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Most of us wish life were simple (or at least simpler). Anyone who’s grappled with their tax return or a Gantt chart will understand where we're coming from. And websites and digital marketing can be just as complex.
So, I thought I'd give you a simple list of things you can do to improve your website. (Doesn’t everyone need more things to do?)
eCommerce Websites
Make sure your product is no more than between 3 and 4 clicks from the Home Page
Create a specific Sale category for all the products you want on Sale
Put a “Sale” ‘banner’ on items which are in a Sale even if they are not listed in the Sale category
Offer different ways to sort your products; price, colour, size, most recently viewed, etc.
Offer a “View all” facility for the visitor who doesn’t want to wade through pages of products
Use offers (3 for 2, Buy One Get One Free, Cheapest of 3 Free, etc.)
Make sure you have related products listed against every product on your site
Test video demonstrations of your products
Run split-tested pages which sell your products at different prices (You can test: a reduced price, your normal price and an increased price.)
If you’re selling below RRP show the saving in pounds and as a percentage
Ask for your customer’s email address at the beginning of the checkout process
Send an email to anyone who dropped out of the basket asking them to;
Try again
Consider an alternative product
Once you’ve got yourself a customer make sure you keep emailing them!
Use any appropriate logos to show that your website offers a safe shopping experience
Offer upsells at the basket (e.g. batteries for toys or dishwasher powder for dishwashers, etc.)
Use vouchers (10%, £5.00 off, Free Delivery, etc.)
Offer multiple payment methods (VISA, MasterCard, PayPal, Amazon, etc.)
Don't force customers to "Register" during the checkout process, offer a Guest facility.
Use Google Shopping to show a picture of your products on Google's search results.
Lead Generation Websites
Offer a free report in exchange for your visitor’s email address
Test other giveaways like white papers, videos, consultancy time, eBooks, etc.
Follow up your emails with more emails!
Ask for additional contact information in your enquiry forms like; telephone number, and postal address and contact your prospect using these approaches
Use a telephone number that is unique to your website so you can track how many calls the website generates
Consider using the above eCommerce techniques for your services (e.g. related services or offering upsells)
Use Live Chat or Video Ask to help create a relationship with the visitor.
Improve Your Copy
Test different opening titles/headlines
Test different font colours
Emphasise certain words with bold or italics (but never an underline as your visitor could confuse it with a hyperlink!)
Break up your web pages with headings
Use bullets and numbers
Shorten your paragraphs and sentences
Make sure your copy is easy to read by running it through this Readability Index Calculator. You’re looking for a Flesch-Kincaid Grade level of about 7 and a Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score of anything over 60