Converting Browsers Into Buyers

Written By: Karl Ribas
Published:  May, 2006

Converting website visitors into buyers is one of the biggest obstacles that website owners face on a daily basis, and it’s for a good reason too. As one can image, there is a genuine fear that lies within every online shopper. That is the fear of being “ripped-off”. This fear exists because the Internet itself is a rather large, diverse, and mostly non-controlled environment. Unlike a business with physical presence, an online store can hide very easily and whenever it desires. For these reasons, online scams are so successful and feared, directly reducing the ability to convert browsers into buyers.

With that, how do website owners convert more browsers into buyers? There are indeed many different answers to this question, however, the most promising answer is to create and maintain a comfortable shopping experience, which can be enjoyed throughout each stage of the buying process.

Quite frankly, the only way one will truly feel comfortable in an online shopping situation is by making it appear as though they are in 100% control. That’s right. Converting visitors into buyers is all about control. Hence visitors having 100% control over their browsing and buying experience and website authorities, such as designers, internet marketers, and owners, having none.

Here are a few tips to consider when developing a comfortable, user-controlled shopping environment.

• Offer a Great Navigation Scheme - First of all, there is more to a navigation menu than just highlighting a website’s product pages or highlighting those that pay the bills. A website’s navigation is a visitor’s vehicle for getting around and it should contain paths to the pages that interest them most. If not, the website visitor will become frustrated, realize that they are is not in control of their browsing experience, and leave.

  In addition to highlighting product pages, a navigation scheme should include paths to information about the website’s owner, website’s affiliations, contact information, shipping rates, shipping options, privacy policy, and return policies. Providing users with the means to find and view this information and similar information is a great way to portray to the client that they are in control.

• Offer Multiple Purchasing Options - Please note that just because a person is browsing online and ultimately on websites, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are interested in purchasing online or at least via a shopping cart. Those people who do not understand internet technology or for those who fear sharing personal information online, such as a name, address, and credit card numbers, will need alternative options for making their purchase. This is essentially if the website’s authorities are interested in converting these visitors into buyers.

  In addition to a shopping cart, consider adopting order by phone and by email methods. Other options may include providing a form that website visitors can print, fill out, and either mail in or fax. If a website’s lucking enough to attract local visitors or to have more than one store front around the country, it should also suggest that visitors make their purchase in person and at the store itself.

• Offer Multiple Payment Options - Offering options is a great way to provide website visitors with the control they so badly desire. By providing visitors with options as to how they may complete their online order is essentially the same as saying “you’re in control” and “we’ll be happy to conform to your purchasing needs”.

  Payment options worth considering are CODs (Cash on Delivery), PayPal and other “online-cash” providers, checks, money orders, and of course multiple credit card companies. The idea behind providing many options is that visitors will be able to choose the purchasing methods that their most comfortable with.

• Offer Multiple Shipping Options - Shoppers understand that when purchasing online they are more likely to find better deals and a variety of options, which is why more and more shopping is taking place online. With that, shipping rates and shipping options have now become primary selling points.

  Consider adopting a variety of shipping options, such as normal USPS shipping, next-day shipping, and everything in between. The idea is to meet the needs of all or most online shoppers by providing them with the shipping solution that best fits their needs.

  Website visitors appreciate options because options put them in control. Control breeds a comfortable shopping experience for online shoppers.

In closing, it’s tremendously important that website visitors understand that they are in control of their shopping experience. Visitors should posses many options, but most importantly the options to stay or leave without making a purchase, to add or remove items from a shopping cart, to find all desired information with ease, and to navigate and browse through all necessary pages of a website.

By following these simple, yet important, guidelines, website authorities can help to put their website on the right track for converting browsers into buyers.

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