Hello, online course creators! Take your website from “meh” to “magnificent” You are! Site is your online education shopfront. Students can shop, test drive, and enrol in your amazing course here.
Websites must convert like stores. Few pages won’t attract students. No way! You need a captivating, user-friendly, and appealing website.
Do you know how? Watch for five game-changing strategies from successful online course creators. Make your website a conversion machine with these tips.
A strong value proposition comes first. Explain your course’s unique benefits and why it’s perfect for your audience online. Show students expected outcomes in detail.
Make your website appealing and easy to use. Nobody wants to navigate confusing pages and links. Design is simple, modern, and intuitive. High-quality images and videos demonstrate what students will learn.
Discussing social proof. Student success stories and testimonials build trust. Sprinkle these on your website to prove your course works and you’re an expert.
Website optimisation requires a smooth checkout. Course enrollment is easy. Reduce steps, offer multiple payment methods, and secure, mobile checkout.
Finally, urgency and scarcity matter. Countdown timers, limited-time offers, and enrollment deadlines create FOMO and motivate students.
These five methods will help you build a stunning, high-converting website. Because prospective students first see your course website, make it good!
Optimise websites to increase conversions. Your bank account and future students will appreciate it!
1. Speed Matters: Ensure a Blazing-Fast Website
First impressions are everything in the digital world, and nothing can sour that initial encounter like a slow website. When visitors come to your course site, they expect it to load quickly and run smoothly. If it doesn’t, they’re likely to get frustrated and look elsewhere, potentially choosing a competitor’s course over yours. To avoid this, aim for lightning-fast loading times. Tools like Google’s Test My Site can help you identify areas for improvement.
- Image Optimization: Images often take up a lot of space and can significantly slow down your website. Ensure that all images are resized appropriately for web use and saved in the correct formats, such as JPEG for photos and PNG for graphics with transparent backgrounds. This simple step can drastically reduce load times.
- Plugin Management: If you’re using WordPress, keep your plugins to a minimum. While plugins can add great functionality to your site, too many can slow it down. Regularly review your plugins and disable or delete any that are no longer in use.
- Minimise Redirects: Redirects can be useful, but too many can hamper your site’s performance. Each redirect adds additional load time. Try to limit the number of redirects on your site to keep it running efficiently.
- Leverage Google PageSpeed: Google PageSpeed is a free tool that analyses your website’s performance and offers suggestions for optimization. It can guide you in making necessary adjustments to ensure faster loading times, which is crucial for keeping your visitors engaged and satisfied.
2. SEO: Speak the Language of Search Engines (and Students!)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for ensuring that potential students can easily find your course online. By using relevant keywords that accurately describe your course content and target your ideal student, you can significantly boost your website’s visibility in search engine results. Tools like Moz and Google Keyword Planner can help you identify popular search terms that your audience is likely to use.
- Strategic Keyword Placement: Embedding relevant keywords naturally throughout your website content is essential. This means including keywords in your course descriptions, blog posts, and even your image alt texts. However, avoid keyword stuffing, which can negatively impact readability and user experience.
- Yoast Plugin (For WordPress): If you’re using WordPress, the Yoast plugin is a powerful tool for optimising your site. It helps you fine-tune meta descriptions, images, URLs, and pages to improve your search rankings. Yoast provides real-time feedback and suggestions, making it easier to ensure your content is SEO-friendly.
- Act-On’s SEO Audit Tool: For those using Act-On, their SEO Audit Tool is invaluable. It helps optimise your website pages and landing pages, enhancing their visibility to search engines. This tool provides detailed insights and recommendations to ensure your content meets the latest SEO standards.
3. Align Your Website with the Student Journey
Imagine you’re a student searching for the perfect course. You land on a website and immediately start looking for essential information. Is it easy to find what you need? Aligning your website with the student journey means designing it from the perspective of your ideal student, ensuring they can navigate seamlessly and find all the information they need to make a decision.
- Customer Journey Mapping: Start by mapping out the various ways potential students might find your website—through search engines, social media, or direct links. Plan your content and layout to guide them effectively through your site. Think about the questions they might have at each stage and ensure that your website provides clear answers.
- Intuitive Navigation: Key information such as course descriptions, learning outcomes, and pricing should be front and centre. Place these details prominently on your homepage or main navigation menu. Avoid clutter and keep the design clean so students can easily focus on what’s important.
- User-Friendly Flow: Anticipate student needs and arrange your website pages in a logical sequence. For instance, after presenting course details, provide links to testimonials, application forms, and contact information. This logical flow helps students move smoothly from one step to the next, minimising frustration and keeping them engaged.
- Act-On’s Website Visitor Tracking (Act-On Users): If you use Act-On, their Website Visitor Tracking tool is invaluable. It provides insights into how visitors interact with your website, allowing you to tailor content and calls-to-action (CTAs) based on their browsing behaviour. For example, if a visitor spends a lot of time on a particular course page, you can offer them a special discount or additional resources related to that course.
4. Cater to Individual Needs with Personalized Content
Every student’s journey is unique, and not everyone follows a straightforward path when exploring your course offerings. Some might browse multiple content options, comparing features before making a decision. To cater to these individual needs, it’s crucial to provide personalised recommendations that keep them engaged and help them find exactly what they’re looking for.
- Act-On’s Adaptive Web (Act-On Users): If you’re using Act-On, their Adaptive Web solution is a game-changer. This AI-powered tool uses visitor behaviour to recommend targeted content, ensuring that each visitor sees information most relevant to their interests. By analysing how visitors interact with your site, it delivers personalised content that can capture their attention and keep them engaged longer.
- Personalised Recommendations Imagine a student exploring different course options. They’ve read through several course descriptions but haven’t decided yet. With Adaptive Web, you can track this behaviour and suggest courses or resources that align with their browsing history. This might include showing them testimonials from other students, detailed course outlines, or even special offers related to their interests. Personalised content can significantly increase the chances of conversion because it feels tailor-made for each visitor.
- Engagement and Conversion Providing personalised content helps in creating a more engaging and relevant experience for your visitors. When students find what they need quickly and efficiently, they’re more likely to stay on your site and eventually enrol in a course. This not only improves their experience but also boosts your conversion rates.
In essence, by catering to individual needs through personalised content, you’re demonstrating that you understand and value each student’s unique journey. This personalised approach can make a significant difference in how potential students perceive your courses and their likelihood of enrolling. With tools like Act-On’s Adaptive Web, providing a customised, engaging experience becomes easier and more effective, turning casual browsers into committed students.
5. Clear and Compelling Calls to Action (CTAs)
Your website might look amazing and be packed with great information, but if your students can’t figure out what to do next, you risk losing them. Clear and compelling calls to action (CTAs) are essential for guiding students toward enrollment and other key actions. Here’s how to make your CTAs effective:
- Strategic CTA Placement: First, ensure your CTAs are prominently placed and easily visible. They should catch the eye without overwhelming the visitor. Position them where students are most likely to see them, such as at the end of a course description, on the homepage, or as a sticky header that follows them as they scroll.
- Action-Oriented Wording: Your CTAs should clearly communicate what you want students to do. Use direct, action-oriented phrases like “Enrol Now,” “Get Started,” or “Learn More.” These phrases tell students exactly what will happen when they click, reducing any hesitation they might have.
- Minimise Conversion Friction: Keep your forms short and sweet. Asking for too much information upfront can overwhelm and deter potential students. Use only the necessary fields to start the conversation. For Act-On users, Adaptive Forms are a fantastic solution. These forms progressively collect information over time, so you gather all the details you need without bombarding students with a lengthy form right away.
Conclusion
Optimising your course website for conversions involves speeding it up, optimising for SEO, aligning content with the customer journey, personalising recommendations, and creating compelling CTAs. These strategies improve UX, lower bounce rates, and boost conversions.
Start by making your website enjoyable for customers. Keep engaging and educating your audience off-site to maintain momentum. Act-On helps you nurture leads and give your sales team insights. Request a consultation with one of our experts or download our latest CRM Lead Management report.
These tips will optimise your course website for conversions, helping you reach your business goals and stand out in a competitive market.