If you don’t have these on your website you’re losing customers…

Websites can be so simple and yet so complex. Beginners tend to get lost in adding all these “cool features” and elements that really don’t make a difference … I know because I’ve been there.

It’s important to take a step back and start simple with the key elements to your website that speak to your avatar.

You can build an insanely creative website with all the bells & whistles but if you don’t provide the right information then what’s the point of the website in the first place?

While there are a number of best practices & key elements your website should have, we find that most of our clients overlook these three elements that could change your digital presence entirely.

Why are these so important?

Answer this…

When you’re comparing two products on Amazon and you see one has 18 reviews with 3.5 stars and the other has 19,857 reviews with 4.5 stars, which one are you going to buy?

Nuff’ said? Thought so.

Testimonials are extremely effective in removing any uncertainty potential consumers might have about your company, as they want to feel confident in their purchasing decisions. This lends credibility to any statement you make on your website or regarding the quality of services/products you provide.

A business that has a good number of testimonials, from a diverse group of customers, is much more appealing to potential customers than one without. Its kind of like other members of the tribe have tested the business for you and given it two thumbs up, so your risk is reduced.

Let’s take a look under the hood at some mind-blowing stats:

1. 92% of customers read online reviews before buying (Big Commerce)
2. 72% of consumers say positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business (Big Commerce)
3. 70% of people trust reviews and recommendations from strangers (Nielsen)
4. 10 or more reviews can increase in search traffic (Big Commerce)
5. 40 or more reviews are needed before consumers will consider a star-rating accurate (Opt-In Monster)
6. Using customer testimonials regularly can generate approximately 62% more revenue (Strategic Factory)
7. Reviews account for 9.8% of total search engine ranking factors (Search Engine Watch)

As you can see, testimonials do a whole lot more than just provide credibility to your product/service.

Testimonials are powerful, essential, and free marketing tools that have always been important. Today they are vital. We live in a world of incredible choice. Any business that has a legion of raving fans who are prepared to come out and not only share their experience but also recommend that others use this business, has a huge competitive advantage.

FAQs, short for Frequently Asked Questions, summarize everything your customers ask about your services and products. It’s all of their common questions—answered in a single page.

And yet…

Like the air we breathe, the FAQs page sometimes doesn’t get enough attention.

This gem of information is commonly hidden in most websites, placed at the bottom, or worst, is so hard to find as a needle in a haystack (where’s the FAQ, anyone?).

Google loves well-detailed content. Your FAQ page gives you the chance to create keyword-rich content and includes long-tail keywords as well that would rank well on search engines, especially Google. The key is to create well-detailed answers to questions that you think will be helpful to all customers at different stages of the sales funnel. This will help do wonders for your website’s conversion rate and overall SEO.

Don’t know where to start? Here are a few tips on where to find effective FAQs:

1. Dive into Your Site Search Data – If your website has a search function you can review what topics people research most.
2. Ask Your Customer Service Team – Whether you have a dedicated team or someone that is simply answering the phone/emails often, chances are your customers are probably asking the same questions over and over.
3. Analyze Your Customer Reviews – Go through your reviews on a regular basis to see what people are saying, chances are there is a pattern of feedback you can address as well as improve on.
4. BONUS TIP: Give Them Something to Do Next – The end goal with FAQs is to help push them down the funnel, so we want to make sure there are calls to action throughout these to convert. Include links to your contact page, whitepapers for email capture, or related content to keep them moving.

Frequently asked questions are a key part of the customer journey helping people understand how you’re different what values your business has.

When FAQs are done correctly they can take a website visitor from “I need more information, I don’t get it” to “Wow, I need this now!”

If done correctly, a guarantee can be extremely powerful igniting your conversion by over 50%.

Ya, you read that right … 50%+ increase by adding in this one component.

So, what is a guarantee and why is it so powerful?

Most people think of a guarantee as a policy promising money back if the customer is unhappy with what they bought after the sale but it is so much more than that!

The right guarantee builds relationships with your customer and inspires trust.

You’re telling your customer that you 100% believe in your product and are so confident that it will solve their problem that you’re willing to give them their money back if it doesn’t meet their needs.

Think about it …

If you have an option to buy two different products, both of which can solve your problem at the same price, and one product guarantees its success or your money back and the other doesn’t – which one are you going to buy?

There are three basic things you can guarantee: your product, services, and the results.

1. Product – This is the classic guarantee where you claim that your customer will be happy with your product.
2. Service – These are primarily used in the service industry guaranteeing things like a price match, on-time delivery, and things like that.
3. Results – This is common with online courses and fitness products guaranteeing “If you don’t get BLANK results by BLANK then you’ll get your money back.”

Now that you know the different types of guarantees, how do you write your own?

Focus on these four areas first:

1. Write a statement letting a potential customer know you believe in your product.
2. Give your customer a fair time period to try the product. Studies show that the longer a customer has to try a product before sending it back, the less likely they will return or ask for a refund.
3. Detail what happens if the customer isn’t happy with the product. What will you do – exchange it, refund their money, find an alternate solution?
4. Be as honest and transparent as possible. Remember the goal here is to build a trusting relationship.

Your guarantee SHOULD make you uncomfortable but when done right it will make your offer irresistible.

Make sure to go into extreme detail about how your guarantee works end-to-end in your terms & conditions and be 100% certain that you can deliver on this promise to ensure low refund rates.

These three elements are seriously undervalued and overlooked on a lot of websites, especially for small businesses.

Take a look at your competition, are they leveraging these elements? If not, it’s time to stand out.

The good news is if you don’t currently have these, you’ve got some serious opportunity right in front of you that can easily be added to your website in no time.

Want to skip the learning phase and get these three elements added to your website as soon as possible? Click here for a free 30-minute consultation with one of our digital strategists to get you set up for major success.