Crossing the conversion point: How to convert visitors to customers

Most businesses tend to focus on driving traffic to their website or blog using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or social media. While important, this is only one side of the coin, because once traffic arrives it has to be converted to meet your business objectives.

Before we can even go into how to properly convert traffic, it is important to have clearly defined target markets and business objectives. Learn more about these topics here:

• Easy 8-step Internet marketing
• SEO & Internet marketing: Defining & refining your offering
• Internet marketing for online store (eCommerce) owners
• Real life transcript of an Internet marketing consult for a small business

Understanding who your target market is, and what you want them to do allows you to effectively plan your strategy to get them to take action (convert).

Simple value offering

Above all else, do your best to simplify your offering. Especially over the Internet, people tend not to read in detail and with much concentration. It is imperative to get your message across quickly and concisely.

If your offering is fair complex, then break your landing page up into sections that provide ever more in-depth information should the reader require it.

The following article will help you plan and design the perfect landing page:

• The secret to creating an effective landing page

Provide evidence of previous success

No one wants to be the only person using a product or service. Everyone wants to use sites that they know other people use. You have to show off any and all success or positive reviews you have received in order to convince other people of the quality of what you are offering.

Effectively, people are more inclined to trust a site or blog that they know other people trust. The following article explains this concept in more detail:

• Build instant trust and confidence to increase conversions

Widespread primary marketing message

A primary marketing message, or PMM, is the purpose of your blog or site distilled into a single, easy-to-understand statement. If you haven't already got a PMM, then spend some time thinking about what it should be. It's actually not that easy to do offhand - especially when you take into account the fact that it should also be SEO enhanced (contain relevant SEO keywords and phrases).

Once you have a clear, engaging and memorable PMM it is important to get this message out. Building your reach is the most effective way to get your PMM in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

In order to familiarize people with your brand, they need to be exposed to your PMM several times over - once is not enough. More about traffic, reach and PMMs in these articles:

• How to build traffic with backlinks
• Drive traffic with insights into the future of your niche
• Drive traffic with effective blogging
• Viral content using "reach bait"
• "Reach bait" blogging for unbeatable publicity
• How to design a great landing page for WordPress

Make it easy to convert

This point might sound redundant, but you'll be surprised by how much easier you can make it for people to take action on your site. How many clicks does it take to make a purchase on your eCommerce store? How many fields to new members have to fill in on sign up? Are there "Add to cart" or "Buy now" buttons readily available?

Once a visitor has made up their mind to take action, they should be able to do so quickly and with as little fuss as possible. The last thing you want is for people to lose patience during checkout or sign up.

Check out the following article for more information on how to make it easy for potential customers to convert:

• The #1 rule for eCommerce conversions explained

Inspiring marketing message

Finally, and possibly the most important point, it is necessary to inspire people. Convince them that they're getting a great deal. Make them excited about taking action.

People will only take action if:

• they are sufficiently motivated to overcome their apathy about pulling out their credit card or filling out yet another sign up form
• they are convinced that the value they will receive from your offering is worth more than the asking price
• they are inspired by your message