Often when we enter into Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) projects with clients, we see a lot of common issues that can be resolved in-house. Here we share some of the quick-wins we’ve found.

Want more organic site traffic to certain pages? Look at your websites User Journey.

If your conversion-driving pages are hidden away or stuck in irrelevant locations, then it’s highly unlikely people are going to find them (and they are much less likely to convert). One of the biggest mistakes people make is creating blog content and not showcasing it to their audience (don’t hide it off to the side of your website, make it front and centre, especially if it’s designed to help drive enquiries/sales!).

Make sure content, landing pages, and conversion pages are easily available and draw attention from your audience.

We recommend examining the user journey/flow through your website and looking for ways to improve it (making priority pages more visible, placing links to these pages on above-the-fold content, etc.).

Want to bump up your conversion rate? Look at your call to actions!

Having valuable content or offers hidden behind under-performing visuals or call to actions (CTA’s) doesn’t help drive conversions. Take a critical look at how enticing your CTA’s are by putting yourself in the customer’s shoes to identify if they would be incentivised to click through.

Often we see that a lot of marketers are too busy or generally disconnected from their audience to identify what value a call to action or visual offers to the customer.

A great solution to connecting to an audience is to talk to your sales team, they’re the ones on the front-line interacting with your customers and can tell you what matters most to them, and what will entice non-customers to convert.

Not sure if your overall tactics are working? Explore A/B testing.

If you’re really stuck in the mud with how to improve things, start A/B testing! Unbounce is a great tool for both designing landing pages, and split testing different versions (that Unbounce will automatically rotate for you, based on your settings) is easier than ever. Some of our clients don’t need to get IT/Designers involved with Unbounce and have implemented a few changes themselves.

Your A/B tests can be basic (different CTA’s) or really advanced, where you can start to explore different web copy, form fields (less is more) and track the performance of each test.

The post Actionable steps to improve your web conversions appeared first on Reload Consulting.

Establish Credibility – Having presence online confirms that your business indeed exists. Further, the information on your website will allow your audience to know more about your business (e.g. credentials, history, team, etc). It is also an avenue whereby you can establish your business as a market leader or expert in its field.

Online Visibility – Once your website is up and running, it becomes visible and searchable to an infinite number of audience. Thus, it gives you an opportunity to reach people who you would otherwise not cross paths with.

Accessibility – Websites run 24/7. This means that the service you provide via your website does not sleep and therefore can attend to more people. This is particularly important to those that do their research and shopping outside of business hours.

Cost-efficient Marketing – There are many ways in which to draw people to your website, and many of these methods do not cost a pretty penny such as Search Engine Optimisation and Pay-per-click Advertising. Moreover, exposure can be increased through the use of social media accounts by linking social posts to your website.

Sales Opportunity – More website visits lead to potential sales. With the above-mentioned cost-efficient marketing options coupled with techniques to drive traffic to your site can lead to sales.

Economical – Having a website can save you money that you would otherwise need to use for mailing and printing. A website is like a brochure, except it is virtual. Customers will no longer have to talk to a Sales Representative for long periods of time to get the information they need. Downloadable forms, which customers would otherwise have to pick up or that you would have to mail can be made available on the website.

Now that you are probably convinced to invest in a website, here are a few things involved in owning a website that you need to know and consider:
Web Hosting – Owning a website is similar to owning a store in that you need space to park your website and all its information, albeit virtually. Web hosts provide individuals or businesses space on a server, which is either owned or leased by the individual or business and provide Internet connectivity which then allows the website to be accessible through the World Wide Web. The cost of web hosting varies from the type of web hosting availed. For example, having a dedicated server is considerably more expensive that availing of a shared service (meaning you share the “space” with other businesses). For small businesses, web host providers typically charge a monthly or yearly fee depending on factors such as the amount of storage space needed, the number of required email accounts, as well as related building tools. A basic web hosting service can go as low as $4 a month.

Licensing fees – You want your website to be visually appealing to your audience. To do this, you will need to use photos. For small businesses who do not want to spend a fortune on photo shoots, an option is to pay for use of photos by professional providers. In cases where website owners want to have music on their website and don’t want to pay for an original composition, they can turn to music providers for ready-music they can use in return of a fee.

Content Management System (CMS) – Not all websites come with a built-in CMS however it is advantageous to a small business owner with some computer knowledge to invest in in this. A CMS is a software that allows the website owner to adjust the contents of a website. With out this, the website owner will have to rely on the website developer for any change to the website, no matter how small. There is a cost associated to maintaining and updating a website through the website developer that can actually be avoided if the website is created with a CMS. Some examples of CMS include WordPress, Joomla and Magento.

Now, once you have your website up and running, here are some things that you need to keep in mind to ensure the best results from your website.

Track performance – One of the main goals of a website is to increase conversions. Conversions in this aspect refers to an action taken by your audience on your website such as downloading and filling up of forms, subscribing to your newsletter or ordering a product. To see the performance of your website overtime, it is important to track its progress towards the goal. Google Analytics is a free tool that can help you track the activity on your site and will help you evaluate decisions regarding any changes you need or want to make.

Review bi-annually – Advances in technology affect the mindset and behavior people and the way they use the web. What can be working then might no longer work now. To determine if any changes are necessary based on the data you have gathered from tracking your goals for the website, it is recommended that you review your website performance and its components at least bi-annually.

Nowadays, to be able to compete in the marketplace and for a business to thrive, having a website is necessary and has many benefits. To maximise the benefits though, it is advisable for a business owner to invest in a CMS, monitor the performance of the website regularly and have review the website bi-annually to check for issues and ways to improve it.

The post The Guide to Investing in a Brilliant Website appeared first on Reload Consulting.

As technology and best practice are fast-changing and customer mindsets and behaviours are adapting to these changes almost as quickly as they change, it is important to ensure that your website doesn’t fall behind. The development of a website for your business should never be seen as a one-off project, but rather an ongoing investment that grows adapts and changes in line with technological developments and customer purchasing behaviours.

But, how do you know when it’s time to give your website a facelift or, in some cases, a complete overhaul? There can be many factors that contribute to the decision:

• Not responsive – The time spent on mobile devices now far outweighs the amount of time spent on desktops, meaning that if your website is not responsive to adapt to the varying screens of the various devices that consumers are using, you are more than likely losing a lot of prospective customers.  If a prospective customer is unable to access your website on their device of choice of the experience is poor due to the lack of responsiveness, they will likely be turned off and look elsewhere.

• No CMS – A high performing website is one that is constantly updated. Content additions (i.e. blogs or news articles) and adjustments (i.e. change in operating hours or change in address) will not only keep your customers up to date with the latest news and events in your business but will also improve your website’s performance in online search results.  However, having updates implemented by an outside provider can be very costly and can result in a longer wait time before being published. Equipping your website with a Content Management System (CMS) will allow you to make simple changes yourself, saving time and cost.

• Long loading times – Having to wait for a page to load can frustrate users, who are often time poor or just don’t like to have to be waiting between pages when browsing a site. We live in a world where there is always an ‘instant version’ of everything and with this becoming the new norm, waiting times translate as a waste of time.

• The presence and/or recurrence of a glitch – Your website should work to establish the credibility of your business, however, broken links, error messages and missing images can give the impression that the website and therefore your business is not properly managed.

• The site cannot be found online – People find businesses online through searching for specific keywords or by seeing and clicking on online advertisements. Failure to show up in organic search results will result in many prospective customers not finding your business and instead, finding a competitors website and going to them with their browsing time and potential patronage.

• Site is old and outdated – If the website still requires the use of Flash (which is not supported by certain smartphones and which can’t be read by Google, Bing, and Yahoo), has never (or rarely) been updated, has low traffic volume coming through, and doesn’t show signs of customer engagement, then you know the website is no longer working or fulfilling its purpose.

• High bounce rate – Bounce rate is essentially the rate at which visitors leave the website. If the visitors leave the site after only viewing the homepage, this is an indication that there is something wrong with your website or at the very least, your homepage is not set up in a way that compels users to stay on and explore your site further. Google Analytics can be used to track the performance of your website and if you don’t have it installed on your website yet, this should be the next thing that you do after reading this.

• Revisits are down – You can easily determine the number of people returning to your website through the insights provided by Google Analytics. People are drawn to websites that are updated frequently with content that is of value them. People also typically go back to websites that are easy to use and navigate. If the design of your website is not user-friendly and/or is visually outdated, visitors might not find any reason to revisit.

• If you’ve rebranded – If eyes are the window to a person’s soul, the website is the window to understanding a business. Therefore, your website should reflect your business’ brand positioning, messaging and branding elements consistently. Failure to do so may lead to mismanagement of customer expectations.

• New functionality requirements – As mentioned above, technology and mindsets are constantly changing, websites need to adapt to these changes or risk being left behind and missing out on opportunities. New functionality and capabilities are often emerging that help to drive traffic to the site and encourage user engagement.

• User experience and usability issues – Time is money and the easier and faster a user can find what they’re looking for on your website, the better. There are a multitude of studies that have been conducted over the years to assess the behaviour of customers when viewing websites. To ensure a positive experience for your user, it is best to ensure that your website’s user experience is reviewed against best practice and (if needed) updated or adjusted based on this.

For a business to compete in the current environment, a website is a necessity, however, a website can be all but useless if it isn’t properly maintained and managed. The most effective websites go through a series of adjustments and updates as time passes, to ensure that all components come together to provide the best possible user experience.

The post 11 sure fire signs that you should overhaul your website appeared first on Reload Consulting.

Why is Usability Make or Break?

Websites, in essence, are a communication tool used to align business goals with the user or customer goals. In order to align these two elements, you have to understand who your target audience is, what their goals are and the psychology behind their interactions with your website. What will it take for them to move from being uncertain with your brand/service/product to being certain?

With a multitude of messages from a multitude of devices bombarding users daily, website usability design plays a key role in keeping your users engaged with your content and ultimately ensuring they get the information necessary to make a decision regarding your brand.

With this in mind, we’ve put together the following starter pack of considerations to help businesses assess how user-friendly a website is and whether there’s room for improvement:

1) Is your navigation simple? Just like in a physical space, a user should feel as though they know where they are while navigating your website and are intuitively aware of how they can find the information they’re looking for. Using familiar and consistent navigation methods (e.g. menus, submenus and call-to-action buttons) allows the user to get from one page to the next with ease. Also, consider how your content and pages are structured. Information should be organised in a logical way that makes sense to your target audience. If it’s not clear how to navigate your site or why a page is located where it is, then your navigation may need a rethink.

2) Can users easily scan your content? Users scan content more than they read it. Regardless of the quality of your written copy, users naturally scan pages and will stop to read information only when deemed relevant to them. It should, therefore, be easy for users to find the specific information they are looking for. This can be achieved by arranging information under relevant headings, ensuring the content gets straight to the point and by using a consistent hierarchy whereby the most important information is positioned where it will be seen first.

3) Is it visually appealing and representative of your brand? We should never underestimate the importance of visuals. The old adage “a picture paints a thousand words” remains true even in website strategy. Visuals help to reinforce the identity of your brand and ultimately play a role in forming perceptions of your business. Used strategically, images can also help guide the user as they navigate your site.

4) Is it fast? Don’t make your users wait. In this day and age, pages must load quickly and should be viewable on all primary devices and browsers. The longer a user has to wait, the more likely they are to leave the site. It’s that simple.

5) Are the next steps always clear? If your website visitors aren’t guided towards an end goal, there’s a higher chance they may not reach it. Consequently, there needs to be a clear path and a variety of mediums for your users to initiate interactions with the website, and ultimately your business. You might ask them to sign up for a newsletter, make an enquiry, add an item to the cart or check out. Whatever your conversion goals are, ensure there are clear and prominent call-to-action elements that are relevant to the customer’s journey, encouraging them to begin the process of interaction with your business.

As you can see, website usability draws on a variety of components that contribute towards creating a positive experience for your website visitors. Positive website experiences contribute towards a visitor’s engagement with the information they’re consuming and the actions they’re taking, which ultimately can make or break a customer acquisition or repeat online interaction. For this reason, websites need to be designed and built with usability and engagement as key considerations to help visitors progress towards reaching the desired end goal – whatever it may be.

While not comprehensive, the above considerations provide a starting point when assessing the usability of your website and highlighting opportunities for future improvements.

The post 5 simple ways to improve your website’s User Experience (UX) appeared first on Reload Consulting.