7 Steps to Conversion Gains, Part 2 of 2

In the second part of this two-part series extracted from a recent whitepaper on improving conversion rates, this week we offer a summary of the final three steps. The whitepaper, Best Practices for Conversion: The New Engagement Funnel in 7 Steps, comes from the online business optimization software provider Omniture.

(For part 1, and steps one through four, click here.)

5. Place effective calls to action. The right call to action can double clickthrough rates and subsequently double the overall conversion rate, the whitepaper notes. This applies to both ads and your Web site. Here are some of the whitepaper’s best practices to follow.

* Test the use of exclamation points in the copy.

* Don’t use a generic, “click here.” Be specific: If you want them to buy, say “buy now.” If they’re downloading a resource guide, say “download now.”

* Use 3-D attributes to make a button look like a button.

* Test bright colors, but use color sparingly to enhance call-to-action buttons without overwhelming the senses.

* Don’t rotate or animate key messages — users will miss them.

* Test varying words, images and links on the same page to provide diversity.

* If you’re not using buttons, underline or highlight links with color or arrows.

* Place a call to action within top navigation.

6. Enhance the shopping cart/lead capture process. Use multiple steps within the shopping cart or lead form process to account for abandonment. This allows for the capture of valuable contact information — names, phone numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses — at different stages, which can be used later for remarketing efforts if abandonment occurs, the whitepaper says.

The whitepaper also offers the following best practices to follow with shopping carts:

* develop a perpetual shopping cart to allow users to see products and totals on every page;