Did you know that companies that take on a structured approach towards conversion optimization are twice as likely to see a large increase in sales?
MOST companies are too caught up in the “business as usual syndrome”, and they rarely take a second to stop and think about really focusing on conversion optimization.
In this post we’re going to go over what the highest converting websites do differently. But before we get into the details, we want to highlight a few points to get you thinking first:
Got that? Ok, let’s get into what the best do differently….
1. They Make Their Unique Value Proposition(s) Clear
Visitors should clearly see on your homepage or landing page why they should do business with you and the benefit of it.
2. They Test Their Calls-to-Actions
Hubspot featured a company on their blog that increased their conversions 105.9%by having a clear call-to-action that leads to a whitepaper. In this whitepaper, the company informs the visitor about the company & what they offer.
The company also made a more effective headline and used meaningful graphics to help guide the user. Just these three changes led to more than doubling their conversion rate.
If some obstacles to prospects purchasing from you are:
“I don’t feel comfortable purchasing from a small company like yours” – then some ideas to help overcome this fear could be:
- Include a behind the scenes video of your company and how your operations work.
- Include a banner at the top with customer testimonials, each one showing for a few seconds.
- Give your unique value proposition right at the top. Tell how long you’ve been in business, how many orders you’ve shipped, customer satisfaction rate, etc.
How do you find out what questions your customers have?
You should always be asking your customers questions to get their feedback. Understanding your customer’s pain points, confusion and what they are really looking for can help you design a site that converts higher.
3. They Test Their Headlines
The headline can make or break your website, and possibly a sale. As mentioned in the intro, the first impression is formed quickly, and the headline is a big part of that impression. It’s important to test and see what resonates most with your visitors. There is no magic formula, but there are some good guidelines that you can follow.
CityCliq improved their conversions by making a clear headline that tells the user what they’ll get. First, the tested headlines:
- Businesses grow faster online!
- Online advertising that works!
- Get found faster!
- Create a webpage for your business
The winner:

This is the best headline because it’s clear and avoids any language that you may find in your spam folder. Be creative with your headlines and inform the visitor of what you do or the benefits of your product.
4. They Tend To Have Short Forms
Conversion expert Tim Ash recommends keeping forms to only the essentials. How many times have you been ready to sign up for something, continue and see 25+ fields that you have to fill in? I have many times and I’ll often just leave the site. It’s important to respect the users time. If you’ve gotten the user as far as wanting to sign up, it’s pivotal that you don’t let them drop off because your form is too long.
Take a look at Dropbox’s signup form:

Dropbox is only asking for what they need. No username, no security questions, no birth date, no verification code, no re-enter password field, nothing unneeded.
Other Techniques To Try
The important thing is to test and experiment. What has worked for you? Let us know in the comments!
Our action plan ensures:
- Your analytics software is tracking the right stuff; if needed, we will set up funnel tracking and other action tracking.
- Heatmap and clickmap tracking set up to know where people click and where they don’t.
- Scrollmap tracking installation so we can see how and whether people scroll on your site.
- Exit surveys set up on key pages in your sales funnel to figure out why people didn’t take action (buy, sign up, etc).
- Usability testing with 10 people (who match your ideal customer profile) to discover any and all friction points on your current site – and to see what’s working.
- Website analysis against all major conversion frameworks to identify shortcomings.
- Competitive analysis: how you stack up against the competition.
- Customer surveys (at least 100 people) to understand who they are, why they buy, and how they buy. Customer persona development.
- Once you get the report, you’ll have a specific road map to boosting conversions.