Web users are browsing but not buying. It’s every marketers worst fear. There are a number of reasons why someone may not be compelled to buy. You could have dull copy that fails to incite the emotional “purchase” impulse. You could have a confusing web design that presents too many obstacles prior to checkout. Or you could be bringing the wrong kind of traffic. Web researchers at eMarketer suggest that the most likely culprit is that sites are drawing a non-specific audience and the focus simply isn’t there.
There are, however, certain sites that defy the odds and consistently haul in double-digits year after year. According to a 2007 Nielsen study, five of the top-converting sites include: ProFlowers (24.5%), LillianVernon.com (21.2%), Blair ( 20.2%), Lane Bryant (19.2%) and LL Bean (18.1%). These sites hire an professional online marketing company to put in the necessary time and effort to find the winning formula by mining through data and analytics. It’s a sad reality but if your site’s not converting in double digits, you simply haven’t put enough into your online strategy.
The online marketing company responsible for some of top converter ProFlowers’ success recommends honing your email marketing as an invaluable tool. Be sure that you have a catchy email subject line that’s consistent and honest. Don’t trick your readers into scrolling down or reading an email they’re not all that interested in. The way your offer is written is extremely important and should be as clear and concise as possible. Give your readers a choice between two offers (and see which one gets more responses). Be sure that there is a textual link or an image with an alt tag link to your site.
To prevent your email from ending up in the spam folder, stay away from putting too many center-aligned images or logos over 100 pixels. Stay away from spam-flagged words like: $, FREE, PRIZE, CLICK and COMPLIMENTARY. Easy does it on the exclamation points and colorful backgrounds.
In addition to emailing offers or newsletters, a professional online marketing company has many more tools at their disposal — everything from search engine optimization, link building and copywriting to web redesign, press releases and social networking. Naturally, the more hooks you have in the sea, the more fish you’ll catch!