6 Tips to Optimize Your Website for Conversions

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Optimize your website conversions|6 Tips to Optimize Your Website for ConversionsWebsite traffic as a metric is overrated…

Web conversions are where the big boys play!

It doesn’t matter if you have thousands of website visitors. If you can’t convert them into paying customers, your business won’t see the light of day.

The only thing you’ll see on your sales dashboard is “0.” As in, ZERO sales. Ouch!

So your business doesn’t meet its untimely demise, allow me to share with you six tried and tested conversion optimization tips that can skyrocket your web conversions.

Let’s hop right in.

1. Declutter

Remember that your goal is to generate sales, not win the Met Gala award for websites.

While aesthetics is crucial, it’s never the point.

You should always think about conversions with every single element you add to your web design.

Before you add anything, ask yourself this, “Will adding this element influence my web visitors to take action on my offer? Or will it distract them?

If adding an element to your website aids in influencing your web visitors to make a purchase, then go for it.

If not, don’t hesitate to scrap the idea and anything that contributes to why your content isn’t converting (among others).

2. Talk about pain points

“People buy on emotions. They later justify their purchase based on logic.” – Anonymous

You can bet your family jewels that the line above is true.

It’s an established train of thought that most, if not all, conversion optimization specialists subscribe to.

Because emotions lead to sales, you need to evoke emotions out of your web visitors. The more emotional they become, the higher the likelihood they’ll make the purchase.

Talking about their pain points or previous frustrations can do the trick.

When you paint a vivid picture of how frustrating their experience was, they tend to get emotional and make it their life’s ultimate goal not to experience the same frustration ever again.

This compels your visitors to buy your product immediately since you’ve positioned it as the solution to their problems.

Best practices when talking about your customer’s pain points:

  • Use the exact words they’re using to describe their frustrations. Doing this makes your web copy more relatable.
  • Use surveys or talk to your customer service team to learn how exactly your customers are wording their challenges and wins.
  • If you’re a SaaS company, you can visit review platforms, such as Capterra, G2 Crowd, etc., then note the words used by those who left their feedback.

3. Speed up your videos

A slow-loading video is a massive turnoff to web visitors.

Whether they’re looking to buy from you or consume your content, the moment your video buffers, it can easily frustrate your web visitors.

That’s why you need to learn how to speed up your videos.

With a fast-loading video, you give your visitors a pleasant experience while on your website.

They can watch your videos and concentrate on their content without being distracted or frustrated.

Imagine.

If your product videos are wonderfully made and are compelling, can you imagine how much sales you’d get if your videos loaded smoothly?

On the other hand, can you imagine how much sales you’d lose if your videos loaded slowly and a good portion of your web traffic clicked away whenever your videos buffer?

4. Make your website easily navigable

Don’t make it hard for your web visitors to find the products they want to buy by making your website navigation confusing.

Ideally, you’d want them to reach the page they’re looking for within 1 – 3 clicks. The fewer the clicks, the better.

Also, be mindful of where you place your navigation menus, filters, categories, etc.

Your placement needs to be logical and intuitive.

The good news is, some of the best content management software has highly customizable website navigation menus and widgets.

By customizing where and how you place your navigation options to a section of your website that makes sense to your website visitors, it becomes easier for them to navigate your site and find the products or pages they’re looking for.

5. Make your chat support icon highly visible

You need to immediately address whatever barriers will prevent your web visitors from making the purchase.

Whether it’s a question about pricing, product features, or your guarantees, etc., you need to answer within 24 hours. (The sooner, the better.)

When you don’t address your web visitors’ inquiries right away, you allow them to click away, check out your competitor’s website, and potentially buy from your competitors.

What a waste.

After all, they were already on your site, ready to make the purchase.

To address your customers’ inquiries immediately, add a 24/7 chat support feature on your site and make your chat support icon highly visible.

That way, when your customers have questions, they can click your customer support icon, be connected with your customer service representative, and have their inquiries answered.

You can also use robust customer service software with AI chatbots. That way, you can keep the workforce hours for your customer service team from ballooning.

An AI chatbot also gives your customer service team a better work experience since they don’t need to deal with basic, menial, and boring questions.

6. Add one type of call-to-action (CTA) only

Analysis paralysis is real.

There are countless studies made about it, and it proves itself to be true.

That’s why when you design your website; you need to remove whatever elements that will cause your web visitors to experience analysis paralysis.

What’s an example, you might ask?

Adding several types of CTAs is a great example.

If you ask your web visitor to sign up, click your “Buy Now” button, and share your offer on Facebook, there’s a real chance they’ll experience analysis paralysis.

That’s why a rule of thumb that competent conversion rate optimization specialists use is one page, one CTA.

For instance, if you’re offering services to help your clients get content with links, create a landing page with a single CTA.

Doing this keeps your visitors from analyzing anything because there’s only one option.

When the only CTA button on your site is to click your “Buy Now” buttons, your web traffic will have no other choice but to do that.

Get better site conversions now.

Why continue getting abysmal conversion rates when you can apply tried and tested adjustments to get better results?

The strategies shared in this guide might be far from being complete, but integrating these into your web design or marketing campaigns will help you get meaningful and better results.

When Is PPC Outsourcing the Right Move?

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |PPC Outsourcing|When Is PPC Outsourcing the Right Move?Pay per click (PPC) ads can be incredibly valuable, allowing you to generate a reliable stream of traffic to any webpage you choose (and hopefully increasing your sales in the process). But there’s no guarantee you’re going to see a positive ROI by yourself.
Outsourcing your Amazon PPC ad management, Google PPC ad management, or PPC ads with other platforms could be the best move to boost your profitability and save you time. But when is this the right move?

The Benefits of PPC Outsourcing

There are several benefits of outsourcing your PPC ads, including:

  • Time savings. The most important and most obvious benefit is that you save time. Even if you’re only running a small campaign for a business with limited influence, you’re still going to have to spend several hours per week observing your ad performance, making changes to your campaign, and learning new things so that you can improve. If you can spend this time doing more important things, you should have an expert covering these responsibilities for you.
  • A higher ROI. While outsourcing isn’t going to guarantee you a higher ROI (return on investment), most people who begin outsourcing to an experienced expert do tend to see better results than they can get on their own. You might be seeing a positive ROI with your internal management already, but a fresh set of eyes and a trained team of experts will be able to pump those numbers up.
  • External accountability. Don’t neglect the value of having an external party who is accountable for your success. Most PPC ad agencies have a vested interest in keeping your business, which means their biggest priority is keeping you happy. If something goes wrong with the campaign, if you’re not getting the results you want, or if you’re dissatisfied with communication, they’re going to work hard to make up the difference. That could mean offering some pro bono services or overhauling the way they handle your campaign.
  • Access to a team of experts. If you’re managing a campaign on your own or if you have a single person responsible for this task, you should know that working with an agency usually put you in contact with an entire team of experts, each member of which has different specialties and different perspectives. This combination of influence to make your campaigns more creative and more effective.

When Is PPC Outsourcing the Right Move for Your Business?

So when is PPC outsourcing the right move for your business? For starters, you have to be interested in PPC ads, but since PPC advertising is so valuable to most businesses, this isn’t much of an issue.

In addition to that, PPC outsourcing could be the right move if:

  • You don’t have the time to do it yourself. If you’re a business owner, or if you’re the head of the marketing department at this organization, you probably have a lot of responsibilities and not a lot of time. You don’t want to be bogged down with an ad campaign that’s confusing and difficult to manage. If you don’t have much time to spare, simply outsource this need and forget about it.
  • You have a talent shortage. It’s not especially difficult to gain a fundamental understanding of how PPC ads work, becoming a master in this craft can take a lifetime. If you’re struggling to find talented, experienced candidates who can join your team and boost your PPC results, outsourcing could be a valuable shortcut for you.
  • You have many platforms or campaigns to manage. The more complex your campaigns are and the more channels you use to promote your business, the greater your outsourcing needs will be. As you add more platforms and channels to your advertising portfolio, the number and complexity of your responsibilities are going to grow. Don’t hesitate to reach out for additional support.
  • You’ve tried and failed on your own. Be honest. Have you already tried your best at a PPC campaign, only to be disappointed by the final results? If so, don’t feel too bad; it’s difficult to manage a successful campaign with limited experience. But if you’re in this position, don’t double down on this mistake. Seek a partner who can truly help you.
  • You have a reliable partner in mind. Not every PPC agency is worth working with. Make sure you have a reliable partner in mind before moving forward with your outsourcing plans.

There are many good reasons to hire a PPC advertising agency to help you manage your ad campaigns and grow your business. As long as you find a partner who’s truly invested in your success and who has the experts who can hope you see a better ROI, you’ll end up in a better position.

5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Automation Expert Instead of Going DIY

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Automation Expert Instead of Going DIYMarketing automation is undoubtedly an excellent way to streamline your marketing operations. It saves you crucial time, money, and makes your work efficient. If you’re like most business owners, you’re always looking for ways to save money and optimize your operations. So, you may be considering doing your own marketing automation instead of hiring a professional. But before you make up your mind, here are some reasons why you should hire a marketing automation consultant.

1. A Marketing Automation Expert Saves You Money and Time

A good number of companies feel that setting up an in-house marketing department is the only way to save money. But hiring a team requires you to pay salaries, benefits, and perhaps even bonuses. Plus, you also have to invest in office equipment such as computers, laptops, printers, etc. On top of that, it’s going to cost a lot more if your employees aren’t familiar with marketing automation software solutions or the latest email marketing trends.

Hiring a marketing automation expert also means you don’t have to spend time training your employees. A professional can set up and configure new programs within hours, instead of days or even weeks you’d need if someone less experienced tried to do it on their own.

2. They Have the Right Knowledge and Experience

Building your own marketing automation solution requires the right knowledge. You need to understand how AI works, how predictive analytics can help you make smarter decisions, how to use chatbots for personalized customer engagement, etc. As a regular business owner, you probably won’t have the time to research all of these concepts, let alone implement them.

An experienced marketing automation consultant will have the necessary knowledge to set up your system properly. They will make sure it uses all available resources to automate processes and save you valuable time.

3. Your Expert Will Guarantee Performance

When you hire a marketing automation expert, they will guarantee the correct implementation and performance. They’ll also take responsibility if their service doesn’t meet your expectations in any way. This is because a professional knows all the factors that affect marketing performance.

For instance, there are dozens of factors that can affect email deliverability. A professional knows how to configure an email service provider’s systems for optimal deliverability. They also know the right time to send emails and which days will maximize your open rates. These are factors they’ll consider when deciding the best campaign strategy for you.

4. An Expert Will Help You Make Smarter Marketing Decisions

A professional will help you make better marketing decisions for your business. They’ll utilize their experience and expertise to best fit your needs. This means that they’ll understand what your competitors are up to, which demographics you should target, which ad networks will generate the most revenue etc. They’ll also keep your budget in mind, which means they’ll recommend the best tools and services for your budget.

5. Expertise in Marketing Automation Means Better ROI

Your marketing automation expert will have a number of years of experience working with different businesses just like yours. This means that they understand what works best for companies in your industry. When you hire a professional, they’ll use their expertise to help you achieve your goals.

For instance, they’ll know which demographics to target and how frequently. They’ll also set up your campaigns in such a way that you get the most out of every ad dollar you spend. All this means is that your return on investment (ROI) will be greater with an expert’s help than if you were trying to do it all yourself.

Hiring a marketing automation expert will save you time and money. It also means you’ll get better results than if you were trying to do it yourself. Hire an expert today so you can focus on what matters most for your business, while they help increase revenue and maximize ROIs.

The plain English no-nonsense guide to demand-side platforms (DSP)

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Demand-side platforms |The plain English no-nonsense guide to demand-side platforms (DSP)When paying for online advertising space, your business probably dips into a wide array of digital ad platforms – think the likes of Google Ads, Facebook Ads and probably many alternatives not quite as well-known to the average marketer.

However, approaching all of these platforms individually can be a cumbersome process costing you more time and money than strictly necessary. It’s therefore easy to see the appeal of demand-side platforms (DSPs), which collate online advertising opportunities from many different providers.

In a nutshell, why use a demand-side platform?

HubSpot defines a DSP as “an automated programmatic advertising platform where marketers can purchase and manage ad inventories from multiple ad sources.” Much of the attraction of using a DSP is summed up in the word “automated”, as it allows you to streamline the ad-sourcing process.

The main benefit of using a DSP, according to HubSpot, is that “you can manage all your digital ads across many networks on one interface.” The ads you can buy through a DSP include mobile ads on apps, banner ads on search engines and video ads on social media.

Hence, you don’t strictly need to set aside time to approach Google Ads, then Facebook Ads and so forth when you want to utilize many different advertising networks. Instead, you can just use one platform – a DSP – and leverage multiple networks through that single access point.

How do you actually source ad slots through a DSP?

Using a DSP can feel akin to participating in an auction conducted by robots. Through an automated system, DSPs buy and sell ads in real time, using what is known as programmatic advertising. The real-time nature of the proceedings enables ad placements to be auctioned off in milliseconds.

However, as with any auction, you should – before using one – think carefully about how much you would be willing to spend in the process. How much you do need to spend for online advertising can be determined on a cost-per-click and cost-per-action basis.

When using a DSP, you would specify your ad-buying budget so that the platform does not go over this when automatically fetching ad placements for you.

Using a DSP can bode well for you in the long term

This is because a DSP can help you to not only secure digital ads but also manage them for the long haul. As a TechFunnel article explains: “DSP platforms enable media buyers to manage campaigns from multiple channels, [and] optimize, analyze and gain insights into them in one interface.”

A DSP allows you to see, at a glance, the effectiveness of your ads – including impressions, clicks, click-through rates and conversion rates. While referring back to this data displayed on the reporting dashboard, you can tweak and optimize an ad campaign in the hope of improving results.

DSP advertising can even help you to build profiles of people who do see your ads. Each of these profiles can detail – for example – what type of content the user consumes and where and how often they click on the ads.

Top Tips on Choosing the Right Imagery for Your Website

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Website Imagery|Top Tips on Choosing the Right Imagery for Your WebsiteThere are all sorts of different factors that make a great website, but there is no doubt that the quality of the images is bound to play a crucial role here. Choosing the right pictures can feel tough when you are trying to work out what people respond to well, but the following blog post aims to give you a bit of a helping hand in working out which ones to pick.

Prioritize Quality Over Everything

The most important factor in choosing the website imagery is that every single picture that you select is high quality. A low-rent and blurry image is an immediately off-putting sign for any customers, and it is more than likely that they are going to go elsewhere. It is a good idea to choose a top-quality picture, to begin with. If you are using one of your own, think about the device that it is taken on. There are also steps that you can take to improve the overall look and feel of the picture, such as WP Wheelie’s Image Optimisation Tool. By taking the time to reduce the file size without the quality being affected, you will be able to improve the speed of your website too. This, in turn, leaves a positive first impression on your customers and visitors.

Ensure They Are Relevant

While stock images can be useful in some situations, you do not want to become over-reliant on them. As more and more websites flood onto the internet, you can end up in a situation in which the same few pictures are used again and again. Instead, you should pick images that are directly relevant to your brand and business. Ideally, they should be taken by a professional photographer. Remember, the pictures are a crucial element that are making a big difference when it comes to giving the customer the overall impression of your business outfit.

Use Actionable Images

A big part of a website is all about the customer journey that you are taking them on. With this in mind, it is certainly going to be worth using images that are actionable. Essentially, this means that they have some sort of call to action within them, such as ‘subscribe to the newsletter’ or ‘get 10% off now’. This can help to be more noticed than simple text with the same message on it.

Combine People and Products

While photos of the products themselves can prove to be highly appealing and useful in certain situations, you should also try to combine people and products as best you can. This helps to take the imagination one step further and allows customers to think about themselves using the products that you have on offer.

There is no doubt that the imagery on a website can make such a big difference in terms of the sales that you are making and the overall impression that you are leaving of the brand. So, make sure that you are taking the time and care to put in the type of pictures that will be swaying people in the right direction rather than making them simply turn off and go elsewhere where everything looks better!