"Convert It" Tips

Sure you can turn it all over to us, but in case you’re trying some things on your own, here are some top, Bastion-approved “Drive It” tips:

1) It starts with your target
The object is to sell something to someone, not to sell everything to everybody.  The better you define and know your target audience, the easier everything else falls into place.  Write it down and refer to it continually as you develop any aspect of your site and its conversion path.

2) Define your site objectives
Your site should have a definite objective.  It may be to educate, to motivate, to sell, to support, etc.  You can have more than one objective (e.g. support current clients, motivate prospects to call you).  However, you should have a primary objective and focus your site on achieving it.

3) Define the offer and call to action
Make sure you have a clear and definite offer and/or call to action.  Users should easily see what the call to action is and how they will benefit by taking it (e.g. “Contact us to get a quote”, “buy this item, now”, “download our white paper to learn more”,  "Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed”, etc.).

4) Define a conversion
What determines a conversion for you?  Is it a phone call, an email, a credit card transaction?  Make sure you are clear on what your site’s conversion point is.  That is the only way to evaluate success.

5) Match ads to offers/landing pages
Ads and “landing pages” should be developed in conjunction with one another and should form a logical progression.  If you are advertising “search engine optimization” services, the landing page for the ad should be specifically about that and not a more general “Internet Marketing” subject.

6) It’s all about trust
The more trust you build the more likely a conversion.  Trust enhancers can be 3rd party endorsements, 3rd party logos, client testimonial, etc. Trust reducers can be lack of attention to detail (e.g. typos, broken links), lack of attention to quality (e.g. poor or inconsistent web design), outdated information, etc.

7) Test, test, test
Gut feelings are often wrong.  You are not your prospect.  You know more about your product and have different needs, feelings, and biases, than they do.  The only way to know the relative effectiveness of different approaches or different versions of ads, landing pages, etc., is to try different ones and track and compare the results.

8) Audit your conversion process
Go through the entire conversion process using different computers, browsers, bandwidth speeds, etc.  Firewalls, anti-spyware setting, SSL certificate peculiarities, browser settings, etc., will all cause your site to act differently.  The more anomalies you can eliminate the higher your conversion rates will be.

9) Pay attention to the design
A good overall design, directed at your target audience will have a huge impact on conversions.  Your design should vary according to your industry, your online competition, and your target audience.  A high-end bank should have a very different design than a volume seller of lighting products.  Often we look at our own site so many times we become blind to both it’s strengths and deficiencies.

10) Build a tracking system
Good evaluations and decisions can only be made when you have a quality tracking system in place.  Consistency is as important or even more important then actual conversion rate accuracy.  A consistent system will show you relative improvement or degradation of conversion rates.  Even if that rate isn’t 100% accurate, the direction you are headed in will be.