5-Step Website Optimization For More Conversions
ONE: Attract the right people to your site.
Search Engine optimization (SEO) and Pay-per-click (PPC)
We research the best keywords to target, use them effectively on your pages, and develop in-bound links that are so important in the Search Engine algorithms. Be advised, SEO takes time. If you’re looking for immediate results, we will set-up and monitor your Google AdWords PPC campaign to ensure a positive ROI. (Read a case study).
Email marketing and email newsletters
With a strategy for delivering information your clients and prospects want, an email newsletter can build loyalty, enhance your reputation, and generate inquiries. We provide custom HTML templates, easy subscriber management and understandable reporting.
Online PR
The traditional press release has morphed into a direct consumer-communication channel. We’re using keyword-rich press releases to connect directly to potential clients. Your online press release can reach thousands of websites and drive visitors to your site.
Blogs and Social Media Marketing (SMM)
An active blog, LinkedIn profile or Twitter account provides additional visibility. But unless you have a huge staff and a lot of money, you can’t do it all. So we’ll help you focus your efforts in a way that is manageable and effective.
TWO: Demonstrate your credibility.
Professional website design
Your site must have a professional look and feel that reflects your company and sets you apart from your competitors. Visitors judge your page in as little as 1/20 of a second! Their first impression influences their perception of the rest of your site, if they decide to stick around.
Ease of use
Good site navigation tells visitors where they are and what their options are. If they can’t find what they’re looking for, they’re not likely to contact you.
Up-to-date content
Nothing undermines your credibility faster than outdated content. Refinery CMS is our open-source, super-easy-to-use content manager that makes it simple for you to update and expand your site (without having to pay technical staff or outside contractors).
THREE: Provide the information and tools your visitors need.
Address the needs of your visitors
Effective copy speaks to your visitors in an appropriate “voice” and address their most obvious concerns. It highlights your strengths, differentiates you from your competition, and answers the age-old question: “What’s in it for me?”
Identify different visitor types
We help you identify and segment visitors based on their motivation and stage in the buying cycle. Recognizing these differences, we can provide relevant content keeps people engaged, builds trust and leads to more conversions.
Give them the facts and avoid the fluff
Your visitors may be looking for case studies or white papers. They may be inspired by testimonials. They might appreciate a buyer’s guide or instructional video. We define and create engaging content that convinces prospects to take the next step.
FOUR: Motivate them to take action (convert).
The conversion balance
On one side, “Success Factors” build trust and confidence and lead to conversions. On the other, “Failure Factors” undermine trust and confidence and lead to abandonment. If, in the mind of the visitor, the success factors outweigh the failure factors, he or she will convert. While a conversion technically happens in a single step, it’s not an isolated one. It is the result of a series of small decisions.
Minimize the failure factors
Failure factors generate anxiety. Create barriers. Undermine the motivation of your visitors and interfere with your ability to build a relationship. We minimize the failure factors with simple navigation, clear hierarchy and benefits-oriented copy.
Maximize the success factors
Success factors provide positive reinforcement. When visitors feel like they’re in the right place we earn their trust and the opportunity to build a relationship. That’s how we encourage them to read on, click to the next step, submit a form, or pick up the phone.
FIVE: Measure, analyze, test and improve.
Google Analytics
We set up all our clients with Google Analytics to gain insight into how visitors use your website and the effectiveness of our online marketing. Flexible and easy-to-use features help us analyze your traffic data, improving SEO and PPC campaigns, engaging your visitors more deeply, and increasing your conversion rate.
Search Engine Ranking Reports
For our SEO clients we provide monthly Search Engine ranking reports for all your top keywords. It demonstrates if our optimization efforts are effective (i.e. are rankings going up or down?).
User Testing
You can’t be objective about your own site, and after we’ve worked on it, neither can we. That’s where user testing comes in. It provides a valuable perspective which, in conjunction with our experience and professional judgment, leads to better decisions.
Go back to Step 1
Yes, the process is cyclical. The best websites are always “works in progress.” With each cycle, we learn more and build on the success of our earlier efforts.
Any feedback or suggestions? Anything that has worked well for your site? We’d love to get your comments.
Barry Harrison is the Managing Partner at Resolve Digital, a San Francisco-based web design and optimization company. http://www.resolvedigital.com Find more marketing tips at his blog. Follow Barry on Twitter: http://twitter.com/barryharrison
