For most brands, the purpose of a website is to make a sale or collect information of potential sales. But what do you do when your web visitors are not converting into customers?

Persuading a website visitor to part with their valuable personal information can be a challenge. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the industry term for this very thing: Getting your visitors to convert into customers or subscribers.

Design your website with conversion in mind. Already done that?

If you created your website, or were an integral part of the planning process, you might not be the best person to evaluate its effectiveness. Just like an author shouldn’t edit their own book, you need an unbiased opinion (or several) about your website’s path to conversion. A newcomer might quickly diagnose an obvious problem you missed.

More people than ever are browsing on mobile devices. You can check how many web visitors are from mobile if you have analytics, such as Google Analytics. Odds are, almost 40% or more of your visitors are coming from mobile devices. How does your website look to them? Perhaps your button or form is hidden, or difficult to click. 

Check your mobile site as carefully as your do your non mobile site. Regardless of how you handle mobile traffic (we recommend responsive design), you need to make sure your  call to action is just as appealing and prominent.

Are you testing your forms and buttons regularly? Sometimes website updates, or even browser updates, can affect how your form or button is performing. Make sure you periodically check your call to actions to make sure everything is working as it should.

It is pretty common that the majority of people are going to land (or enter) your website on your homepage. Draw out the most common paths people would take to your call to action. What might they look at, and how will that influence their decision to submit their information. 

Consider using heatmap software to actually KNOW what your visitors are looking at, or just read a few eye-tracking studies to learn the habits of website users. Take this information into consideration when drawing out the conversion path(s) of your website users. Talk this conversion map over with your team and get their input. You might find some glaring holes in your conversion path which you had previously overlooked.

Don’t be afraid to ask other subscribers or customers for feedback on why they submitted their information. Looks for trends in their feedback that might tell you how you can do better, or what you’ve done right. 

Your website can be a powerful sales tool, but only if you are optimizing it for users. Do you have any Conversion Optimization tips? Share them!