SEO Means Nothing If Your Site Can’t Convert!
All the SEO in the world isn’t going to make a customer actually buy your products, if your site doesn’t motivate potential customers to take that leap and spend their money, and if it doesn’t make the buying process simple, they will surely go elsewhere. One major step that is over look often is usability of a small businesses website. Navigation and sales copy needs to be clear and concise and easy to digest!
Without an effective website, you might as well just post flyers on lamp posts! So forget Search Engine Optimization for the moment-you need to optimize your site to hold onto viewers and drive them to complete the purchase. Where do you begin?
Make your copy make the sale.
The sales copy is the most crucial element of your pitch, so you have to construct it with care. I’ve already discussed how to create powerful headlines that catch the eye, stimulate curiosity to go further, and engage customers’ emotions.
The sales copy itself needs to do much the same, and more. The visitors must be guided through a process that engages and motivates them to keep reading. They must feel that a need they have will be met with your product. This need can be direct ("make more money"; "fix this problem with this tool") or indirect, appealing to psychological and emotional wants and needs. Either way, the visitor’s journey through your text must be streamlined, written with clarity and no wasted words.
Obviously, no-one likes a pushy sales pitch. Be careful to find just that right balance between being assertive and being overly aggressive. Consider potential objections customers might have to buying your product and answer them in a lucid, reasonable manner. Convey a sense of confidence in your product, and don’t insult your customers’ intelligence or come across as manipulative.
"Don’t take my word on it!"
Real, verifiable testimonials will enhance the aura of credibility surrounding your product in ways your own sales pitch cannot do on its own. Testimonials are the online equivalent to good old-fashioned word-of-mouth-the most trustworthy form of (informal) marketing. Especially if your business is a new one, people need to know that they are not throwing their money into uncharted waters.
How to collect testimonials?
Communication with your customers, whether by simply asking for contact information or for their valuable opinions, is an essential element of customer service. Have a feedback option prominently on display on your site. Ask permission from current customers to print testimonials of their positive experiences. Always make sure they agree to use their full name and general location for purposes of authenticity. You can even offer free samples of your goods or services in exchange for useable feedback.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your customers in this way. If someone has had a positive experience, they are often more than happy to interact with you and contribute back to your business in a small way. The Web has empowered ordinary people to feel they can be participants, not just spectators, in its dynamic changes and vast reservoirs of information.
Make the buying process easy.
Never forget the cardinal rule of online content: keep it simple and to the point! Web surfers have short attention spans and want to get their business done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Your site must be easily navigated, intuitive to the visitor, and structured and presented consistently on every page.
Your customer shouldn’t have to click more than twice to reach the ordering page. Whenever your product is displayed or mentioned, make sure you have a "BUY NOW " button at the ready. And please, please make your order form easy to fill out quickly! The more work customers have to do to buy online, the more likely they just won’t bother.
Look at iTunes. It is almost too easy to buy music from them. Once you have an account set up, all you have to do is click a button and that song is yours in seconds-a song you may have spent hours looking for in a dusty record shop 10 or 15 years ago! Oh look; there’s another song I like-CLICK! And another one-CLICK! Before you know it, you’ve spent $50. You get the message…
The lesson is: if your website is armed with a streamlined, well-presented, stimulating and easy-to-follow sales process from pitch to final purchase, you maximize your chances of turning mere visitors into full-fledged customers!
