By thinking strategically you can apply the correct tactics to improve
your site's conversion rate, generating more leads and sales. The
principle of the conversion balance is the key to optimizing your
website.
What is the conversion balance?
On the one side you have Success Factors which build trust and
confidence and lead to conversions. On the other side you have Failure
Factors, undermining trust and confidence, and leading to abandonment.
If, in the mind of the visitor, the success factors of outweigh the
failure factors, she will convert. If they don't, she won't.
This "weighing" happens on a conscious and/or subconscious level
every moment she's on the site. The more obvious the imbalance, the
easier the decision.
The goal of web optimization: increase conversion rates
It seems simple enough: increase the success factors and decrease the
failure factors. Whatever the nature of your site, whatever you consider
a conversion, the factors are pretty much the same.
Failure factors:
Anything that causes frustration, a negative thought, or a concern in
the mind of the visitor tips the balance against conversion. These
failure factors include:
Poor copy (doesn't focus on benefits to visitors)
Confusing navigation
Lack of hierarchy
Information in the wrong sequence
Unnecessary steps
Difficult to scan
Too many choices
Inconsistent
Unusual terminology
Broken links
Outdated content
Unprofessional design
Inaccessible contact information
Forms that are too complex
Failure factors generate anxiety. They create barriers. They undermine
the motivation of your visitors and interfere with your ability to build
a relationship. By slowing them down and forcing them to think too much,
you're tipping the conversion balance that leads prospects to click
away from your site.
Next we'll look at Success Factors.
Success factors:
Anything that makes your site self-explanatory, easy-to-use, and meets
visitors' needs based on their different motivations is a success
factor. These include:
Strong value proposition (why should I buy from you instead of
your competitor?)
Understanding visitors needs based on their motivation
Benefits-oriented copy
Easy navigation
Obvious hierarchy
Succinct copy
Clear instructions
Short, simple forms
Scannable pages
Incentives and credibility indicators
Web conventions (i.e. make links look like links)
Meaningful page titles and sub-headers
Professional design
Success factors generate confidence and provide positive reinforcement.
When visitors feel like they're in the right place you've earned
their trust and the opportunity to build a relationship. That's the
only way you can encourage them to read on, click to the next step, fill
out a form or pick up the phone.
There's one more success factor that doesn't fit neatly into a
bullet-point. Consider the mindset of your visitors and where they are
in their buying or decision-making process.
It is important to provide content for different kinds of people; those
who just want the facts please, those who respond to an emotional pitch,
people who are visually oriented, etc.
Equally important, you want to provide information for browsers or
people just doing preliminary research, as well as detailed info for
visitors who may be returning to your site and are ready to convert.
Conversion is a process.
Remember, while a conversion technically happens in a single step, it is
not an isolated one. Conversion is the result of a series of small
decisions and tiny steps. By minimizing the failure factors and
maximizing the success factors you can tip the balance.
Let me know if you have other ideas about failure and success factors
that affect conversion rates.
Barry Harrison: Is the author of "REDiTIPS"
eMarketing Newsletter and a partner in Resolve Digital,
a web design and optimization company http://www.resolvedigital.com with offices in
San Francisco and Christchurch New Zealand.
