Website marketing experts have been talking about converting clicks to customers since the mid-2000s, as more people had come to realise that a higher volume of traffic did not equate to the same percentage of increase in sales.
But how do you convert clicks to sales?
Conversion Rate Optimisation – what does it really mean?
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is a term that applies to the different methods used for getting better results from your website – by definition, increasing the rate of converting visitors to enquiries/sales.
Like Search Engine Optimisation, and all other marketing in fact, there is no simple action = reaction formula. Instead you need to take a holistic approach; one that leverages all your efforts to a greater overall result. This kind of thing takes forethought and planning and is best achieved through a comprehensive content marketing strategy.
Where to start?
Conversion Rate Optimisation is complex, yes, but you can start with the easy stuff and build it from there. All you really need is an understanding of how it works.
To get you started, lest take a look at one of the fundamental principles of website conversion.
Quality over quantity
If you were in the business of interior decorating, and you had a choice between presenting your services to 10,000 randomly selected members of the public or 5,000 home-owners, which could you choose? Your target market is most likely to be found in the second group but there are only half as many people there, so which is more likely to yield more business?
What if there were a third group consisting of 500 people who had responded to a promotion about how to prepare your house for the property market?
Internet users are a generic group made up of many individuals looking for different things. Although your target market is among them, reaching them is easier if you know where and how to find them among the masses.
This means being more selective about the type of traffic you attract to your website. You can do this in different ways, including:
- focusing the targeted key phrases used in your search engine optimisation on a defined market segment
- using quality links to your site from relevant sites, directories and portals
- engaging first through published content that is useful for your customers and those researching your products or services online
- using social media platforms effectively to build rapport
- building a strong database of contacts from other marketing initiatives and using it to deliver quality content regularly
Having a higher percentage of pre-qualified visitors to your site means they are already further along in the sales process when they arrive, immediately improving your chances of success.
What this comes down to is starting with the right audience; namely those who are more receptive to the business message you are sending with your website content. Going after targeted website traffic will increase the chances of the visitors to your site being in the market for what you have to offer.
Craig Cochrane is professional web developer who specialises in creating and managing websites that perform better for his clients’ businesses. Contact Craig to discuss how to convert more clicks to customers for your business.