3 Killer Conversion Optimization Tips

In internet marketing, conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a system for increasing the percentage of visitors to a website that convert into customers, or more generally, take any desired action on a web page.

We will take a look at the most commonly missed, ignored, or overlooked items that has a huge impact on landing jobs online!

#1 - Website Speed

Why is Website Speed Important to CRO?

Increasing website speed will help lower your site's bounce rates and improve the user experience. Your website speed is the first impression you will ever make online and you only have seconds.

Every single trackable metric is influenced by your site speed:

• Site speed will impact SEO
• Site speed will Impact paid Search
• Site speed will impact social ads
• Site speed will impact user experience and conversion

Facts:

• Amazon "1 second of load lag time would cost Amazon $1.6 billion in sales per year"
• Wallmart "When load times jumps from 1 seconds, conversions decline sharply. For every 1 second of improvement, we experienced a 2% conversion increase"
• Google "An extra 0.5 seconds in each search page generation would cause traffic to drop by 20%"
• WebWyze "You could be doing everything right imaginable under the sun, but if your website is not fast enough, consider it to be money down the drain."

How do you know if your website is fast enough?

Your website "load time" should be less than 2 second. To test how fast your website is loading, you can visit https://tools.pingdom.com/. Simply enter your domain name, select your region and hit "Start Test". (check it couple times from D.C. and San Francisco!)

There is no denying that a quick, nimble, website trumps a sluggish site. Both users and the search engines know that.

More Facts:

• 47% of consumers expect your website to load in less than 2 seconds
• 40% of consumers abandon it entirely if it takes longer than 3 seconds
• 79% of consumers said they wouldn't return to a slow site

Quality Hosting is a direct impact on website speed.

Let me start by saying good things are not cheap and cheap things are not good when it comes to web hosting.

Reliable, fast, and secure website hosting is a critical part of running a successful website, and the company you choose to host your website matters.

So, as a non-techie business owner, how can you determine if your hosting is good or not?

• Are you paying 9.95 per month? That is huge red flag. A good host should be around $35.00 per month.
• Did your website load under 2 seconds? Test here: https://tools.pingdom.com/?
• Does your site support HTTP/2? Test here: https://tools.keycdn.com/
• Do you have an SSL secured site? Test it here: https://www.sslshopper.com

If you are not passing any of the items above, you may want to consider upgrading your hosting account. Low-grade hosting is usually the #1 culprit to a slow website.

#2 - Persuasive Web Content

Why is persuasive content a good call to action?

What is a good call to action? What is it? How to tell if I am doing it right?

It is a tough online world out there. There are currently 1.94 billion websites on the Internet and how do you stand out?

Competition is thick and attracting attention is much more than creating a well-designed website with pretty pictures.

To keep your visitors entertained you need to use persuasive content. Content that is well written, tells your story effectively, and keeps your visitors entertained.

Remember, people do not read, they are scanners until they find a subject of importance.

Be relevant & meaningful, make use of bullet points and use one idea per small paragraph. I am sure we all heard of The Kiss Principle, right? Keep it Simple Stupid!

Be sure to tell stories in your content… Telling stories activates parts of the brain associated with sight, sound, taste, and movement.

It makes the intangible tangible… It makes us feel and experience things without directly touching it.

It's not what you say, it is how you say it that will motivate someone.

Remember, your customers will not be interested if you are not interesting… That's why 99% of the sale is enthusiasm and without enthusiasm, you cannot create that desire to take action.

Remember... create the desire to take action! Be intense, be eager, show enjoyment and inspiration in your message.

People buy why you sell not what you sell. Pull on emotional triggers through your story telling.

The first thing people buy is a solution to a problem and the results it delivers. That is how you create the desire to take action.

People are purpose driven and emotional creatures. All you need to do is create that feeling they will get when they own your service and you will cover the why you sell.

As an example, create the ownership feeling. Get them using your services within your content. You can grab their attention with enthusiasm and use social proof and visuals that build trust.

And focus on that call to action by mixing design, usability, content and sales tactics together.

#3 - Key Website Elements to Improve Lead Generation

Mobile Friendly:

Responsive web design is an approach to web design that makes web pages render well on TV's, Computers, Tablets & Mobile Phones.

Google introduced recommendations in 2015 that related to responsive web design and began rewarding sites that were fully responsive.

Google began used mobile friendliness as a ranking signal.

You may be surprised to find how many websites are not mobile friendly.

You will need a mobile friendly website to improve conversion rates.

Authenticity:

Pictures In the home services industry, an attractive website will use pictures of team members, service trucks, on-the-job pics etc.

Using pictures/videos over stock photos puts a real name, a real face, a real brand in front of your potential customers and will go a long way.

This will make your visitors feel more comfortable reaching out to you and put a face behind your brand.

Social Proof, Reviews & Trust Symbols:

Are you showcasing your reviews across the web? Are they streamed in real time and look authentic?

Are you keeping up with your reviews and replying to each review whether good or bad?

If you do have bad reviews? Are you using this as an opportunity to gain more business in your reply or are you arguing online? We always recommend to reply to negative reviews, show you care, learn from any mistakes and take action - never argue online.

Are you active and have reviews on social media?

Are you displaying trust symbols of organizations you belong to such as the Better Business Bureau or other associations that build credibility?

Are you showcasing your coupons/specials and guarantee?

A Clear Call to Action:

Avoid website that has too much color. Do not let your design overwhelm the main purpose of your website.

Remember, you can do more by doing less.

If your message is not abundantly clear, you will lose out on that visitor.

Is your phone number on every page? Typically, it should be on the top right of every page and it should stand out. Can you click the text to call on mobile devices?

Are you asking your customer to take an action after each meaningful blob of text? Perhaps a button that will pop up a simple form a customer can effortlessly submit.

Do you have web pages for every type of service you provide?

Do you have a web page for every city you service?

Relevance is key to converting you visitors to customers. In online marketing, relevance is a score that serves as a barometer of whether your message appeals to the audience you are targeting.

Example, if a prospect searches using certain keywords such as:

1. Broken water heater repair
2. Pest control in Austin Texas
3. AC maintenance services
4. Lawn aeration services

If your prospects find your web page that is relevant to those specific search terms, you will not only gain more traffic, but those content specific web pages convert much better.

Take action & put these top converting items to use

Now that you've learned about 3 top converting items for you home services business. We encourage you to track your changes and compare your stats as you implement your updates.