April 17, 2017 at 12:38How to squeeze the maximum? Five Key Points of an Effective Website
Today, most companies have their own website. Obviously, this tool is necessary in the modern world, but does everyone know what results can be achieved by developing an effective marketing site?
According to statistics, 60% of users create a site to keep up with the times (or because competitors have it), but do not know about all the possibilities that a well-developed resource can give them. Suppose an entrepreneur had the idea of developing a site. At the same time, he does not set a specific goal and tasks - he simply wants to be present on the Internet. What is he doing? He asks the assistant to find an artist who will make it cheaper, faster and better than that of a competitor. He wants a cool modern design with a WOW effect.
This approach is fundamentally wrong! The development of such a site will not yield any results. The goals of creating a site should be business development, increasing the level of customer loyalty and the effectiveness of interaction with them. Therefore, development should be based on an integrated approach. If you didn’t ask yourself questions: how to increase conversion, and make customers out of website visitors, then it's time to think about it. Even if your company exists only offline, it makes sense to take an interest in Internet opportunities, otherwise soon you will begin to lose more than you think, while your competitors will win your customers.
Often the site does not give any effect, and its owner believes that the site is not so necessary for this area. But success lies in a systems approach. It’s not enough to create a site, you need to further promote it so that your potential customers can find you.
The main task of the site is to increase profits. To maximize the use of its capabilities, it is important to do each. And all this must be taken into account at the initial stages of site development.
We will not cover the technical aspects of development, but we will consider this issue from the side of marketing.
After working on a large number of sites, trial and error, we identified indicators that affect the effectiveness of the site.
Let's look at 5 key points that you should pay attention to during its development. And if you already have a site, you can understand whether everything works on it as it should and fix the flaws so that your site starts selling now!
Each of these aspects influences success in its own way, but together they guarantee high conversion rates - what we expect from our site.
1. The starting stage in the creation of the site is the definition of clear business goals, expressed in specific target actions that can be measured.
For instance:
To create a modern website that will please the head of the department is not the target action. The site should generate leads, the visitor should turn into a subscriber and show their interest, leaving their contacts. The listed actions are the right goals and are determined depending on the characteristics of your business, your desires and a number of other factors.
In order for website visitors to perform a targeted action, it is necessary:
Remember that lost profits are a loss. Examine the needs of your customers, understand their pain and help them solve problems.
2. The next step is to motivate the visitor to perform the target action using persuasion tools .
For each goal that we set at the first stage, it is necessary to apply leverage of conviction (so that visitors choose you, not a competitor). This is a difficult task for you - there are only 6 seconds (it takes so much for the user to decide whether to stay with you or leave the site) in order to interest the visitor. During this time, he must have time to understand who you are, to feel interest and understand that he should choose you. There is fivesecondtest.com service - you enter the address of the main page of the site and ask - what is this page about / what is this company doing? Visitors look at the site for five seconds, after which they must answer the question. Try doing this research with your site.
The site should be user friendly. Therefore, its creation begins with the tail, and not with the head. It is impossible to create a convenient site if it is made by an incompetent specialist.
Why will a site developed by an experienced turnkey team have a greater conversion rate than a freelance newbie made by template? Performing the project alone, it is unlikely to be able to cover the entire amount of work that is carried out in large companies by 7 to 10 competent specialists. Many people have a question - what do 7 people do if one person copes with the task? For professionals and experienced users, the answer is obvious: there are no trifles in web development. Each stage is closely interconnected with another. In order to achieve good results, a project team is working on the site, in which everyone knows their site and is aware of how it will affect the further stages of creating the site and the result as a whole. A site by template will not bring results - each business has its own characteristics and requires an individual approach.
The work of each specialist forms the tools of persuasion mentioned above.
Levers of persuasion are:
A separate item can highlight the chips. They add a twist to the site. They cannot be measured, but it is the chips that create the wow-effect and make the site fashionable, modern, unique.
In importance, each of these levers is equivalent. Only for each situation needs its own ratio, which is dictated by your goals. When developing a site, you need to imagine how you can convince the client to complete the target action.
3. The third stage is attraction . The most common mistake at this stage is to start attracting customers to a site where targeted actions have not yet been identified and leverage of conviction has not been worked out. Your potential customers will just come and go. Therefore, check how effectively you have implemented the first two points.
The main goals at this stage are to be noticed and to be mentioned. Where and how to attract an audience?
The main channels of promotion on the Internet:
Today there are many opportunities and tools for attracting customers - thematic platforms, attending conferences, advertising from opinion leaders and others (this is a topic for a hotel article). Remember one important rule - advertise not where your competitors are, but where your customers are.
Do not stop studying your target audience, always focus on its preferences, try to get into a position and solve problems. Communicate with a potential customer in his language, this will help increase his level of loyalty and, as a result, increase the number of sales.
4. Understanding why customers leave, we can return them - retention. According to statistics, 80% of all online purchases are one-time. If you know how to keep these customers, turn them into regular ones - the key to success is in your hands! How to achieve this?
There are a lot of tools for customer retention:
Work with an already attracted audience! You will increase efficiency without wasting money and efforts to attract customers.
5. And the last stage is analytics . The main task of web analytics is monitoring site traffic, based on the data of which its audience is determined and the behavior of visitors is studied (for making decisions on the development and expansion of the functionality of the web resource). Web analytics allows you not only to work on improving sites, but also to carry out work to optimize the budget for online promotion.
Web analytics methods include:
Constant analytics of actions on the site will increase the efficiency of work, attract more customers, increase sales.
Of course, this topic is very extensive, and in one article it is difficult to describe all the subtleties of this issue. You can talk about them for a long time, but first try to evaluate your current site on the above items: are each of them carefully designed? We recommend that you think about it if you are interested in developing your business and increasing sales.
According to statistics, 60% of users create a site to keep up with the times (or because competitors have it), but do not know about all the possibilities that a well-developed resource can give them. Suppose an entrepreneur had the idea of developing a site. At the same time, he does not set a specific goal and tasks - he simply wants to be present on the Internet. What is he doing? He asks the assistant to find an artist who will make it cheaper, faster and better than that of a competitor. He wants a cool modern design with a WOW effect.
This approach is fundamentally wrong! The development of such a site will not yield any results. The goals of creating a site should be business development, increasing the level of customer loyalty and the effectiveness of interaction with them. Therefore, development should be based on an integrated approach. If you didn’t ask yourself questions: how to increase conversion, and make customers out of website visitors, then it's time to think about it. Even if your company exists only offline, it makes sense to take an interest in Internet opportunities, otherwise soon you will begin to lose more than you think, while your competitors will win your customers.
Often the site does not give any effect, and its owner believes that the site is not so necessary for this area. But success lies in a systems approach. It’s not enough to create a site, you need to further promote it so that your potential customers can find you.
The main task of the site is to increase profits. To maximize the use of its capabilities, it is important to do each. And all this must be taken into account at the initial stages of site development.
We will not cover the technical aspects of development, but we will consider this issue from the side of marketing.
After working on a large number of sites, trial and error, we identified indicators that affect the effectiveness of the site.
Let's look at 5 key points that you should pay attention to during its development. And if you already have a site, you can understand whether everything works on it as it should and fix the flaws so that your site starts selling now!
- Target Actions
- Conviction
- Attraction
- Retention
- Analytics
Each of these aspects influences success in its own way, but together they guarantee high conversion rates - what we expect from our site.
Let us consider in more detail each of the above items.
1. The starting stage in the creation of the site is the definition of clear business goals, expressed in specific target actions that can be measured.
For instance:
- Add to Basket
- request a call back
- share link on social networks
- view specific page
- buy
- etc
To create a modern website that will please the head of the department is not the target action. The site should generate leads, the visitor should turn into a subscriber and show their interest, leaving their contacts. The listed actions are the right goals and are determined depending on the characteristics of your business, your desires and a number of other factors.
In order for website visitors to perform a targeted action, it is necessary:
- know your customers well
- understand how and why they buy from you
- identify intermediate goals whose achievement will mean that you are on the right track
Remember that lost profits are a loss. Examine the needs of your customers, understand their pain and help them solve problems.
2. The next step is to motivate the visitor to perform the target action using persuasion tools .
For each goal that we set at the first stage, it is necessary to apply leverage of conviction (so that visitors choose you, not a competitor). This is a difficult task for you - there are only 6 seconds (it takes so much for the user to decide whether to stay with you or leave the site) in order to interest the visitor. During this time, he must have time to understand who you are, to feel interest and understand that he should choose you. There is fivesecondtest.com service - you enter the address of the main page of the site and ask - what is this page about / what is this company doing? Visitors look at the site for five seconds, after which they must answer the question. Try doing this research with your site.
The site should be user friendly. Therefore, its creation begins with the tail, and not with the head. It is impossible to create a convenient site if it is made by an incompetent specialist.
Why will a site developed by an experienced turnkey team have a greater conversion rate than a freelance newbie made by template? Performing the project alone, it is unlikely to be able to cover the entire amount of work that is carried out in large companies by 7 to 10 competent specialists. Many people have a question - what do 7 people do if one person copes with the task? For professionals and experienced users, the answer is obvious: there are no trifles in web development. Each stage is closely interconnected with another. In order to achieve good results, a project team is working on the site, in which everyone knows their site and is aware of how it will affect the further stages of creating the site and the result as a whole. A site by template will not bring results - each business has its own characteristics and requires an individual approach.
The work of each specialist forms the tools of persuasion mentioned above.
Levers of persuasion are:
- Copywriting - convincing texts to help you make the right decision.
- Design - with the help of visual means, convinces the visitor that he got to the address.
- Content - infographics, video and other visual content of the site.
- Usability is an intuitive site structure. The user does not need to think about what and where to click to get the desired result. We guide the client to the desired target action.
- Services - provide the customer with convenience when choosing goods, making settlements, and so on. Using services, the site becomes more interactive.
A separate item can highlight the chips. They add a twist to the site. They cannot be measured, but it is the chips that create the wow-effect and make the site fashionable, modern, unique.
In importance, each of these levers is equivalent. Only for each situation needs its own ratio, which is dictated by your goals. When developing a site, you need to imagine how you can convince the client to complete the target action.
3. The third stage is attraction . The most common mistake at this stage is to start attracting customers to a site where targeted actions have not yet been identified and leverage of conviction has not been worked out. Your potential customers will just come and go. Therefore, check how effectively you have implemented the first two points.
The main goals at this stage are to be noticed and to be mentioned. Where and how to attract an audience?
The main channels of promotion on the Internet:
- search - you should be where the target audience is looking for you
- advertising - paid, well-deserved, offline advertising
- social media - attracting an audience through social networks
Today there are many opportunities and tools for attracting customers - thematic platforms, attending conferences, advertising from opinion leaders and others (this is a topic for a hotel article). Remember one important rule - advertise not where your competitors are, but where your customers are.
Do not stop studying your target audience, always focus on its preferences, try to get into a position and solve problems. Communicate with a potential customer in his language, this will help increase his level of loyalty and, as a result, increase the number of sales.
4. Understanding why customers leave, we can return them - retention. According to statistics, 80% of all online purchases are one-time. If you know how to keep these customers, turn them into regular ones - the key to success is in your hands! How to achieve this?
- remind of oneself
- interest yourself
- create a good customer relationship with the brand
- motivate the client to contact you again and again
There are a lot of tools for customer retention:
- SMS
- webinars
- online helpers
- bonus system
- discounts
- FAQ
- email marketing
- social networks
- blogs and forums
- feedback form
- retargeting
- other
Work with an already attracted audience! You will increase efficiency without wasting money and efforts to attract customers.
5. And the last stage is analytics . The main task of web analytics is monitoring site traffic, based on the data of which its audience is determined and the behavior of visitors is studied (for making decisions on the development and expansion of the functionality of the web resource). Web analytics allows you not only to work on improving sites, but also to carry out work to optimize the budget for online promotion.
Web analytics methods include:
- site traffic analysis - statistics, trends, absolute and relative indicators
- analysis of data from electronic commerce - average bill, popular products, revenue by traffic attraction channels
- usability analysis - click density, conversion paths of visitors to the site, scrolling
- analysis of the behavior of visitors on the page - interaction with forms, making micro and macro conversions
- benchmarking - comparison with general trends and competitors' indicators using independent platforms (Alexa, GemiusAudience, Google Trends)
Constant analytics of actions on the site will increase the efficiency of work, attract more customers, increase sales.
Of course, this topic is very extensive, and in one article it is difficult to describe all the subtleties of this issue. You can talk about them for a long time, but first try to evaluate your current site on the above items: are each of them carefully designed? We recommend that you think about it if you are interested in developing your business and increasing sales.