I was recently inspired by some of the companies I met at the recent ITT conference in Cyprus.   While most of our past “before & after” case studies have been based on graphic changes, this time I would like to show you how, with less focus on graphics and more focus on text ideas and font sizes, we can still boost interest and increase responses from a web page.

So, as you can see in the ‘before’ screenshot on the left, the website has a clean design with a limited number of images. Now we’re usually of the philosophy that a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the case of this site, we’re actually quite fond of the minimalist concept, so have adopted an ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix’ approach to the images. One issue that we felt needed addressing is that the whole feel of the site is largely about the place and not really about holidays to that place – a subtle difference, but a vital one that we have tried to correct in our version. These changes should give them a real boost to their conversion rates.

As the differences are more subtle than in the past, we have numbered the key changes, which are explained below:

In the previous screenshot, the site was divided by destination which is fine if you’ve navigated your way through the site, but if you’re dumped on the page from a search engine we would like you to portray graphically that this page is from a company that specialises in offering high quality holidays to Cartagena, rather than just providing a guide to the area. We’ve made this clear by adding “tailor made for you” and “holidays” to the main headings (1).

The current text is more about the area and less about the holidays that the company provides, almost giving it the feel of a travel guide. We want people to buy, not just to learn, so we have simply divided it more clearly. Now there’s an informational section on the area along with what makes the company’s holidays so special (2).

We have added a more personal view from a staff member to make the company feel both more approachable and better informed of the holidays they’re selling (3). We’ve named her an expert to reinforce the company’s credentials as specialists and to set the customers’ minds at ease: when they buy from Distinctive Americas, they know that they will get a holiday designed by the experts.

This is the same reason why we’ve added a simple price indication to the previously unused left hand margin (4). By adding a price for a holiday we are reinforcing the message that this page is about buying holidays.  Further, by offering slightly higher pricing, we can help filter out those readers who are looking for budget packages.  This price indicator alone can save the operational costs of talking to the wrong customers and sending them expensive brochures.

A final piece to this puzzle is the lack of calls to action. Making it simple for customers to contact you should be one of your priorities when thinking of content for a website – it gives you a sense of legitimacy as well as allowing that impulse purchase and further questions to keep a customer hooked. Yet previously, the only phone number was tucked away at the bottom of the page where you’d usually find just copyright information! We’ve put phone numbers and calls to action prominently to boost site conversion (5): simple, but immeasurably effective.

There are two messages you can take from this site conversion: the first is that you don’t necessarily need a major overhaul to give your site a conversion booster, and the second is that graphics needn’t be about pictures alone – sometimes the very copy and typography that you use can sell your holidays better.

A thousand words can be worth one picture, but if you pick the right ones, 25 words could replace that image!

If you would like to volunteer your site up for assessment in our upcoming newsletters, please contact us on marketing@leadgenerators.co.uk