9 Things To Add To Your Website To Get More Conversions

We all want to get more conversions. Whether it’s sales, subscribers to your email list, consultation requests or a little bit of all three that you’re looking for, your website is the main portal to get them. Are you making the most of it?

For every visitor that arrives on your site, you want to maximize their opportunity to enter your sales funnel. Here are nine things to add to your website to make it as easy as possible for that to happen.

1. Sidebar CTAs

You probably know that you need CTAs, or calls to action, to tell visitors what step you want them to take on your site (Buy Now! Sign Up To My Newsletter! And so on).

Your site’s sidebar is one of the most overlooked pieces of real estate to put these valuable CTAs.

An example from Kissmetrics, who has two CTAs in its sidebar

Position the CTA toward the top of the sidebar so it appears above the fold on all pages of your site that use a sidebar. The best part is it’s easy to change up the CTA for whatever offer you’re currently promoting.

2. Schedule A Call Link

When a potential customer arrives on your website, how big of a window do you think you have to close the deal? A week? A couple days?

It turns out in most cases, the magic number is one hour. When a prospect is in the buying mindset, they want to take the next step now.

In one study, salespeople who were able to talk with a lead within the first hour were seven times more likely to have a meaningful sales conversation than those who waited more than an hour—and 60 times more likely than those who waited a day or more.

Rather than a generic contact form, add a link that allows visitors to book time on your calendar directly using a service like YouCanBook.Me. The faster you allow them to have that conversation, the more likely your chances of making the sale.

3. Testimonials

Reviews from real customers are one of the most powerful sales tools you have. A whopping 84% of shoppers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from their real-life friends.

That’s why it’s a must to have testimonials on your site. When I work with a client on website optimization, it’s one of the first things I check for.

Growbots.com showcases testimonials in a slider on its homepage

If possible, make a section of your homepage for showcasing powerful testimonials. A rotating slider is a great way to display them. Whenever possible, also include a photo of the person leaving a review, as it helps to make the review feel all the more trustworthy.

4. Case Studies

Customers don’t want to be told how great your product is, they want to see it in action. Especially for B2B businesses where there’s a longer sales cycle or multiple decision makers involved, case studies are crucial to making the case for a sale.

A good case study doesn’t have to be complicated; in fact, you can even take a really great customer review and turn it into a case study.

Your case study should demonstrate four things: who the client is, what problem they had, how you solved that problem for them, and the positive outcome for their life or business. Create three or four of these and showcase them on a dedicated page of your site.

5. Proposal Request Button

People are busy. Sometimes they don’t want to call you or even email you—they just want to click a button and get what they’re looking for.

If you’re in a business that requires the use of proposals, make it as easy as possible for a prospect to request one by adding a Request Proposal button to your navigation menu. This button might take the visitor to a page with a form to fill out with the necessary information you need to make a basic proposal.

A great example from KuhnConstruction.com

Think of it like a foot in the door rather than your best and final proposal for the job—it’s a way to help them take the next step toward working with you. Once they have a ballpark of your services and pricing, it’ll be much easier to set up a follow-up call to discuss the specifics of the job and fine-tune the proposal further.

6. Video Content

Marketers have been saying it for years, but some still aren’t heeding the advice: customers want to see videos!

Here’s a challenge for you: create one video today welcoming visitors to your website and explaining your value proposition. It can dramatically increase the amount of time a visitor spends on your site and encourage them to view additional pages, which lowers your bounce rate.

Here are 6 tips for shooting killer videos using your smartphone.

7. FAQs

Another sure thing about shoppers is they have questions—lots of them. Make it easy for them to say yes to the sale by answering those questions proactively with a Frequently Asked Questions page.

Even better—make some videos that address your most common questions and include them on your site.

8. Real Images

Stock photos are better than no photos, but customers crave authenticity. They want to see the real thing, not some airbrushed-looking image from Shutterstock.

Pepper your site with real photos of your product, your service in action, your office and your team members. Whatever you can do to make that authentic connection will help drive the sale forward.

9. Product Comparisons

If you’re honest with yourself, you know your prospective customers are shopping around and comparing you to your competition to make a purchasing decision. Why not nip it in the bud by doing the comparison for them?

Add a comparison chart to your website to show (favorably) how you stack up. This is your opportunity to present your strengths and show why you’re the best decision over alternative options.