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This e-book has been written to provide information about self-improvement. Every effort has been made to make this eBook as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this e-book provides information on self-improvement only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this eBook should be used as a guide, not as the ultimate source of web hosting information.
The purpose of this eBook is to educate. The author and the publisher do not warrant that the information contained in this e-book is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this e-book.
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Introduction to Website
Conversion Rates
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Having an e-commerce website can be challenging. There is inventory to monitor, customers to keep happy, advertising to do, and of course security to maintain in order to protect the integrity of the site and your customers. With all of the important steps involved to make sure your business website is a success, conversion rates should be taken into account.
So what is a conversion rate? Essentially, a conversion rate is the number of visits or “hits” you receive on your website that change over, or convert to, a sale. For example, if your site were to get 100 visits in one week and one person made a sale, you’d have a 1% conversion rate.
Effective advertising is important in ensuring a higher conversion rate. Making sure your website is noticed and that the product you’re selling is very clear is essential to success. Getting the hits is important, but finalizing that sale is even more important. A good website that does a lot of business is much more involved than many people might think.
A lot of factors are involved with ensuring that visitors click on and then actually buy items they see. There are many things you can do to get the most conversion rates possible which means those website views and random clicks actually turn into cold, hard cash (otherwise known as sales).
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Bite Sized Tips 101 - 110
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Here are some helpful tips to ensure that your website’s hits, simple clicks, and visits turn into actual sales.
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101. Logos for your credit cards and shippers are an added bonus. While logos for things like the BBB and Hacker Safe were discussed earlier, don’t forget to include other logos such as Visa and MasterCard, Discover, and UPS or Fed Ex. These logos show you’re legitimate, instill confidence, and also look really nice on a website.
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102. Refer a friend programs are good promotional tools. While an affiliate program is a great way to get others to help sell your products, a refer a friend program is also great. This offers current customers an incentive to refer your website and products to fellow friends and family members. What you offer as incentive is up to you, but many retailers online usually offer a coupon code, free shipping, or a small gift with their next purchase.
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103. Have a good hosting company. Make sure you choose a steady, reliable web host for your site. Any down time is potential lost money, so it’s very important that your website stays up and running at all times. You never know when people are looking. In addition, if your site is down a lot, people will give up and even worse, spread the word to others that it often has problems staying up and running.
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104. Use newsletter opt-ins. If you have a weekly or monthly newsletter, be sure to include this opt-in feature on the website either on the home page, or at the checkout. This way, you can keep in touch and establish a customer base.
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105. Personalize. If you can, be sure to write the customer’s name in all email correspondence. This can be either their first name, last name (i.e. Dear Mr. Smith), or both. Doing this makes people feel comfortable, and that instills buyer confidence. There are programs that can integrate the information the customer enters when checking out into the emails you send. When they open their email and see their name, they feel as if the email was actually typed by hand by your business.
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106. Get to know your competitors. Find out what other websites are doing that make them successful. If you dare, feel free to contact the website hosts, programmer, or business owner of some other sites who compete with you and ask them what they are doing to get more sales. While you might not get an answer from everyone you contact, surely some fellow Internet businesses will be willing to share tips and tricks to help you out.
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107. Partner up. Come up with a partner program with some businesses that sell items different than yours, but relate in some way. By creating partnerships, you make visitors to your website feel good and understand that you are working with other companies. This also allows you to create new promotions that can be beneficial to both you and your new partner.
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108. Test outside of the box. Something called eye tracking is a new way to test what people not only click on, but what they look at on your site. There is a few companies who offer actual hardware for eye tracking, but you can also simply ask people you recruit to do your testing. Find out what parts of the website is catching their eye, and look at what people are seeing first.
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109. Large fonts for headlines are essential. Make your headline fonts the biggest of the entire website. While the headline’s text is very important, the font style, size, and color are also essential in grabbing the eye. Customize a font for an even more individual experience that makes your website and your company stand out above the fold. Don’t make the headline font so large it’s obnoxious, but definitely make it appear to be just that: the main headline for your site.
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110. Test and try, test and try, test and try. Using all of the tips here, utilize those analytical tools to your advantage. Then test out new things. Watch how you do, then test some more. You can never really test enough when it comes to getting a feel for your conversion rates. It is something that will be ever-evolving and constantly changing as your business grows and adapts.
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BONUS TIP! Host your website at EZ-Net Sytems and receive the tools to create, promote and develop you eCommerce business. Also includes tips, techniques, videos, even full courses of study. EZ-NetSystems makes eCommerce easy.
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If you even use just a few of the tips listed here, you’re well on your way to getting a higher conversion rate. No one can do every single thing on this list, and if they did, they would be the world’s most thorough Internet company. On the other hand, just a few changes can do wonders for the sales rate of your website. By trying new things, making needed changes, and testing your results, you will be on the fast track to getting sales you expect and deserve. Look at your data on a daily basis so you can get a feel for what customers are thinking. It also allows you understand the things that are working as well as the things that are not.
Never be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to having your own Internet business. New ideas are what make people successful, and what makes them stick out to customers. Know what you want, and have a goal in mind. By writing up a mission statement and creating a realistic goal, you will have a prize to keep your eyes on. This helps to encourage success, boost confidence, and help you to continue on. If you decide to hire people such as Live Chat operators or telephone customer service reps, be sure you’re using the best people possible. Using someone you know is a good idea if you’re small and starting out. If you’re a bit more established, use clients who have a good track record that hire representatives for you.
All of the elements shown here have an impact on how your conversion rate will do. By implementing a few changes, you will be amazed at how you can turn people who just click on the site for a quick look into people who actually buy the things you’re selling. A few small changes as well as constant and thorough testing should bring some awesome results, as well as the money you expect when you own your own business. Patience is the key, as well as creativity, and a great looking website.
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