As a small or medium business in the hectic digital marketplace, securing a competitive edge by implementing the most up to date tools is important. An interactive website is one such tool that can have a significant effect on your conversion rate.
Let’s see how.
What is an Interactive Website?
An interactive website pretty much does what it says on the tin. It is a website which allows for greater interactivity on the part of your audience. An interactive website has the potential to jolt your audience out of their passivity and get them interacting in a positive way with your website, brand and business.
Why is Interactive Better than Static?
At Effector, we are focussed on helping you grow your business by getting more people on board. Therefore, for us to recommend them, interactive websites need to pull their weight, they have to be better than the alternative.
A static website is one which acts as your online shop window and little more. If you were window shopping in real life, the window might attract you into the shop, but you cannot engage directly with it. You can’t find out whether the item you want is in stock, or any other number of things you could do if you were standing in front of a member of staff inside the store.
An interactive website, developed specifically with your business goals and needs in mind, shifts the user experience so that it is no longer as though they are just window shopping. It brings them right into the heart of your business so that open dialogue is easy and fun – which makes the audience experience more pleasant and can have a bigger impact on your business.
How to Boost Conversion Rates with an Interactive Website
An interactive website can be developed with any number of features depending on your business. You do not need to saturate the website with functionality, rather some well-selected key functions can make a significant improvement in a short space of time.
Here are some ideas of ways to make your website more interactive.
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Hook them with Attractive Media
Ah yes, we all have a soft spot for things that are pleasing to the eye and impart useful information. Video is incredibly popular right now. In fact, if you’re not using video somewhere on your site, you’re probably missing out on some easy traffic.
That said, video isn’t the only type of media that can attract people. Stunning images of your premises, staff, customers or events can all really draw people in. Infographics are another way to go, they are quick for the user to consume and the design elements catch the eye and make them fun to read.
Have a think about what sort of media would appeal to your audience and take some time to gather media that will get them talking and sharing.
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Surprise & Delight along the Path to Conversion
Let’s be honest, customers do not think about the sales process, the path to conversion or sales funnels. They want to secure the goods or services they need in an easy, pleasant way. When we talk about the path to a sale we absolutely must put ourselves in the customer’s shoes. Easy is good, so is functional, and anything else that makes the process simple.
However, nothing we have said there means that the process needs to be boring. As most businesses tend not to explore this area there is huge potential to optimise this process in a fresh, creative way to allow your customers to interact with your business and perhaps each other along the sales funnel.
How? Assessments are a great tool which gives your audience value, they are more likely to choose the product which is right for them as a result, and they have become an active participant on your site. If you make it fun and really useful, they may be inspired to share it with their network – and go ahead and purchase from you.
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Offer Tools that Keep them coming back for more
Are there any sites that you visit on a regular basis because they offer a free tool which helps you in some way? Many of us do this with great frequency without even realising it. Google is an obvious example. We don’t have to buy anything from Google to use their search engine, it provides amazing value for millions of people around the world and we visit it each and every day. Now, being a search tool is Google’s raison d’être. But there are many other websites which offer free tools as an add on to what they provide to their audience. If the tool works well and provides a great service you will entice people back over and over.
Ask yourself what would be of value to your audience. What do they need to do that you could help with using a specially developed tool?
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Make Contacting You a Breeze
The moment when a potential customer decides to make contact is crucial. Making it easy for them not only ensures that they complete the process, but it makes it more likely that they will do so again in the future.
Dynamic contact forms are a dream for busy, stressed users who just want to get it done. When a contact form auto populates information from what you have provided initially, it can make people want to sing for joy! Or is that just us?
Contact forms are an essential part of the process, but by making it work for your audience, you have a real chance at boosting your conversion rate easily.
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Dive Deep into Your Content
We know now that most people now choose to access most sites on mobile. We have written about the importance of mobile optimisation before, but what we want to talk about today is one effect of mobile browsing on internet content.
As users want to be able to read an entire article without having to navigate anywhere, long-form content is becoming favoured again. This doesn’t necessarily require a wall of text, you can, of course, create long-form content that is interspersed with graphics, media and other ways for your readers to interact. But it does mean that while you have a browser’s attention it is a good opportunity to dive into an in-depth discussion of your topic. There are so many articles online that merely skim the surface of a topic – and while this is fine for casual browsers, those who have taken the time to interact with you in various ways may just require a more meaty discussion of a topic.
Why not try incorporating some long-form content into your existing offering and see how it performs? You may be surprised at the engagement you elicit.
It’s no secret that our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter as we become more accustomed to information at our fingertips, delivered in a short, digestible way. However, once engaged with a topic, we still have as much potential as ever to engage completely. If given the opportunity. An interactive website provides your audience with that opportunity in abundance, with the direct result that your conversion rate increases quite easily.
It’s not magic, it’s just good web design meeting excellent digital marketing strategy. That’s what we, at Effector, do best! If you would like to chat about how an interactive website can make a difference in your business, contact us today.
