Lots of traffic, little revenue? Five tips to turn visitors into buyers

This article was originally posted on 3 November, 2011

If you’re running an e-commerce website then chances are for your business, visitors are your potential customers. Undoubtedly, driving a lot of traffic to your site is a great thing. So, how do you better convert your current, thriving web audience into qualified sales leads or actual buyers?  Five ways you can monetise your website more effectively include:

1.    Make your special deals stand out

When you first set up your business, you probably attracted traffic by offering quality content. That’s a great start, but if you’re aiming to make sales, you need to get these people to take an action. One way of achieving this goal is to signpost visitors to your special deals and promotions by giving them added prominence on your home page or landing pages.

2.    Limited offers create a sense of urgency

Reward your most frequent visitors by offering a special deal. By making these offers time, or quantity-restricted, you’re more likely to appeal to your frequent, rather than occasional visitor. Offering a series of exclusive deals is likely to get visitors excited about what’s coming next, and you can track the performance of these deals to help you run future promotions.

3.    You don’t get anything unless you ask

You may find that your most loyal visitor simply likes what you’re doing, or appreciates the expertise you offer. Since they already like what you do, you could test asking your loyal followers for referrals. Consider giving a free gift to those who refer your business via social media or an affiliate programme to incentivise referrals. In the end, this technique will likely be worth the additional cost.

4.    Offer premium content for paying subscribers

If you have a lot of subscribers, they clearly like something you’re doing.  Offer premium content or a premium newsletter that only paying subscribers can get.  Do not ask current subscribers to start paying for something you used to give away for free, but simply create something new that comes at a price.

5.    ABT (that’s Always Be Testing!)

The biggest mistake you can make as a business is not taking the time to analyse how the visitor journey through your website can be improved. Be sure to check that once your visitors get to your e-commerce website they know where to go to make a purchase or sign up for a service. Test and refine these processes (particularly basket and checkout) until you find layouts which produce greater leads or revenue.

PureNet is an award-winning provider of e-commerce solutions, digital marketing and application development. Customers choose PureNet for its ability to design, build, manage, market and integrate business-led solutions that add significant competitive value to their day-to-day activities. You can follow PureNet on Twitter @PureNet, or find out more by visiting www.purenet.co.uk.