7 Strange Factors That Influence Online Conversions | Social Media Virtual Assistant - Be Social Worldwide

7 Strange Factors That Influence Online Conversions

Filed Under Social Marketing

The online customer is a strange creature. They are swayed by factors on your website or in your articles that shouldn’t make a difference when they shop online. Some of these factors make a lot of sense, but others are just downright…strange.

These customers will often start their relationship with your brand through social networks before they commit to being a customer. Once you start engaging with potential customers through social media, you want them to take the next step and visit your website to purchase your product or sign up for your newsletter. That means optimizing your site for them.

When you optimize your site and content for the online consumer, it is helpful to know what aspects are most likely to encourage a conversion on their end. Here are seven things that you should remember when it comes to influencing customers online:

Don’t use periods in your headlines

Tests have shown that being grammatically correct in your headlines and sub-headlines is not helpful. Using periods and commas actually reduces the number of conversions. Ending your headlines and sub-headers with a period can cause the reader to stop reading and move on to something else entirely.

Include a phone number- even though they won’t call it

Having a valid phone number on your website gives potential customers a sense of trust. Knowing that, if they wanted to, they could reach out and speak to a live person does a lot to influence a person’s decision about buying a product online. Very few people will actually call the number, but just seeing it there on your site builds their confidence.

Use larger, unique “Buy Now” buttons

Do some tests and try out a few different styles of buttons for your website to see what gets the highest number of conversions. Make them highly visible in order to draw the eye and make it easy for users to access and understand each function. Try this for each button you need, like “Subscribe to Newsletter,” “Follow on Social Media,” “Add to Cart,” “Buy Now,” etc.

Have credibility buttons

People love to know they are buying a product that has some backing. Think of including buttons on your site that say something like “As Seen on TV” or “As Seen on CNN.” Most users don’t focus too much on the details of what the button says, but seeing the words “As Seen On” have an effect on how much credibility you and your products are given.

Increase the length of time for a refund

Customers want to know that you offer a refund if something goes wrong with the product or they just aren’t satisfied. More importantly, they want to know exactly how much time they have to get that refund. Most companies put a 30-day limit on refunds. That means customers are keeping a close watch on that deadline. When you lengthen the amount of time they have to return the product to, say, 90 or 120 days, then they will stop focusing on the deadline.

Most companies have found that they have far fewer refunds once they extend their refund deadline.

Website load time

Online consumers have a short attention span. If your site takes too long to load, even if it’s just a minute longer than the competitor, they will click off and start looking elsewhere. Tweak what you can to ensure that your site has a quick load time to keep potential customers on your site.

Use images and captions

People respond well and purchase more often when a site uses images on their site. They don’t even have to be product images. Using a photo of a man or woman can work just as well. Run a few tests to see what works best for your conversions.

Include captions with your images because they are some of the most-read pieces of content on your site. Include keywords in them and make them powerful.

Have you noticed strange shopping behavior from your online customers? What have you noticed works best for conversions?

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  • Dawn Pigoni, IVAA Member