Ignorant marketers rave that increasing your website traffic is the online marketing panacea.
“It’s just a numbers game,” they’ll tell you. “You just have to get enough people to see your site, then you’ll increase your business.”
Piffle and pooh. Website conversion is far more important than traffic.
By conversion I mean a website visitor taking an action on your site that engages with you in a meaningful way, such as:
Purchasing a product online
Submitting a contact/free quote/lead generation form
Calling your business for more information
Opting in to a newsletter
Downloading whitepapers/e-books/resources
Think about it: Would you rather have 5,000 website visits per month with a 1% conversion rate (50 leads/month), or 2,000 visits per month with a 3% conversion rate (60 leads/month)?
Focusing on increasing your website traffic while neglecting your conversion optimization is like desperately trying to fill a bucket that’s full of holes, rather than plugging the holes first.
This is why your website should be architected to optimize your lead generation.
You can spend a lot of money on graphic design and/or technical programming/coding, but without persuasive hub architecture you’re pouring money down the drain.
Website architecture includes the following elements:
Persuasive copywriting
Page structure
Calls to action
Content organization, including main navigation bar and drop-down (or sub-navigation) menu items
Page layouts
Hyperlink structure
Lead generation forms
Sales and checkout processes
Elements strategically placed to cater to specific “personas” who ask different questions and have different needs.
The right website architecture creates a persuasive momentum. It pulls visitors in. Makes them click deeper and deeper. Ultimately, it converts them into leads and sales on their terms.
Here are a few simple questions to help you optimize your website for conversion:
Do I have a clear and compelling offer?
Do visitors know what I’m selling and how it benefits them within seconds of landing on my site?
Do I have a clear call to action? Do visitors know exactly how to engage with me? Is my call to action persistent throughout my site?
Do I provide enough information for visitors to feel confident making the decision to work with me?
Are my webforms and checkout processes smooth and hassle-free?
Do I provide elements of credibility, such as endorsements, testimonials, credentials, education, qualification, awards, media appearances, official designations, experience, trust symbols, etc.?
Do I have analytics installed so I can track visitor patterns? Do I optimize my site over time by changing elements and watching how it affects analytics?
Before you waste money on increasing your traffic, focus on increasing your conversion rate.
Topic:books resources, content organization, conversion rate, Cripples, hub architecture, internet marketers, page layouts, page structure, piffle, technical programming