Background: Earlier this week I had a pretty lengthy conversation with my friend Ryan Critchett about conversion optimization and how he could improve his conversion rates from his Google AdWords campaign. That prompted this post from him on conversion optimization (on which I’ve posted a very lengthy comment), which then prompted me to share this more detailed post on what you can do to help compel prospects to convert.

Hopefully if you’re reading this, you’ve already working hard to improve your site’s organic search engine rankings by regularly producing and updating high quality, well-structured web content. If that’s the case, good for you. You are setting yourself and your business up for scalable web success by doing things the right way from the start. Now that you have put time and work into organizing, managing and optimizing your site’s content, you may be wondering, where does the business part of all this come in? It’s not only a fair question, it’s a good one. While right now, your website is likely just one tool in your arsenal of lead generation, I’d be willing to bet money that over the next few years, you’ll see the percentage of leads your website generates grow more than any other. So, how do you optimize your website’s lead generation opportunities for increased conversions?

1. Remove All Barriers to Conversion, Make it Easy

The more steps involved in prospect conversion, the lower your conversion rate. Don’t make prospects think. There are other instances in which you will want to do nothing but make people think, but conversion time is not one of them. Remove as many clicks as possible from the process. Don’t bog prospects down with a manuscript on what your business does. Give them a quick summary of what they’re getting and an easy way to get it, preferably, all on the same page.

2. Require As Little Information As Is Needed, Make it Quick

Again, you want to make this whole conversion process easy. If all you need is a prospect’s email address to follow-up, then only request that he or she provides you with name and email. There are plenty of solutions out there that will allow you to conditionally present more and more form fields to prospects as they continue to come back to your site. If you’re a business looking for a solution that offers this functionality, check out Pardot’s Prospect Insight, it’s a phenomenal tool. Whether or not you invest in a tool to present fields conditionally as prospects come back, initially the fewer the fields, the better.

3. Keep the End in Sight

Preferably, all of your form’s fields AND the submit button, should be visible above the fold of the monitor. Test your landing page on different resolution settings, so you’re not just making it above the fold for your monstrosity of a 32″ monitor, most people don’t have those. If they don’t see the end of the form in sight, they will automatically and subconciously assume it is a more involved process than it is. Shorter and visible without scrolling = better.

4. Make What They’re Getting Clear

The prospect should be keenly aware of what they’re getting before you ask them to convert. Think about it like this, if I tell you I have something behind the proverbial “Door #1” and want you to give me $5000 to see what it is and obtain it, you’d probably think I was crazy. Chances are, if I present this opportunity to 1,000 people, only 1 or 2 people, one who is stubborn and willing to take chances, and one who is likely just an idiot, are going to take the risk. The same is true when people have to consider sharing their personal information with your business. They need to know what they’re getting in return. Many of them have been conditioned to fear giving out their info because of brands who have taken it in the past and used it to send an offensive volume of pitchy emails. For this reason, I also recommend including a highly visible link to your privacy policy and/or the page on your website that details exactly what you’ll be using prospect contact information for. While the relationships between brands and consumers are anything but tit-for-tat these days, the first time you ask someone to give you their information, give them a clear incentive to do so and let them know exactly what they’re getting in return, both now, and in the future. Without this, you will be sure to only draw the .1-.2% of risk takers and village idiots.

5. Test, Test & Test Some More

Every prospect is unique. Every business is unique. Every offer is unique. While general conversion optimization rules like the ones above apply to most scenarios, your business may cater to a market that thinks and behaves differently. For example, a business that offers a product or service that’s procured via a long sales cycle and is a longer term commitment for prospects from a psychological standpoint, may see better conversion rates by including more content on landing pages. Use A/B testing to determine what works for you. Play with changing landing page layouts, form position and page copy/messaging to see what works best. Don’t assume you think like your prospects do.

In my next post, I’ll discuss what you can do post-conversion to keep prospects engaged with your brand and coming back. I’m interested in your ideas and tips for conversion optimization. What other steps do you recommend businesses take to improve conversion rates?