any tips on how we can increase sales from traffic? thus, improving our traffic conversion rate.

any comments & suggestions are greatly much appreciated. thanks.

Hello,
I agree with all what “christym” said and so just a few things to complement his idea.

The important aspect is to know at which moment to use which web improvement service. Based on our experience, the best approach is:

1) Usability review: it ensures that you have an effective foundation of your Web site. Advantages are: it's relatively cheap (excellent price/quality, prices start at 5000$ upwards) and very effective (satisfies the need of all user profiles, if you provide us your email, we would be pleased to send you a draft version of an upcoming research document addressing how to satisfy all user needs).

2) Measure site performance using Web site analysis over a period of min. 3 months and of course measure sales lead generation.
- If you discover that prospects are navigating your Web site but sales lead generation does not take place, then you should do a Competitive Web Information Architecture Review (prices start at around 8000$), if you are not familiar with this kind of service just let us know.
- - Again measure site performance after the information architecture review, if sales lead generation still is not satisfying then head for persona design (or similar approach using key user scenario analysis, which is a cheaper version as persona design). Generally, persona approaches are quite expensive (starting at 20'000$ but easily around 50K$) and should not be used in the initial phase of Web development, if budget is an issue.

Concerning the multiple approaches to measure Web effectiveness, you may also look at our diagram (the article is in German language but the diagram is in English language and the PDF is about 1MB, so be patient ;-)), http://www.effinfo.com/docs_pdf/netzwoche_22_04.pdf

Some clarification concerning the diagram.
Normative approach = usability review
Technical approach = Server Mgmt/performance tools
Demographic approach = Web site analysis tools,
Experimental approach = Focus groups

Also, let us know/post the URL of your Web site so that we can provide some further insights.

On 03:03:14 15 June 2005 christym wrote:
>Wow! this is just such a big question... where DO you
>start?
>
>I'd start by reading anything and everything you can lay
>your hands on regarding Website Usability. It's no secret
>that the better the ease of use and the user's
>satisfaction with the site, the better the conversion
>rate.
>
>I've found great Usability and interaction design
>information coming from blogs mainly - read carefully
>though as blogs are a boggy marsh to wade through to find
>the gems you need. Try those from Signal Vs Noise, 9Rules
>network, Boxes and Arrows... Jakob Neilsen's Useit.com
>site is also worth reading.
>
>I'd also seriously consider re-developing your website
>with a User-Centric Design approach - employ the best IA's
>you can find and test, test, test it. That's BEFORE you
>even start coding. You can do free, basic usability
>testing in a vox-pop around the office on a few sheets of
>paper - that alone will show you whether some of your
>basic assumptions about user behaviour are correct.
>Formal testing (usability or eye-tracking) in a lab can
>sort out some of the details and complex tasks.
>
>I don't recommend focus groups - they'll just tell you
>what you want to hear and not really help you understand
>what the real issues are with your site. If you don't
>acknowledge the issues, you can't fix them - and this is
>the only way to change your conversion rate.
>
>I've found that using 'Persona' design is one of the best
>ways to address 'task oriented' processess on the web.
>Again, this is a whole area of expertise worth reading up
>on. Forrester Research have used this method with several
>really large websites (i.e. LLbean, Lands End) to change
>their conversion rates enormously - check out this data on
>online Retailers conversion rates. It's not a miracle that
>both of those sites turn up here in the Top 10!!
>http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/retailing/article.php/-
>3496786#table1
>
>I guess I'd sum up by saying that there is no single
>'trick' to improving your conversion rate - it should be
>the very basis of your entire website design and
>operation. And if it's not - you're going to have trouble
>improving it by tinkering around the edges. Maybe it's
>time to consider a re-design

If you're new ot usability then a good starting poing is Peter Krug's book Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789723107/qid=1118914194/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/202-8457496-6681433