4 Strategies for Improving Conversion Rates

It's important for companies to monitor their conversion rates.

The figure tracks the number of people who visit a website or landing page and perform a desired action, whether it's making a purchase, adding information into a form or signing up for an email newsletter.

Businesses should always be looking for strategies to improve this statistic, but what's a good place to start?

What's a Good Conversion Rate?

Many companies will see a conversion rate of 1 percent as a sign their efforts are successful. According to Wordstream, however, this figure is below the average of 2 to 4 percent.

Of course, the median conversion rate really depends on the business's industry, but 25 percent of enterprises studied are pulling a 5 to 6 percent conversion rate.

So how can a business improve its conversion rate, thus increasing its profits and number of valuable customers?

Let's take a look at four strategies:

1. Add Social Proof

A study from BrightLocal found 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

So why not add them to a company's website? Potential clients like to see what their peers have to say before making their purchases.

Businesses should incorporate social proof to help turn interested leads into customers. Companies can post testimonials or case studies featuring happy and satisfied clients.

Not only do customers have more trust in their fellow consumers, but these reviews will increase their trust in the business itself.

Social proof also offers enterprises a marketing opportunity. While posted reviews will do the trick, businesses could also record audio or capture testimonials on film to put on the website.

2. Place Discount Codes on Purchase Page

Sometimes, leads just need a little extra push. Potential clients may have a cart of items they're waiting to purchase until a coupon is released.

Companies can use this logic to their benefit by making the discount code visible during the checkout process, according to Visual Website Optimizer.

The surprise of a discount offering will make leads happy and encourage them to buy their items on the spot.

Businesses have two options: either they can add the discount code directly to the page or they can implement a "see coupon" now button which asks for an email address before sending the code to the customer.

Leads will probably click on either option, no matter what, but the email capture choice allows companies to gather even more relevant information about the customer.

3. Include a Guarantee

Leads appreciate any indication that a company's good or service is worth their investment. In addition to satisfied customer testimonials, businesses can include a pledge on all purchases.

Entrepreneur suggested a no-questions-asked refund policy on all products. Companies that stand by their offerings and provide a 100 percent guarantee will garner more trust from leads.

4. Check out the Competition First

Leads will always search the market for comparable or lower prices on goods and services. Potential customers may monitor these sites for long periods of time before making their final decision.

Businesses should compare themselves with their opponents before clients do, according to ConversionXL. This allows businesses to explain what advantages their product offers, as well as reasoning for the price.

Enterprises can also add comparison pages to their website, so leads don't have to leave the site to see the competition's offerings.

Conversion rates are crucial to a business's success. Companies must monitor this metric to track how well their website is performing.

To break away from the average and obtain a higher figure, enterprises should add a guarantee, social proof, comparison pages and discount codes to the checkout process.