The goal of conversion optimization on a website is to get more people to take actions that you deem valuable, such as purchases, sign-ups, contact requests, downloads etc. Sometimes we immediately spot elements on a page that could be improved and would likely directly impact the conversion rate (percentage of visitors that take a desired action). Other times, it’s the lack of certain items that’s holding you back from doing well online.
However, it’s not always the big things that matters. Sometimes, smaller factors, that you might not even have thought of, can be an issue too. In fact, they can be conversion killers. So today we’ll discuss this area of conversion optimization and user experience and talk about how removing unnecessary steps in your website, content or sales funnel can lead to more links, shares, and even sales!
Rand Fishkin from SEOmoz recently published a great video on this subject matter, which you can view below. He explains the following elements should be reviewed and improved in order to boost conversions, earn more links and get more shares of your content:
1) Embed codes
When viewing a video, either on sites like YouTube, Vimeo or another website, you will see a little “embed” link that allows you to grab the code and put it on your own post or page so people can view the video there (like has been done with the video below). Be sure that when people click the “embed” link, the code pops up, already selected and ready to be pasted. This saves people time and reduces extra steps like having to manually select the code.
2) Shorter, more action-oriented emails
Often, people write emails to get something done from the recipient, but write really long emails. This is ok with friends, family etc, but for business purposes: try to think about what’s really the core part of the email and remove the unnecessary small talk. Think more action oriented. This could result in more people taking action and responding to your emails.
3) Simpler sign-up forms
Keep sign-up forms as short and easy as possible. Don’t ask people for their birthday, phone, fax or whatever. Keep it short and simple by only asking for their email adress, and optionally, to create a password. You can always ask for more information later.
4) Get-to-the-point content
Sometimes you might find a link to an interesting guest post, infographic, article etc. However, it turns out the content you were interested is hard to find. You scroll and search, and finally, you see it’s somewhere in the middle or at the bottom. This is not ideal. Try to write more get-to-the-point content and leave out any irrelevant content or put less-relevant content or messages more towards the bottom.
5) Socially share links directly to what matters
When sharing and linking to interesting content, try to link to the fun, interesting, urgent, or hilarious content directly, instead of to a homepage or other indirect page. For example, if you want people to vote, sign up, or download a file: point them directly at the place where they can actually perform this action. You might see big increases in conversion rates.
6) Maintain a logged-in experience
If your website or content requires a user to log-in, make sure they remain signed-in if they have selected an option like “remember me”. Having to log-in every time they want to visit your site can become very annoying and people might not come back.
View the video below to get the full explanation and details on the above mentioned tips:
