I thought it was about time I created another useful expert roundup post for you peeps here on Magnet4Blogging. It's been a wee while since I published the last one, don't you think?
So since one of my passionate topics is design and conversion optimization, I decided to ask the following question to a handful of top bloggers, marketers, and solopreneurs in my industry.
What would be their number one, single, website conversion optimization tip?
Interested in learning what these awesome folks had to share? Well, go ahead, here are their answers below.
Ashley Faulkes from Madlemmings.comWhen it comes to building your email list, focusing on conversions is one of the best things you can do.
Starting out, you might have a generic offer for your whole website, but you will get far better results (ie. lots more emails) if you have a focused offer on a per-category or even per-post basis. By doing this, you will increase your conversion rates insanely.
So, if you are just starting out, try breaking your content into categories (your main topics for the site) and create an offer for each. Then have a topic-based email list and offer for that category.
If you really want to ramp up the conversions, you should create what are called content upgrades. They are post specific offers that convert even better.
[clickToTweet tweet="If you want to REALLY ramp up your website conversion rate, your should create content upgrades..." quote="If you want to REALLY ramp up your website conversion rate, your should create content upgrades..."]
Take this post I have on online business ideas for example. This is a huge post that gives over 100 business ideas for people wanting to run a business online. The problem is that it is too much to digest.
The easy solution to this is to create a nice downloadable summary in PDF form as an email opt-in. Such focused opt-ins convert really really well.
The one I have on this post is currently converting at just under 10%, way above the 2-3% you get from popups or similar offers. And if I worked on optimising that page (position of the offer, and type of opt-in box) I could improve it even more.
So, if you think your email list is not growing fast enough, have a think about category-based offers, or even better, post specific ones (at least for your best/biggest traffic posts). And watch your email list grow like crazy!
Thrive Leads is an awesome list building tool you can use to create category-based offers and content upgrades.
Adam Connell from AdamConnel.me and BloggingWizard.comThe web is full of hacks that can potentially improve your conversions.
These are generally thought of as best practices, but the truth is that best practices should always be your starting point.
Why?
Well, what works for one blogger might not work for another.
Each audience/niche has it’s own dynamic and there are a bunch of other factors that come into play too.
And every time you read a conversion optimization case study, remember that the study was based on someone else’s data - not yours!
For example - have you seen those infographics floating around the web about the best time to post on social networks?
That’s research done by someone else, with a completely different audience to you.
So, what’s the answer?
Use best practice advice as a starting point, then test to find what works.
But the advice I’ll leave you with may sound counter-intuitive at first so stick with me.
Just because an opt-in form or landing page converts better than another, doesn’t mean that it’s the best in the long run.
Let’s take sales pages as an example - one might convert 20% better, but the other one may result in more revenue because it qualifies visitors better.
The lesson here is to start with your end goal, then work backwards.
Lilach Bullock from LilachBullock.comOver the years I've experimented quite a bit with website conversion optimization, and I am always on the lookout for new ways to improve conversions.
It's quite difficult pinpointing one tip, as website optimization is all about trying out as many different possibilities to see what works best for you.
I think that might be my biggest tip: lots and lots of testing...
Because, at the end of the day, what might work for someone else, might not work for your website - and vice versa. Especially when it comes to landing pages, it's important to create different pages and try out variations of design, calls to action, social proof and so on.
While testing out different pages, it also helps to use tools that tell you more about your visitors' behaviour: are there elements of design that are distracting them from your calls to action?
Knowing all of this information can help you create a better website and better landing pages that can lead to more conversions.
Kulwant Nagi from BloggingCage.comConversion optimization is all about understanding the flow of your visitors and serving them appropriate things where they actually want them.
I personally analyse my most traffic fetching pages, and add an upgrade offer to get more leads from that specific article.
Funnels are one of the most effective ways to drive sales and get enthusiastic buyers. Just make an awesome lead magnet, something people cannot ignore.
The price of your front-end offers makes a big difference here. So let people come into your funnel by charging a small amount and then offer them an upgrade which is completing your product.
E.g sell a Facebook marketing course for $39, and then up-sell 100 pre made Facebook ads templates in $99.
This will work like crazy, because people who bought the course are more likely to buy an unavoidable upgrade.
Understand the buyer psychology completely and sell them what you want. 😉
Ron Sela from RonSela.comMy number one website conversion optimization tip is to implement a powerful and clear call-to-action (CTA).
A beneficial CTA is one of the most powerful conversion secrets, not because it is hidden, but because a majority of websites don’t have one, or their CTA is inoperable for their particular audience.
The call-to-action itself should be very simple, however, creating a powerful CTA can be the challenge.
Words are powerful. They will always be your most powerful tool on a website or advertisement. There’s a fine line between a strong CTA and a weak one, sometimes one word can significantly alter your conversion rates.
There are many lists of already proven CTA words and phrases. However, it’s vital to know and understand your audience.
Pay close attention to the psychology behind your CTA, for instance, on social media, putting “share” on your post is a CTA that allows for a less invasive approach to getting your word out. Along with your information being shared, you are simultaneously creating an engagement factor with the person who follows that CTA.
Knowing your audience and the outcome they desire is the key to your power.
[clickToTweet tweet="Knowing your audience and the outcome they desire is the key to your power #ConversionOptimization" quote="Knowing your audience and the outcome they desire is the key to your power #ConversionOptimization"]
David Hartshorne from AzaharMedia.comMy number one website conversion optimization tip is to use Content Upgrades.
Content Upgrades have proven to be the best way of increasing email subscribers on my blog.
Since I started using them in my last two blog posts, my opt-in conversion rate has soared. In fact, over 40% of my email subscribers have opted-in via the content upgrades.
Offering a content upgrade that is ultra-specific to your blog post gives readers more reason to sign up. If they like the content they are reading, it makes sense they’ll like some more of the same, right?
I’ve found the best type of content upgrade is a checklist, resource list or cheat sheet that extends your blog post.
For example:
I hope this gives you some ideas of how you can optimise conversions on your website. Let me know if you have questions.
Swadhin Agrawal from DigitalGYD.comFor me conversion is about getting more sales from my blogs.
I have a few niche blogs and I keep on testing conversion optimization experiments on them. So far, I have had this one thing that works like charm for me. Here it is:
Adding a scarcity marketing element skyrockets my conversions.
I accidentally added a “3 coupons left” text below my “buy now” button on my niche site. And the next day, I saw I had 8 sales more than the regular number for a day.
That single change now gives me 10-15% more sales monthly. Since then, I have experimented changing the text colour, size and even the number of products left, but I would say “3 coupons left” text written with clear black and a smaller font than the regular text on that page works the best (for me anyhow).
I have tried it for my other blogs, but this works best in niches that involves laymen, like amazon niche sites.
Other than that, two more things that work for me right now is, distraction free landing pages for the sales pages.
Even if it's a blog post, I try to remove the sidebar for that single post and it works a treat.
The other conversion optimization tip I want to share is adding buttons instead of text based buy now links. Text links just don’t work for me as far as a CTA is concerned.
Jane Sheeba from SavvyBloggingTips.comSo my number one conversion optimization tip is to NOT to give people too many options.
When people are presented with too many options, they are simply confused. The internet is already overloaded with distractions, options and many other things that confuse people.
So when they are on my site, most probably about to take a decision, I better use it to the fullest by giving them only one or two options at the most.
This way I make it easy for my potential customers to just take the action, instead of adding another step or process - having to decide between the options.
I run a multi-passionate business, and I learned this lesson the hard way. Which is why I have separated each of my passion to be a different business/website on its own.
I still tend to bring everything under my single brand (Jane Sheeba Media) - that's a tough challenge, but I manage to maintain sanity just by following this single strategy 🙂
Anil Agarwal from BloggersPassion.comCreate strong call to actions...
It doesn't matter whether you are building a landing page to increase email subscribers or sales, you need to create call to actions that persuade your target audience.
Don't use simple words like "Buy now", "Join our email list" either. They are not only vague but don't give you any conversions.
You can read the call to actions of other sites that are getting more conversions, or you can use heat maps (like Crazy Egg) to know more about your audience.
Then, create call to actions according to their needs by providing urgency, relevance and scarcity.
Harsh Agrawal from ShoutMeLoud.comMy one conversion optimization tip is to make your content readable, and make it load fast too.
This #1 tip will help to start generating leads for your funnels.
Additionally, doing A/B split-testing for your email subjects is another powerful strategy, that has helped ShoutMeLoud improve it's sales funnel conversions!
Ryan Biddulph from Blogging From ParadiseMy conversion optimization tip would be; getting REALLY clear on your top-down design.
If you review my blog you see everything aligns with: "Blogging From Paradise".
All elements align with how to retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging. No confusion. Any visitor gets that I help them with smart blogging tips, with my 126 eBooks and audio books and courses and services.
So focus on streamlining and aligning everything that you do, to what you have to offer to your visitors (end conversion goal).
Erik Emanuelli from ErikEmanuelli.comTest, test, test.
Whether you are working on your mailing list opt in, or the design of your landing page, or simply the content of your next blog post, be sure to always test new things.
Are you doing OK with your conversions? You never know you could do better.
Testing is without any doubt fundamental for a solid conversion optimization strategy.
Minuca Elena from MinucaElena.comMy conversion optimization tip is to build a relationship with your readers. Don't behave like the unapproachable guru. Use a friendly tone in your posts, reply to all the comments, and to shares on social media if they tag you.
Imagine that you are talking to a friend that is a newbie in an area in which you have more experience. While the academic style inspires more authority, the friendly tone inspires loyalty.
This is something you should also apply to your emails. I noticed that I always open emails that feel personal, even if I know they were sent to an entire email list.
From time to time, you can send a short questionnaire to your subscribers and use their feedback to understand their needs. This way you will be able to come up with better ideas for new content and for the products you want to create.
Another thing you should do is to show that you are friends with experts in your field. I do that through expert roundups.
Even if you are a new blogger, your readers will see that you have access to top influencers that are willing to share their insights with you. This will increase their confidence in you. You can see an example of an expert roundup that I recently did here.
Nirav Dave from Capsicum MediaworksContent marketing is my primary focus when it comes to website conversion optimization.
Creating content that is interesting as well as useful to the reader will help to not only boost conversions, but it will also help enhance your site’s ranking on SERPs.
The one trick that always works for me is to create long-form content and then offer readers a free resource guide that they can refer to, in the form of a checklist, a PDF, a resource list or a Bonus text. This is the best way to build your email list.
By offering readers valuable content all in one place, through a PDF or a resource list, which the readers can download or print and refer to whenever necessary, you are helping them cut down hours of research work, which, in turn, can definitely help generate more leads.
A robust content strategy is a key to a higher conversion rate and one can experiment with different types of content like list-post, How-to-guides or even create infographics which has the potential to go viral and encourage readers to share the content with their friends and acquaintances.
Fabrizio Van Marciano from Magnet4BloggingSo my one single conversion optimization tip is?
Don't wait until you've got something "perfect" enough to put out.
What ever it is you're working on; be it an eBook, a sales page, an email capture page, a new homepage for your website. What ever it is, make it the best you can and get it out there for everyone to see as soon as you can.
Once you have something out there, you can begin working on it to make it better.
Your conversion optimization strategy starts only when you have something out there doing it's job, no point leaving it on the shelf waiting until it's perfect enough.
[clickToTweet tweet="Your conversion optimization strategy starts when you have something out there doing it's job..." quote="Your conversion optimization strategy starts when you have something out there doing it's job..."]
So there you have it peeps, some truly amazing tips and advice from some of the best peeps in the business, so make the most of it.
I hope you've enjoyed this roundup, if you did, please consider sharing it with all your friends on social networks and blogging community sites. I appreciate it and I appreciate YOU.
Hey! If you'd like to share YOUR "one single website conversion optimization tip", please feel free to write something in the comment section below. Enjoy.
