How Small Online Businesses Can Increase Conversion

In today’s business climate whether you have recently started or whether you have been in business for a while, you are very likely to have a website. If you think about it carefully, it does not matter if you are selling a product or service, your aim is to increase conversion rates and get more sales or leads in the door. To increase conversion rates from your site, follow the 5 steps below which any small business can apply:

1. Add a privacy statement – Now days, similar to the way in which customers are trained to search for the lock symbol (also know as site secure) when buying online, some look for ‘privacy statement’. This statement describes what you as the business owner intend to do with their information. By adding a privacy statement you will increase your credibility and boost customer trust making it more likely to convert well.

2. Add your contact information – Perhaps the biggest impact on conversion rates is listing full transparent contact information including phone number, email address and physical address. Whether buying a product or ordering a service customers are looking for reassurance that the business is here to stay should a problem occur and listing full contact information helps.

3. Add testimonials and reviews – When it comes to using testimonials and reviews to increase conversion rates you might ask 10 people and get 10 different answers. Clearly there’s no definitive answer, however even if it works to convert a small percentage of customers what’s the harm. By posting real testimonials and reviews, some glowing and some less, you will increase your credibility and likelihood of conversion.

4. Check your grammar and spelling – These mistakes and typos could be extremely off putting and also quite tricky to find in time. Consider getting a second pair of eyes to proof read any new content as customers sometimes associate your level of content with your ability to deliver high quality products or service.

5. Show 3rd party accreditation – Are you a member of any professional organization? Has your business won any awards lately? If the answer is yes, make sure to write about it. If the answer is no, consider listing even basic associations such as a Yellow Pages icon if your business is listed, a PayPal icon if you are selling online and accepting PayPal etc. Associations and 3rd party accreditation will help your business get that authoritative brand image and help increase conversions.

What are your tips to help small online businesses increase conversion rates?

For more information, also read our comprehensive article How To Sell More on the Web: 30 Tips To Increase Conversion Rates For An Ecommerce Site

Guest post by Ran, online marketing manager of hardwood flooring store Wood and Beyond