What Is Conversion?

In the simplest terms, conversion occurs when a person performs a specific action as encouraged by a marketing asset. This includes urging a prospective customer to buy a product and having the person complete that transaction. However, conversions can also include actions like signing up for a newsletter, clicking a link, or completing an online form.

How Can a Brand Boost Its Conversion Rate?

Conversion rate is one of numerous marketing metrics a brand can review to determine whether its methods are effective. If you find that your conversion rate isn’t where you want it to be, it’s worth trying one or more of the following strategies:

Be Mindful of Where You Place CTAs

Calls-to-action (CTAs) encourage people to take decisive actions in clear, concise terms. CTAs often appear at the bottom of web pages, and this practice is generally recommended to ensure your marketing finishes strong. However, CTAs can also appear in other areas of web pages, as well as on social media posts. As a result, don’t relegate your CTAs to one place or you could miss out on numerous conversion opportunities.

Ensure That Web Pages Function Correctly

Problems with web pages can drive visitors away before they can complete specific conversion actions. As an example, a page that loads too slowly is likely to frustrate a user and cause them to click away from a site. If you find that your site isn’t functioning efficiently, it could be the reason for low conversion rates.

Create Content Suited to Your Target Audience

Quality content can also boost conversion rates by keeping your audience engaged. However, content must be tailored to the wants and desires of your audience to have the greatest impact. If you feel that your messaging is not resonating with consumers, try creating example buyer personas and developing content with those personas in mind.

You can determine whether this is the case by reviewing your website’s conversion rate. While there are many metrics you can use to establish the success or failure of your site, conversion rate is especially important, as it links to your business’s bottom line. This brief overview explains more about conversion rates and how you can boost yours to increase profits.

What Is a Conversion Rate?

Conversion rates measure how many visitors to your website complete a desired task. For instance, you may want visitors to end their web session by purchasing a product. If you have a service-based business, the end goal may be for a user to schedule a service. In other cases, you may want users to sign up for a newsletter, provide their email for future correspondence, or download an app.

Conversion rates are measured in percentages, and a high conversion rate indicates that you’re accomplishing your goals. On the other hand, a low conversion rate signals that there is a roadblock between visitors and the end goal, whatever it may be.

How Can You Increase a Low Conversion Rate?

Conversion rate percentages vary from business to business, so you may need to consider pertinent details if you’re unsatisfied with your website’s current rate. However, there are some universal steps that can boost conversion rates for numerous businesses. They include:

• Use Calls-to-Action (CTAs) – CTAs are prompts that provide users of your website with clear actions to take. While they commonly appear at the end of webpages, they’re often most effective when used throughout content, particularly near the beginning of a page.

• Develop Strong Landing Pages – Unlike other webpages, landing pages are linked to a specific marketing campaign. In a sense, landing pages are just larger CTAs meant to entice users to complete a single goal. Incorporating them into your website provides visitors with clear directives, which can then boost your conversion rate.

• Establish an Email Campaign for Abandoned Carts – Abandon shopping carts, which means a user began a purchase but never completed it, are a common occurrence on eCommerce websites. Businesses can use follow-up emails to remind visitors that they left an item behind, which can be a good motivator to complete the purchase.

• Use Chatbots to Answer Questions – Abandoned carts sometimes occur because a user would like more information but can’t access the answers they need. Chatbots are great for addressing common queries and don’t require an actual person to field questions and provide information.

Are you looking for proven methods to enhance your website’s conversion rate? Thanks to our decades of experience, the skilled team at SonicSEO.com can provide guidance on this and other online marketing topics. Contact us today to discuss a new web strategy for your business.

UX design entails creating an effective, informative, and visually pleasing site or app that is easy to navigate. Users should have a seamless experience with fast page load speeds and easy to understand layouts. UX is also used as a ranking factor, which means enhanced design can increase your rank in search results. Here are a few benefits you can expect when you prioritize UX.

More Effective SEO

A good search engine optimization strategy (SEO) helps your site appear at the top of search results. SEO involves a lot of different tasks, including keyword research and quality content creation. However, UX can also impact how well your SEO strategy works by offering users the best experience possible. When users are satisfied with the way a site functions or the ease with which they can find essential information, they’re more likely to return to the site again and again.

Improved Conversion Rates

Good SEO and UX not only keeps people visiting your site, they’re also integral factors in turning visitors into paying customers. Conversion rate is a major concern when it comes to digital marketing, as you want to enhance your revenue along with your search rank. When your site or app functions correctly and provides a stress-free and enjoyable experience, consumers will develop confidence in your business. This increased confidence can be the gateway to increased sales, as users are more likely to trust in your goods and services when impressed by your online marketing.

Enhanced Reach

Ensuring that your site looks and functions the same on all devices is a key component of good UX. For instance, users must have the same experience visiting your website on a desktop computer as they do on a mobile device. Keep in mind that search results vary from device to device, so you must accommodate all types of users during their searches. In fact, many SEO sites rank higher on desktop searches, which illustrates why performance must be equally impressive across the board.

Here at SonicSEO.com, we understand the importance of good SEO services when it comes to our clients. We focus on essential factors like user experience, as well as ensuring that your site features quality content to entice readers. We can help you develop a UX strategy that gets results, so don’t hesitate to contact us today.

That’s where responsive design comes in. Responsive design refers to sites that offer a great appearance and optimum function, whether you’re viewing them on a laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, or other device.

Keep in mind that a glitchy or slow site can deter visitors from learning more about what you have to offer. It can also drive them directly to your competitors, thereby losing you revenue. If you’re still not convinced, here are a few of the many benefits responsive web design can afford your business.

Enhanced Conversion Rates

Conversion rates refer to the rate of visitors who become paying customers. Their first interaction is likely to be your business’s website, and they’re likely to use a mobile device during that interaction. If a user cannot find pertinent information, runs into roadblocks when using shopping carts, or experiences lags and delays, your conversion rate is naturally going to suffer.

On the other hand, if users are privy to a smooth and seamless experience, they are more likely to make a purchase. In this case, responsive design offers practical benefits since users will have the ability to find information to make purchases. They’ll also be able to complete purchases without any snags.

Improved Reputation

Your website doesn’t only offer an efficient way to purchase goods and schedule services. It also creates an impression of your brand and its reputation. A poor appearance or unsatisfactory performance can impact your reputation negatively, as visitors may assume you’re careless in other aspects.

A well-functioning website also boosts your authority when it comes to your business and the industry it operates in. There’s a very strong correlation between the function of a website and whether a business can be considered trustworthy, and trustworthiness is a major component of attracting consumers to your brand. Better function means better reputation, which means greater appeal to customers.

Greater User Satisfaction

Finally, a site that offers a quality experience across all channels also ensures users remain consistently satisfied. Websites are much like virtual storefronts these days, and like physical locations they must meet and exceed the expectations of your customers. If a customer has a quality experience at one location, but visits another and is dissatisfied, they’re likely to form a poor opinion of your business as a whole.

The same unfortunate outcome will occur if a customer has different experiences when viewing your site on different devices. Consistency is key when it comes to user satisfaction, and responsiveness ensures your brand remains consistently satisfying no matter how it’s interacted with.

Among the many other services we offer at SonicSEO.com, we also provide responsive website design to our clients. With our assistance, your site will enjoy a higher volume of visitors, as well as better engagement to help turn them into paying customers.

Add Visual Elements

Visual elements are crucial with longer posts and articles. Some readers may be intimidated by a wall of text, but visual components break up content, so that it’s more palatable to readers. There are also a wide range of visual elements at your disposal. Images, graphics, videos, charts, infographics, and screenshots are wonderful supplements to posts and can illustrate your point so efficiently.

Ensure the Layout Is Easy to Read

Even with visual elements, massive blocks of text might still be overwhelming to some readers. This is where layout comes in. Short paragraphs are best, with a maximum of six lines per block. You should also make use of sub headers whenever possible, which help readers focus on the theme of each paragraph or section. Using bullet points or numbered lists is also a good way to make your layout a bit more dynamic.

Use an Amazing Headline

The headline is the reader’s first introduction to your content. In the time it takes for a person to read the headline, they will decide whether to keep reading or to navigate away from the page. You can improve retention rates by applying certain rules to headline creation.

Be sure to include relevant keywords within the header for SEO purposes. Use words like “what”, “why”, and “how” to entice the reader to find an answer to their question. Using numbers in headlines are also beneficial, as when your content is presenting a numbered list. Outside of these conventions, make sure the theme of the content is sufficiently summarized. Also, try to keep the header to about seven words.

Don’t Forget the Call to Action (CTA)

CTAs direct readers to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or opting in for a weekly email newsletter. They also highlight the benefits the reader can expect if they take the desired action as soon as possible. The best CTAs are compelling, short, and to the point. Including words like “now” and “today” add a sense of urgency.

Our team of marketing gurus at SonicSEO.com are always available to discuss your conversion strategy. We can help attract customers to your ecommerce site or develop a winning content strategy sure to please readers. Your success is our goal, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

Mobile use statistics from 2018 and forecasts for 2019 can help you understand how to tweak your mobile presence for improved conversion rates.

A Refresher on Internet Statistic Lingo

Just to be clear before we dig into facts and figures, here’s how we define our terms:

User/Viewer: a human behind the mobile device actually looking at your website, ad, native app, etc.

Conversion: the process by which a viewer becomes an actual lead or customer. What constitutes a conversion is determined by each business. For example, some companies may consider the completion of a subscription form or download of trial software as a conversion while others may require the completed sale of a product/service.

App: an application that is downloaded and installed onto a mobile device. An app can pull data from the internet (and other apps when users grant permission). A (mobile) website, on the other hand, is not downloaded but is accessed through a mobile browser like Safari or Chrome.

Bases covered. Moving on…

Key Mobile Usage Insights

Every year, HostingFacts updates its list of internet, ecommerce, mobile and social media facts and statistics. They look at hundreds of data points and bullet a number of neat-to-knows, but some nuggets are particularly useful for online marketers.

Key insights from their InternetStats & Facts 2019 include:

• By 2020, 45% of all ecommerce will be mobile commerce…by 2021 that is expected to jump to 67%
• Although the majority of internet traffic comes from mobile devices, users spend more time on websites they access on desktops
• Most time spent on mobile devices is spent on apps
• Engagement on apps is significantly higher (like, 300% higher) than on mobile websites
• Mobile users do not like ads and are increasingly using mobile ad blockers
• 82% of mobile users use their device to research potential purchases in a brick-and-mortar store

Clearly, mobile device usage for everything, including shopping, is trending up. That’s easy to see. What is less obvious is how to translate these facts and stats into actionable items to improve your online visibility and conversion rate.

Takeaways: How to Improve Your Mobile Conversions

Some of the takeaways from 2018 facts and 2019 forecasts are obvious, like:

• You need a mobile presence

If your website looks great on a desktop but loads slowly or renders too big to be easily readable on a mobile device, mobile users won’t waste their time waiting or resizing…and that will increase your bounce rate (that’s no good). So, you absolutely must have a mobile website.

One word of caution, though: do not upgrade or enhance your mobile site at the expense of desktop viewing. Remember, internet users are still spending more time on sites viewed on desktops, so the full-size experience still matters, too.

• Consider developing a mobile app

An app (or progressive web app) is a significant investment, but for ecommerce-driven businesses, it may be worth the money because of the increase in user engagement, which enhances conversion potential.

More nuanced online marketing advice from these facts and stats include:

• Thoughtfully define what a conversion is for your business

Because mobile users may be using their devices for purchases made offline, you need to know how to measure your mobile online marketing efforts. Defining a conversion and how to measure conversion rate will help you know how and where to spend your online marketing budget so that you do not choke mobile marketing and, in turn, tank your overall sales.

• Do not neglect your SEO

Organic search results are still going to be essential to getting your website found when users are researching potential purchases or getting your native app found when they’re browsing app stores. Effective SEO for mobile usage must incorporate voice-activated search trends as well as cater to search engines’ mobile-first preferences, like data structuring and AMP. 

Your SEO should also involve carefully crafted content—text, images and other media—that informs, entertains and, most importantly, compels viewers to fully convert to leads or consumers.

• Carefully evaluate mobile ad spend

Mobile ad spend is expected to significantly increase. However, given mobile users’ dislike of ads and ad-blocking capabilities, dumping a ton of money into mobile ads may not deliver the visibility increase you’re looking for. This is not to say that you should not increase your mobile ad spend—only that you carefully select the platforms and continuously monitor your mobile ads’ performance to maximize your ROI.

SonicSEO.com clients do not need to stress over 2019 mobile usage trends. Your online presence is already optimized for mobile viewing and conversion.

But, if you’re left trying to translate stats, facts and forecasts into an executable online marketing strategy on your own, get expert help. Contact SonicSEO.com for comprehensive digital marketing geared to boost your visibility and performance in the mobile-first internet.

Sit back and enjoy your coffee while we explain what conversions are…and why you want your rate to keep going up…and how search engine optimization (SEO) can help you do that.

Website Conversion Explained

Your website is potentially your most powerful marketing tool because it:

• Establishes an exclusively-owned web property that brands you (and your products and services) and that allows Internet users to view, explore and interact with you
• Can be indexed by search engines, allowing your website to appear in organic (i.e. unpaid) Internet searches for relevant products/services
• Provides compelling information your potential customers and clients need to become actual customers and clients

This last one—the conversion from potential to real lead or customer—that’s what a website conversion is.

A conversion occurs when a website viewer completes the action you want them to take, and that varies depending on your business. Your desired viewer action may be to:

• Complete a contact form (converting a viewer to a solid lead)
• Call for service (this requires the use of a tracking number so that you know which calls were the result of website viewing)
• Complete a sale (for websites with full ecommerce capabilities)
• Download a white paper, sample or trial software, etc.

Conversion is measured as a rate—the number of website viewers that complete your desired call to action compared to the total number of website viewers. Hopefully, it is apparent that you want your conversion rate to be as high as possible because that means more leads, more sales.

How SEO Works to Increase Conversions

Search engine optimization can boost conversion rates in a number of ways. First, the primary goal for SEO—higher organic search engine rankings—can increase your conversion rate simply by increasing traffic to your website. It’s just a numbers game—you need more people landing on your website to get more people filling out your contact form, calling your business or paying for items in their online shopping carts.

Individual SEO strategies can also increase conversions because each “piece” of an SEO strategy works to build trust and create a positive user experience that “greases the wheels” of conversion. For instance:

Optimized images and page elements reduce loading speed. Fast site and page loading times increase the likelihood of users actually landing on your site rather than hitting the Back button to look for a search result that doesn’t waste their time.

Link building and review management increases the number of possible channels through which an Internet user may land on your site. While most Internet searches begin with search engines, users can also find you by consulting review sites (e.g. Yelp!, TripAdvisor, Urban Spoon, Angie’s List, etc.) and websites sponsored by professional organizations (e.g. local chambers of commerce, BBB and the host of industry-specific credentialing agencies).

Quality content makes a compelling case for why potential customers should choose your products and services over your competitors’. It provides viewers the information they need at a glance to complete your desired call to action.

Robust website analytics can help you see how viewers get to and navigate through your site so that you can continue to provide an easier, more direct path from point A (their need) to point B (your products and services).

Does Your Conversion Rate Need a Boost?

There are a number of online tools that can help you measure your website conversion rate. However, you may already know if your website is performing to its potential based on the demand for your business. If new leads or sales are slow, maybe it’s time to revamp your website for top conversion performance.

SonicSEO.com regularly reviews our clients’ website performance and makes adjustments as needed to boost and maintain conversion potential. However, if you want to change how you define a conversion, contact us to update your SEO strategy.

However, as far as “real” and reputable reports are concerned, these rumors are false. In fact, recent studies and surveys indicate that email is and will continue to grow in its marketability.

A recent Merkle study found that 87% of all Internet users checked their email at least once a day in 2010. The research also indicated that social media users were more likely to check their emails four or more times per day.

It’s also been found that over half of mobile users with devices that are Internet capable use their devices to check their email. Over 66% of those users use their mobile device to check their email at least once per day.

What Does This All Mean?

It means that email is by no means in danger becoming obsolete…quite yet. If social media users are expected to use their email accounts more often, then email should still be considered a valuable marketing tool. Why? Because social media is experiencing heavy usage increases not declines.

What Should You Do?

Because of the intertwining of email, social media and mobile devices, it’s important that you begin to think through ways of reaching your target audience with relevant marketing campaigns. Social media and mobile usage are only expected to significantly increase in the near future. In fact, mobile device usage went up over 28% in 2010 according to a recent article by eMarketer. Another article by eMarketer predicts that by 2013, over 62% of all Internet users and almost half of the total United States population will be on Facebook.

With most social media users being avid email checkers, it’s also important to figure out how to expand your marketing efforts in the email realm. Email marketing is one of the most inexpensive campaigns to run but could spell gold as mobile and social media usage continues to rise. Of course, having a comprehensive and strategic online marketing plan that includes search engine optimization and social media marketing is always the best way to meet with success online.