6 Proven Ways To Get More Website Conversions

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Generating leads and clients from a business website boils down to just two things:

Traffic and conversion.

Much of the digital marketing training you see online is geared heavily toward the traffic part of the equation because it's sexy and glamorous and cool.

But the conversion part of the equation is just as important. Even just a small improvement in your website, conversion rate can really move the needle and dramatically improve your bottom line.

Here are 6 proven ways to increase conversions on your website:

1. Use shorter forms.

The first way to increase website conversions is to use shorter forms.

If you're a service professional like a doctor or an accountant, one of the primary ways a prospective client will reach out to you is via a contact form on your website.

When using a contact form, the secret is using seven fields or less because the longer the form, the less likely they'll complete it.

Way back in 1956, a cognitive psychologist named George Miller actually researched this topic and he found that the short-term memory of most people can only hold up to seven items, plus or minus two.

In certain situations, your online form or application might legitimately need more than seven fields because you just need more information. If that's the case, than what you want to do is create a multi-step form.

For example, if you need 20 fields on your form, you put 5 questions on the first page, then they click a next button, then 5 questions on the second page and so forth.

Breaking up a longer form into bite-sized chunks makes it much more likely that they'll actually complete the form.

2. Use testimonials and reviews.

The second way to increase your website conversion rate is using testimonials and reviews because nothing builds trust like social proof.

Think about it. When you go to Amazon, how likely is it you're going to buy something that has mostly 1-star reviews? 

Not very likely. We want to see mostly 4 and 5-tar reviews before we click the add-to-cart button.

Testimonials and reviews absolutely affect our buying decisions.

If you can get video testimonials from your clients, great. If not, no big deal. Manually written testimonials or Google reviews work just fine.

So, where do you put testimonials on your website?

EVERYWHERE! But especially on pages like a shopping cart or a landing page where you're asking someone to make a decision about engaging with you further. 

One very important thing about testimonials >> Most people are not going to voluntarily give you a testimonial. You need to be proactive and ask.

If you're interested, I have a free guide that walks you step-by-step through the process of how to ask for a testimonial.

3. Make your call to action obvious and direct.

The next way to boost your website conversion rate is make your call to action obvious and direct.

Ideally, you want one primary call to action throughout your site. And that one primary call to action should be whatever your most important next step is because you don't want to be confusing prospective clients with multiple different calls to action and pulling them in a bunch of different directions.

On your call to action button, use a high contrast color so it stands out and subconsciously communicates to your reader, "This is important."

Also, you want to say exactly what you want that person to do instead of labeling your call to action button something vague and generic like "Contact us". Be precise and direct.

For example, say "Make an appointment" or "Request a consultation" or "Download your free report now."

4. Use popups.

The fourth way to get more website conversions is to use popups.

Yes, I know popups can be annoying, but they work.

When using a popup, do not have it show up the very moment a person lands on a page because that is annoying and it'll do more harm than good.

Instead, use a delay — either a time delay where the pop-up doesn't display for like 10 seconds or a percentage scroll where the pop-up doesn't display until a person has scrolled say 50% down the page. 

Or you can use what's called an "exit pop" that doesn't display until someone's mouse movement indicates they're about to leave the page.

Examples of what you could do with a pop-up include:

The main goal of a pop-up is just to nudge your prospect and have them take a small next step because taking a small next step keeps the conversation going and increases the likelihood they'll eventually become a client.

5. Use FOMO.

The fifth way to increase website conversions is to use FOMO — Fear Of Missing Out. It's one of the strongest psychological triggers to motivate people to take action.

You can use scarcity, countdown timers, limited time offers, or even a waiting list.

I did a whole other post on this topic that goes into greater detail on the fear of missing out, if you're interested. 

6. Design for mobile.

The sixth way to increase your website conversion rate is design for mobile. You need to make sure you have a mobile-friendly site.

According to Statista, nearly 60% of all internet traffic is now mobile. If you do any type of advertising on Facebook or Google, don't be surprised if that percentage is more like 70, 80 or 90%. So you need to do a really good job of providing a good user experience on the mobile version of your website. 

Even though most websites these days use responsive design, that does not automatically guarantee your site is going to be mobile-friendly. You need to manually and deliberately design it to be mobile friendly. 

That means it's got to be fast, well organized, easy to read, and easy to use.

Conversion rates by the numbers