The 7 Most Common Conversion Issues for Business Websites

The "conversions" on a website let the owner know what is effective, and what is dragging on their website. There are some common basic reasons why there may be a lack of viewers on the website, and these issues are rather easy to fix. Too Much Information One of the most important things any writer needs to know is how to put as much pertinent information into an article with the least amount of wordage. When customers or readers look for information online, they just browse. If the information isn't in small paragraphs, they move onto the next website. By using the proper article set-ups, writers can keep readers heavily engrossed in their work. Keep sentences short and sweet, with a lot of visual space on the page. Have the article broken up in a glance-able fashion, with the main words bolded in the proper font. An Unfocused USP If the Unique Selling Point, USP, is off -can be a gamechanger for customers buying from the website. Take the time to build the website around the USP so customers will have a better view of what they are looking for. Remember, customers can purchase the USP somewhere else, so wow them into wanting to buy yours. If the company is family based, or is known for being a vegan industry, build around that. Those are both great USP reasoning for customers to stay on the site. When update the website, or even before it is officially up and running, make it a point to let the customers know what the USP is for the site and company. Unwanted Buttons Customer loses interest in shopping or signing up for services if there are too many buttons. Not only do these buttons make web pages look unprofessional, they get in the way of the customer's time browsing the site. The last thing any website viewer wants are frustrating buttons that can clear their order, links that are incorrect, or buttons that erase their personal information. There is really only one way to clear a page of these troublesome buttons: browse through the site acting like a customer and experience their view of your site. If it doesn't make sense to the owner, how will it make sense to the customer? Another great way to test the web page is to run a trial test before making the website official. All the bugs should be ironed out before customers get to browse. Not Flexible in Payment Options As elementary as it may sound, there are many websites and companies that only accept payments through credit cards. While credit cards are popular, not a lot of customers own them. Some prefer to pay through Paypal, check, or money order. If there is more than one payment option available, the flow of customers will be larger, and the website will grow. The easier it is for a customer to pay, the happier they will be. A happy customer is a returning customer. Unforthcoming with Information There have been plenty of identity theft cases in the past few years; so many customers are still leery about shopping online. The more a potential customer can trust the company, the more traffic the website will get. Instead of using a P.O. Box at the Post Office, use an actual physical address. If a customer can find the address online, they will feel more relieved to know it's an honest business. Do not use an automatic answer machine; that is a huge turn off to new customers for being too impersonal. Make the effort to hire a few office assistants that are friendly and are experienced with answering phone calls. Try to be as professionally presentable as possible, and keep the website looking orderly. Proper spelling and grammar is professional, showing the company is serious about serving the best. Keep Customers Well Informed Whether this involves letting the customers know the websites USP, address, prices, or estimated delivery date; every customer likes to be in the loop. The more a customer knows about what is going on with the website and their products, the more they feel like part of the company in a sense in a hands-on way. If a customer is highly satisfied with the service, product, and options of the company they will advertise to their friends and business partners. If it means taking the next step up in providing tracking numbers for their purchases to them happy or accepting PayPal, then do it. The best way to get a site's conversion rate up is to please customers by giving them thoughtful options. Straight to the Point One thing that will throw customers off is too much confusion on the site map, and no goal for the page. Websites should be straight forward and to the point. Websites that are too complex tend to make the reader double check, get frustrated, and then move on to another website with fewer distractions. Research studies show it takes a viewer one full second for them to make up their mind. If the first paragraph cannot meet the reader's expectations, then they will move on. Another big tip for keeping customers on the page is keeping all important information within the first half of the web page. If they have to scroll, there is not enough information in the first paragraph. Action Says it All Design and graphics can only do so much. Without giving the customer a reason to bookmark the website and come back again and again, webmasters should just scrap the site and start over. Keep the main reason customers continue coming back as large and easily accessible as possible. If the site is a shopping based site, keep the "Check-out Now" button within view at all times. If customers have to search for the action spots, then there will usually be no purchases. With a couple of tweaks here, and some well thought out information there, any website can improve its conversion rate. The goal is finding the issues and fixing them as soon as possible. The better a website can talk to a customer, the better the rating will be for the owner. Having proper conversions on a website is the best way to increase a company's online effectiveness.

Dyann Callahan