20 Proven Ways to Increase Your Website Conversion Rate

Increasing website conversion rate is one of the most important goals for any business with an online presence. Conversion essentially refers to any desired action users take on your website, such as filling out a contact form, signing up for a free trial, making a purchase, etc. The conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete these desired actions. A higher conversion rate means more leads and sales for your business. Even a small improvement in conversion rate can translate into significant revenue growth. According to research, businesses that optimize conversion rate increase their revenue by up to 40%. This comprehensive guide will walk you through proven strategies and best practices you can implement right away to boost conversions on your website. Let’s get started!

What is Website Conversion?

Website conversion refers to the process of turning website visitors into customers. It involves convincing prospective customers to take a specific desired action on your website. Common website conversion goals include:

• Getting visitors to fill out a contact form
• Getting visitors to sign up for a newsletter or email list
• Getting visitors to start a free trial of your product/service
• Getting visitors to make a purchase on your online store
• Getting visitors to subscribe to your software platform

Essentially, any visitor action that moves them further down the sales funnel can be defined as a conversion. The end goal is to convert visitors into paying customers.

What is Website Conversion Rate?

Website conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action or conversion goal. It is calculated as: Conversion rate = (Total number of conversions / Total number of website visitors) x 100 For example, if you get 100 visitors to your website in a day and 10 visitors fill out a contact form, your conversion rate is 10%. (10 conversions / 100 visitors) x 100 = 10% conversion rate Understanding your website’s conversion rates allows you to measure the effectiveness of your pages and campaigns. It shows you how many visitors you need to generate a conversion. The higher the conversion rate, the better it is for your business. An increase in conversion rate directly translates into higher revenues.

Average Website Conversion Rate by Industry

Conversion rates vary widely based on industry, niche, type of website, target audience and other factors. Here are some average conversion rates to give you an idea:

As a general benchmark, a good website conversion rate is considered to be around 2-3%. Top performing websites in competitive spaces often have conversion rates exceeding 5%. However, you should always compare your conversion rate to competitors in your own industry. Focus on continuously improving your own conversion rate rather than chasing arbitrary numbers.

Here are some additional statistics and facts related to conversion rate optimization:

How to Increase Website Conversion Rate?

Now let’s get into the meat of this guide – actionable strategies you can use to boost your website’s conversion rate. Apply these proven best practices to your website and marketing campaigns to turn more visitors into customers.

1. Support your website visitors through live chat

Live chat allows you to directly communicate with and assist website visitors in real-time. When potential customers have questions or issues, live chat gives you the ability to immediately answer their concerns. According to studies, websites with live chat can increase conversion rates by 15-300%. Live chat also reduces bounce rates and results in higher order values. Site visitors are more likely to convert when they can get their questions answered instantly. Popular live chat tools like Drift, Intercom, LiveChat, Tidio, and Zendesk Chat make it easy to add live chat to your website.

2. Deliver the Right Value Proposition

Your website’s headline and value proposition play a crucial role in convincing visitors to convert. You have just a few seconds to grab the visitor’s attention and communicate why they should care about your product or service. Research shows inclusion of a unique value proposition can lift conversion rates by up to 144%. Ensure your headline and supporting copy clearlystate the core value you provide. Communicate how you solve your customer’s problem or make their life easier. Refine your value proposition through conversion rate optimization tests and customer feedback surveys.

3. Create Compelling Headlines

Headlines are one of the first things visitors notice on your site. Compelling, benefit-driven headlines can immediately grab attention and draw readers in. For example, “Get Healthy Meal Plans Delivered to Your Door” is a more compelling headline than simply “Meal Delivery Service”. According to conversion optimization experts, optimizing headlines alone can increase conversion rates by over 60%. Use tools like CoSchedule Headline Analyzer and HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator to create catchy, high-converting headlines. Always A/B test different headline variants to determine which resonate most with your audience.

4. Strengthen your Call-To-Action (CTA)

Call-to-actions (CTAs) prompt visitors to take your desired conversion action. CTAs can be used on buttons, banner ads, landing pages, pop-ups and more. But not all CTAs are created equal. CTAs should clearly state the desired action for the user. For example, “Start Your Free Trial” is more effective than a generic “Submit” button. The color, size, and placement of your CTA also impact conversion rates. According to Unbounce, CTAs using high contrast colors convert 42% more than those using low contrast. Optimizing your CTA with compelling copy, colors, and placement can lift conversions by up to 200%. Run A/B and multivariate tests to determine the optimal CTA for your audience.

5. Make Navigation Easy to Use

If visitors struggle to navigate your site, they will simply leave rather than converting. Ensure your website navigation allows users to seamlessly find what they need. Some best practices for navigation include:

• Logical, simple menu structure
• Easy access to popular pages
• Clear category names
• Consistent placement across pages
• Responsive mobile menu
• Breadcrumbs
• Working site search

Complex navigation correlated with a 400% decrease in conversion rates, according to one HubSpot study. Simplify your navigation to remove obstacles in the conversion process.

6. Make your Website Visually Appealing

First impressions matter – visitors will form an opinion about your brand in just 0.05 seconds according to studies. Making your website visually polished and professional looking boosts credibility and trust with visitors. Enhance design elements like:

• Images – High-quality, relevant images
• Layout – Ample white space, clear hierarchy
• Typography – Easy to read fonts and sizes
• Color scheme – Use psychology of color to influence users

Poor web design negatively impacts usability and conversion rates. According to research, good web design can increase conversion rates by up to 88%.

7. Improve Conversion Rate Using Chatbots

Chatbots are AI-powered tools that have conversations with website visitors. Chatbots can provide personalized recommendations, answer common questions, and guide users to convert. According to SuperOffice, over 50% of online shoppers say chatbots make their purchasing experience better. Using chatbots has been found to increase conversion rates by 15-30%. Popular chatbot platforms like Drift, ManyChat, and Chatfuel make it easy to add conversational chatbots to your website. You can use them on your homepage, product pages, and high traffic landing pages to engage visitors.

8. Add Social Proof

Social proof describes using customer testimonials, reviews, case studies, and other user-generated content to build trust. Displaying social proof elements like customer stories, star ratings, and logos of brands you’ve worked with demonstrates your credibility and authority to new visitors. According to research by Nielsen Norman Group, including social proof can increase conversion rates by up to 34%. Add testimonials, customer videos, five-star reviews, and case studies across your site. User-generated content is more convincing than claims you make about your own product.

9. Show your Brand Credibility

In addition to social proof, also ensure your website effectively conveys credibility cues about your brand. Displaying recognizable customers, media mentions, awards, certifications (BBB, Trustpilot etc), and thought leadership establishes authority and trust. First-time visitors are more likely to convert when they perceive your brand as reputable and established. Highlight logos of prominent companies you’ve worked with. Feature press mentions and customer testimonials prominently. Demonstrating you are an authority in your space can result in over 25% higher conversion rates.

10. Perform A/B Testing

A/B testing (also known as split testing) allows you to test different versions of website elements against each other to determine which option performs better. For example, you can test:

• Headline A vs Headline B
• CTA button color red vs green
• Long form sales page vs short form
• 10% off coupon vs free shipping coupon

Essentially any change that may impact conversion rate can be A/B tested. The winning variation that converts at a higher rate should then be implemented on your live site. According to HubSpot, companies who use A/B testing average conversion rate increases between 10-40%. Tools like Google Optimize, Optimizely, and VWO make it easy to run A/B tests without coding knowledge.

11. Reduce Friction to Improve Website CRO

Friction refers to any elements on your site that make it difficult for visitors to easily convert. Things like too many form fields, confusing navigation, lack of trust, slow page speeds, and unclear value proposition all add friction. Streamline your website to remove friction points in the customer journey. For example:

• Simplify registration forms – remove unnecessary fields
• Improve page load speeds – under 3 seconds
• Offer guest checkout
• Include product filters on category pages
• Allow users to save their cart for later

Reducing friction typically results in 20-60% higher conversion rates, according to Convertize. Look at your analytics data and test different options to identify and eliminate friction points.

12. Add Incentives to Take Action Right Away

Providing incentives and discounts encourages visitors to convert sooner rather than later. Offering things like limited-time sales, free gifts with purchase, free shipping, buy-one-get-one (BOGO) deals, and first-time subscriber discounts can effectively boost conversion rates. Time limits and scarcity especially help create a sense of urgency. According to marketing experiments by Cialdini, including words like “limited supply” increased conversion rates by 74%.

13. Add Pop-Ups to Increase Website Conversion Rate

Exit-intent pop-ups activate when a visitor is about to leave your site. They allow you to offer promotions, lead magnets, or surveys to capture leads and prevent bounce. According to Mailchimp, exit-intent pop-ups have an impressive conversion rate of 30%. They help capture visitors who may not have converted initially. Other types of pop-ups can also improve conversion:

• Scroll-triggered pop-ups after scrolling past a certain point
• Time-delayed pop-ups after they’ve been on page for x seconds
• On-click pop-ups when they click a CTA button

Just be careful not to overuse pop-ups or make them too annoying. Monitor pop-up performance closely to ensure they are contributing positively to conversion rate.

14. Optimize your Website Loading Time

Page load speed significantly impacts conversion rates. Faster loading websites lead to better user experience and higher conversions. Stats show:

• 47% expect pages to load in 2 seconds or less
• 40% will abandon a page that takes over 3 secs to load
• A 1-second delay equals 7% lower conversions

There are many technical methods to optimize page speed like minimizing HTTP requests, enabling compression, using a CDN, lazy loading images, and reducing server response time. Image optimization and minimizing third-party scripts also help improve website load times.

15. Conversion Rate Optimization Solutions for Revenue Growth

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) refers to the systematic process of increasing conversions on your website. It involves using data, testing, and analysis to optimize every step of the user journey. Here is an overview of key CRO solutions to boost your website revenue:

• Identify underperforming pages – Use Google Analytics to determine website pages with below average conversion rates. Focus optimization efforts here first.
• Improve landing and product pages – These pages have the most impact on conversion rate. Ensure strong value proposition, benefit-driven copy, relevant images, and clear CTAs.
• Remove friction points – Look for pain points in navigation, forms, page speeds, etc. Streamline and simplify conversion workflows.
• Establish clear conversion goals – Track micro and macro conversions in Analytics. Focus on improving most valuable actions first.
• Continuously test – Run A/B and multivariate tests weekly. Double down on what works and cut what doesn’t.
• Watch for trends – Analyze cycles, seasonality, and segment data to uncover optimization opportunities.
• Enhance mobile experience – Majority of traffic is mobile. Improve responsiveness and mobile page speeds.

With a proven CRO process, it’s possible to increase conversion rates by hundreds of percentage points over time.

16. Optimize layouts of your critical pages

The layout and positioning of elements on key pages like your homepage, category pages, and product pages significantly affects conversion rate. Conduct user testing and heatmap analysis to see how visitors interact with these pages. This shows you where people are clicking and scrolling. Arrange page elements based on these usage patterns. Follow principles like:

• Clear visual hierarchy – Important elements above the fold
• Follow F pattern – People scan web pages in an F shape
• Chunk text – Break up long blocks of text
• Whitespace – Don’t clutter the page
• Strong calls to action – At natural next step points

Minor layout changes tailored to user behavior can lift conversion rates by 20% or more.

17. Add a countdown timer

Adding a sense of urgency and scarcity helps motivate users to take action. Countdown timers showing time left for a promotion increase conversion rates by creating a fear of missing out. For example, you can display a countdown timer showing when a limited-time sale ends or when the price will go up. According to VWO research, adding time-scarce elements like countdown timers lifts conversion rates by over 70% typically. Use them selectively on key landing pages and pop-ups to encourage visitors to convert sooner.

18. Remove unnecessary form fields

Long, complex web forms increase friction and abandonment rate. Streamline forms by removing unnecessary fields. Stick to only essential info needed from the user like:

• Name
• Email address
• Password
• Optional phone number

According to a Site Tuners experiment, just adding two extra fields to a form decreased conversions by -26%. The shorter your forms, the higher the conversion rate. Remove optional fields and only ask for critical info first. You can collect non-essential details later on in the conversion funnel.

19. Add testimonials, reviews and social proof

Displaying social proof like testimonials, reviews, case studies, and customer videos helps establish credibility. They show new visitors that others trust you. For example, on your homepage you can include a few short testimonials: “ABC Co increased leads by 300% in just 2 months!” – John S, Digital Marketing Agency On your pricing page, you can list out customer logos and testimonials about value. Reviews, ratings, and awards can be placed on multiple pages to build authority. According to research, testimonials alone can increase conversion rates by over 34%. Social proof is highly effective at influencing new site visitors.

20. Make your Website Mobile Responsive

With over 60% of traffic coming from mobile, having a slow or non-responsive mobile site severely hurts conversion rates. Ensure your website is optimized for all devices. Use a mobile-first responsive website design for seamless user experience on smartphones and tablets. Best practices include:

• Fast mobile load speeds
• Legible typography
• Clickable elements like buttons
• Clear navigation menu
• Minimal scrolling
• Mobile-friendly forms
• Device-specific CTA placement

According to Google, companies that adopted mobile-friendly sites saw conversion rates increase by up to 80%. Mobile optimization is no longer optional.

Tools for Website Conversion Rate Optimization

Here are some of the top tools used by CRO professionals and growth marketers to optimize conversion rates:

• Google Analytics – Track website conversion metrics and identify optimization opportunities.
• Google Optimize – A/B test changes to page elements like headlines, CTAs, layouts, etc.
• Hotjar – Record visitor on-page behavior and create heatmaps showing click patterns.
• Optimizely – A powerful A/B and multivariate testing platform for large-scale experiments.
• Crazy Egg – Heatmap tool to visualize on-page engagement and scrolling patterns.
• VWO – Feature-rich CRO tool with A/B testing, surveys, and experiment management.
• Unbounce – Create high-converting landing pages and pop-ups to capture more leads.
• Picreel – Build product pages using best practices personalized for each visitor.
• UserTesting – Get user feedback through video recordings and ratings on your site.
• Heap – Automatically capture every user interaction on your site to pinpoint UX issues.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a good website conversion rate?

A good website conversion rate varies based on your industry, business model, traffic sources etc. However, 2-3% is considered above average across most websites. Anything above 5% is excellent.

How can I calculate my website’s conversion rate?

Conversion rate is calculated as (Total conversions / Total website visitors) x 100. Use Google Analytics to see your website traffic and goal completions data to determine your conversion rate.

What are some quick wins to boost conversion rate?

Some quick wins include optimizing page titles and meta descriptions, simplifying forms, adding trust badges, improving page speed, displaying social proof like reviews, and making the website mobile-friendly.

How much can conversion rate optimization increase sales?

Proper conversion rate optimization implementation can increase sales by 25-100% typically. For some companies revenue increases from CRO have exceeded 500%. The lift depends on your starting point and how well you optimize the entire funnel.

Should I focus on conversion rate or traffic volume?

Ideally focus on improving both in tandem. More traffic alone is meaningless without converting those visitors. And higher converting traffic ensures every visitor counts. Find the right balance based on your business goals.

How long does it take to see results from CRO?

You can see initial gains in conversion rate from quick wins within 1-2 weeks. However, conversion rate optimization is an ongoing process. Continuously testing and optimizing different elements of the user journey allows you to experience incremental lifts over several months.

What tools do I need for conversion rate optimization?

At minimum, you need Google Analytics to track conversions and web traffic data. Other essential tools include A/B testing software like Optimizely or VWO, heatmaps like Hotjar or Crazy Egg, and tools to identify friction points like Session Replay.

What strategy can increase conversion rate quickly?

Some strategies that can quickly increase conversion rate include:

• Offering free shipping or a discount code – this incentivizes customers to complete their purchase.
• Having a strong call-to-action – make it clear what you want visitors to do, like adding items to their cart or signing up for a newsletter.
• Simplifying checkout process – reduce steps and friction in checkout to make it easy to complete purchases.
• Retargeting visitors – remind visitors of items they left in their cart or viewed on your site.
• Popups and exit intent offers – offer a discount or free item when someone is about to leave your site.
• Review your on-site search – make sure people can easily find products on your site.
• Social proof elements like reviews and trust badges – build trust to nudge visitors to convert.

What is a good conversion rate for a website?

A good website conversion rate varies by industry but a 2-3% conversion rate is generally average. For ecommerce sites, a 2-4% conversion rate is good while SaaS and online services aim for 4-5%.anything above 5-7% is excellent. The higher the average order value, the lower conversion rates tend to be.

Why is my website conversion rate so low?

There are a few common reasons for a low website conversion rate:

• High bounce rate – people leave quickly without engaging
• Poor page speed/web performance
• Confusing website navigation or poor search
• Weak value proposition or low-quality content
• Lack of trust and social proof
• Complicated checkout process with too many steps
• Poor mobile optimization
• No clear calls-to-action to guide visitors

Analyzing your data and running tests can help uncover the biggest issues hurting your conversions.

How could you increase your conversion rate?

Some ways to increase conversion rate include:

• Offering free shipping, discounts or coupons
• Simplifying your checkout process
• Making the website faster and more user-friendly
• Building email lists and retargeting visitors
• Using exit intent popup offers
• Adding social proof like reviews and trust badges
• Testing different headlines, images, pricing, etc.
• Improving page copy to better explain the value proposition
• Understanding your target audience and optimizing for them

What is a good conversion rate and how do you improve it?

A good conversion rate varies by industry, but generally 2-3% is average. For ecommerce it’s 2-4% and for SaaS or services it’s 4-5%. Anything above 5-7% is excellent. To improve conversion rate:

• • Speed up your website and improve navigation
  • Offer free shipping or discounts to incentivize purchases
  • Make your value proposition clear with compelling copy
  • Reduce steps in the checkout process

• Add social proof like reviews and testimonials
• Retarget visitors with ads and offers
• Test different headlines, images, pricing, etc.
• Analyze data to understand your audience and their behavior

Why improve conversion rate?

Improving conversion rate is important because it directly impacts revenue and the success of your business. A few reasons why:

• More conversions mean more customers and higher revenue.
• It indicates your website is optimized to turn visitors into paying customers.
• Higher conversion rate means lower cost per acquisition.
• It shows your product/service is appealing to customers.
• More conversions improve other metrics like ROI and lifetime value.
• Converts more of your traffic into sales rather than wasted visitors.

Even small improvements in conversion rate can significantly increase revenue. The higher the conversion rate, the better optimized the website is to generate sales.

What factors can increase your conversion rate?

Some key factors that influence conversion rate include:

• Page load speed – faster pages encourage visitors to stay.
• Easy navigation – clear menus and site search help visitors find products.
• Compelling copy – explain your value proposition and how you solve problems.
• Social proof – reviews, testimonials and case studies build trust.
• Minimal checkout steps – fewer forms and clicks to complete purchase.
• Mobile optimization – designing for mobile improves conversions.
• Call-to-action – clear CTAs tell visitors what action to take.
• Exit intent offers – offer promo when someone is leaving site.
• Retargeting – remind visitors of abandoned carts after they leave.

Testing and optimizing based on these factors can help improve conversion rates over time. Understanding your audience is key.

Conclusion

Optimizing conversion rate is crucial for growing revenues online. Even marginal improvements add up to huge gains. Follow the 20 proven strategies outlined in this guide to increase conversions on your website. Focus on continuously testing and improving each step of the customer journey – from first impression to checkout and beyond. Set up proper analytics tracking to measure the impact of changes. Double down on what works and eliminate what doesn’t. With a data-driven conversion rate optimization process, you will be able to consistently bump up your website’s conversion rates month after month. What tips have you found most effective for increasing website conversion rates? Let me know in the comments!