Failing to get the desired results from search marketing was a struggle Altius Technical Services knew all too well.
The New Orleans-based rope access training company wanted to maximise sales from its online channels and had used paid search to do so. Despite their best efforts, this method failed to improve their conversion rates.
After analysing data from their paid search program, they decided to revamp their website. This yielded the results they were looking for — their website-generated revenue jumped by 212% within 90 days of the launch of their new strategy.
That’s impressive, but how did they do it?
Comprehending Audience Engagement
To answer this question, let us brush up on audience engagement and how it relates to web design and development.
Audience engagement comprises the positive and negative interactions between your website and your audience. It clearly shows how your audience contributes to lead generation, conversions, and sales.
Some standard metrics used to track website engagement include:
Page views
Bounce rates
Click-through rates (CTR)
Cost per action
Session length
Exit pages
Engagement analytics grants the ability to make data-driven decisions, making it an indispensable business tool. That said, studying engagement patterns can quickly get overwhelming.
With hundreds of metrics to choose from, how do you know which ones are the best fit for your business? Further, which of these metrics accurately represents what your audience wants?
Know Thy Client
While websites are a reflection of what your company is about, it is the visitors who decide what to make of that reflection. In other words, prospective clients quickly form an impression about your brand and your products from your website alone. What your audience wants should be at the forefront while developing and redesigning websites.
Okay, but how do I figure out my audience’s wants?
Patterns in behaviour flow give clues to what your customer base finds interesting. Using behaviour analytics tools, you can map the routes users take while exploring your website.
Ideally, a user’s journey begins at the home or landing page and ends with a call-to-action (CTA) button. If your leads get sidetracked and click off your site, you need to introduce more attractive and impactful CTAs to your website.
One way of guiding clients to the CTA is to use heatmaps. Strategically placing CTA buttons near areas on your website that draw the most attention guarantees higher engagement.
Similarly, site search is a brilliant tool for understanding your client’s needs.
Site searches serve a dual purpose. In addition to leading your clients to pages they want to access, they uncover the pain points of your target audience. They provide clues to the topics that engage your audience and give you insights into the type of content you need to create.
These are just a couple of ways analytics helps you understand your audience’s psyche and customise your website to cater to their needs.
Designing Impactful Websites
A user-centric website design is non-negotiable if you are keen on maximising engagement rates and improving conversions. Here are five notable ways crafting impactful websites that bridges the gap between clicks and conversions.
Paving The Way With Navigation
PrintGlobe’s website redesign is the perfect example of how navigation can improve conversion rates.
Their pre-product and category pages saw consistently low engagement rates, leading to their conversion rates tanking. After thorough A/B testing, they implemented a new navigation design that displayed a category bar and carousel option. Consequently, their conversion rates improved by a whopping 18.5%.
Simple changes like limiting the number of menu options, including search bars and adding a back-to-top button elevate the ease with which a user navigates the content on your website. Additionally, proper formatting and well-defined sections make a world of difference to how easily users can navigate through different content hierarchies and silos.
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Clients no longer fall for those gaudy, in-your-face buttons in bright colours and flashy lettering. Creating strategically placed, actionable CTAs provides value to your customers, improves audience engagement and increases conversion rates.
Come for The SEO, Stay for The Story
71% of global marketers believe that content marketing has taken a prominent role as one of the most effective digital marketing techniques and for a good reason. SEO-optimised content ranks your website higher on search engines, driving clicks and organic traffic.
Good SEO pushes your website to your prospects. Impersonal, no-nonsense copy effectively gets the message across but is prone to missed conversions and cold leads. Conversely, content that communicates your story and informs your clients of your ‘why’ helps build strong connections between your brand and your audience.
That said, impressive content does not need to be black and white. Incorporating interactive elements like surveys, infographics, quizzes, and video content enables customers and prospects to gain more value from your website, bolstering customer loyalty and maximising engagement.
Fast And Functional
What’s common between a racecar and a website?
A one-second delay in either makes you lose to your competitors. According to a study by Akamai, a one-second increase in website loading time decreased conversion rates by 26%.
Long loading times give visitors the impression that the website is unresponsive, causing them to click away. Optimising your websites for shorter load times leads to higher Google rankings, promotes positive long-term impressions and improves conversion rates.
Harnessing Social Proof
New-age clients are increasingly concerned about verifying the authenticity of the products they purchase. Providing social proof is excellent at maximising audience engagement and driving conversions.
Some ways in which you can leverage social media to engage your website audience include:
Enabling customers to log into your website using their social media accounts
Adding plugins for sharing products, blog posts and other content
Creating hashtags that link to widgets displaying social media posts tagged with them
Including social media reviews in the testimonial section of your website
Conquering The Summit
Returning to the question asked at the outset — how did revamping Altius’s website boost its conversion rates?
The success of their campaign was thanks to a multi-faceted web development strategy. They focused on optimising their website for mobile-friendliness and engagement. This led to a 225% increase in mobile-generated revenue.
The new website showcased the company’s unique expertise through its content, complete with pictures of its staff, training facilities and certifications. They added detailed information on services, course pricing and upcoming events and included a dedicated page for FAQs. These changes led to an 85.96% growth in organic sessions over nine months.
By prioritising mobile engagement, CTA placement and brand identity, Altius achieved through its website what it couldn’t with paid search alone.
Want To Rejuvenate Your Website? We’ve Got You Covered!
Designing magnificent online experiences is the key to maximising engagement and converting mindless clicks into conversions. Optimising your website and adding interactive elements leave lasting impressions on your audience’s minds and keep them coming back for more.
Stressing over developing captivating websites? Our web design and development team at Yarn Owls is here to help. Our comprehensive web design, database management, and hosting services give your brand the wings it needs to soar to newer heights.
Elevate your brand — contact Yarn Owls today!
FAQs
1. What is the difference between CTR and CVR?
Click-through rate (CTR) measures the total traffic your website receives, whereas conversion rate (CVR) tracks the amount of traffic that engages with a CTA on your website.
2. Are conversions and sales the same thing?
No. Sales consist of the revenue generated from selling products and services, while conversions refer to any desirable action a client carries out on digital platforms. This includes buying a product, filling out forms, downloading a PDF, or other relevant actions.
3. How can I make my website more user-centric?
User-centric web designs cater directly to the users of your product. Surveys and polls help you gauge your customer’s pain points, which you can leverage to make changes to your website. For instance, if users report finding the Checkout button difficult, it means you need to change the position or design of that button.