The most important aspect of any web site is whether or not it effectively converts visitors from visiting into contacts and/or leads. You can generate significant amounts of site traffic through either SEO or web-based advertising and get no benefit whatsoever – if you don’t effectively get your web site visitors to e-mail or call you about your products and services. Recently, Chris Golec, Demandbase CEO, said, “Regardless of its origin – social media or email, banners or search – traffic driven from online marketing initiatives always intersects at the website.” What he did not explicitly say is that the reason your web site is so critical to your leads is that it is the place where visitors investigate your product or service – and decide whether or not to engage with your company.

Given a choice between more 10% more site traffic and a 0.5% increase in conversion or lead engagement, we will take the 0.5% increase in conversion rate every time. That’s because an increased conversion rate results in real revenue for your business. The fastest way to determine if your customers are engaging with your web site is to review your site analytics looking at your ‘bounce’ rate (visitors that hit a site and don’t stay). The goal is to decrease or limit a site’s bounce rate – which can be achieved by creating compelling content that grabs reader attention so they stay on the website. It has been reported that efforts to reduce bounce rates are especially important when considering marketing to mobile audiences, as 85% of mobile web users leave a site within five seconds! What needs to be done to increase your conversion rate is to thoughtfully, frequently, and consistently make adjustments to your web site to improve it in the following areas:

1)      Describe what you do and your value

2)      Provide call(s) to action that invite your customers to engage with your business

3)      Provide content that engages your visitors and makes them want to find out more

By adjusting those three site aspects and playing with where things are located on each page, you can slowly optimize your engagement and increase your conversion rate. Taking the time to do this is worth every minute because this creates real dollars for your organization!