Website Optimization - Effectively Boost Conversions

Welcome to the fifth and final post of our blog series “5 Tips on How to Keep Your Online Marketing Strategy Relevant in Times of Automation”.

In this part, we focus on Website Optimization. We discuss why it's important to keep an eye on the competition, the ways to identify them, and how we can leverage insights to gain advantages.

If you missed the previous parts of the series, feel free to check them out. We talk about why it's important to define the right business goals, the benefits of broadening your online marketing channels, why contextual advertising is often underestimated, and how a competitor analysis can provide a competitive edge.

Optimizing Your Content

Arguably the most important aspect of optimization is undoubtedly one's own website. No matter how much effort we put into optimization measures before the click - if the foundation, the website, is not right, we cannot be successful in the long run. Therefore, it's essential to make the user experience on our website as smooth, enjoyable, and intuitive as possible.

It starts with user-friendly navigation that guides users clearly and directly through the pages to their intended goal. An optimized checkout process, guest checkouts, as well as up-to-date and secure payment methods, also help to reduce cart abandonment hurdles. To ensure everyone finds what they need quickly on our site, it might also be worthwhile to implement an intelligent site search that provides suggestions during the actual search and, in some cases, shows product recommendations directly. We'll see what such an intelligent search looks like in the following example from Nike.

But even on specific landing pages, where we either advertise strategically or want to push in other ways, there are additional content optimization measures:

• Clear and compelling offer

• Effective call-to-actions

• Adequate information for informed (purchase) decisions

• Trust-building elements

• Fast load times + Mobile optimization

• A/B testing!

The Impact of FAQs

Today, we have less and less time to convince people of our offer. Therefore, it's all the more important to answer as many questions as possible already on the landing page. FAQs, for example, in an “accordion element,” help provide as much information as possible that users can expand when needed without being overwhelmed by walls of text.

At this point, the importance of A/B testing for landing page optimization should be highlighted. They serve as one of the key elements for improving performance and should always be an integral part of optimization measures. All major companies have likely subjected their landing pages to hundreds or thousands of tests, and for good reason.

Quick tip: External tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity help enormously in better understanding user behavior on the site and making data-driven optimizations. The content available on landing pages should also depend on the target audience the page is intended for.

Providing Solutions & Contact Options

When generating leads, we should ensure we provide adequate contact opportunities. A persistent contact field can be helpful here, allowing users to establish contact when they're ready without having to search. This is particularly relevant for pages with a large amount of text content.

Here, we also bridge to target group definition from Tip #2. On our landing page, we now have the opportunity to understand the pain points of our target group and present solution approaches. An effective means can also be showing opportunity costs if a collaboration is foregone. It quickly becomes clear how the service could impact one's own company and how much working hours and/or money can be saved.

By sharing expert knowledge, such as case studies, white papers, or webinars, we not only inform and qualify our target group in advance but also create a higher level of trust. This is especially important in B2B, as the costs for offered services can easily reach six to seven figures in euros, and decisions are often made at the highest business levels. Those who score with their expertise in advance significantly increase their chances of being commissioned.

On product pages, alongside many of the previously mentioned points, the following content optimization options can also be added:

• High-quality product images

• Detailed product descriptions

• Encouraging/displaying customer reviews

• Product recommendations/similar products/“Often bought together”

• Product videos

• Price and market analyses

• Clear, customer-friendly return policies

Focusing on Customer Satisfaction

We should make it as easy as possible for users to decide whether the product is relevant or not. Above all, high-quality content on the product page helps. The impact of customer reviews should also never be underestimated, especially for high-priced products. Nowadays, many people compare products in advance, and one of the crucial criteria is often a good product rating. Not only do we benefit to some extent from user-generated content, but we also have the opportunity to see what customers appreciate about our product and, importantly, where we can still improve. Those who actively reach out to their customers, take suggestions for improvement, and then implement them, increase long-term customer satisfaction and thus also customer loyalty.

Speaking of customer satisfaction: A good customer support is, of course, essential for long-term success. If we receive an inquiry from a dissatisfied customer, we have the chance to turn the negative experience into a positive one. This not only leads to a better customer experience but often also reflects in customer reviews, which can directly impact the purchase decision and give the brand a more positive image.

Through email marketing or newsletters, we effectively reach existing customers and prospects, announcing new products or promotional offers. Often, such offers are exclusively available to newsletter subscribers, which can positively impact the signup rate. This way, we gather more customer data without significant monetary additional costs while simultaneously providing attractive offers.

With loyalty programs, customers can be retained long-term by the company, increasing the number of repeat buyers. These programs range from points for purchases to referring other people to cashback promotions or subscriptions with additional benefits or discounts.

There are therefore manifold website optimization possibilities that can help improve the user experience, increase CLTV, and thus also have a direct impact on various marketing channels. As mentioned earlier, website optimization is undoubtedly one of the most effective measures to improve performance since it is the place where most users ultimately convert one way or another.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we return to the initial question: Will online marketing become obsolete due to developments in AI and automation?

Here we can reply with a resounding NO. Those who rely solely on automation and AI for their marketing strategy will lose in the long run. While all the new AI features are indeed helpful and can enrich online marketing, they are not the ultimate solution. The heavy reliance on data, on which AI is based, enables the processing of countless pieces of information, but it is also its greatest weakness. Many data points are often inaccessible, and important connections are thus lost. Apart from advertising platforms, there are many other optimization possibilities that should be utilized to get the most out of one's strategy. Ultimately, only the proportion of work shifts from operational to strategic. And for that, at the end of the day, you still need a human with experience.

Thank you for your attention! We hope you enjoyed our blog series on “5 Tips on How to Keep Your Online Marketing Strategy Relevant in Times of Automation” and that you can not only justify your marketing job better to your boss but also take away a trick or two. If you haven't seen our other blog entries yet, feel free to check them out!

Automation in Marketing - Part 1 | Optimize for Goals
Automation in Marketing - Part 2 | Channel Diversification
Automation in Marketing - Part 3 | Contextual Advertising
Automation in Marketing - Part 4 | Competitor Analysis
Automation in Marketing - Part 5 | Website Optimization for More Conversions

Did we forget something important, or do you have further questions on any of the topics? Then feel free to write it in the comments!