Recent research has revealed that conversion rates on mobiles are higher than those on desktops. Surprising? Not really, when you consider the way businesses use mobiles, compared to more traditional devices such as desktops and laptops.
Generally, our intent to act is higher when using smartphones; we’re typically in ‘getting things done’ mode rather than ‘browsing’ mode. This means that mobile web visits are more likely to result in positive action, such as an enquiry.
Ironically though, this indicates that higher mobile conversion rates actually reflect a lack of patience on behalf of the user, and a greater determination to achieve a set goal – such as gathering key business information – as quickly as possible.
The question is, how can you increase conversion rates to ensure results? The following are the six key conversion-enhancing tips to drive your business:
- Fail to plan, plan to fail: It might seem obvious, but plan where you would ideally like visitors to enter your website – remember, this doesn’t have to be the homepage. Then plan what you’d want them to do next, for example submit an enquiry. This planning stage is crucial; if you don’t take the time to work out the ideal customer route through your site, then you have little hope of achieving the desired result in reality.
- How do you measure up? It’s vital to track your success using an analytics programme, which you can do for free using software such as Google Analytics. This allows you to discover your current conversion rate and work out the associated cost per acquisition. Armed with this knowledge, you can start to set targets to bring this down.
- Know your audience: It sounds simple, but the best way to find out what your customers want is to ask them. Conducting a short survey can offer valuable insight into what your customers really want, what attracts them to a website and what might encourage them to take action following their visit.
- Face the facts: When it comes to making changes to your website, don’t rely on guesswork. Facts are key, so install software that enables you to track what your web users are doing, how they move around the site and what they do – and don’t – engage with. This will enable you to clearly see where improvements can be made. In my opinion, programmes such as ClickTale and CrazyEgg offer some great insights into how people actually use and respond to your site.
- Compare and contrast: As a rule of thumb, it’s wise to make big changes first and then refine these further down the line. If you get these major changes right, you’ll start to see continual improvements in your conversion rates and will then be able to focus on the finer details. Using a web optimiser package, such as Google Website Optimiser, it’s possible to compare two (or more) versions of your website at once, by splitting traffic between them to discover which works best. It’s advisable to make only one change to your website at any one time, to allow accurate analysis of the results, but there’s no reason why you can’t use multiple sites at once to speed up the process.
- Keep on moving: Once you’ve made some changes and seen an improvement, don’t think you can stop there. CRO is all about continual development and there will always be something new to work on.
Essentially, CRO is all about the customer experience. If you can sit back, look objectively at your website and ask yourself “As a customer, what do I really want from this?” then you’re already halfway there.
