Reasons to Change Your Registration Page and Boost Conversions
By Amy Gesenhues, Director of Marketing , Autodemo LLC

If you want to improve your online conversion rates, you may need to reconsider your registration page.

Whether your conversion process includes registering for a demo, signing up for an e-newsletter, or making a purchase, there are certain rules you should follow.

Here are five quick reasons to change your registration page to keep conversions at a maximum.

1. You have too much clutter on your registration page
Prospects do not want to mess with "busy" sites when completing registration forms. If your registration page contains too much content, numerous links, or too many graphics, clean it up. The more white space, the better.

2. You are asking for too much information
If you limit the amount of information you request, the likelihood increases that you will pull more registrations. What is the minimum amount of information you need? Name? Email address? Title?

Most likely, the registration is occurring at the beginning stages of the sales cycle. It may therefore be in your best interest to request only the information needed to start the conversation.

3. Online visitors are kept in the dark
Let your prospects know what to expect when they complete the registration form. Are you going to contact them via email? Will they be redirected to a new page? If prospects know what to expect, they will be more likely to give the information you want.

4. Your registration page shows up too early
Are you letting prospects see a demo of your product? Are they registering for a whitepaper? How much are you showing before asking them to give up their information? The more fair the trade, the more information prospects will give you.

The intent of an online registration page is to generate leads and increase your product's exposure to new leads. Putting a long-form registration up before they can view anything they want to view is the same as creating an obstacle course for fresh leads.

Let prospects see what you have to offer before you try to convert them—and your conversion rates and the quality of your leads will increase significantly.

5. Your follow-up process is slow
This rule may be the most important. Depending on the size of your organization, you can follow up with every lead using an automated email process or send a direct email from the appropriate salesperson.

The longer you take to follow up with leads, the less interested they are in talking to you. A prompt follow-up is crucial.

The good news about these registration page rules is that they do not take a lot of time or effort to introduce. With a few slight changes, you can begin to see measurable improvements.

Marketers in today's economy are all searching for more efficient and more affordable ways to generate better leads. The sooner your conversion rates increase, the better your bottom line, so a quick reconsideration of your registration page may be the answer.

---Source: Amy Gesenhues is the director of marketing for Autodemo LLC (www.autodemo.com), a developer of software and Web site demos. She can be reached at amy@autodemo.com.