How to Convert Website Traffic into Leads and Paying Customers

So your website attracts a lot of visitors. How many of them are becoming customers?

Driving traffic is one thing, turning that traffic into paying customers is another. If you're running an online business, it's important for you to make those visitors become your clients and customers.

For helping you convert your website visitors into paying customers, I'd like to share 13 website conversion tactics with you. Whether you sell software, service or have a lead generation site, these 13 tactics will work for you.

I'll also cover 5 main reasons why people don't buy and how to convert email leads into buyers.

To make it easy, I broke it down into 3 chapters:

The primary goal of your website is to generate sales for your business and if it doesn't, then you need to think why.

Below are top 5 main reasons why your website is not converting visitors into paying customers:

1  They can't find what they need. Nearly 80% of website visitors go away without ever coming back because they can not find what they are looking for.

2  They can't get answers. People often need more details about the things they are interested in. If they cannot find answers by reading your content or asking you, then they are likely to go elsewhere.

3  They can't contact you. If your website readers can't find an easy way to contact you, then they will go elsewhere.

4  They don't trust you. If people have no confidence in the company, and most importantly into the product, they won't buy it.

5  They can't test it. A lot of potential customers would like to try the product or service before risking the money on it. If you don't give them the trial, they are likely to go elsewhere.

Now:

Let's face it, driving visitors to your website is absolutely pointless if you can't convince them to perform an action such as sign up to the newsletter, download the trial or (finally) buy your product or service.

You know the buying process is based on needs and psychology. People buy for rational (benefits and solutions to their problems) and emotional (confidence, credibility, and trust) reasons.

So, when a new reader comes to your website, you can't miss the chance to guide them to becoming your customer.

In order they don't leave the site immediately, consider doing these things:

1. Make Your Content Customer Focused

Remember that visitors care about their needs and not yours. So, your content should be customer focused.

A lot of websites speak about themselves: "we are this", "we provide this", "we are doing this" etc. But the reader is not interested in you. They want to know what THEY will get from your product or service and how it is going to make THEIR lives easier.

Thus, when creating your copy, use YOU not WE: "you get this", "you receive this", "you can do this", "you benefit from this" etc.

Then, headlines studies show that 80% of visitors read the headline and a good headline can improve conversion by 40-50%.

When writing your headline, keep these things in mind: be brief, focus on the problem, ask a question, pique curiosity.

Try to anticipate objections and questions your visitors may have as far as they're reading your page and answer them in the copy.

2. Highlight Most Important Stuff

Many websites are displaying too much information all at once so that it is cumbersome for a new reader. You should remember that visitors don't read the pages; they scan them. Too much text is boring.

Thus, to seize the reader's attention and keep it, you should be strategic about what you want to display and downplay the flood of information your site throws out to a new reader.

You can do it in different ways. If you have a blog, you could add a slider on the top of your homepage that shares stories you want your readers to notice. Depending on the layout of your site, you could use a sidebar to show additional content that you want to be visible to new visitors of your site.

If you sell a product or service, you could use large featured images to highlight the main features of your product. Short videos demonstrating each feature also work great.

To focus on the benefits, use bullets that allow to quickly scan and skim the page and seize the most important parts.

So, depending on what you want your website visitors to do when they come, create your ideal "path" for them.

3. Use Testimonials

Look:

You may think testimonials are banal, but they wouldn't be so popular if they didn't work.

So why not use something that has been already proven to work?

So, don't hesitate to ask your best customers for testimonials. People are always eager to help out if they like you and your business.

As a rule, long testimonials outperform short ones. Better if it tells a customer's personal a story to hook the reader in and shows the results achieved. The human nature is that people are inclined to believe the ones who are like them.

Thus, if John, Sarah and ten more persons who had the same problem as me say they were able to solve the problem with something offered by the site I'm now reading, why not try it too? The customers words often cost a dozen of pages.

To get good testimonials, ask customers to be as specific as possible about what convinced them to buy your product, what benefits they received from it, how they find doing business with you. Photos and even videos will make the testimonials more credible and reassuring.

Next:

Authentic testimonials work better. Sometimes people are in a hurry and can make typos and grammar mistakes. So, let it be. Publish the testimonials as is. They will look more personal, written by a human, not a robot.

Use testimonials across your whole site — from the home page to the order page — where you see them appropriate and where you think they can impact a sale.

4. Use Case Studies

The research shows that the percentage of visitors who read case studies convert into leads and customers is near 14%.

The reason case studies convert so well is because they don't just give pure facts about the topic, but they show what exactly I've done to achieve the results.

Some case studies I saw on some sites were so vague and flimsy, so I can hardly believe they can convince anyone.

The more informative, easy to understand and replicate the case study is, the higher the chance of convincing the readers. Even better if the case study demonstrates the process in images or, ideally, on video.

Accompanied by testimonials, case studies prove that your offer is what you claim it to be. And a convinced visitor is already a "half customer".

5. Show Numbers

Again, you can turn the people's herd instinct to your favor. As you probably noticed, people do a lot of things because others do it. If they see other people buying something on sales, they'll typically do the same.

So, showing how many people are already using your product or service can boost your customer conversion. Or, you can tell them how many people signed up for your service or downloaded your product within the last week.

If 1,000+ users signed up for your service or trial during the last week, it must be worth trying.

6. Add Logos

If you have worked with some wide-known companies, showcase it.

It adds more confidence to your site and, as a rule, helps increase the conversion rate. When we removed the logos from easymail7.com, our conversion rate went down by 7.8%. Although it isn't a huge number, anyway it adds a little.

7. Have a Strong Call to Action

Think about the main action you want your site visitors to do when they come and make it clear to them. For example, if you want the reader to try your service, then ask them to create a free account and show the button.

If you try to get them to download the product trial, then tell them that you want them to download the trial and give the link.

Make the process intuitive so the reader does not puzzle over what to do next and how to sign up for your service.

It seems simple, but often businesses miss it.

8. Add a Live Chat to Your Site

The longer someone is on the site, the higher the chance that they will convert into a buyer. A live chat allows the reader to ask questions and get answers in real time. We found that a lot of our website readers became our customers after they had been guided and assisted via the live chat.

Also, a live chat helps you identify weak sides of your site. Look what questions your readers ask most often and address them in your copy. You can use JivoSite to put a live chat on your website.

Besides the live chat, add a contact form to enable readers to contact you via email and make sure that it is easily found. You can also add your contact phone number if you can provide 24/7 support.

The more ways to reach you the readers see, the more credibility they have in you and your business.

Next:

9. Use Social Media

Social media marketing helps increasing engagement and traffic to your website. Allowing the reader to follow you by social channels beyond their visit to your website is a great opportunity to stay in front of their eyes and probably make them buy from you one day.

More than 70% of the users say they are likely to purchase from the company they follow on social media.

10. Make it Load Fast

The page loading speed is a very important factor in retaining the readers on the page.

Just for your notice:

A recent survey revealed that 46% of visitors expected a web page to load in two seconds or less. A mere three seconds delay can result in a 15% reduction in conversions.

Thus, when designing your website, keep the loading speed in mind. The faster the website loads, the more willing are your visitors to browse it.

12. Send Targeted Messages

For example, a visitor comes to your website, sees the "Download Trial" button for your product and clicks it.

What if his action could automatically trigger targeted messages announcing special offers, additional information, best practices, tips or other enticements?

It is what we call behavioral marketing. It monitors the visitor's behavior on and off the website to select the right message at the right time.

Downloaded a document but did not return to your site within a set time frame? An automatic email is sent out asking them to review the document.

Downloaded the trial but have not requested the trial key within 3-5 days? An automatic email goes out asking them whether or not they need any support.

Created a free account with your service? Again, an automatic message is sent to ask whether or not they have any troubles with the service.

Each of these examples shows a way to engage with your potential buyers and bring them back to your website.

13. Capture Leads

Lead capturing starts by collecting the reader's information in exchange for something they deem of value, but with little risk. As a rule, it is some content, information or product trial for solving the visitor's problem.

So, when a visitor to your website shares their details with you, it becomes a lead. Your proficiency in having their contact details is the possibility to convert leads into customers via future communication.

Thus, add a lead capture form to your website with the focus on position, prominence, and call to action.

Different signup forms look attractive to different kinds of people, so it's worth trying different lead collection forms to determine which works better for your visitors.

The simplest way to capture leads is by using an email collection form inside the page or sidebar. There are plugins that allow you to create such forms. Plus, email service providers and some in-house email systems like EasyMail7 allow you to create and use a subscription form on the website.

Then,

Notification bars are good attention grabbers. They are the wide banners on the top of the websites that stay on the top of everything and can be configured to stick to the top even when the reader scrolls down the website. You can place a subscription form or link to the landing page in the notification bar.

Popup forms are another effective way to convert web visitors into email leads. In order they can't miss your subscription form, you can redirect the first time visitors to a landing page and offer some valuable content in return for their email address. Only the people, who come back, will see your homepage.

The next great way to capture email leads is called a content upgrade. It is when you publish a great post on the blog and put a lead capture form to access a bonus (e-book, PDF, part two, etc.) that adds to the post. We have found that the content upgrade method increased our web traffic conversion rate by 9.8%. Though it's not too much, but every subscriber is a potential buyer, right?

Now:

The goal of lead nurturing is to encourage return visits to your website, keep the visitor's memory and impression of your company or product at the forefront, and eventually, make sales.

Remember that lead nurturing is all about relationship and engagement. The visitor has shown interest by giving you their email address and made the first step to engage. Now it's your turn to continue that engagement and conversation.

1. It can be automated.

The best part about lead nurturing is the ability to automate it. You can use automated tools such as automated email series, new post notifications, RSS feeds and social media updates to deliver valuable content to your subscribers on a regular basis.

When done well, it doesn't even feel automated for the subscriber. Each stage of engagement consisting of informational or training emails provides a gentle push towards a sale without additional efforts from the business. Work it once, benefit over and over again.

2. It Helps Convert Leads into Customers.

The captured lead information allows you to educate, guide, inspire, or otherwise engage them until they are ready to become your customer.

At this point, you need to understand the needs your leads might have and how well you can educate them and help them with your products and services will determine how many sales will happen.

3. It Brings You New Leads.

In addition to converting leads into customers, lead nurturing provides feedback and referral opportunities. Provide sharing options like social media buttons and ask for shares if they find your content interesting and worth sharing with others.

People don't mind sharing information and solutions they think may be of any help to their friends, family members, supervisors, and colleagues.

Thus, lead nurturing can help you generate even more leads through forwarding and sharing.

4. It Generates Repeat Buyers.

With lead nurturing, you can follow up with your existing customers to teach them, hear about their experience and suggestions, respond on time answering their questions, send them updated products or processes covering their needs, or more interesting content.

Communicating with existing customers through continued lead nurturing makes them remember about your brand, shows how helpful you've already been to them and how helpful you can be again.

They'll stay engaged with you and your offerings and are likely to give you money again in the future.

And finally:

5. It Allows to Test.

Lead nurturing allows business owners to see how people act, what they like, what they don't like, how they respond, what messages and what links are of the most interest to them. It provides a great opportunity to tweak the content to meet best the needs of your potential buyers.

So, you can test new content, try targeted or segmented promotions, ask for feedback or conduct a quick survey to find out what your subscribers think about your product and business and how you can improve it from their point of view.

What's the Bottom Line?

Check your current website statistics.

How many of your visitors go away after viewing just one or two pages?

To improve your conversion rate, consider creating great new content or take the most popular article on your site or blog, expand it with up-to-date information, create a nice e-book or pdf and give it as a download in exchange for a visitor's email address.

Once you've got leads, start nurturing them with more helpful information and offerings slightly pushing them to a sale.

A visitor engaged in communication through lead nurturing will spend money on a product or service more often than a new reader. As any good marketer knows, it is easier to convert a warm lead into a buyer than a cold lead.

I'm pretty happy to know your thoughts about this article. Please share your views, complaints and suggestions in the comment form below.

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Written by Julia Gulevich. Posted in Blog