5 Ways to Increase Website Sales
Increasing your website sales is incremental to increasing traffic, and increased traffic increases sales. It’s a chicken and the egg situation. You’ve built your website and are offering a great product or service, but you aren’t making enough sales. Many people will tell you that you need a better marketing strategy, or hands on SEO and they are right.
5 Ways to Increase Website Sales #1: Know What Your Customer Wants
In order to make sales you must have what your customer wants. A quick search in Google Trends will tell you how the marketing trends are working for or against you. To give a quick example, if you search Total Gym, you will find that in 2008, while Total Gym was “trending”, someone wrote an article comparing Software development and architecture to Total Gym. This is like a spinoff of your favorite show. If the writer had been comparing the SOA to something else, the blog might have had better traffic. You don’t want to go too far, as this will only turn people away. I’m sure a lot of people went looking for Total Gym, only to find SOA. The point is, trends are the terms that are hot right now. Searching the trends will show you how your item has fared in the searches over time. You want to use words in your title that have a high rate of search. “How To” is almost always on the rise.
Your title should tell your customer exactly what the purchase of your product will do for them. “How To Obtain Optimum Health with Total Gym” would be an example. Now the customers who find you know you are selling optimum health and Total Gym. Try to stick to one item, and its many benefits per page.
5 Ways to Increase Website Sales #2: Pull, Don’t Push
Once you have selected your title, do not insist that the customer “buy” the product from you, and try to stay away from offering a personal testimonial. People do not like hard sales, and personal testimonials by a salesman are often ignored. Instead detail the reasons that the customer wants or needs your product. Asking questions and then answering them is a great way to let them know what they need. “Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?” Then answer this question with facts on how owning your product will solve their problems.
5 Ways to Increase Website Sales #3: Convert Your Traffic
Next make sure that you have an opt-in button on your landing page and every page of your site. “For Special Offers:” or “To subscribe to our newsletter:” are excellent choices. Whatever you are marketing, from products to services, the interested consumers want to hear about your future additions and promotions.
5 Ways to Increase Website Sales #4: Offer a Deal
Offer a deal, such as free shipping, or a discount if paying with credit card. People like to buy things on sale. Make such deals as personal as possible. For instance, “Call now for a special discount”, or “Share us on Facebook and Twitter to receive 10% off.” This increases your market.
5 Ways to Increase Website Sales #5: Feature Testimonials
Another great way to increase sales is to ask for a testimonial. You can offer your customers special deals if they review your product. Their product reviews will increase sales in two ways: one by adding credibility to your site, and two: people love to tell their friends that their name is in print somewhere.
Remember that customer satisfaction is your greatest sales tool. When people like your product or service the come back for more, and they recommend you to their friends.
