5 Tips that Will Help Turn Visitors into Customers - Conversion Optimisation

by Lyndi Lawson

While musing about the ideal metaphor for Conversion Optimisation, the topic of this week’s newsletter, I have realised that most of the metaphors and similies that I use have to do with sex and relationships. In my opinion, this necessitates a change in job title – Lyndi Lawson: Assistant Marketing Manager, Copywriter and Agony Aunt.

Indeed, one might tack ‘Literary Analyst’ onto the end, although my parents  will no doubt cringe as it dawns on them that I have referred to The Game as literature adding to the senseless, yet certain, decimation of ye olde English. But back to Conversion Optimisation and my pseudo-literary references.

Conversion Optimisation refers to the process of persuading website visitors to become paying customers. Generating site traffic is simply not enough: if no one buys what you’re selling, your business is soon going to run headlong into a brick wall.
In much the same way, a man will often find that convincing a girl that there is value in talking to him, or even going on a date with him, is far simpler than successfully coaxing her into into his bed.

In this metaphor, the website visitor is a gorgeous, intelligent woman; conversion is thus the act of getting her to voluntarily sleep with you, and optimisation refers to the tactics that you use to secure that conversion. Of course, there are always some girls who will never ever put out – like there are some customers who definitely will not convert on your site. But, there are also those girls (read customers) who are dying for a bit of a kiss and a snuggle but don’t want to seem slutty. All they need is a little nudge.

The question is; what can you do to make sure that customers will convert on your website (and girls who enter your nest of love will stay there and make themselves at home)?

Enter The Game; essentially Conversion Optimisation for geeks.  

In The Game, Neil Strauss (aka Style – his Pick-up Artist pseudonym) outlines the  methods that maximise a man’s chances of ‘converting’ a girl that he fancies. And no, I am not referring to a religious conversion.
These optimisation tactics are closely akin to the methods used to convert visitors into buyers, not necessarily in their execution, but potentially in their intent and most certainly in their outcome. With Conversion Optimisation, as with picking up women, it is all about the process of collecting data, analysing what works and then optimising the process to ensure that it runs smoothly. Other factors also play a role. 

1). Define Your Conversion Goals – Begin with the End in Mind

Defining your goals in advance makes conversion all the more possible. Any half baked pick-up artist will tell you that identifying your target is key to successfully ‘converting’ her. Ideally, when it comes to your website, these goals should be integrated into the design process. While there is a risk involved in narrowing down your alternatives to this degree, this is a clear case of a bird in the hand being better than two in the bush. No pun intended.

Conversion goals can differ across companies and individuals. For websites they may take the form of a sale, an enquiry or a newsletter signup. Whatever the case may be, conceptualising the end goal(s) will make your Conversion Optimisation strategy that much easier to formulate and implement.

2). It’s All About Speed

No matter how carefully planned your Conversion Optimisation strategy might be; there are always deal-breakers. In relationship terms, deal-breakers are those factors that, no matter how into a guy, a girl might be (or visa versa), would necessitate an immediate exit.

When it comes to websites, the speed at which a site downloads is often a deal-breaker, particularly in South Africa where broadband is scarce and dial-up is not only slow, but it’s expensive. Ensuring that your site loads quickly, whatever the connection, will maximise your chances of conversion.  

3). Observe Your Competitors, Collect Data and Track your Progress

Keeping an eye on those people playing the same game as you do and monitoring their progress is integral to your own long-term success. And now, some great news for ugly men everywhere: externalities such as appearance, are of diminishing significance. Similarly, with Conversion Optimisation, everyone begins on an equal footing. The prettiest website will not necessarily convert the greatest number of visitors; it is all about a) the way that you position yourself and b) how strategic your Conversion Optimisation tactics are.

Competitor observation, whether your competitor is the next Brad Pitt or the warty homeless person who lives under the subway near my house, is useful. It creates an opportunity for you to learn from the merits and flaws of those around you and apply what you have learned accordingly.

4). Create a Homely, Trust-Worthy Environment

If we’re talking about your flat, this means hiding your collection of French porn (no matter how artistic you consider it to be), making sure the sheets are clean and that there’s a spare toothbrush (preferably unused) in the (also clean) bathroom. If it’s websites we’re referring to, visitors need to feel comfortable with what they are looking at.

An infinite number of factors can have an effect on whether or not potential customers convert, but this one is a biggie. Clean, easy to read sites are advisable. Unnecessary activity distracts the eye. The goal here is to ensure that the visitor stays focussed on their goal and follows the path to conversion that you have laid out for them, without feeling coerced or manipulated. Honesty is important – just like you can’t lure a woman into the bedroom by pretending that the door she’s going through is actually a back exit, you can’t trick your customers into following through with a conversion if they’re expecting one thing and are going to get something completely different. Both will ultimately bite you in the butt (and not in a good way).

5). Small Steps and Keep it Simple – Organising an Effective Navigational Structure

While a conversion is the ultimate goal of a website, there are a number of steps and processes that can be followed by the users that will ultimately lead to them converting on your site. These are known as events or micro-conversions. The good news about micro-conversions is that with each consecutive micro-conversion, a macro-conversion becomes all the more probable.

In the same way as pick-up artists become more assured of their eventual success as an evening wears on and the target of their affection is increasingly responsive and tolerant of physical affection, so website owners need to put in place the same milestones. That said, the milestones themselves are important. No girl (even if she is considering ‘converting’) appreciates a man who dives right in there for the kill without the necessary pleasantries that traditionally precede conversion.

In the same way, information needs to precede a call to action or a pay-gate so that the user feels comfortable with the conversion and its associated process. Enough about the milestones - reaching them is highly unlikely if the process of doing so is complicated. If users can’t navigate a site quickly and easily, they will become frustrated and leave. Because of this risk, it is crucial that it is as easy as possible for users to find what they are looking for.

Finally, it is important to remember that Conversion Optimisation is an advanced practice. Effectively maximising the number of conversions on your site requires a wide range of skills and a deep understanding of the Internet. Pick-up artists are experts on the subject of women and the psychology that drives them. In the same way, web site owners need to have an in-depth understanding of their target market and what does and does not make them convert. This is more and more important in the ever-more competitive market – The need to maximise every click is essential.
 

2008/06/25 | permalink | comments (3) | trackbacks (0)

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