02 Mar The Truth About PPC And How To Optimize Your Site For Conversions

In an ever more competitive online marketplace, a good digital advertising strategy is essential, but even more important is building the foundations that will create conversions: in plain speak, this means providing the means to turn your website’s visitors into paying customers. No matter what you sell, goods, services or information, this is the ultimate goal. It’s easy to spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on a digital advertising campaign, but if your website is not optimized for conversions, you might just as well pile your money up in the middle of the room and burn it – at least you’ll know exactly where it went.
PPC advertising is one of the most effective and economically viable ways to attract visitors to your site. PPC (pay-per-click) ads are targeted to your specific audience and are based on the internet searches people do every single day. You’ve seen the ‘sponsored’ links at the top of your search results: this is PPC. Essentially, your ad will be served to people who are already looking for what you sell or do, and you pay each time your ad is clicked. Seems fairly simple, right? It is; but the ad just brings them to your door. Once they arrive, you must be ready, or you might just lose that sale to the next guy.
The fact is, you have less than ten seconds to hook your sale. The average customer will click off to the next search result if they don’t instantly find what they are looking for. To optimize your website for conversions, you need to ensure the customer can find the information they need, instantly. Before you spend your money on PPC, here are some optimization tips to consider:
1. Keep it simple. Make it easy to buy from you. Simple navigation, clean and intuitive site design. Steer away from complex or busy layouts, and avoid Flash intros as many mobile devices will not support Flash.
2. Engage your customers by providing relevant content that answers all the questions your potential customer might have. Ask them to complete a survey. Present yourself as an authority by maintaining a blog. Ask them to connect with you on your social networks, like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and encourage their feedback.
3.Present clear calls to action (CTA’s), to buy, sign up or contact. Your page should have a natural flow that directs users to your CTA. Make it prominent and easy to understand. Use action phrases like SIGN UP NOW or TELL ME MORE, rather than ‘click here’.
4.Provide an easy checkout process by offering plenty of payment options (credit cards, debit and check cards, PayPal). Don’t exclude anyone.
5. Give them something for FREE, like an e-book on your product or subject. Position yourself as an authority.
6.Give them incentives or limited time up-sells to create a sense of urgency to buy or to add value.
These are just some of the ways you can optimize your website for conversions before investing in a PPC campaign.