Despite offering superior products or services, a well-designed website, and substantial traffic, your site may still be underperforming financially. It’s high time to revisit the fundamentals of conversion rate optimization, particularly focusing on mobile optimization. As a business proprietor, you understand that a great website and high traffic are merely the starting points in the sales journey.
The manner in which you interact with customers and the experience your website delivers significantly impact sales. Conversion rate optimization revolves around enhancing your website to boost sales or desired actions from visitors. In a mobile-centric world where 79% of consumers have made purchases via their smartphones within the past six months, ensuring a mobile-friendly website is crucial to prevent missed conversion opportunities.
Here are several conversion rate optimization best practices to consider for 2021 and beyond:
Is your website providing a positive experience throughout the customer journey? Your website’s user experience can make or break conversion rates. In 2020, Google announced the inclusion of Core Web Vitals in its site ranking factors, emphasizing the importance of UX. Therefore, any element that detracts from UX needs to be addressed.
Site pop-ups are a common culprit. If they are indispensable, make them more user-friendly. Additionally, declutter your website by minimizing design elements like CTA buttons and adopting a minimalist approach. Creating a seamless user experience is one of the most critical conversion rate optimization best practices.
Fast-loading mobile experiences are no longer a luxury; they are a consumer expectation. 53% of site visitors will abandon a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Any factor that slows down your site could increase bounce rates and reduce conversions. For instance, if your images take too long to load, customers may wait or opt for competitors. Smartphones have less processing power than desktops, necessitating a site tailored to their needs. To embrace 2021 conversion rate optimization best practices, start by assessing your site’s page speeds on Google PageSpeed Insights. Enhancing site speed includes:
Minimizing site code
Reducing redirects
Leveraging server caching
Optimizing images
Using content distribution networks
For those focusing on mobile conversion optimization, ensuring mobile-friendliness should be the top priority. Since Google adopted mobile-first indexing by default in 2019, mobile-friendliness is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Ignoring it could harm your site rankings. Users should enjoy a consistent and convenient experience on their mobile phones.
This means simplifying navigation and ensuring easy access to content and CTA buttons. Here are some mobile conversion rate optimization best practices for 2021:
Keep the design simple to avoid overwhelming small screens.
Test your website on various mobile devices to ensure consistent experiences across different screen sizes and orientations.
Simplify mobile payments to reduce cart abandonment rates.
For those serious about conversion rate optimization, incorporating site personalization is essential. 80% of consumers are attracted to brands offering personalized experiences, such as Netflix. To achieve this, segment your audience by demographics and tailor content and messages accordingly. Personalized consumer journeys will facilitate conversions and enhance the effectiveness of other conversion rate optimization strategies.
This segmentation can also be applied to personalized email campaigns for subscribers, based on their stage in the sales funnel. Delivering personalized experiences will make it easier to leverage conversion rate optimization best practices.
Trust is a vital factor in mobile conversion optimization; consumers won’t engage with businesses they don’t trust. With data breaches on the rise, consumers are increasingly cautious about sharing their data. Phishing scams increased by over 350% in 2020 alone.
To gain conversions from this skeptical audience, you must demonstrate trustworthiness. Without trust, all other conversion rate optimization efforts will be futile. To improve trust levels:
Disclose data usage information clearly and promptly notify customers of any policy changes.
Review and adjust data usage settings to provide opt-in options.
Partner with secure vendors to strengthen your business’s security.
Consumers expect a website designed with their convenience in mind. Site personalization, seamless UX, and data transparency are all conversion rate optimization strategies aimed at winning customer trust. The key is to continuously test and refine your website to enhance these elements and improve mobile conversion optimization.
