Business websites are meant to convert the traffic continually driven by our marketing investments. This means, after qualifying and convincing people to visit your website, we actually want them to do something once they arrive (make a purchase, complete a form, gather information, etc). Read more on conversion rates.
Getting to this point isn’t always easy. Achieving a good conversion rate starts at the very beginning:
| Building a website | Building a House |
|---|---|
| Understand your prospects: Profiling target market allows you to cater your business accordingly. We use this profile to dictate pretty much everything from the beginning. Not only do we seek out general information (age, gender, location), but habits as well (likes to purchase from a certain type of venue, uses a certain type of jargon when discussing industry business, etc). | Knowing who you plan on selling this home to will dictate a lot of things: Bigger family? More bedrooms and bathrooms. Elderly couple? Laundry facilities on a main floor. Tech savvy first time buyers? Let the interior designer know! |
| Plan the website structure (aka “information architecture”): Determining how to organize website content shouldn’t happen on accident. It takes careful consideration to determine where content makes sense and where users will look to find it. | An architect draws out the basic layout of the home. The kitchen is placed. Living rooms plan for fireplaces. Bathrooms are planned and organized. |
| Develop great content: Content should be written for the reader, not the organization writing it. This may mean nixing jargon or using images to help communicate complicated messages. It’s why I called step one “planning the website structure” instead of “information architecture planning.” Starting this early is usually a good idea, since it takes a lot of time writing, reviewing, and adjusting. | This one is a bit of a stretch, but maybe this will help: Literature is produced to describe the benefit of each room. You’re not buying a kitchen; you’re buying a place to create meal-centered memories. You’re not buying a living room; you’re buying a place to relax after a hard day at work or entertain friends on weekends. |
| Plan where things will go (aka “user interface planning”): Once we have a general idea of where the content will go on the website, we need to plan how it will be displayed on each page, or at least each page type. This plan is critical to plan exactly where the call-to-actions for each page will appear. The result is a template for designers to build upon. | Before an interior designer starts buying furniture, he or she plans what to buy and (at least generally) where it’ll go. |
| The website gets pretty (“graphic design”): Designers play a major role in bringing the website to life. Not only do they create a design to support the user interface, they ensure each call-to-action is easy to access, use, and implement. | Walls are painted, home accents are placed, favorite elements are highlighted with lighting choices and more! |
| Marketing starts: Website traffic-building campaigns are executed and the prospects visit the website. Website analytics let you know how many users visited the website, where traffic is coming from, and what they did once the got there. | The real estate agent invites prospective buyers in for a look. Prospective buys take the tour on their own! Home security systems (website analytics) let you know every time a prospect enters a new room, opens a door, or pushes a button. |
All of these things come together to improve website conversion rates, but end up improving other website analytics as well! Done correctly, bounce rates decrease, reoccurring (or baseline) website traffic increases, average time on site increases or levels out, pages per visit may increase.
What am I missing? What other methods have you used to improve conversion rates?
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