conversion presentation

Website Conversion Optimization


Introduction – Who am I?

• Paul Bryant – Black Tiger LTD

• Worked for MoreNiche as a Product/Affiliate Manager from 2006-2009

• Worked on own affiliate sites in spare time

• Built up income to be enough to leave MoreNiche and become a full-time affiliate

• Currently own and run over 30 affiliate and merchant websites

• Website conversion have become a passion and a critical part of my business

Everything I am about to tell you is based on my own experiences or others peoples experience/research. Some points will apply more to merchant sites and some will apply more to affiliate sites. However, every point applies or can be adapted to suit ANY type of website in ANY niche.


Agenda

• The Theory of Conversions• What is a conversion?• The consumer buying decision making process• The AIDA model

• 25 Conversion Questions to Ask Yourself• Website Design • Copywriting Layout• Copywriting Language

• Key Metrics to Aid Conversions

• The Importance of Split Testing

• Summary & Questions


The Theory of Conversions

What do we mean by a website conversion?

Website conversion can be defined as the percentage of visitors to a website who take a specific, desired action before or upon leaving the website.

• A conversion does NOT have to be a sale

• It is up to you to decide what user action you will count as a conversion

• Good conversion rates are generally 10% or higher but depends on many factors



The Consumer Buying Decision Making Process

At what stage does an affiliate site enter this model?

It can enter at ANY of the stages, here are example searches for each stage:

• Need Recognition – “How to lose weight”• Information Search – “Types of weight loss pills”• Evaluation of Alternatives – “Hoodia Pill Reviews”• Purchase - “Buy UniqueHoodia”• Post Purchase Evaluation – “Alternatives to UniqueHoodia”

Need Recognition

Information Search

Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase

Post Purchase

Evaluation


Information key to successful conversion optimization

• Customer demographics (age, gender, location, disposable income, etc)

• Customer stage in the buying decision making process

• The path the customer takes before converting (Conversion Funnel)

• The strong and weak links in the conversion funnel

• The reason the customer wants to purchase the product (e.g. the benefits)

• How the customer perceives your product compared to the competition


The AIDA Model

A = Awareness/Attention

I = Interest

D = Desire

A = Action

Although it depends on your site purpose, target audience and even industry, generally your website should help to take people from the awareness/attention part of the model right through to the ‘desire’ and ‘action’ parts.


A = Awareness/AttentionI = InterestD = DesireA = Action

How long do you have to get a visitors attention?


LESS THAN 7 SECONDS!(including page load time)

That is this long......

And pay attention I will be asking questions


Time is up – what did you notice on the site?

Enough to give you some idea as to whether you want to read more or not?


5 ways to make that impact in 7 seconds:


• Optimize your page load time

• Make use of flash/animations to grab attention

• Keep your H1 text large and use conflicting colours

• Add bullet points ‘above the fold’ that quickly sum up the benefits

• Use an image ‘above the fold’ that conveys at least 1 benefit

Your job is to tell a visitor immediately why they should continue to spend the next few minutes of their life reading what you have to say. Miss this and the visitor will leave.


Time is up – what did you notice on the site?

Enough to give you some idea as to whether you want to read more or not?


Which of these makes you more interested?


A. Product X is the best product in the market. Our customers have said we provide better results than any of our competitors.

Or.....

B. As the market leader you may not be surprised to find out that product X can help you lose weight. However, did you know it can also help you lose weight up to twice as fast as dieting alone?

Both statements say more or less the same thing, however statement B is clearly more interesting because it talks about specific benefits of the product, it is believable, and it is talking with the customer rather than at them.

Using more ‘You’ focused language is key in gaining your visitors interest. Talk about yourself too much and watch your visitors leave.

Your probably went for statement B?

5 ways to get the interest of your visitor:


• Use plenty of ‘You’ focused language

• Talk about specific benefits not vague claims

• Give enough detail to entice them to read more

• Ensure the information is relevant to both the visitor and the product

• Format the content so it can be quickly and easily read

A visitor to your website who is already giving you their attention is already interested. Your job is to increase that interest and make them even more intrigued. This is done best by relating specific benefits to them as if you already know them.

Are you afraid of your emotions?


One of the best ways to create desire is to use emotions within your copy. Which sounds best to you?

A - “You will be more attractive to women”

Or......

B - “Imagine looking across the room, your heart thumping as the slim cute blonde throws you a smile that could only mean one thing. Would you like this to happen time and time again?”

B – Once again the second statement is the best because it is more specific but also uses more sensory language that really helps you imagine the benefit of the product in your mind. This kind of language helps to turn an interest in to a very strong desire.

You went for B again right?

5 ways to get create desire within your visitor:


• Keep the ‘You’ focused language going

• Bring in more sensory language to ignite their emotions

• Make it feel like they will be losing out if they do not have the product

• Be believable, make an unrealistic claim and all desire will disappear

• Include testimonials to evoke that “I want to be like them” feeling

To create desire you need to get more creative with your language and wording. Keep the language easy to understand but make it talk more to the emotions as well as including all of the ‘you’ focus and benefit driven copy.

Do pictures really speak louder than words?


Which is the better call to action?

Text – Book your place before places sell out

Or......

Graphical -

How one person reacts to a graphic image may not be the same as another person does. We are all different and therefore ensuring you have a range of different text and graphical call to action links throughout your page is the best way to ensure at least one of them gets clicked!

The answer is they are both as good as each other!

5 ways to get help your customer take action:


• Use a variety of different call to action graphics and text

• Introduce urgency to buy (e.g. Limited time discounts/offers)

• Re-assure the customer that they are making the right decision

• Make a clear recommendation for what customers should buy

• Create a ‘fear’ of missing out (e.g. If you do not buy today then....)

At the most critical point of the process you need to make it as easy as possible for a visitor to take your desired action. Design, content and website process all play a part – it is impossible to overvalue this part of the process!


25 Conversion Questions to Ask Yourself


1. Is your site optimized to load as quickly as possible?

2. Is it easy for the visitor to take action no matter where they are on the site?

3. Is all of your key information contained within the ‘Golden Triangle’?

Design & Layout


4. Are you using contrasting colours to get attention to key words?

5. Are you using flash or animation to get attention?

6. Do you have images that also convey benefits?

7. Are these images clickable?

8. Is all of your key information visible above the fold?

9. Are you using a mixture of call to action graphics and text links?

10. Is the navigation clear and user-friendly?

11. Does the navigation appeal to both information gatherers and purchasers?

12. Is your header or logo taking up too much space?


13. Are you bolding key words and phrases?

14. Are you using bullet lists to break-up the text and show key points?

15. Do you use sub-headers throughout to emphasis benefits and break-up text?

16. Are your paragraphs short – no more than 4-5 lines?

17. Are your sentences short – less than 10-15 words ideally?

Copywriting Layout


Luckily you've just found PureAcaiBerry, the only pure, freeze dried, maximum strength acai supplement in the world. Pure Acai Berry will make you lose weight quickly (1-5lbs/week), increase your metabolism, fight fatigue and increase energy, remove harmful toxins from your body, increase your vitamin and mineral intake. Imagine the body you would have after just 1 month! Think of the results you could achieve in 3-4 months time! Can you imagine the new improved you with a healthier and slimmer body? Would you like to be more energetic and active? Now with the help of Pure Acai Berry, you can!

An example of the effect of changing copywriting layout

Read This.....

Not easy right? Ok let’s try again but with the previous formatting tips applied....


Luckily you've just found PureAcaiBerry, the only pure, freeze dried, maximum strength acai supplement in the world. Pure Acai Berry will make you:

• Lose weight quickly (1-5lbs/week)• Increase your metabolism• Fight fatigue and increase energy• Remove harmful toxins from your body• Increase your vitamin and mineral intake.

Imagine the body you would have after just 1 month! Think of the results you could achieve in 3-4 months time!

Can you imagine the new improved you with a healthier and slimmer body? Would you like to be more energetic and active?

Now with the help of Pure Acai Berry, you can!

It says EXACTLY the same thing yet is is so much easier to read!


18. Are you taking visitors through the AIDA model?

19. Are you using sensory language to evoke visitors emotions?

20. Do you focus on the visitor with lot’s of ‘you’ focused copy?

21. Are your claims believable?

22. Do you focus on benefits rather than features?

23. Is your copy easy to understand? Could a 10 year old read and understand it?

Copywriting Language

24. Are you creating an urgency for the visitor to take action?

25. Are you re-assuring people with testimonials and guarantees?


Key Metrics to Aid Conversion

Key metrics from analytical software:


• Most Popular Pages (Is your conversion page in the top 3?)

• Clickthrough/Conversion Rate

• Average Time on Site/Page

• Page Bounce Rate

• Page Exit Rate

Collecting Analytical data is useless if you do not use that information to improve your site and conversion rate. Using Analytical data is key in the ongoing success of your site.


The Importance of Split-Testing

How split-testing can help you:


Split-testing is best performed through Adwords but can also be done through Analytics and some manual comparisons. It can help you:

The key with split-testing is to test one thing at a time and leave it long enough to be sure on whether the change has had a positive, negative or neutral effect. Split-testing is the HOLY GRAIL of conversions, only by testing will you ever learn anything about how your visitors interact with your site.

• Establish the best design & layout for your site

• Find out if your copy is coming from the right angle

• Discover if what YOU like best is really what your visitors like best

• Keep improving a website until it’s conversion rate is SKY HIGH!


Summary

To successfully convert your visitors you must:


• Be aware of where your visitors are in the buying decision making process

• Ensure every page on your site is following the AIDA model

• Make full use of design, ensuring key points stand out

• Put key information ‘above the fold’ in an easy to spot manner

• Include lot’s of ‘You’ focused and sensory language to connect with the visitors

• Make it obvious what you want a visitor to do and how they can do it

• Follow the 25 listed tips on copy, design and layout

• Be constantly aware of the key metrics you can use to measure site performance

• Regularly split-test changes to be 100% sure what is working and what is not


Any Questions?

And finally......


If you need some help on website conversion then I offer:

• Written Reports• Telephone Consultations• Face to Face Analysis Meetings

All designed to help you get your website converting better!

I work on product, service or affiliate websites from one-page sales pitches through to complex multiple path websites and can work to fit any budget.

Simply get in touch via my website or see me after the presentation!

www.BlackTigerLtd.co.uk

http://www.blacktigerltd.co.uk/

conversion presentation

Technology