Inbound Marketing Strategy

How to Increase Sales without Spending More Money

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Generating leads and sales is the number one goal of online marketing.

This is all starts with website traffic.

So you focus on increasing traffic as much as possible. You increase advertising, improve your organic SEO, and get active in social media.

But what if there was an easier way?

What if you took that traffic you already have, and stopped wasting it?

Here’s how.

How Conversion Rate Optimization Works

Conversion Rate Optimization allows you to increase leads or sales. You run simple tests to see which variables on a landing page convert better.

The one that results in higher conversions and less abandonment is the winner. It’s that easy.

One of the most common forms of conversion rate optimization is Split Testing (aka A/B Testing). You simply change one variable between two pages. Then you send half of your traffic to one page, and the other half to the other page, and see which works best.

You test and measure different page elements like;

  • Headline
  • Layout of page
  • Call to Action
  • Lead magnet / generator
  • Images
  • Colors
  • Credibility icons
  • Testimonials
  • Guarantee

Originally popular in direct mail, conversion rate optimization is a very important practice in online marketing, and has one of the highest returns on investment.

Let’s look at an example, to give you a better idea of how it works.

For Example…

So let’s say we want to A/B Test a landing page for our sales inquiry form. During 30 days, we have approximately 2000 visitors to that page. You show 1000 the “A” page with one headline, and you show the other 1000 the “B” page with a different headline. At the end of the 30 days, check to see which landing page had a higher conversion rate.

Ultimately you’re trying to identify patterns or elements that have a better conversion rate. This allows you to bring in more leads and sales, without reaching more people.

How Copyblogger increased their blog subscription rate by 254%

Copyblogger, a very popular blog about writing advertising copy, increased their blog subscription rate by 254% with A/B Testing a call to action button.

Most of my subscribers use one of the two large buttons on my site. The buttons used to include the text “Subscribe by E-mail” and “Subscribe by RSS” along with appropriate graphics. After I had my epiphany, I switched the text to “Get Jobs by E-mail” and “Get Jobs by RSS.”

I instantly saw results.

My subscription rate has increased 254% since I made the change, and 66% of the new subscribers are e-mail subscribers.

This is in line with my hypothesis that the people who misunderstand the word “subscribe” are the same people who will choose e-mail over RSS. Although they may not be web savvy, these readers are extremely valuable. It is essential in all copywriting that you avoid unclear jargon, even if it’s not jargon to you.

Conversion rate optimization helps you discover free money. With the same website traffic and marketing dollars spent, you can find ways to increase sales and leads.

What are you currently testing, and what should you be testing?

Get long-term ROI.

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