How to get people to buy from your website

Lawrence Jones, August 20th 2008, 5:01PM

The results are in from my latest poll – what makes people buy from a website? The options were trust, appearance, price and usability and the results show some very interesting trends.

At 43%, trust is by far the most popular choice. So the question is how do you promote trust on your website?

For ecommerce sites secure payment is imperative. Your customers need to know their personal details and cash are safe online. Internet security is a hot topic and everyone is aware of the threat of hack attacks and identity fraud. You need to demonstrate to your web visitors that yours is a reputable enterprise.

An SSL certificate shows your company’s commitment to safe transactions online. UKFast clients who purchase SSL or EV SSLcertificates invariably fare better. SSL indicates that you care about your customers and establishes your business as a trustworthy organisation. This promotes a professional online identity, develops confidence and so generates more sales and increased profits.

If you have an SSL certificate make sure it is displayed prominently on the relevant webpages.

Another manner in which to build trust is to show your affiliations with other reputable organisations. Display logos clearly on your homepage so your visitors know straight away the sort of organisation they’re dealing with.

Visibly show contact details so web visitors know yours is a real company. Have a specific contact page with an address, phone number and email details so you’re easy to reach if a customer or potential client has a query. In certain situations, such as in smaller organisations with a less established brand, it is a good idea to display names and faces. This indicates professionalism and shows your company is not a dodgy, faceless organisation, run from some dingy student cellar.

After trust come usability and price - both at 29%. Usability is incredibly important so make sure you have a strong navigation system and relevant information is clearly displayed and easy to find.

However, tread carefully when it comes to price. Think about the brand image you are trying to portray. For example, use price comparisons if you are offering price competitive goods. However, stay away from comparing prices if your offering is focused on premium priced quality.

The final option, appearance, received no votes at all. Looks aren’t everything and you definitely can’t judge a website by its cover, but you should always make sure your site’s appearance is professional, clear and easy to use.

Tags: marketing, websites
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A fast server is intrinsic to your online marketing campaign

Lawrence Jones, July 4th 2008, 3:21PM

Did you know the speed and reliability of your website is a massive factor in the stickiness of your site, for both human visitors and search engines?

For the ever demanding customer, website response rates have to be immediate. How long do you spend on a slow page which doesn’t load properly? My guess is not long at all. And neither do your potential customers.

For slow websites the click-away rate is often incredibly high – and what do web users do when they’ve clicked away? They go to the next search engine listing, which just happens to be your fiercest competitor.

Speaking of search engines, many of the top ones use website response rate and server speed as part of the ranking process.

When a website responds more quickly, search engines see the site as more reputable and of a higher quality. These sites are rewarded because they offer a good customer experience and so they’re boosted higher in search rankings.

Fast websites are always located on quick and powerful dedicated servers. The hosting solution will often include more than one dedicated server for increased stability and performance – but that’s for another blog.

When you choose an internet hosting provider make sure you check out the reliability of their hardware. The speed of your server is as vital as other parts of your online marketing campaign.

Meta, keywords, PPC, dynamic content, great design and link building are all successful methods with which to advertise online. But what’s a great campaign if the website it’s based around is too slow to keep the attention of your customers?

Tags: dedicated server, marketing, ppc, seo, seo campaign, ukfast, websites
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Don't neglect your online presence

Lawrence Jones, May 20th 2008, 9:04AM

In the past week the British government has been criticised over its websites. A report states the websites have barely improved over the last seven years.

In this period of time, the internet has grown and changed considerably. There is much more offered by way of interactive and dynamic content now, making internet usage undeniably better than it was back in 2001.

When I look back over the years at how the UKFast website has grown, it is barely recognisable as the site of 2001. It wasn’t that it was a poor site back then, just that the internet has moved on so much.

The speed and reliability of new internet technology – broadband, quadcore web servers, innovative applications, etc, etc – offers the ability to host so much more content that I’m surprised the government hasn’t invested more into its websites. Especially with the quality of web content that can be offered online these days and the functions it can perform.

The government’s website were criticised for their lack of feedback options, poor search facilities, accessibility and usability.

This interested me greatly because it highlighted that the government (and probably businesses and organisations all over the world) still isn’t taking its online presence seriously enough.

The internet is intrinsic in the growth of UKFast. Our marketing strategy for example, was for many years based only online.

Through the growth of the UKFast website, so has the company increased size, in its successes and in its profits.

This is largely due to us moving with the times. We make sure we learn and implement the latest online techniques, from new SEO methods to incorporating more dynamic content with the introduction of video to our website. I’ve mentioned in previous blogs the success of the new UKFast videocasting department.

I simply cannot stress enough the importance of the internet to organisations in every sector. Make sure you’re using it to its fullest extent.

Tags: communication, government, ukfast, websites
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