If your website receives plenty of traffic, but those visitors don’t do what you want them to do, then this post is for you!  Use these 10 fundamental conversion rate optimization tips to get more out of your website.

Every site as a goal – it’s an action its users should take. The action can be as simple as viewing a certain page. Popular actions include downloading a document, submitting a contact form or purchasing a product. When a user completes a desired action, it’s known as a conversion.

Most sites convert only 1-3% of its visitors. Why don’t the other 97% convert too? Maybe they are not in the purchasing stage of the buying cycle or maybe they found the information they were seeking. But most likely, they do not trust the site enough to conduct the action.

Use these 10 tips to build more trust with your users, gain more conversions, and experience more business through your website.

1. Have credible content with a professional look.

What web user is going to trust a site with typos or broken links? Make sure that your web copy is grammatically correct. Double check that all links work and bring users to the right page. Take advantage of web site conventions and ensure that your site logo always links to the homepage. A fresh and professional design helps too.

2. Maintain scent.

Fundraising Page

Scent refers to the site-wide consistency of page location, colors, graphics and words when it comes to special content. With visually consistent content, a user is more likely to see the content and trust it. Inconsistent content could confuse a user. For example, this fundraiser page uses a third party site for donations. We customized the donation site to maintain as much scent as possible from the homepage. If you were on this fundraising page and went to donate, would you be more likely to trust the original donations page or the customized one?

Original Donations Page

Customized Donations Page

3. Reinforce offers site-wide.

Web-pages contain a lot of content, so many visitors just skim a page. They may miss the content you want them to see. If you think something is important (a free brochure to download or 25% off all products) include it on every page. Do this especially with e-commerce sites and do not forget to include the offer on the shopping cart page. If a user goes to checkout, but no longer sees anything about “free shipping” that cart will be abandoned in seconds.

4. Provide all contact information.

People need to know that there is a reputable person on the other side of their computer screen, not a scam. Show that you are legitimate. Provide a physical address, phone number and email address. This also tells your visitors that you’re accessible to help with any issues.

5. Utilize point of action assurances.

Communicate guarantees, return policies and safe shopping credibility. Also, offer alternative methods of transactions such as phone orders or paypal for users who do not feel comfortable ordering online via credit card.

6. Communicate reciprocation.

When users convert they provide you with something: contact information, revenue, leads, etc. What will you provide users in return? Always convey what users will get if they convert. Ideas:

Action: Receive:

Sign up for email newsletter  =  Coupons, expert advice, latest news, etc
Submit contact form  =  A response within 24 hours
Sign up for account  =  A free trial
Buy a product  =  24/7 product assistance

7. Frame choices.

Choice paralysis occurs when a user is given too many options and they become overwhelmed and  confused. With more options, users spend a considerable amount of more time during the selection process and become “paralyzed.” Prevent choice paralysis by framing choices. Here are some good examples:

8. Convey scarcity.

When something is limited, it appears to be more valuable. Make sure to include text that conveys scarcity, such as:

“Hurry! Only 4 more left.”

“Hurry! Limited Downloads Available”

“Available for a limited time only!”

9. Demonstrate social proof.

Humans strive to meet social expectations. To fit in with the crowd, we judge what’s normal by observing other people’s behavior. Convince users that converting on your site is a normal behavior. Convey statistics, such as, “Downloaded by 1 million people!” Show what other customers bought who viewed similar products; this might spark interest in an additional item for users to add to their shopping carts. Most importantly, display reviews and testimonials so users can receive feedback from experiences of previous purchasers.

10. Show authority.

Testimonials can also be used to express authority. People are more likely to act on information that is conveyed by an expert. Show them that you’re the expert in the industry by displaying client and customer testimonials and their logos.

By following these tips, you’ll be sure to convert more users. But of course the basics must be in place: substantial traffic, an easy to use site and appropriate content. Want to learn how your site fairs? We offer a one-time conversion analysis.

Now it’s your turn to share. What works best for you? How does your site convince users to convert?

A Brief Trip through the Early Days of the Internet

I am a nostalgic kind of person and believe it or not, one thing I sometimes like to “reminisce” about is how websites used to look like when the internet was in its commercial infancy. I remember gawking at some of the websites I would visit in 1998, being impressed by the complicated designs, the layouts and the attractive visuals (it was WAY cooler when those visuals moved too. WOW!). Of course, looking back now, websites from the late nineties pretty much fall in the 1970′s “orange shag carpet on the walls and ceilings” category. Someone had to think it looked good at some point–right?

Let’s go down memory lane a bit here and take glimpse at a couple of websites from the late 1990s. Today, we’ll be traveling through time using the Way Back Machine, thanks to archive.org.

…View Full Story

Ever wonder just how many people use IE 6, and why you should support it?

Well, look no further.

I’m a data junkie and I thought I would do a quick post to get the word out to all of our web designer followers about the percentages of people who use various configurations.

This data is all from last month. The three sources are all linked here. The methodologies differ in all three data samples but this will give you at least a general idea of what the popular things are.

And yes, IE 6 is still very popular.

Screen Resolution Market Share

Browser Market Share

Operating System Market Share

Did anything surprise you?

I don’t think I’ve linked to Seth Godin yet on this blog, which is insane. He’s a genius and a big influencer on the way I think (and the world thinks) about marketing and business. I’ve fallen off of reading his blog, but while researching ideas for this post he popped into my head.

So I went there and BAM! An invaluable post, right at the top.

The title: Things to ask before you redo your website. You won’t find “Which color palette should I use?” or “How many columns?” on here.

The most important one:

What is the goal of the site?

Just making a mission statement for a business, deciding on a website goal up front makes littler decisions much easier.

• Want to maximize traffic? You need a mobile site.
• Is it sales leads? You should be tracking calls.
• Is it targeted to your best customers? Ignore everyone else.

Answer the big question first, and the little ones fall into line.

Before a website redesign project starts, have a team meeting to discuss Seth’s suggestions first. It will benefit everyone involved.

P.S. Seth’s a magnificent writer, one of my idols in terms of style. Some other greats: Penelope Trunk, David Ogilvy and Winston Churchill. If you can learn to communicate like them your ideas will become clear and memorable.