No one is ever going to have a 100% website sales conversion rate. Even big name websites like Amazon and eBay have millions of people who come specifically to browse, not to buy, every day. However, that browsing could lead to eventual buying when something is needed and the consumer thinks ‘oh, I saw it on this site for a great deal’. Don’t discount your browsers. However, you should also do everything in your power to make every visitor a customer. You know it will never happen, and so do most other entrepreneurs out there. That doesn’t mean that you can’t take on the mentality to strive for the best in every single situation.

Set your goals high and you will see more success. If you focus on creating a website and marketing campaign directed towards generating 1,000 customers, you’ll likely have between 20 and 30 of them that actually convert on a good day. Thus, if you setup a strategy to target 5,000 customers, you’ll end up with closer to 100-150 successful website sales conversion customers. Figure out where your marketing can make the most impact and be the most successful, so that you can maximize your audience without maxing out your budget.

Success is defined by your own expectations. However, when you are looking for successful website sales conversion, you need to aim for the stars, and be thankful when you catch a cloud. You might think it’s insane to target 5,000 customers at once, but the more people you reach, the more traffic you’ll generate. The best part is that you don’t have to spend a lot to get people’s attention. Once you have turned your site into the perfect conversion machine, you can use article directories and other free marketing tools to get the word out to your entire customer base with no actual investment at all. Even a small investment can go a long way in generating traffic, which creates higher potential for website sales conversion.

Your goal should be to make every visitor a website sales conversion. That way, you can be the most successful that you can be. You certainly may never get 100% conversion, but you’ll definitely have higher numbers if you set higher goals. Focus on your own customer views, and imagine what would make you convert. Then offer exactly that to your visitors, and they’ll likely be much more interested than if you think like a salesperson.

With the Christmas season just around the corner, how can you as a consumer find what you need at the best possible price and where can the online retailer make the most of their online sales in this season?

One of the fastest growing and popular Internet trends for shopping online over the past couple of years has been in the shopping comparison sector. As the name implies, shopping comparison websites (a.k.a. price comparison engines) provide product listings from a wide range of online retailers, together with product prices, product descriptions, product features, consumer reviews all in one location. This allows the consumer to compare same or similar products from different retailers side by side and thus make the most informed purchasing decisions, thus saving time and get the best possible deal. The consumer would simply click on the product that represents the best possible deal, which would transfer the consumer to the online retailer’s website, where the purchase can be made. Below is a list of the most popular shopping comparison websites on the Internet, where shoppers can search for either a specific product or by category. They can also search by product name, manufacturer name, part number, ISDN, UPC #, and other product-related keywords. An increasing amount of consumers are using shopping comparison engines to find ball park figures from these sites to stay informed about their planned purchases but then go and purchase offline.

Popular Price Comparison Websites:

www.pricerunner.com
www.nextag.com
www.pricegrabber.com
www.froogle.com
www.shopzilla.com (used to be called Bizrate)
www.mysimon.com
www.dealtime.com
http://shopping.yahoo.com

The benefits to the online retailers are huge using comparison engines. Not only has there been a tremendous amount of growth and prevalent use among Internet shoppers using comparison shopping engines to buy products. The shoppers also use them with a specific purchase in mind, which usually means a higher conversion. In order for the online retailer to list the products, a file which contains a product title, description, and other necessary information (aka product data feed) has to be submitted to the comparison website. How well the online retailer optimizes the product data feed will determine the product rank positions (or it will be based on a cost per click fee). Since many online retailers usually don’t have the experience or knowledge how to gain better placements and manage the listings, an outside online marketing company usually optimizes their product feed for optimal placements
 

As the Internet is becoming increasingly popular, you simply cannot afford not to be a part of this goldmine. A recent study made by the National Association of Realtors indicate that 82% of first-time buyers and 78% of repeat buyers use the Internet to search for a home and ultimately choose their real estate professional. So what Is The Most Effective Way To Drive Buyers And Sellers If You Own A Real Estate Or Interior Design Company?

When a potential customer types your city and the term ‘real estate’ into their favorite search engine, it is imperative that your website comes up on the top. There are two ways to gain maximum exposure in the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The first strategy is called search engine optimization. The second strategy is pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, where you can get instant placements on the sponsored sections on Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

The first strategy is free, where your site needs to get optimized using the latest search engine algorithms for the best results. There are two basic elements that must be optimized on your website to gain top placements. The first one is the on-site optimization factors, where you have to implement your relevant keywords on strategic places on your website. The most important places are the title tag, header tag, and anchor text tags (the text that is displayed on a link) and the actual visible keywords on the body text. The second important element is the off-site optimization factors, which means how many quality websites link to your website. Google has implemented a Google page rank system, which displays the importance of a webpage, where 10 is the highest and zero is the lowest. Having websites with high Google page rank link to your website will definitely boost your search engine ranking. But the link strategy has to be implemented with care and not with linking farms or exchange programs, which will just hurt your listing in the long run.

The PPC marketing works like an auction where the top bidder gets the number one spot in the sponsored section and is charged for each click incurred. As you can see, this can get very pricy, but can be very effective for Real Estate Companies and Interior Design companies, where a sale from one client alone could generate some substantial amount of money. To increase the ROI, you have to implement a back end tracker so you can check which keywords are generating inquiries and simply remove the keywords that don’t generate any business.

Do you own or manage a website but it hardly generates any sales or sign ups? As you read on, I will show you how to maximize sales and return on investment (ROI) on your website.

There are many effective online marketing solutions to bring targeted traffic to your website, but in this article, I will cover how to significantly boost sales or sign ups once the visitor arrives at your website. Just as important as it is to generate traffic to your website, your website success is dependent on how well of a job your website sell your products and services to your prospects.

First, if you want to increase sales and cut cost you must know your website conversion ratio (a.k.a sell through ratio which is the ratio of visitors to buyers). For instance, let’s say you receive three orders or sign ups for every 100 visitors to your website, the conversion ratio (or sell-through) would be 100:3 or 3%.

Knowing this number is essential because you will be able to know how much you can spend in advertising and make a return on investment (ROI). Surprisingly, many website owners do not even know their conversion ratio and thus waste lots of online and offline advertising money. When the advertising campaign fail, they may draw the conclusion that advertising does not work, when in fact, it’s their own website that is not performing well (low conversion ratio). For instance, let’s say you sell a product on your website for $49 and advertise on xyz website for $100. The ad at xyz website generates 200 visitors and you generate only one sale/sign up (0.5% conversion rate). Based on this scenario, you just lost $51 ($100 advertising expense – $49 Sale ).

Now let’s say you implement various online marketing techniques (as I am about to show you below) and your website converts at 5% instead of 0.5%. All of a sudden your website generates $390 from this same advertisement (10 orders x $49 – advertising expense $100). As you can see, having your website performing well (high conversion ratio) will definitely generate more sales, save you money as well as time. So before you start spending money on advertising, make sure you have a website that converts well.

So How Do I Improve My Website Conversion

Ratio To Maximize Sales And Cut Expenses?

Once you know your “website math” (conversion ratio), it’s time to make an in depth analysis of your website and implement proven online marketing strategies to increase the conversion ratio.

Once the web visitor arrives to your website, you have around 3 seconds to grab his/her attention and interest. If you fail to create attention and interest immediately, the user will simply click away and most likely you will lose him/her forever.

The information above the fold (the space you see before scrolling down the page) is the prime selling space (real estate) of your website and what you put in it will make or break the success of your website. So to start off, you need to craft a riveting headline that pulls in the visitor to your website. According to David Ogilvy (the world famous advertising executive) says,”5 times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that, unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money”.

This means your headline has to be a killer headline (or else they the visitor will click away) and the main purpose of a headline is to get the reader sufficiently interested to read on to the web copy to the first paragraph. Your headline should convey strong benefits of interest to your audience and it must answer the reader’s unspoken question, “what’s in it for me”. Did you know that by just changing a single word in a headline alone can make a dramatic difference in reader response?

The first paragraph should maintain the momentum and the emotion that the headline created. It needs to follow through with the idea presented in the headline because that’s what compelled the reader to read in the first place. Therefore, the first paragraph must immediately start delivering on the promise made by the headline. The first paragraph is crucial because that’s where the readers are likely to stop if you don’t give them enough reason to read on to the next paragraph and so on. So as you can see, you want to lead the reader down the intended linear sales path with minimal distractions and minimal click able links that does not support the sales process until he/she signs up for your services.

Since you probably won’t know who is visiting your website, you also need to make it a dialogue and appeal to their needs. Too many websites make the mistake of creating a monologue and fail to communicate with the user. If you create a dialogue, the user will say to him/herself “hey, this guy really understands and listens to me” and the more you can appeal in this fashion the more you will sell. At the same time, you also need to inject emotion into the web copy, built upon proven emotional drivers and build in psychological devices that will motivate the prospects to buy.

Next, don’t make the mistake of introducing the price too early in the web copy. Let the visitor go through the linear sales path on your website and then make the decision. If you announce your price to early, the user may think you are too expensive without knowing what he/she is actually getting. Just think of your website like a sales person. A successful sales person does not present the price first and then present the product.

Make sure to use testimonials in strategically placed areas on your website to reinforce your selling arguments. They add credibility because they are actual words of real people and the user can identify with him or her.

Lastly, ask for the sale and make it easy to order. Many websites make the mistake of not asking for the sale. If you don’t give the user an easy way to respond or asking for it, you won’t get the sale. You should also inject urgency by giving the reader a reason to act now. For instance, receive a free bonus or a discount if you respond on or before a certain date. You can also notify that prices will go up after this date. The close should re emphasize what the reader gains by responding quickly, or loses by delaying his action on your offer.

Know The Difference Between Features And Benefits  

To boost sales on your website (as well as from your advertising materials) your wording on your website needs to be ‘benefit’ and not ‘feature’ driven because features describes something and benefits sell. You may be very excited about your new product/service and want to tell the whole world about it but if it’s only feature driven, you will not sell a lot. Features describe the product or service of what it can do, whereas benefits, on the other hand, solve your particular prospect’s problems. They tell your prospects what they will gain buying your product/service. Examples of benefits are: make more money, save more time, boost energy level, more fruitful and desirable relationships etc. Here is an example of a featured driven ad copy: The Philips Multiquick Hand Blender offers a 300-watt motor, stainless steel shaft, five-blade chopper attachment, and aerator head. Doesn’t sound too exciting do it? Compare this to the benefit driven web copy: The Philips Multiquick Hand Blender has a powerful motor enabling you to chop, whip, puree and blend with lightning speed. Its stainless steel shaft holds up to years of use without bending or breaking. You’ll create delicious meals with ease and be out of the kitchen in record time. Do you see the difference?

The first example describes the “what” of the product and it simply lists what the product can offer. The second example focuses on the “how” of the products, which are the benefits, which shows the prospect how his/her life will be easier.

Make them see a picture in their mind of how it will be once they have your product/service. It’s crucial to get into your prospects mind. No one cares how much research you put into your product, or how qualified you are to tell them about it (features). All they really want to know is how it’s going to benefit them (what is in it for them). Also give them a couple of testimonials to reinforce their dream, telling them how your product or service has solved your customer’s problems. Although, most business owners know their products and services well and may be very excited to tell their audience, I am still surprised to see how many websites sell their products and services based on features alone.

Get to Know Your Customers Better And Sell More

To sell more on your website, you have to know your audience mind inside and out. So how can you get to know your visitors on your website when you don’t even get to see them personally? One important strategy is to implement an exit survey on your website. Every time someone exits your website, he/she will be presented with an exit survey asking the question: “Please help us to improve on our products/services by telling us the single most important reason why you did not buy/sign up today”. Getting your prospects feedback is a great way to find out how you can improve on your products and services, which will lead to a higher website conversion ratio and sales. There are many online marketing strategies you can implement on your website (which I have not listed here) but by starting to implement the above techniques you are on your way to a higher website conversion and more sales.

In this article, I will cover how to boost the sales once the visitor arrives to your website. Just driving visitors to your website is just half the battle (or less). Your website success is dependent on how well of a job your website sell your products and services to your prospects.

First, if you ever want to increase sales and cut cost you must know website conversion ration (a.k.a sell through the ratio of visitors to buyers).

For instance, let’s say you receive one order for every 100 visitors to your website conversion ratio (or sell-through) is 100:1 or 1%.

Knowing this number is essential because you will able to know how much you can spend in advertising and make a return. Surprisingly, many website owners do not even know their conversion ratio and thus waste lot of advertising money. So to break it down even further, you also need to know your CPO.

CPO refers to cost per order. If a $100 ad sells 20 widgets, your CPO is 100 dividends by 20, or $5 per order. Take that CPO of $5 and factor in your cost of employee, say $2 per order. You’re calculated CPO is now $7. Once you know your CPO it’s easy to see if your selling prices make sense. Let’s take your $7 CPO and add $3 to cover the cost of making a widget. That brings you up to $10. Would it make sense to sell your widgets at $12? Most likely not. You should either re-evaluate your selling price, or find ways to lower your CPO. It is critical that you calculate your CPO in order to determine your pricing model and whether you can market to a particular target audience.

So once you know your “website math”, it’s time to make an in depth analysis of your website and implement the blow strategies to increase the conversion ratio. There are numerous ways to increase your website conversion ration but there is not enough space to list them all in this article. As you keep working on improving your website conversion ration, just remember there is no 100% perfect website out there, but it can always get better.

Once the web visitor arrives to your website, you have around 3 seconds to grab his/ her attention and interest. If you fail to create attention and interest immediately, the user will simply click away and you may lose him/her forever.

The information above the fold (the web page you see before scrolling down the page) is the prime selling space of your website and what you put in it will make or break the success of your website. So to start off, you need to craft a riveting headline that pulls in the visitor to your website. According to David Ogilvy (the world famous advertising executive) says, “5 times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that, unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money”.

This means your headline has to be a killer headline (or else they the visitor will click away) and the main purpose of a headline is to get the reader sufficiently interested to read on to the web copy to the first paragraph. Your headline should convey strong benefits of interest to your audience and it must answer the reader’s unspoken question, “what in it for me”. Did you know that just changing a single world in a headline alone can make a dramatic difference in reader response.

The first paragraph should maintain the momentum and the emotion that the headline created. It needs to follow through with the idea presented in the headline because that’s what compelled the reader to read in the first place. Therefore, the first paragraph must immediately start delivering on the promise made by the headline. The first paragraph is crucial because that’s where the reader are likely to stop if you don’t give them enough reason to read on to the next paragraph and so on. So as you can see, you want to lead the reader down the intended linear sales path with minimal distractions and minimal click able links that does not support the sales process until he/she signs up for your services.

Since you probably won’t know who is visiting your website, you also need to make it a dialogue and appeal to their needs. Too many websites makes the mistake of creating a monologue and fail to communicate with the user. If you create a dialogue, the user will say to him/herself “hey, this guy really understands and listens to me” and the more you can appeal in this fashion the more you will sell. At the same time, you also need to inject emotion into the web copy, built in psychological devices that will motivate the prospects to buy.

Next, don’t make the mistake of introducing the price to early in the web copy. Let the visitor go through the linear sales path on your website and then make the decision. If you announce your price to early, the user may think you are too expensive without knowing what he/she I actually getting. Just think of your website like a sales person. A successful sales person does not present the price first and ten present the product.

Make sure to use testimonials in strategically placed areas on your website to reinforce your selling arguments. They add credibility because they are actual words of real person and the user can identify with him or her.

Lastly, ask for the sale and make it easy to order. Many websites make the mistake of not asking for the sale. If you don’t give the user an easy way to respond or asking for it, you won’t get the sale. You should also inject urgency by giving the reader a reason to act now. For instance, receive a free bonus or a discount if you respond on or before a certain date. You can also notify that prices will go up after this date. The close should re emphasize what the reader gains by responding quickly, or loses by delaying his action on your offer.