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Getting users to your site and converting them Selling Online
Getting users to your site and converting them
Selling Online
Steve Jones
Selling OnlineOverview
WEB
Getting users to your site
Capturing your audience
Leading them to a decision
What does this look like?
Whether eCommerce or a simple
company website, selling online comes
down to three things.
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Selling OnlineOverview
Steve JonesWEB0
Quick bio
● Coding for 18 years
● BA in Journalism
● MA in Theology
● Web Developer to Partner Developer
Selling OnlineOverview
Steve JonesWEB0
Before we get started:
1. Ask questions
2. Slow me down
3. I don’t know everything
Selling OnlineOverview
Steve JonesWEB0
Three keys to success:
1. Cost: Time = Money
2. Big picture: Always take a step back
3. Expertise: Make informed decisions, not likes
and dislikes.
Getting Users to Your SiteOverview
SEO
Search Marketing - Organic Search
Social Media
Content, Expert, Personality
Steve JonesWEB1
Getting Users to Your SiteSearch Marketing: Organic Search
Steve JonesWEB1
What is SEO?
● SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization
○ Definition: The process of increasing your site’s visibility to Search Engines.
● The correct term: Search Marketing, Organic Search
● Why?
Purchased LinksBANNED
Steve JonesWEB1
Reality Check: You can’t defeat Google, Bing, etc
● Search Engines update their algorithms weekly
● It is in their best interest to defeat spam
Invisible Text Doorway SitesBANNED
BANNED
Getting Users to Your SiteSearch Marketing: Organic Search
Steve JonesWEB1
Then what? Content Strategy
1. User content first
2. Search content second
3. Promote your expertise
“Instead of trying to game search,
communicate with search.”
Getting Users to Your SiteSearch Marketing: Organic Search
User Content First
● Search Engines want to provide users with relevant information to their searches
● So, provide content specifically geared toward your audience
● Your users get the content they need and your content gets indexed correctly by
Google, Bing, etc.
Steve JonesWEB1
Getting Users to Your SiteSearch Marketing: Organic Search
Search Content Second
● You can and should tailor your content for search engines
● Be more specific, use phrases, terms, and words that are specific to your industry and
what you provide. Ask yourself, what are users going to search for when they are
looking for my product?
Steve JonesWEB1
Getting Users to Your SiteSearch Marketing: Organic Search
Promote your expertise
● Search Engines want to provide users with expert information
● Show Google, Bing, etc. that you are an expert
● Create a blog
● Provide guest blog posts
● Comment on forums, posts, etc.
Steve JonesWEB1
Getting Users to Your SiteSearch Marketing: Organic Search
P1
Remember those tips I gave you for SEO? They also apply to Social Media.
● Provide good content - link to other content or your own
● Be an expert - give tips, respond to conversations
● Have a personality - sell you, not your service/product
Getting Users to Your SiteSocial Media
Steve JonesWEB1
"Sure, we might have just been scored on and Kings fans are bummed about the goal, but this is
hockey. Let's have some fun..."
Getting Users to Your SiteSocial Media
Steve JonesWEB1
Personality
Getting Users to Your SiteSocial Media
Steve JonesWEB1
Discover how best to use social media for your specific service/product
Search Marketing and Social Media
● Content Strategy
○ Create authentic, user-centric, content
○ If you did the above right, it is already tailored for search
○ Promote your expertise on your site and throughout the web
● Social Media
○ Have a personality - sell yourself, not your service or product
○ Again, promote your expertise with links, replies, and content
Steve JonesWEB1
Getting Users to Your SiteRecap
Capturing Your AudienceOverview
Steve JonesWEB2
What does capture mean?What is your goal?
Why conversion?
Convert > Bring in
Four simple questionsThey all include “I”
What does conversion mean for you?
Do you want people to buy something?Download something?Call you?Follow you?
Define your goals
What does success look like? What is it worth?
Capturing Your AudienceWhat is Conversion?
Steve JonesWEB2
Most important goal: Conversion
Getting users to your site is your first goal, but it isn’t necessarily your most important goal.
What would you rather have?
Drive 50 people to your etsy shop and have 10 convert? or Drive 200 people to your website and have 2 convert?
Make sure you invest in converting your users before investing in bringing users to your site. Why? Because you will actually get conversions from that money, rather than wasting it.
Capturing Your AudienceWhat is Conversion?
Steve JonesWEB2
How do I capture someone, or convert them?
There are four simple questions that a user generally asks themselves when they happen onto a website:
● What do I need?
● Do you have what I need?
● Are you the best to provide what I need?
● What do I do next?
Capturing Your AudienceHow to Capture
Steve JonesWEB2
Capturing Your AudienceFoundation: Identify your user
Steve JonesWEB2
The foundation: Identify your user
Every question the user asks has an “I” in it.
Identifying them and making them feel “known” will provide the theme needed to help them answer those 4 questions.
Use pictures!
If your website is everything for everyone,it is nothing for no one
Capturing Your AudienceFoundation: Identify your user
Steve JonesWEB2
Capturing Your AudienceFoundation: Identify your user
Steve JonesWEB2
Capturing Your AudienceFoundation: Identify your user
Steve JonesWEB2
What does it mean to know your user?
1. Who are they?
a. How old are they?
b. Male or female?
2. Why do they need your products/services?
3. What causes them to purchase?
4. What causes them not to purchase?
P2
Capturing Your AudienceAnswering question #1
Steve JonesWEB2
Question: What do I need?
Answer: Provide information.
The user doesn’t always know what they need, they may just know they have a problem.
Examples:● Just say it● Use Graphics● Use Video:
https://vimeo.com/25398266
Capturing Your AudienceAnswering question #2
Steve JonesWEB2
Question: Do you have what I need?
Answer: Tell them that you do.
Never never never ever forget to explain what you do or what you offer in 10 words or less.
Capturing Your AudienceAnswering question #3
Steve JonesWEB2
Question: Are you the best to provide what I need?
Answer: Tell them who you are.Why are you unique? Why is your store or company better than the next? Why should they buy from you?
Capturing Your AudienceAnswering question #4
Steve JonesWEB2
Question: What do I do next?
Answer: Give them something to do.Now that they are sold, you actually have to provide them what they need.
Conversion is important and necessaryMake sure your site can convert people before investing in driving people to your site
Identify your users and speak to them with text and imagesWho are they? Why do they choose you? What do they look like?
Give them something to doThey are sold, now give them something to do. A button, a link, something.
Capturing Your AudienceSummary
Steve JonesWEB2
Make it EASY#1 rule
Context mattersScreen, Connection...Responsive design is dead?
Curveball
Leading them to a decisionOverview
Steve JonesWEB3
Leading them to a decisionMake it EASY
Steve JonesWEB3
Make it EASY
● This is your #1 rule for every decision
● Always ask the question “Does this make it easier for my users?”
● Easier means different things
“It doesn’t matter how many times I have to click, as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice.”Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think
What do I mean by making it easy?
● Less text, larger fonts, more white space
● Large images, but not too large
● Forms with less questions/information requested
● Don’t hide information, be upfront (ex. Pricing, Contact information)
● Less pages, no rabbit trails
● Screens, devices...
Leading them to a decisionMake it EASY
Steve JonesWEB3
P2
Context matters
Screen Size
1. First it was multi-browser
2. Then it was mobile
3. Then it was Tablet & Mobile
4. Now it is simply, screen size
Know your user!
Connection
1. DSL, Cable, Fiber?
2. 4G or 3G?
Leading them to a decisionHow do I make it easy?
Steve JonesWEB3
Capturing Your AudienceContext Matters
Steve JonesWEB2
What about Responsive Design?
● Was first talked about in 2004
● Was coined in 2010
● Responsive Design is dead?
● Reactive Design or Mobile First design or ...
Know your user!
Leading them to a decisionHow do I make it easy?
Steve JonesWEB3
You want this But you have this
Curveball: Software DevelopmentSteve JonesWEB
4
Software development is like an episode of Property Brothers
Curveball: Software DevelopmentSteve JonesWEB
4
Time = Money
Construction
● Blueprints● Plumming● Painting● Drywall● Ventilation● Carpentry● etc.
Development
● Content development● Wireframing● Design● Branding● Front-end development● Engineering
Software development is like an episode of Property Brothers
Things to keep in mind:
● You get what you pay for
● Architect before you Build
○ You need to know where you are going
○ And you need to know what it will take to get you there
● Define your needs first, then make decisions
Curveball: Software DevelopmentSteve JonesWEB
4
What are sales worth to you?
● What does a $1M sales person make in a year? $2M? $5M?
● And they are worth it, correct?
● Then why do we balk at spending money on websites, specifically eCommerce?
Curveball: Software DevelopmentSteve JonesWEB
4
Choosing Platforms
There are many platforms
- nopCommerce, Magento,
virtoCommerce, Ablecommerce
Open Source vs. Paid License
- ex SiteFinity, Wordpress
Curveball: Software DevelopmentOverview
Steve JonesWEB4
Different Programming Languages
- .NET, PHP, Java, Ruby on Rails
Hosted Saas vs. Managed by you
- Shopify, Etsy, squarespace, wix
1. Hosted platforms: Shopify, Squarespace, Etsy
a. Strengths: Low entry cost, Low maintenance cost
b. Weaknesses: Low control, No ownership
2. Low-end platforms: Wordpress, Magento
a. Strengths: Low upfront cost, MacGyver
b. Weaknesses: Low viability
3. Developer platforms: Sitefinity, Ablecommerce, etc.
a. Strengths: High control, long-term viability
b. Weakenesses: High entry cost
Steve JonesWEB4
Curveball: Software DevelopmentPlatforms
Steve JonesWEB4
Three hosting tiers
1st Tier – Godaddy, Bluehost, Hostgator, etc.
● If they are selling hosting for $1, probably not that great
2nd Tier – MediaTemple, Rackspace, etc.
● What happens when your site goes down?
● What happens if it gets hacked?
3rd Tier – AWS, Azure
● You get what you pay for
Curveball: Software DevelopmentHosting
Lisa Leonard Designs
Sales Increased 220% in 24 months after
implementing a custom eCommerce site and
blogging platform
What does this look like?Lisa Leonard Designs
Steve JonesWEB4
Mobile Users
In 2013, the majority of Lisa Leonard’s users were viewing her site on mobile, specifically on
iPhones. But, their site was not optimized for mobile. So their conversion rate was half that of
users using the site on larger screens.
Why?
● Promotions drive business for them.
● A majority of their mobile users were entering the site via an email newsletter.
Yet they weren’t checking out.
What does this look like?Lisa Leonard Designs
Steve JonesWEB4
What does this look like?Lisa Leonard Designs
Steve JonesWEB4
What did Lisa Leonard do?
● They identified their user
● And They made it easy for them
What does this look like?Lisa Leonard Designs
Steve JonesWEB4
What does this look like?Lisa Leonard Designs
Steve JonesWEB4
Selling OnlineConclusion
Steve JonesWEB4
Develop a plan before you do anything
Capture your audience by identifying them and answering their questions
Lead them to a decision by making it easy
AfterwordInvesting in Growth
Steve JonesWEB4
Growth requires investment
If you're a business leader, do not neglect technology. If you are an influencer at your company, make sure your leaders understand the importance of technology.
Website / eCommerce / CRM / ERP / Back Office Apps / Internet Speed / Wifi Reliability / Devices
