18 Website Optimization Tips For More Traffic and Higher Conversions

By: Josh Dunlop     Topics: Build Better Websites     More posts about: Blog Design, Conversion Optimization, Usability

When it comes to website optimization, there is a lot you can be doing if you want to increase sales, get more traffic and have higher conversions.

What is website optimization? To me, it’s how you can improve your website so that it works better.

I know I have some very loyal readers here at IncomeSup.com and I would hate for you to miss out on some great website optimization techniques and simple tricks and tips that can make the difference between 10 website views and 10,000 website views so here we have a huge list of what I feel are the best lessons you could learn TODAY.

Remember that as online entrepreneurs and website owners, we run the risk of being left behind because the internet is a very fast paced industry to work within. That being said, these neat website optimization tips and resources should have you up-to-date and ahead of the game. I hope these all help you massively, and if you know some blog posts that should have been featured in this post then please do leave them in the comments and we will add them!

How Website Optimization Can Increase Your Sales and Traffic

#1 Reduce Your Website Bounce Rate

Your website bounce rate is what percent of people left your website without visiting more than one page. The lower your bounce rate, the better.

If website optimization is important to you, this is something you need to be improving.

Here are my top tips to get started:

• Interlink blog posts
• Reduce adverts
• Improve readability
• Keep content up to date
• Increase website speed
• Add related or popular posts to the bottom of articles
• Test different anchor text for website navigation
• Reorder posts on category pages to show most popular
• Improve featured images for posts

You will notice that improving your bounce rate, is also going to help your search engine optimization.

#2 Optimize Your Website For Search Engines

Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to spend your time if you want to increase traffic to your site. With literally millions of other people and blogs to compete with; you have to work hard to stay ahead of the game.

So many people manage to cover most areas of importance when starting a blog with the exception of SEO. This can be disastrous for your blogs future and because of this, you need to learn as much as you possibly about the subject. Get clued up on the best SEO tools and techniques, this will put you one step ahead of the competition! Make sure to follow these 10 SEO blog publishing steps that most bloggers forget.

Here are my top tips that I focus on when it comes to optimizing my website for search engines:

• Do keyword research
• Reduce bounce rate
• Fix broken links
• Increase page speed
• Make sure my pages have over 2000 words
• Get more backlinks
• Add a sitemap

From this list, you will probably notice that search engine optimization isn’t just about writing great content, but it’s also a lot about how you user friendly your website is. It makes sense really, the better your website is, the more Google wants to link to you.

#3 Split Test Your Website

Split testing is another topic that can dazzle blogging newcomers and can leave them dazed and confused in the wake of a ton of supposedly informative articles. The problem with many of the articles you may read on this subject is that they are usually aimed at the more advanced bloggers which can really hinder those with little to zero understanding of what split-testing actually is.

I feel it is my duty to you my readers, to aid you in understanding this mysterious subject matter because I want you to succeed and to succeed as well as possible. Check out these posts on conversion optimization.

Not sure what to split test? Here is some of the things we are testing:

• Headlines
• Colors
• Button text
• Design vs Design
• Borders
• Images

#4 Increase Your Website Speed

Increasing website speed will increase conversions and search engine rankings, that’s why it’s one of my favorite website optimization techniques. It amazes me to this day that there are so few people out there that actually help their websites and blogs to run faster; the majority of people tend to create pages and posts and continue in doing so without any second thought to how their site is performing in speed. This can be a very major issue at times and it is one that I think you will great suffer from if I do not aid you in understanding how to make your website or blog run faster.

I’m sure a great deal of you reading this will have at times, been patiently waiting for a website to load only to click the ‘Back button’ and search for something different instead? If you have, and you HAVE clicked that button; what makes you think that your readers will not do the same if YOUR site is running at a snails pace?

Here are 18 Things Making Your Website Slow.

#5 Optimize Your Email Marketing Signup Area

This is another major question that a lot of new bloggers ask and while it is a valid and important question it is also very simple to put into effect. Some bloggers give up when they are unable to find new subscribers and this should not be the case, instead it should make you even more passionate about your blog because you want it to be the best it can be.

Subscribers are definitely the way forward for numerous reasons and loyal ones will aid you greatly whether by spreading the word about your blog by mouth or by a review on your site or maybe even a YouTube video, there is no question that subscribers are the life support that your blog needs in order to stay top of the ladder.

Our top tip for getting email subscribers? Use PopUp Domination.

So you have created your blog, you have traffic heading to it on a daily basis and you have even started to build up an email list; how do you go about marketing via email? These great posts should help:

• 10 “Fill In The Blank” Email Subject Lines (That Made Me The Most Money)
• 12 Powerful Tips to Dramatically Increase Email Open Rate
• 14 Ways to Get More Clicks In Your Emails

A big part of website optimization is about how you keep visitors coming back to your website. Make sure to also read: 11 Email Marketing Campaigns Every Business Should Be Running

#6 Offer Amazing Customer Service

Customer service pays for itself in so many different ways.

Firstly, it will increase your conversion rate because it’s something people care about when they buy a product. If a customer has a problem with your service, they want to know that they can get help straight away, not wait days for each support response. Given the option between two similar products, one with live support, I’m going to take the one with live support.

Secondly, if your customer service is amazing, customers will cancel and refund a lot less.

And thirdly, if your customer service is amazing, they will buy more products from you.

Our support hours are weekly from 7am till 10pm GMT. We offer email support, live chat and we have documentation for our software. It’s important to us that you are happy.

#7 Add Upsells To Your Sales Funnel

Launching your own product is a great way to make more money online.

To make even more money from your products, add upsells. An upsell is a one time offer that is shown directly after they purchase your product. If you get this right, you can double you income with this one tip alone.

When we first launched PopUp Domination, we had no upsells. After a few months we noticed that our customers were requesting multi site licenses and more popup designs, so we started selling them. But what made the biggest difference was adding them as an upsell, directly after they purchase.

Think about it, they already put their credit card details in, they are in buying mode, converting someone to buy something right after they bought your product, is a lot easier than doing it later. This one change saw us increase sales by 100%.

#8 Increase Your Affiliate Sales With Coupon Codes and Comparison Tables

Affiliate marketing is a great way to start earning money with your blog or website.

When it comes to increasing affiliate sales, some of the best advice I can give you is to offer a coupon code. Customers like to think they are getting a good deal and if they see a coupon, they will think they are getting a better deal.

Another reason why this will boost conversions is because often when someone goes to buy and lands on the checkout page, they see a coupon code field. This makes them think, I could get a better deal if I could get a coupon code for this product. So they go to Google and find a coupon and end up buying through someone elses link. You can prevent this by giving them the coupon code in the first place.

The other big thing I suggest is to show a comparison of prices and features. This lets them see that your recommendation is the best choice and if they decide to use a different product, you will also earn.

#9 Increase Your Income By Using Multiple Monetization Techniques

It’s important to diversify your income in order to make more of it, it sounds simple and in reality it is a simple thing to do; however there are a lot of people out there blogging that simply stay focused on just one stream of income and this can be detrimental to what they are trying to achieve. Maybe you are one of these people? Have you started to make money in one certain way and just stuck to that technique?

If you have I commend you in taking action and giving yourself a great head-start; the problem is that you are too focused on that one stream of income to see that there are probably a dozen other ways to make even more money online. Some of those ways may even be 100% more effective.

Read: 14 Ways To Actually Make Money From a Website

#10 Keep Your Website Up To Date

Keeping your website up to date will improve your search engine rankings, reduce your bounce rate and increase conversions.

No one wants to read out dated blog posts. No one wants to buy a product they don’t think is still relevant. Everyone coming to your website wants to know that your site is the best and it’s worth them spending time on it.

Here are a few things you need to make sure are kept up to date:

• Copyright date
• Mentions of dates in posts
• Blog content
• Fix broken links
• Keep social media accounts up to date

#11 Make Sure Your Blog Is Secure!

Hackers, Spammers they are all out to get you, no matter who you are, what niche your blog is involved in or even how long you have been online. It can feel as though it is a personal vendetta against you but don’t take it personally it happens to the best of us.

This is why it is important to look after your blogs security so that you can continue to give your readers valuable content without being constantly attacked by an unknown force. Spammers are constantly sending emails to just about every blog on the planet and although they in themselves are not damaging, the messages that they can leave all over your blog can be.

#12 Optimize Your Website Design

This is yet another topic that brings with it numerous amounts of daily emails; a big part of website optimization is improving the design of your blog, it’s right up there with SEO. Sure the SEO does all of the hard work, bringing the traffic to your site; but the design can be just as important.

I’m sure most of you have had the experience of clicking on a top ranked result in Google for one of your searches, only to find that once the website has loaded the design is absolutely dire! So what do you do? You go ahead and click on the ‘Back button’ yet again, and this is something that your very own readers could end up doing.

That’s why it is important to get the design just right from the word go; this isn’t to say you should pour thousands of dollars into it (you can do that later when you are ready to upgrade) it simply means that you should try and stand out from the crowd and become a shepherd instead of a sheep.

#13 Optimize Your Website Code

I think this is something that 80% of bloggers know nothing about; and it is a shame really because improving the code on your site can be very rewarding. The internet is built on the foundations of thousands of codes and algorithms, so are the search engines and believe it or not so is your blog or website.

It may sound a little confusing but by making your coding look ‘beautiful’ you can really get the best out of your blog; the question you may have on your lips is “How can code be beautiful?” a very valid point. Beautiful code is what helps; the search engines find you, the browsers to correctly display your content and your readers read your content. So when I say make your code beautiful I mean it.

#14 Improve Your Website Credibility

When someone comes to your website, it’s important to give them confidence in your business.

You can do this by:

• Showing testimonials
• Showing press logos
• Showing press mentions
• Having HTTPS in your domain
• Proof reading your content
• Having an about page
• Having active social media accounts

#15 Improve Your Website Content

Fresh ideas are sometimes hard to come by, it’s not that you have lost passion, or that you care less its that you feel you have ran out of things to say, or how to make them jump out the page to your readers.

This can all be remedied with a couple of articles (below) and some good old fashioned elbow-grease. Remember that blogging is not just about adding page after page of content, it is about inspiring people, aiding them in their daily tasks, showing them the pitfalls so they can go around them. It’s also about creating content that simply appeals to the masses; whether that means adding fewer or more images, a video or maybe an mp3 audio file on your posts. Never worry about a lack of content it’s all there you just need to find it and make it interesting.

17 Writing Tips For Bloggers Who Think They Can’t Write!

How To Create Viral Content Your Readers Will Love

#16 Improve Your Website Funnel

When someone visits your website, you want to take them through a journey. It may take 5 page visits before they buy and you want to help them as much as possible to effortlessly go from page to page.

Here is an example of what I’m talking about:

Blog Post > Next Blog Post > Subscribe Page > Free Video > Checkout Page > Upsell Page > Product Download Page.

You want them to go from page to page without leaving. It’s important to plan out how you want your visitors to use your site and make sure each page along the way is optimized for what you want it to do.

#17 Optimize Your Website Design for Mobile Devices

Nearly 50% of IncomeDiary traffic is coming from mobile. If our site wasn’t optimized for mobile devices, people will leave quickly.

This doesn’t just mean they don’t buy, but because our bounce rate will increase, Google may decide our website isn’t as good and decrease our traffic.

Make sure to read 15 Best Practices for Responsible Responsive Web Design.

#18 Tracking and Analyzing Your Traffic

Again this is something that a lot of bloggers fail to do, or fail to understand the importance of doing it. Tracking and analyzing can help you with your blog or website in a plethora of ways; all of which can bring in a great deal of income.

Do you understand how the average user of your site reads your content? Do you know how many times that ‘Click Here’ link has been clicked? If not then how can you have a definite idea of where you are going right, and more importantly where you are going wrong. If you are able to track and analyze your blog or website then you can find what you are doing wrong, change it, and keep doing so until the problem no longer arises. you see, with website optimization, tracking and analysis, comes real opportunity to make your blog better, which is what we all want isn’t it?

There you have it, my 18 top tips for website optimization.

Read more: ‘9 ‘Set and Forget’ Ways To Increase Sales On Your Website’