Your keyword research and focus on search intent did their jobs. A member of your target audience just landed on your site. Hooray! However, creating quality content that is SEO-optimized is only half the battle when it comes to driving conversions on your website. Content marketing requires you to implement effective content conversion strategies. Read on to discover the conversion strategies you should be implementing and companies that are using them with great success.
Your visitor is highly unlikely to buy your product or download your white paper unless you ask them to. That’s why one of the most important elements of content conversion is the call-to-action.
A CTA generally takes the form of a button or link that encourages site visitors to do something specific, such as make a purchase or subscribe to a newsletter. If you include first-person pronouns — Sign Me Up! Open My Account! — even better.
The placement of your CTA is crucial to its effectiveness. For years, marketers believed the CTA should appear “above the fold” — the screen a user immediately sees — because of its greater visibility. More recently, that truism is being called into question.
What is most important for placement is what you are offering and how close to converting someone actually is. If you’re a financial advisor, you’ll need plenty of compelling copy to demonstrate your expertise before asking a prospect to schedule a meeting. Placing your CTA below the fold would likely make the most sense.
But if you’re selling an instantly recognizable product to people ready to buy, put your CTA above the fold. Everyone knows what Spotify is; that’s why the music streaming service hits visitors with a sign-up button right off the bat. Well-executed A/B testing can reveal which approach is likely to yield more conversions for your business.
A landing page is a specific web page that a user is directed to after clicking on a link or ad. While your homepage is broad and general, these more focused pages are designed to convert visitors into customers. Optimizing your landing pages for content conversion is crucial for improving your overall conversion rate.
By the time a visitor gets to a landing page, they have narrowed down the reason they’ve come to your site. This allows you to provide the targeted information they need to take action, whether that’s downloading an e-book or ordering your product. To increase the odds they’ll do what you want them to, don’t provide lots of choices — one CTA is often best.
Other tactics for optimizing landing pages range from the technical — ensuring fast loading speeds and segmenting traffic — to the aesthetic and psychological. Catchy headlines and images will maintain the user’s engagement, and visual cues can guide them to your CTA. User reviews and testimonials will assure them that what you’re offering is worth their time and money.
HubSpot reports that businesses that optimize their landing pages can see conversion rates increase by as much as 30%. Mailchimp gets it: Their landing pages have concise headlines, a cleanly minimal design, and a clear call-to-action. This makes it easy for visitors to take the next step in the customer journey.
The reason user reviews and recommendations make persuasive components of your landing pages is that they provide “social proof.” Social proof is a psychological phenomenon in which people look to others for cues on how to act in a given situation. Customer testimonials, product reviews, and followers and likes on your social media profiles are all examples.
Reviews and testimonials from satisfied customers are particularly potent, especially those that provide detailed accounts of their positive experience. (Bonus points if they say how much better you are than your nearest competitor.) Showcasing your thousands of 4- and 5-star reviews is another winning play.
It makes sense that social proof would be a powerful content conversion tactic. After all, who are consumers more likely to believe — the company trying to sell them something or fellow widget-seekers like themselves? These success stories will encourage prospects to give you a try.
And this isn’t mere speculation. According to A/B testing vendor VWO, including social proof on your website can increase sales conversions by up to 34%. So comb through your customer surveys and Facebook comments and share the nicest things people have said about you.
Perhaps no business better exemplifies the power of social proof than Airbnb. It wasn’t long ago that staying in a stranger’s house would wig many people out. But the visitor reviews and ratings next to each Airbnb listing help to build trust and credibility.
Speaking of building credibility, don’t forget about your About page. This crucial page — one of the most-visited on your site — gives you the chance to tell the story of your business and boost your marketing efforts. Recounting how and why you started the company helps you connect with site visitors and establishes trust with them.
“But wait,” you might ask, “didn’t you just say consumers trust their peers more than a company trying to sell them something?” Indeed. That’s why the About page is no place for direct selling — leave that to your landing and service pages. While it should contain a CTA (e.g., Find Out More), the only thing you’re selling on the About page is you and your team.
Not that you have to do it alone. If you haven’t highlighted positive press coverage of your business on your website’s homepage, do so here. An “As Seen On” bar featuring badges from well-known publications will show a potential customer that trusted authorities think highly of you, too.
Just because you’re not selling on your About page doesn’t mean this page lacks conversion potential. On the contrary — putting a human face on your business gives your audience the confidence to buy from you. The important thing is to be yourself. Online translation service Tomedes found that out when it upped its conversion rate by 13% after swapping in sprightlier language on its About page.
Given how impactful the About page is, you might find it surprising that it’s often relegated to a website’s footer. But that’s both surprising and not. While many businesses are beginning to put their “Our Story” page right up top in the navigation bar, many more leave it below. That’s because they know customers know that’s exactly where to find it.
High-converting site navigation is all about putting things where site visitors expect them to be. Prospects won’t buy from you if they can’t find what they’re looking for — or see at a glance what you’re offering.
So be specific with your section headings, for starters. “Products” isn’t going to entice customers (or search engines) the way “Totes” or “Cookware” will. The point is to make it easy for visitors to get to different sections and navigate them with the fewest additional clicks. Texas-based custom printer PrintGlobe can attest to the power of this tactic: Improvements to its site navigation boosted its conversion rate more than 18%.
While good navigation gets most people where they’re going, there will always be site visitors who’ll want to cut to the chase. They’ll head directly to the footer, which is why a robust footer is so important. It acts as a safety net, helping visitors get needed info — everything from FAQs to your business address — fast.
In addition to helping users find things they missed up top, your footer offers you one last chance to make your case. Privacy policies and terms of service go here, both of which build credibility with users. And you can reiterate your mission and issue one final call-to-action, with a contact form or an email signup.
Implementing effective content conversion strategies is crucial for transforming browsers into buyers. The strategies above are just a starting point; you should continuously experiment with new tactics to find what works best for your business. Since a single digital content strategy won’t necessarily drive conversions on its own, use a combination of different tactics and strategies to achieve the best results.
Want to learn more? Reach out to see how Relevance can help boost your visibility with a strong SEO strategy. More traffic = more conversions, right?
