We’re all familiar with the story of the young man who asks a multi-millionaire how to be successful. “Find out what the people want,” he says. “Then give it to them.” As if it was just that easy!
Wait, this is the internet…maybe it actually is that easy.
The trouble is that many people aren’t paying attention. Good people, too—people who ought to know better. The result is websites that don’t convert well. Yet, you can likely double or even triple your conversions by simply understanding what visitors want from you and handing it over.
Do Your Homework
The first step to understanding what your visitors want is to understand where they are coming from when they find you. You need to know what links, keywords, or campaigns are bringing them in to your site. This gives you a strong picture of what they are expecting to find. Live up to their expectations by showing them exactly what they came hunting for and you’ll be well down the path to higher conversion rates.
Create A Conversation
Another way to understand what your visitors want is to create a conversation with them. Don’t immediately panic there—this isn’t difficult. Most people are aching to be listened to and made to feel as though they are important, so they will be happy to share their thoughts with you if you just ask.
Those last three words are the key…if you ask. You can ask your visitors what they want using a survey, a forum space, or a blog with a comments section. Just remember to regularly use phrases like “Tell us what you think here,” or “I’d like to hear your feedback on this,” or perhaps, “Reader, what do you think?”
Respond To What You Hear
The clincher in doubling your conversions by understanding your visitors is that when your customers come to you with information you have to respond to what you hear. After all, what’s the point of ignored data? Once you start creating opportunities for your visitors to tell you what they want, they’ll have higher expectations of your delivery of the goods.
Let them know that you’ve heard them and make the appropriate modifications. If your traffic is all telling you that they are seeking something other than what you are selling, you’ve got a valuable piece of information to use to adjust your marketing plan and product line up. If they just want a little more of Column A, you can do that, too.
The key is to show that you’ve listened and to start showing your customers exactly what they’ve told you they wanted. Your customer base will become more responsive because they’ll feel that they’ve finally found someone who cares and accommodates their unique needs. They’ll be happy—and watching the numbers go up and up—you’ll be happy, too!
Until Next Time…
George Chaney
President
SEO King, Inc.
