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The post 4 Proven Methods to Increase Your Website Conversions appeared first on HostGator Blog . Are you actively creating new content for your website or blog, only to find that you seem to be wasting more time than anything else? If so, then you will find a lot of value in today’s article. With more than a BILLION active websites and blogs on the internet today, there are a few things you need to know: There is now more competition than ever to rank in Google Every topic has already been written about a thousand times over For content to make money, it needs to have traffic and call-to-action The best business models are ones with a direct focus and need on their audience Remarketing similar products and services to your site visitors is key By reminding yourself of these five key points, you will find a lot more success in blogging and content creation . It’s also important to remember that people are using the internet for three main reasons, which are 1) to buy something, 2) to find information, 3) to be entertained. Cater to any of these needs with an ending call-to-action, and you are on the right track. At the same time, it’s extremely important to make sure you have a marketing plan in place as well. Just creating content and hoping to rank in the search results is no longer a viable plan. With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at a some of the many different ways to create valuable content and marketing methods that continues to make money time and time again. 1. Have a Great Call-To-Action on Your Main Page When you look at any of the top websites on the internet today (especially in online marketing and business services), you will see that most of them have a direct call-to-action, or CTA , on their main page. Here’s an example of HostGator’s: There are plenty of reasons for this, but two of the most obvious are that you only have a few seconds to make a great first impression and to get the user to act on whatever you have to offer. Another reason, is that simple micro-sized actions usually have much higher conversions and engagement in the long run. Let’s take a look at a couple examples of this below. With more entrepreneurs, content creators, and affiliates jumping into the world of ecommerce, there is a huge untapped market that is searching for answers daily. One of the biggest problems ecommerce sites are facing, is trying to find winning products that are in demand, have low competition, and also offer higher profit margins. All of this can be summed up nicely in the “Find products for your store in minutes” call-to-action that is found right on the home page of Oberlo . Throw in the addition of the product image and a visual on the retail price and potential profit, and you can only imagine the conversion rate on this homepage alone. At the same time, when having any type of product or service, it’s a huge benefit if your brand is actually using that same solution itself. Another example of this can be seen on OptinMonster , which is a popular WordPress plugin that has a whole collection of popup and call-to-action lead generation tools for site owners to use. Once you start to scroll away from their site and appear to close it out, they have a popup window that appears and discusses the topic of “Cart Abandonment.” For anyone already visiting the site, they are likely already interested in how to improve their business and user engagement for the better, and this is a perfect way to show not only what their service has to offer, but how it can work for other site owners and brands as well. These are just a few working examples of how to create excellent home page calls-to-action that grab the interest of your audience and make them want to convert and become a paying customer right away. 2. Focus on How To Content, Case Studies and Live Webinars When most people visit Google, they are often searching for information to solve a problem or to help them with a decision or process. By creating content that caters to this audience, gives them value, and then direction, not only will you be providing a service, you can also turn such traffic into leads and sales as well. “How To” guides and “Tutorials” are some of the best ways to accomplish this. Just think about what your service or business offers, then reverse the process and recommend it to your audience as the solution to their problem. For example, thousands of individuals and brands are starting a new website or blog for the first time. While this might seems like nothing for the majority of us, it can be quite a daunting task for anyone attempting this the first time around. HostGator has a whole slew of tutorials and reference guides on our site for how to get started, and we also offer several live webinars as well. And just like how millions of people will be starting a new website or blog today, the same is true with social media. It’s not just about how many people will actively go live on new platform, but also how they use it for their business or brand. Even if they aren’t new to the social platform, they might be new to the concept of advertising with them — and those businesses and services out there that cater to this need will continue to generate new business as well. Another example of how to use case studies and brand examples to provide new leads and sales for your business, is to show how other companies are doing something right (such as social media marketing), and then how your customers can follow along and do the same. This Zappos case study is a great example of how a site is leveraging the success and branding of another brand, then offering a relevant service to their audience — hoping to turn them into customers. Often times, these types of case studies and resource guides go into super detail on how complex and time-consuming it actually is to create a winning strategy, and then sell that formula and service instead. Again, this all goes back to knowing your target audience and catering to their needs. These are just a few examples to consider when trying to come up with new content ideas and calls-to-action for your site, while also driving new traffic and leads in the process. 3. Product Information, Review Articles and Testimonials Matter We already know that a ton of people are going to Google everyday to learn new things and to research processes to accomplish whatever their personal or business goals are. But what about product and service information? Sure, there are millions of websites about products and services out there, but some do it better than others. Just having a product page with generic information will get you nowhere. Instead, shopping comparison and niche review sites do this extremely well. This is something Amazon has revolutionized over the past several years. Just take a look at any product on their site, and then you will see a ton of product recommendations based on other customer viewing and purchases. Just imagine how much of an increase Amazon sees in order size, thanks to these little recommendations and ratings throughout their site. This method also works very well for affiliate marketing and commission-based lead generation as well. Since site owners and bloggers are pretty good at social media and SEO, it’s actually one of the most popular and effective ways to drive traffic and revenue to some of the top sites on the internet. A perfect example of this can be seen in this HostGator review , which highlights nearly all aspects of the hosting platform. You can bet that anyone looking for a hosting plan and coming across this page will find all of the information they need, and are most certainly ready to take action in the process. At the same time, there are also user reviews and ratings placed throughout the site as well. And with Inc.com recently reporting that “ 84 percent of people trust online reviews as much as friends ”, you can only imagine how well such testimonials and reviews work, even when we don’t actually know the individuals posting them. These examples show how product ratings and testimonials can make a huge improvement to conversions on a shopping or review site, but this method can be effective for any kind of business, from solopreneurs to small businesses . A couple more content ideas are product/service “alternatives” and “review” style posts. You can also write content on your competition and then recommend your own services or products as the better option. If you know your target audience, cater content to exactly what they are looking for, and provide them with real value — they will then likely take action while they are on your site. 4. Run Your Business with EverGreen Content Many of the methods highlighted in the points above are focused on engagement and impulse buying, while some are specifically targeted towards audiences that are already in buying mode. If someone is searching for information on an individual process or product, they are likely already in action mode. Why not create valuable content that can keep working for you for several months and years to come? This is often referred to as “ evergreen content .” In short, this means it’s something that is always in demand and won’t go out of style anytime soon. Here are a few ideas on winning evergreen topics: health/weight loss finance/making money education/employment birthdays, weddings & graduations If you have content (or a business) that caters to any of these areas, you can continually generate traffic and leads everyday of the year. This is usually easier for businesses that already have a focus in these areas, but there are also plenty of opportunities for any brand to tap into these evergreen markets as well. A winning evergreen content strategy can look something like the chart below. It’s not just about pushing out as much content as possible, but instead creating as much value within one post, which can also be promoted and referenced to time and time again. The good news is that this type of content can be created for nearly any type of business model or customer audience that you might have in place. For example, starting a new website or blog isn’t limited to just those who are tech-savvy. Through the use of articles focused on topics like “How to Lose Weight and Blog Your Journey ” or “ Create a Site for Your Upcoming Wedding! “, site owners can create compelling content for an audience, while also monetizing it through the use of HostGator and their affiliate program . Again, this goes back to the providing your audience with a “walk through,” having a call-to-action in place, and also adding in the “evergreen” component as well. How to Make a Solid Content Creation and Marketing Plan For the most part, content creation is the easy part. You can take any of the examples and concepts above, reverse engineer your end call-to-action or monetization process, and then create content around it. If you aren’t a good writer, you can simply map out these data points and then hand it off to a freelancer to complete. But as we noted, content creation is only half of the battle. With more than two million sites and blogs going live daily , you need to have an effective marketing strategy in place. It doesn’t matter if you focus on paid, SEO, or social media — as long as you have at least one in place. Before you leave this article, run through the list one more time, take some notes and then start thinking about how you can improve your business model and engagement with better main page call-to-actions, using reference guides and webinars, and also implementing evergreen content in the mix. Your competition is likely already doing many of these, and now it’s time for you to do the same. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →