20 Ways to Increase Sales Through Your Website

You have an idea, you make or buy your product. You set up your social accounts, take beautiful photographs and are ready to make your business your main source of income. Then… nothing….

It is infuriating isn’t it! After all, you have done everything ‘right’ – why aren’t people buying my product?

Well, there are a few reasons why. Here are 20 ways to increase sales through your website. Some you might have done already, others you really should give a red hot go!

1. Lack of Online Reviews From Happy Purchasers

Think about what you do when you go to purchase a product online. You check out the product, compare the price, then you look for reviews. Reviews are the most powerful ‘sales motivator’ for visitors to your website. But real positive reviews will significantly increase website sites.

So how do you do that?

Most customers are usually more than happy to leave a good review, but if they have to sign up and click here and click there, it becomes too much of a pain in the arse so they will just leave it. Luckily there are now fantastic platforms that will make it easy for your customers to leave reviews without all the hurdles to jump.

Some reviews widgets and plug-ins to look into for your website include:

Repulogy is clean and easy to install.
WP Review Pro
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce
Google Reviews
Yotpo (for WooCommerce)

2. Your Photographs Aren’t Good Enough

Customers are very visual. Photographs are crucial in catching the attention of customers. It’s not only bait, you fish customers with photographs that are eye-catching. You have to remember that the eyes are the only sense that you can take advantage of online. Unlike in traditional markets where customers can touch, smell and taste products, only the sense of sight can be utilised online. Hence, it should satisfy all of your senses in a photograph.

If you don’t have a budget yet for a photo and editing team, there are free high-quality stock images online that you can avail, paid stock image sites – or you could invest in a lightroom and take the photographs yourself!

Best Stock Image Websites:

Shutterstock
Bigstock
iStockphoto
Getty Images

3. You Sales Copy Isn’t Enticing Enough

It’s all about your power of persuasion. And that’s what a sales copy is all about. You can increase your sales through your website faster if your sales copy is enough to compel your customers to consider your product. Website traffic is also very important and your sales copy should be able to do that for you. You can hire copywriters to do this for you but you can also do it yourself with these easy tips.

KISS. Keep it short and simple! No need to use fancy words, go straight to the point!

Make sense. Do your research. For you to be able to write about your product, you need to master its in’s and out’s.

Sex sells! We all know it. Try to be sexy with your subject lines. Seduce your customers by asking questions that will trigger their curiosity, make a list, create a comparison, just let out those creative juices!

Scare your customers! But don’t scare them off. Play-off of your customer’s fears and make sure your product is what will satiate them.

Make your offer irresistible. This is a no brainer. Don’t let them think twice about your product. Make them commit to making a purchase!

Most importantly, your website has to be clear. Actions your customers should take to buy the product should be simple.

And that’s it! So simple right?

Want to learn more? We love these books on Content Marketing if you are wanting to do the copy yourself. If not, look at employing the services of a reputable copywriter.

4. The Checkout System is Clunky

Here’s another way to increase your sales through your website! Make it easy for your customers to pay! It’s critical that your checkout system is flawless. It’s not easy for them to give out their credit card info and checkout. So don’t ask too many questions, don’t make it hard for them! This is where sales come in.

Different customers prefer different paying methods, your checkout system should be able to cater to that. Don’t just stick to PayPal.

As I said, don’t ask too many questions. The most important thing is, your customers will buy the product! There’s really no need to create an account, is there?

Your checkout system should be on your website. For example with PayPal, your customers are redirected to another page. You never know, people these days have very little attention span, they mind their minds and you don’t want that! Keep distractions to a bare minimum.

Your website, especially the checkout process should be seamless. However, you should allow your customers to be able to correct an error they made. Let’s say they typed the wrong number, it should be effortless for them to go back and change it. Don’t frustrate them!

It’s also essential that you guarantee your customer’s security and privacy. I mean, this is probably one of the biggest concerns in buying online. So make sure you got this covered. Displaying your security credentials on your page would help.

Finally, your website should feel like there’s a salesperson assisting them on the next steps they should take. From online window shopping to being a paying customer!

5. Not Enough Website Visitors Means Not Enough Sales

One plus one, equals two. Right? It’s simple math. More traffic, more sales! Traffic on your website allows you to get quality leads and use it for product development. Traffic also leads to new customers and repeat customers too. You can generate traffic through Ad Words, Facebook Ads and Remarketing, these you have to pay for but there are also organic search results and SEO. You can also opt for content marketing and of course, social media.

The key here is to remain relevant and use as many channels as you can.

6. You Have No Solid Marketing Plan

It won’t take a genius to figure out that one of the ways to increase your sales through your website is having a solid marketing plan. Online strategies are essential to attract traffic and as we’ve mentioned above, traffic is vital as well. All you need is to follow through.

A marketing plan will include:

Documenting all of your business goals
Define your target audience and demographics
Set marketing budgets
Have a set timeline to work towards

7. Look at Installing a Live Chat Function

A live chat function acts as your salesperson. Since this is a non-traditional market and the customer to business transaction is all made without physical interaction, this should still be present in the form of a live chat function. This way, your customers feel they are well taken care of. And once their inquiries are answered right away, this creates a feeling of satisfaction. This makes it easier for them to take out those credit cards and buy!

Some of the best Live Chat plugins or widgets include:

LiveChat
Olark
Zendesk Chat

8. Have a Customer-Focused Returns Policy

Studies show that customers prefer no cost returns and immediate refunds. If you’re able to deliver these through a customer-focused return policy, it is likely that customers will patronise your business. Customer confidence should be a priority because this turns into customer loyalty. It goes without saying this alone will help increase your sales through your website. Happy customer, happy seller!

A good customer returns policy is easily findable on your website – don’t hide it – make it front and centre.

Items to include in your returns policy:

The procedure to follow for a return or exchange
Packaging details for the returns
The time frame in which returns can be accepted
Specified who pays for the postage of the returns

9. Retargeting Interested Customers

It’s normal for customers to come and go. Just make them come back. There’s a reason why they visited your site in the first place. These customers are already interested but are not convinced to make a purchase. You need a strategy to retarget these customers. This type of advertising will not cost you as much. Check out companies that have good retargeting or remarketing campaigns to help you out.

Retargeting companies we recommend include:

AdRoll
Facebook Retargeting

10. Have a Detailed Frequently Asked Questions Area

Customers are not only right, they always want answers RIGHT NOW! This is an effortless way to increase your sales through your website. Take note of your leads and address them through the Frequently Asked Questions page or are of your website. This way, you can settle your customer’s inquiries or doubts without having to lift a finger! (They do have to move the cursor, but that’s it!).

If you are stuck on what to actually include on a Frequently Asked Questions page, just take a note of every question that your customers ask of you over a week – these very questions should be the basis for your answers!

The most common FAQ’s include:

How do I return my purchase?
Can I exchange my purchase instead of returning it?
Where are you located?
What forms of payment do you accept?
Where is my order?
How do I unsubscribe from your mailing list?
How long does it take to get a refund?
Do you ship internationally?

Nintendo Switch has an excellent example of a good Frequently Asked Questions Page:

11. State Postage Details and Timing

To reiterate, complete facts converts to higher sales. Make sure your website is complete with all the details your customers need to make the purchase.

12. Have a Clear ‘Call to Action’ on All Sales Pages

Make your website as user or customer friendly as much as possible. All actions to be done on your website should be clear. Always be wary about distractions on your website because it’s easy for customers to click on the close button and move on to the next website offering similar service/product as you. So to increase your sales through your website, it should be clear to the customers with a simple call to action from cart to credit card!

Your call to action should mimic what you want the visitor to do on your website e.g. Call me, Get A Quote, Book Online, Purchase etc. For example, “Call Us Today”. Often call to actions are included in the header of your website, throughout the content, at the bottom of the content and in the footer (very bottom of your website).

13. Conduct Regular A/B Testing on Your Site

In order to increase your sales through your website, you need to evaluate if it is effective. It is possible to gather data from the behaviour of your customers through A/B testing. You’re basically how your customers respond to different versions of your website.

Through A/B Testing you can fine-tune your website, down to the words, phrases, images, videos, testimonials, etc. Even the smallest change can mean a huge difference in your sales!

Some of the best A/B testing tools include:

14. Have Easily Findable Contact Details

We couldn’t stress this enough, your website has to be complete with all the details your customers need or haven’t even realised they need it. Contact details are so important so your customers know how and where to reach you.

15. Offer Discounts to Loyal Repeat Customers

Usually, discounts lead to loyal repeat customers. And you don’t want to cut this cycle. Offering discounts to loyal repeat customers will increase their preference for your business and allow you to spend less on retaining them. Hence, this will increase your sales by having to incur additional costs. There are different ways to show your loyal customers that you appreciate them. And giving them discounts is definitely one. It’s a win-win!

Ways of offering a discount to your customers include:

Coupon Codes
A Loyalty Program
Exclusive discount code sent to your email subscribers

16. Ensure Your Customers Details are Protected

You don’t want your customers backing out at the last minute because they don’t think they can trust you with their personal and banking details. Go the extra mile and gain credentials for your customers’ assurance. Some certificates prove a secure connection and encrypt credit card information. It is also better if you are in compliance with the PCI Security Standards Council since they manage security standards for the processing and transmission of cardholder data.

Having these credentials displayed on your website will put your customers at ease.

Have an SSL certificate
encryption on payments
PCI

17. Include Video Testimonials

Testimonials are a great way to convince people to buy your product. Video testimonials, on the other hand, are even better because customers can relate more to the buyer. The oldest known form of marketing is word of mouth. This is basically it in the 21st century.

18. Offer a Money-Back Guarantee

Don’t be afraid to offer a money-back guarantee. This only goes to show that you are quite sure about your product. You’re confident that it works. Your customers will easily bite into this knowing, well you won’t bite back. Instead, you will give back their money if and only if the product doesn’t satisfy them. Be sure to place guidelines on when this applies. Every business and product is different. Even though this is a very lenient strategy, your business must not be on the losing side.

19. The Less Clicks to Buy the Better

To make the long story short, make it easy for your customers! Your website should easy on the eyes and easy to use as well. The fewer steps it takes to make a purchase, the faster the sales will be!

20. Install Social Proof of Previous Purchases

It is easy to be sceptical online. There are so many stories of bogus sellers and bogus buyers that customers want proof that actual business transactions have already transpired on your website. Testimonials would be good, photos, links to personal blogs, any social proof that you have had satisfied customers!

Treat your website like an actual store. Ask yourself questions about what you would want in a store. Don’t you want to go and out happy? What would make you want to come back? If your website answers those questions too, then surely you can increase sales through your website!

20 Ways to Increase Sales Through Your Website