Conversion funnel optimization is akin to taking apart, analyzing, and fine-tuning an engine to increase its performance. The engine is a car’s most vital element. Sure, everything around it is important in its own way, but if this one system fails, the whole thing isn’t moving forward one inch. Conversion funnel optimization, much in the same way, is essential to a business’ well-being.
In automobile terms, a better engine results in faster speeds and better energy efficiency. In marketing terms, it equates to more traffic on your website in a smaller time frame and fewer people streaming out of your funnel and into the open arms of the competition. Since it moves the whole operation forward, it is crucial to learn how to optimize a sales funnel the right way. This is a topic we could write 100 blog posts about (and we will, just give us some time!) but today we just want to share some essential funnel optimization strategies.
Some of them will be general, with later ones being tied to a specific stage in the conversion process. Without further ado, let’s jump into it!
Make Smooth Transitions Along The Customer Journey
Every conversion funnel should be divided clearly into steps according to the customer journey. Depending on who you ask you will get a different number of elements, but the typical customer journey works perfectly for a lot of businesses, as long as you’re doing it right:
- Awareness
- Interest
- Desire
- Conversion
- Re-engagement
Make sure every step of the customer journey (with its specific needs and desired actions) is being catered to. This simple idea can really make a difference. For example, let’s say a customer is ready to make the transition between the “Interest” and “Desire” phases. They want more in-depth content to provide them with further information about your product/service. For whatever reason, they can’t find it. The page doesn’t load, it isn’t clearly labeled in the navigation menu or the content doesn’t even exist in the first place.
At that point, all of the momentum accumulated with that particular lead fizzles out, and they just leave. Had they been guided towards their desired information, it would have significantly increased the chances of them actually getting to the end of the funnel and converting. People will take this journey at their own pace, but you should ensure that the transition between phases happens smoothly. These chokepoints highlighted in the previous example can be avoided through clear CTAs as well as stage-specific language and page layout. You have to clear up any possible confusion the customer might have as to what action they should take next.
Get technology on your side
We have over ten years of experience in website conversion rate optimization and we have been able to provide outstanding results for our clients. This is in no small part thanks to some fantastic digital tools such as Instapage and ClickFunnels.
Some of these, like Google Optimize, offer easy experimentation that would be difficult and cumbersome to set up otherwise. You can test different variants of website design, layouts, and content with only certain parts of your audience. Then, by comparing the results, you will determine which variant they enjoy most, thus making it a permanent part of the main funnel and exponentially improving it. Conversion funnel optimization benefits greatly from leveraging marketing technology since it provides opportunities that are simply beyond the reach of normal humans. This frees you up to focus on tasks that are more relevant to your unique skills, like designing the elements mentioned above for A/B testing or planning a new business strategy.
Conversion Funnel Optimization Stage #1 – Awareness
- Create your ideal customer profile. If you can assign them specific passions, interests, and maybe even shopping habits, you will have a much easier time designing the rest of the funnel.
- Go where your potential customers already are on social media. Many people use these platforms to gather around niche interests. Take the time to get to know these communities and what they expect from products/services.
- Set up an affiliate marketing network with content creators/other businesses in your field. This way you can gain access to audiences with similar interests, reducing the resources spent on sifting through the general population to find them.
Conversion Funnel Optimization Stage #2 – Interest
- Make multiple entry points to your website (ad campaigns, SEO, blog posts, etc.) to increase your possible outreach.
- Have punchy, clear copy all over. Grab people’s attention with impactful banners, images, and headlines.
- One of your goals here should be getting a lead’s email address for the next step, so consider offering a piece of content (lead magnet) in exchange for contact information.
Conversion Funnel Optimization Stage #3 – Desire
- Offer case studies, in-depth product descriptions, and testimonials in well-thought-out email campaigns so that people will have the information they need to make a decision.
- Have all of the items mentioned above available directly on your website in case someone wants to make the transition from the previous stage to this one right away. Label each page clearly and have them easily accessible from the navigation menu.
Conversion Funnel Optimization Stage #4 – Conversion
- Let people know your website is safe. Especially for checkout page optimization, implement and display secure payment gateways.
- Make sure you have HTTPS encryption on your site and that the connection is secure. If Google displays a Safe Browsing warning (telling people to be careful as they visit your site) before someone enters your page, your credibility and trustworthiness will plummet.
- Reduce friction in the buying process by offering guest checkout.
Conversion Funnel Optimization Stage #5 – Re-engagement
This step is missing from most funnels. Having a dedicated system for re-targeting the people who naturally fall out of your sales funnel means anticipating their reason for doing so and delivering content designed specifically for them.
To that end, the most effective tool in this endeavor is a re-engagement email series. If done right, it will deploy several different techniques to restart the interaction between a lead and your brand until one of them clicks and you gain a customer.
Do You Need Help With Conversion Funnel Optimization?
If that’s the case, do not hesitate to contact us right here. We will schedule a call right away to discuss all the ways in which we can help leverage marketing technology to scale your business!
