There are many many different tests you can run on your affiliate site (homepage, specific landing page, etc.) to improve the overall conversions and, ultimately, grow your profits.
Here, we’ve picked just 5 of them that should be relatively easy and fast to implement. For instance, you can set them up today and start receiving valuable data as soon as tomorrow.
So, how can you improve your business? Here’s the list:
1. Only Minimal Options Available
Being a site owner creates a serious attachment to your website including the things you have displayed on it and all the great promotions you want your visitors to take you up on. The only problem is that when it comes to web conversion, simplicity tends to win over the wealth of options/possibilities most of the time.
Even though it doesn’t sound very intuitive, the more stuff you have on your landing page, the more confused your visitors will be. And in the end, it will cause them to leave the page altogether without taking action on any of your affiliate offers.
A good place to start is to introduce an alternative version of your landing page that’s stripped out of any but the essential conversion elements (such as your call to action, subscription form, and a short endorsement).
2. Good Images of People
Using images of people on landing pages is a commonly practiced thing. There is, however, a huge (conversion rate) difference between the individual images you can use.
Quite recently there was an eye tracking study done on Quick Sprout. In his post, Neil proves that images of people looking directly at the conversion elements (call to action buttons) outperform images of people looking at the camera.
So find an alternative version of the image you’re currently using on your landing page and run it alongside the original one.
3. Privacy Seals Work (Somewhat)
Privacy seals like TRUSTe or VeriSign are believed to improve the conversion rates landing pages get, simply because they assure the visitor that their data is in good hands.
But as it turns out, placing such a seal right next to the call to action button can decrease the conversion rate by 12.6%. It can look especially suspicious on an affiliate site.
Removing the privacy seal is a quick test you can run even in the next 10 minutes.
4. Divided Sales Process
Asking for a sale right on your landing page can work in some verticals, but it’s always worthwhile to test some alternatives.
You can, for example, break your sales process in half and on your landing page ask only for the minimal information (which is usually just the email). You can do this even if you don’t have any of your own offers and your business is 100% affiliate-based.
Setting up such a test can take a while if you’re doing it for the first time. But the help section at Google Analytics will guide you through the process.
5. Different Page Layouts
Again, it’s very easy to get attached to the design or the layout you have on your site…when even the slightest change can make a huge difference. This is exactly the reason why you should test some alternative layouts and experiment with your landing pages.
If you’re using a good WordPress theme, it will allow you to set individual layouts for each page. This can be all done in the WP admin and then hooked up to Content Experiments on Google Analytics.
What other things are you doing right now to improve your conversion rates?