5 Proven Tactics to Turn Website Visitors into Paying Customers on a Budget
7 min read
5 Proven Tactics to Turn Website Visitors into Paying Customers on a Budget
Introduction
Your business’s website can be the catalyst that gets your business seen by highly qualified leads for your business. However, for many companies, their websites have as little use to them as a new unused photo frame — it just sits there, but it has no real purpose, value, or depth to the business and its goals. Maybe your website isn’t this bad, but you know that you can improve the number and quality of visitors that come to your website. Or worse — you’re able to attract the right people, but most of them just end up clicking off without purchasing or taking any real action.
In this blog post, we’re going to highlight some changes you can adopt to attract the right web visitors to your pages. We’ll also look at some statistically backed tactics that have helped many businesses make drastic changes to their website conversions without spending a ton on paid advertising.
Tactic 1: Optimize Landing Pages
According to Backlinko, businesses that optimize their landing pages can see conversion rates increase by up to 300%.
But What Are Landing Pages, And Why Are They Important?
Many business owners miss out on the many benefits an optimized landing page can offer because they often see it as just some website — it’s not. According to Keywords Everywhere, “the average website conversion rate is around 2–5%, while the average landing page conversion rate is 9.7%”.
Unlike websites, your landing page usually has one single page, and that page is aimed at performing only one single action. For example, you can create a landing page for leads who saw your promotional ad for one of your products. The landing page is especially helpful because it is one of the first points of interaction your potential customers will have with you.
How Can You Get More Out Of Your Landing Page?
Your landing page can be immensely beneficial in converting your page visitors into action-takers. Here’s what you can do to increase the results you see from your landing pages without spending extra.
a. Work on those headlines:
Your headline can determine whether or not your web visitors keep reading or not. While you don’t need to tell tall tales or write the world’s greatest copy to see results, your landing page headline needs to be clear and relevant to the audience. Immediately they read it, they should feel like you’re speaking directly to their need. Reports show that 8 out of 10 people click based on headlines.
Summary
Be clear, relevant, and concise in your headline
Don’t be generic. Make sure it ties in the interest of the exact kind of audience you’re looking to serve
You don’t need clever wordplay to impress your audience. It’s best to stick to being specific and relevant in your wording of the headline
b. Tidy Up Your Landing Page Content:
Try to make the content on your landing page as cohesive as possible. This may mean; making sure that your landing page has one central idea it promotes, has no grammatical errors, uses simple tenses that everyone can understand, and is directed toward the pain points of the customer
c. Monitor and Split-Test:
Your landing page analytics is your friend. It tells you the truth about what’s really going on with your pages. Monitoring your landing page analytics will help you identify what to tweak on your landing page
d. Remove Distractions And Encourage An Action:
Avoid adding multiple links, alternate Call-To-Actions, or text that takes away from the core idea or action you’re trying to push with the landing page. For example, don’t try to push 3 different items on one landing page — it immediately reduces the likelihood of them taking action.
Tactic 2: Use Compelling Calls to Action (CTAs)
Call-To-Actions are incredibly simple yet the power they have over the results you get from your page visitors is enormous. Businesses without a clear CTA have been shown to have an incredibly low conversion rate in comparison with those with a clear CTA.
But what’s a Call-To-Action?
Sprout Social defines it as “any button or hyperlink that indicates the next step your audience needs to take in your sales funnel.” What’s the ‘one thing’ you’d like your customer to perform on your page? Then let them know — you, failing to tell them, as studies show, will most likely get them to click away.
A mistake many businesses make in their CTA is using very generic Calls-To-Action, like Click Here and Learn More. Using more personalized CTAs has been shown to increase a business’s conversions by up to 202%
Also, make sure that your CTA
is action-inducing
is clear and brief
shows up clearly even without scrolling down so much (is visible)
works great on mobile devices, and not just desktop
has an eye-catching (but not off-putting) font, text, or design
is A/B tested from time to time for maximum results — this has been shown to increase a business’s conversions by up to 202%
Tactic 3: Leverage Social Proof
Other people testifying to how great your brand is feel more authentic than you raving about yourself. That’s why the concept of social proof can be very valuable to any business.
TNT reports that 9 in 10 consumers are reluctant to buy when there are no customer reviews available
A report by VWO states that testimonials can increase conversions by 34%
Social proof may come from influencers who have tested your products and are giving their feedback. But more commonly, it’s where a customer shares their opinions about your brand through reviews, testimonials, publicized posts, and more. Using this tool can help you build trust and credibility more organically.
Leveraging Social Proof In Your Marketing
If you have a good product, you can encourage people to leave reviews and testimonials for your business. A few ways you can do that may include:
Asking: Just asking your customers can leave a genuine review at the point where they are at the peak of satisfaction can go a long way (like any other Call-To-Action).
Incentivize it: Giving your customers an incentive to give you honest feedback may make it more attractive to them
Repost their testimonials: Seek permission to share the positive feedback you receive from them and post it on your website
Borrow credibility from influencers and referrals: People are more likely to get a product that was recommended to them by someone they know or trust. This could be an influencer, another brand, a friend, or a family member. You can ask for a review from an influencer or promote a referral program
Use trust badges, security certifications, or a compilation of logos of your clients to build the feeling of credibility associated with your business.
On your website or pages, make sure to:
Display your testimonials, and if possible, details like their full name, picture, or business position (for more credibility)
Use video testimonials when you can — they are more effective and feel more authentic
Compile screenshots of some of your best results for your clients
Make it even easier to leave a review or give you a referral
Tactic 4: Create a Sense of Urgency
When there’s some sort of scarcity, people tend to move into FOMO mode (FOMO — Fear Of Missing Out). Something in our subconscious hates to lose out on a good exclusive deal, so the average visitor to your website will more likely act quickly when they know there’s a countdown attached to it. And with stats showing that this can increase your conversions by up to 20%, urgency can be a no-brainer.
Be careful with this tactic though. Make sure that if you’re going to use it, it should be genuine. Customers are becoming increasingly aggravated by fake countdowns and scarcity. So, if you’re advertising it as a discount, stay true to your word — don’t claim it’s exclusive when it’s not. And as much as possible, try to stick to authentic, more believable reasons as to why it’s exclusive. For example, if you genuinely have limited stock, then you can use the “Only 3 left” strategy. But don’t lie to your web page visitors — many of them can smell a lie from a mile away, and if they do, it could cost you your credibility in their eyes.
Tactic 5: Simplify User Experience
Have you ever landed on a website that feels outdated or, worse, is weirdly complex to use? No one wants to spend more time than necessary trying to understand you, especially when they are in the early stages of their customer journey. Your website (and landing pages) should be as user-friendly as possible.
This means:
Prioritize faster load times: It shouldn’t take your website more time than necessary to load. Doing this alone has been statistically proven to increase conversions by 7% per second saved. So, make sure to check that your images, videos, and the site itself are optimized for this
Check for mobile-friendliness: Some websites are built only with the desktop appearance in mind. But most people use their phones to interact with your website. So, make sure that your mobile user interface works as seamlessly as your desktop
The layout and text: When the text on your website is too much or overly complex, you overwhelm your website visitor. (Be very intentional with the copy that sits on your website). And so, they often lose interest and leave without taking action. Make sure that the layout, fonts, or colors don’t look too busy — Be kind to their eyes
Don’t overwhelm them with asks: In your forms and Calls-To-Action (CTA), don’t ask them for more than necessary. If you only need their first name and email, collect only those. Make sure your CTAs respect the customer journey instead of solely pressuring your website viewers to buy
Conclusion
Converting your website from just a wall of information into a lead-generating powerhouse is very doable for just about any business. It involves a lot of tweaks and testing. And it requires a little extra effort. However, the inconvenience of setting up your web pages and optimizing them can be a great way to grow your business, especially when working with a budget. Take time to implement the various tactics we discussed above — gradually. Check that your pages, CTAs, testimonials, appearance, and tone pair well with the thoughts and pain points your ideal customer is looking for.
What unique experience have you had with a website that made it memorable? Share your thoughts, questions, and opinions with the Clicks and Things community in the comment section.