Your visitors begin forming opinions about your business before they’ve even read a word of your copy. The second they land on your site, they’re presented with visuals that instantly begin forming impressions based solely on outward appearance. And because trust plays such a crucial role in whether or not your visitors will convert, it’s important that your site look trustworthy. If it doesn’t, many visitors may just bounce. Avoid looking “spammy” by investing the extra money to hire a professional designer. It shouldn’t look like you threw it together with some cheap drag and drop software in the mid-late 90’s. A website that looks expensive and professional usually is. It’s no different than being approached on the street by a disheveled homeless man versus a clean-cut business man in a suit and tie—would you turn and walk the other way or would you stop to listen what he has to say?
Make contact and other identifying information easy to find
Don’t be too anonymous. Not publishing things like names, photos, phone numbers or physical addresses makes it seems like you’re trying to hide something. You wouldn’t trust just any old stranger off the street, so don’t expect your visitors to trust one either. Make contact and other identifying information easy to find. Include it in areas of the page where it’s most commonly found, such as header and/or footer areas to reduce user anxiety.
Use testimonials or reviews to boost credibility
User anxiety is one of the biggest conversion killers. Displaying customer testimonials or reviews is a great way to help eliminate some of the uncertainty and boost your credibility. People trust customer reviews 11 times more than they trust descriptions written by manufacturers! The more detailed they are, the better. Don’t just use generic responses. Specific statements are much more believable. So, if your conversion rate increased by 43.78%, don’t just say that it increased by “over 40%”…say that it increased 43.78%! And don’t neglect to reveal some specific details about the person doing the review as well. Including things like the person’s name, city, and even a photo can help to create a more personal connection with your potential customer.
Reiterate your ad copy or call to action
If you’re running ads on any kind of external site like Google, Bing, Facebook, etc., be sure to reiterate your ad copy on your landing page. If your ad reads, “Enter now to win a free iPad”, then “Enter now to win a free iPad” should be the first thing users see when they arrive at your landing page. People in the conversion rate optimization world sometimes refer to this as maintaining a good “scent” from the ad or incentive to the goal. You want your visitors to know immediately that they’re in the right place, so the less disconnect between the two touch-points, the better.
Simplify the process
Don’t make processes any more complicated than they need to be. Remove all unnecessary options. Make it intuitive. Shorten the distance from point A to point B. Don’t make your users do any more work or thinking than they have to. The less options, the better. Whether it’s implementing a sticky menu to prevent unnecessary scrolling or adjusting the steps in a lengthy application process, the simpler things are, the less chance your users will become frustrated and leave.
Pay attention to the page fold
In most cases, the higher on the page you can keep your most important information or calls to action, the better. Ideally, visitors will see the most important elements the second they arrive on the page, without having to scroll. However, if what you’re selling has a large price tag or is something that requires a significant amount of research or consideration before the sale, consider testing your call to action placement below the fold so that it follows the copy.
Use action verbs that convey value to your users
The implications behind certain action verbs can often affect users’ willingness to follow through. Pay special attention to what your buttons and calls to action might suggest. A phrase like “order now” could imply to some users that they will have to wait to get whatever it is that they’re looking for. Others, like “apply now” or “join now”, could suggest that something might be required of the user in order to be a part of whatever the group is that they’re joining. Rather than focusing on what the group’s requirements are of the user to join, focus on what the user requires of the group. How will they benefit? Try using gain-focused words (ex: get, view, enjoy, discover, see, play) over effort-focused (ex: submit, start, activate, learn, pay, go). If the user is interested in a free download that you’re offering in return for them joining your email list, instead of “Join now” (what you want them to do), maybe your button reads “Get my free download”.
Use positive reinforcement in your calls to action or button text
It rarely ever hurts to remind your users what’s in it for them. Form buttons are often the tipping point between your customers deciding to follow through with the process or turning around and bouncing. Your button text should positively reinforce the user’s behavior of completing the form by reminding them, “If you do action (A), you’ll get (B) in return”. Try using specific language in your button copy that reiterates whatever it is they are expecting in return. Example: “Get (B) now”.
Stop using the word “submit” on your form submission buttons
It used to be that the word “submit” on a form submission button described what the system did when it was clicked. Now, with the tendency toward a more user-centered approach to website design, users have come to expect everything to be much more about them– and less about the technology.
Filling out a form is already one of those things that produces at least a little bit of anxiety in most users. It’s not something we ever really enjoy doing. Do you think the negative connotation behind the word “submit” helps relieve someone who’s already concerned about where their personal information is about to end up? It’s likely that it’s only reinforcing every worry about identity fraud that’s ever crossed their mind. Try using different language on your submission buttons that implies positive results. How are your users expecting to benefit from completing the form?
Make your button bigger
It’s not always the most eye-pleasing from an aesthetics perspective, but this is another one that can often yield some pretty dramatic results. Make your main call to action or “submit” button (read my post on why you should stop using the word “submit” on your form submission buttons) big enough so that it’s one of the first things your visitors will notice. Larger buttons are also much easier to click and will help you avoid a bad user experience and frustrating your users. Stop settling for the default browser-generated form buttons. Create something custom that will work nicely with your site or even use just a solid, clickable color block. I’ve made a habit of starting with my buttons around 250 pixels wide by 50 pixels tall.