Tips for optimizing your website for sales
Last updated: December 13, 2017
The primary goal of your website is to turn online visitors into paying customers. To help optimize your website, here are several easy tips that you or your web developer can use to generate more sales and attract more customers.
Include a booking call to action near the top of each page.
Book buttons should be visible without the customer having to scroll down on the page. Also, make it clear that your site allows customers to book online immediately. This isn’t always assumed since many activity companies still don’t have online booking. It sets you apart and reminds customers that it’s available as they browse.
Add customizable book buttons to your site with the FareHarbor buttons stylesheet.
Get your site the green HTTPS lock.
This one is important. Although the FareHarbor booking process is 100% secure without you adding “SSL” to your website, more and more customers are learning to look for the green https lock at the top of their browser as an indication that they can trust an online merchant. (Plus, it can help you with search engine optimization ranking and page load time.) We’re happy to work with you or your web developer to secure your site. Learn more about security and your website.
Provide clear descriptions and beautiful photos of each tour.
Give all the basics – the where, when, and what – so visitors have all the information they need to feel confident in making a booking. Remember, customers don’t know those details that might be obvious to you running your business every day. Things as simple as the length of an activity or making sure folks feel comfortable that they have the necessary skills are often overlooked. As for photos, smiling faces are always a sure bet.
Make sure your site works well on mobile.
We’ve seen companies with over 50% of bookings made on mobile devices, and that number is growing every day. Use a template or theme that is responsive, so that your site displays properly on both big and small screens, without customers having to scroll or pinch and zoom on their mobile device. This gives them a better experience, and you don’t have to worry about keeping different mobile and desktop websites up to date.
Bonus: While we’re on that topic, keep your site up to date! Old information or “upcoming events” that happened months ago can make customers doubt the quality of your service.
When it comes to options, less is more.
Make it as simple as possible for a visitor to find an activity and complete their purchase. FareHarbor has rich support for adding options and upsells during the booking process – pick only the few most important (or profitable!) ones. Check out your website and booking process and see if there are any options customers might be getting hung up on.
Drive attention to your most popular activities.
Visually highlight your best sellers or the activities you most want people to book to help potential buyers make a decision.
Make sure your site uses our Lightframe checkout overlay.
The Lightframe checkout process helps customers book immediately without going to a different page. We also recommend putting item-specific calendars or book buttons on individual activity pages so customers can start finding availability right away. Here’s an overview of what we provide.