There is nothing more frustrating than generating solid traffic, only to have it fail to convert when those visitors reach your site. That’s why we need smart conversion tools to optimize our efforts and turn traffic into sales.
Social media, content, and email marketing provide a solid foundation for building good traffic on a daily basis. These conversion tools will help you engage them and turn them into paying customers.
Our top 10 recommendations…
List Building Tools
1. GetResponse
Email marketing platform GetResponse has really worked to extend their reach lately. Customers can do more than create amazing email marketing campaigns or build attractive optimized landing pages.
You can now also automate much of your marketing using drag-and-drop flow charts. Or create a webinar to draw in those looking to learn from your expertise.
You can also create multiple styles of feedback and survey forms, and we all know how learning what your audience wants can increase sales. The platform offers lots of ways to convert traffic and engage with your list.
Learn about other email services you can use here.
2. Hello Bar
These days everyone uses an adblocker. It is impossible to navigate most websites without one, thanks to the constant barrage of auto-run video ads, banners, and pop-ups that render even professional sites unreadable.
So how do you reach people with those ad blockers in place, knowing that regularly banners will be added to that list?
Use Hello Bar! It is a simple to use banner creator that doesn’t register as an ad. You just create a simple welcome message that shows as a strip at the top. It is very customizable, so you can blend it into your interface.
3. Elink.io
Newsletters are useful whether they are email-based, or socially shared. But they take time to curate and, frankly, the tools out there that make auto-generated ones leave a lot to be desired.
Elink.io is a unique generator that creates visual newsletters using quickly curated links, and it does so in an attractive way.
Imagine being able to present a good looking newsletter of your content in minutes, and share it across multiple platforms? They now have a Chrome extension in their new version, which is awesome. Just right-click to save links for the newsletter.
4. Sumo
A popular traffic booster, Sumo has three main parts: a heatmap for optimization, a list builder for clickthroughs (they claim a potential 20% increase), and a share booster for social media.
But they also have a ton of other features, like traffic source discovery, Google Analytics integration, and more. They connect to other API, including GetResponse mentioned at the beginning of this article. It is WordPress-friendly and can be installed as a plugin.
Their basic plan is free but very limited. It is worth paying for the first-tier premium service at only $39 per month, as it comes with most features.
On-Page Analytics Tools
5. Hotjar
You can get analytics from anywhere these days. But do you really understand the information that you are being shown? Hotjar is an analytics and feedback tool that breaks down the data and makes sure you really get what it all means.
They use heatmaps and other visuals to give you a better grasp of each figure, and how it impacts your site.
They have a free version for smaller sites or premium versions at $39 per month for Plus or $99 per month for Business. Each plan comes with a 10-day free trial.
6. Finteza
Are you bad at understanding analytics? You aren’t alone. Finteza will create easy-to-understand reports in simple English, without all of the jargon.
Use the tool to spot your best-performing calls-to-action, identify where your site visitors are coming from and how different device users are interacting with your web pages.
Best of all, you can create reports that are so simple even your clients will understand them. You can customize them to your liking to get the data you need, and they will be delivered regularly to your inbox.
On-Page Conversion Tools
7. HubSpot Website Grader
Is your website really as optimized as it could be? Probably not. Even long-time designers have blind spots, and with trends continuously evolving in design, you may be unaware of glaring mistakes costing you conversions.
HubSpot Website Grader will take a look at your pages and let you know of any changes you could make to improve your results.
I would consider this a first step prior to moving on to the live tester stage, as it will take care of the more obscure technical errors or changes that people might not consciously consider.
8. Browserling
Are you ready for different browsers? Chrome and Firefox still reign, but Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer may be worth exploring. And mobile compatibility is obviously important, hence the need for responsive web design.
Anyone who has ever heard back from customer support that their platform doesn’t run well on so-and-so browser realizes how unprofessional this is. Users don’t want to download a new browser just to run your website.
So make sure your site works well on all of them with this live and interactive checker from Browserling. It covers both desktop and mobile, so you are always certain your site runs correctly for every user.
9. Page Speed Insights
Load time is crucial for increasing online conversions. No one will wait minutes for a page to load to be able to use its subscription form. The web is too fast-paced these days: If a page takes more than a few seconds to load, people just move on to another one.
That’s why this page speed checking tool is such a Godsend. See exactly what slows your page down to be able to fix the issue. From there you can start speeding up your site.
And of course, make sure your site is hosted reliably to ensure good performance. It’s unbelievable how many sites suffer from hosting-related downtime.
Social Media Activity Optimization Tools
10. Amplifr
You cannot generate conversions from social media without creating a well defined social media strategy. And the first step to defining one is to start measuring and analyzing what has worked for you so far.
Amplifr is basically a fully integrated analytics platform that creates a customized plan for better publishing and social engagement based on your metrics.
It works with platforms like Hootsuite and Sprout Social, and it is possibly the most thorough analytics booster I have ever seen.
Do you have a favorite conversion tool? Have you used any tool that helped your conversions? If so, share this post and tag @KathrynAragon. Let us know what’s missing!
