Exit Rate measures how many people left your website from a certain page. It would seem like it would show you where people are exiting from your site so you can fix problems with specific pages. The problem is that everyone who comes to your website has to leave at some point. What if they came, bought something and then left? That’s what you want them to do. Or what if you blog daily and people come to read your latest post and then leave. While you may prefer they spend time on other pages, if they’re loyal readers, they’ve been keeping up with your posts. So is Exit Rate useful? Yes and no. Let’s look at it in more detail…
[Read more…] about Is Exit Rate a Useful Metric?
conversions
Defining Conversions
Just like Metrics and KPIs, Conversion is another measurement term which is often mis-used (thanks to Jim Suchara for the suggestion). A conversion happens when someone completes an action you want them to take — purchases from you, signs up for a newsletter, registers for a webinar, etc. So, just like KPIs (key performance indicators) measuring conversions requires first understanding exactly what it is you want people to do — what are your business goals and objectives?
[Read more…] about Defining Conversions
30 Ways to Increase Sales on Your Business Website
As we discussed in our previous post on traffic, there are three ways to increase sales on a website: 1) increase qualified traffic (number of potential customers), 2) increase the number of conversions (sales) or 3) both 1 and 2. This list focuses on ways you can increase traffic or conversions. A good strategy would be to pick a mixture you’re comfortable with and continue to add to it as you see success.
- Increase your advertising budget
- Expand the keywords you target with Search Marketing
- Use/Expand Affiliate Marketing
- Purchase ads on niche websites
- Write articles with valuable information for your potential customers
- Start a blog
- Join social networks and start conversations in your areas of expertise
- Advertise on social networks
- Allow customers to rate and comment on your products & services
- Create a FAQ section on your website
- Add a discussion board to your website
- Start a podcast
- Target your marketing message to your audience
- Change to a customer-centric design
- Add support information about all your products and services
- Make it easy for customers to contact you with questions or concerns
- Create an ongoing newsletter
- Offer a free product or service in exchange for contact information
- Update your website design to a professional, modern look
- Add a sitemap to make it easy for customers to find information
- Include a search function
- Use structured menus instead of drop-downs
- Organize your website information intuitively
- Add contact information throughout the site
- Use a creative, but professional color scheme
- Incorporate all the information needed to make a purchase decision on product and service pages
- Solicit customer purchases from every product and service page
- Tout company accomplishments on homepage
- Announce company news through press releases
- Optimize your website copy for search engines
Do you have more ways to increase sales on your business website? We’d love to hear them in the comments below.
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(photo by timparkinson @ Flickr CC)
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