and delete the ones that are not updated by the creators or that you don’t use anymore. However, it can be tricky to choose the plugins that matter and are of real quality.
Optimize Your Homepage
If you want a high PageSpeed score, your homepage must be blisteringly fast! There are several things that you can do immediately to speed up your homepage:
- Excerpts Only: WordPress shows entire posts on your homepage by default. This slows down your site, and by using excerpts, the page will load faster because you only use a portion of the article.
- Minimum Posts: Use maximum 3-5 posts on your homepage.
- Minimum Widgets: Remove unnecessary widgets and inactive plugins that you don’t need on your homepage.
- Light Slider: If you use a slider instead of a hero shot, make sure that each slider image is optimized.
2. You Have Poor Customer Support
I’m sure you’d agree that it’s obvious that you can’t convert customers if you ignore them. So why do so many online stores fail when it comes to customer service?
People will pay more money for a better experience. This is something that 86% of people have admitted to.
Imagine that a prospective customer goes to your product page. If they are far down your sales funnel, it is likely that they intend to buy your product.
What if your potential customers have questions about your product that are not answered on your product page?
Or anxieties that need to be put to rest?
Some people may experience technical difficulties when trying to complete a purchase.
If there is no open line of communication to address the endless list of things that can require your immediate attention, buyers will be left in the dust and money will be left on the table.
That’s bad business, and it’s easy to fix.
You should always be prepared for problems before they occur, so that you can either prevent them or have a solution ready. For example,
There’s this entrepreneur who offers exceptional online programs.
The problem?
I have to email support every time I try to buy one of his products because the order form doesn’t work for me. It’s a hassle, but if they didn’t have a different version of the form available, they would lose my business.
Make sure that your website has contact information so that customers can reach out to you with questions or concerns. I also recommend including a live chat feature on your product pages. By being responsive to customer queries, you can avoid losing sales.
3. You Display Shipping Costs Too Late
Has this ever happened to you?
If you’re shopping online, it’s easy to get carried away and add items to your cart without considering the shipping costs. Halfway through the checkout process, you may be surprised to see how much the shipping fees are, which can sometimes be almost as much as the cost of the items themselves.
That’s insane.
If your customers have to pay for shipping, they are less likely to buy from you. In fact, the number one reason people abandon their shopping carts is because of unexpected shipping costs. I understand that not every e-commerce site can offer free shipping, but if you can make it happen, you will see more sales.
Although customers are willing to pay for shipping, they are disappointed when shipping fees are revealed later on in the checkout process.
It is a good idea to use a shipping calculator or predictor so that your customers will know the additional costs upfront. You can also reduce the impact of high shipping, handling, and tax fees by providing coupon codes.
I am confident that it will greatly improve your conversion rates.
4. Your Site Has Poor Information Architecture
This concept is often overlooked but it’s very important. If customers can’t find what they’re looking for on your website then they’re not going to buy anything from you. This decreases your conversion rates.
This is what I mean when I talk about information architecture. It is how information should be displayed on a website so that visitors can find what they want without having to click through several pages.
You want to go for ease and speed.
5. Your Copywriting Is Less Than Stellar
As the saying goes, it’s “salesmanship in print.”
Copy is the driving force behind emails, opt-in pages, product descriptions, blog posts, sales pages, and website content. It needs to be clear, deliver a compelling value proposition, and be persuasive enough to drive action.
While it is true that e-commerce copywriting is a specialized skill, it is not the only skill required for success in this field. There are many other skills that are just as important, if not more so. For example, understanding SEO and how to drive traffic to a website are both essential for anyone looking to be successful in e-commerce.
It can certainly be learned, but it takes time and practice to perfect it.
The good news?
For one, you can outsource it.
But before you hire a copywriter, you have to get clear on a few things that you can’t hire out:
- Who do you serve?
- What do you help them with?
- How does this problem affect both their external and internal lives?
- What game plan do you have to help them overcome it?
These are just a few elements that make up your brand story.
If you don’t want to outsource your copywriting, that’s okay.
Afterall, it can cost a fortune.
Consider:
Copywriting is formulaic.
Good copywriting can follow several specific structures that make it more persuasive.
There are a lot of formulas that you can follow.
One of the most useful is the AIDA formula.
- Attention. Remove prospects out of their ordinary thought process and demand their attention with a captivating hook.
- Interest. Get minds working by educating and entertaining your prospects with novel ideas.
- Desire. Appeal to their deepest longing so you can increase their appetite for your product.
- Action. Call on prospects to take a step towards fulfilling their desires.
Make sure your copy includes these elements before you publish it.
Another powerful one is the PAS formula.
- Problem. Present the problem that your prospects face.
- Agitation. Dive deep into the turmoil that it causes.
- Solution. Position your product as the ultimate solution.
These give you some food for thought.
6. Making a Purchase Is Too Big of a Jump for Prospects
A purchase decision shouldn’t feel like a massive commitment.
What you want is minimum viable commitment.
Here’s how.
i. Don’t overpromise
Even though your potential customers want a product that will solve all their problems, you should not make that promise.
Why?
They won’t believe you.
They know that life doesn’t work like that. Saying something like that will make you sound not credible. It’s important to remember that there are two types of credibility: the kind you build up over time, and the kind you lose as soon as you start talking.
Customers only buy from you if they trust that you’ll give them what you’ve promised. They also need to trust themselves that they can achieve the result your product promises. Overselling kills both of these factors, and prevents any sales from happening.
ii. Have a low-ticket offer
This is also known as a trigger (a term I don’t care for too much).
Tripwire marketing is not always necessary.
But one thing is for sure:
Price is almost always an objection.
You may need to give a lower price commitment to convert spectators into buyers, and that repeat buyers are much easier to convert.
iii. Give prospects a quick win at no cost
The sooner you can give your prospects a win for free, the sooner they’ll be willing to buy your paid offers.
Think about the grand problem that you’re solving.
Now, break it down into steps.
Give your prospects a free offer that provides an instant solution to part of their problem.
I guarantee you, it will make a difference.
Wrapping It Up
Your website may have some obstacles to increasing your conversion rate if it is guilty of one or more of the mistakes mentioned earlier. Rectifying these issues should be a priority if you want to see success. Take these matters seriously and don’t expect things to happen without taking action yourself.
It is important to be aware of your weaknesses and take action to improve them. The tips in this article can help you increase customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
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