Thousands of people visit your site but you get no conversions. What's the solution to this massive problem? Modify your marketing techniques? Re-think your target audience? Or halt your content marketing and SEO endeavors? Before modifying your marketing strategies, or do some other rectification work, spend time optimizing your website to get conversions.

1. Don't commence an A/B test without doing an A/A test. You shouldn't assume that your A/B testing software is perfect. An A/A test will guarantee the correctness of your software solution.
2. Don't take the words you have used in your site for granted. A single word can bring about an increase – or decrease -- in your rate of conversion. 'Trial' or 'free' are two examples of words that can affect your conversion either way.
3. It's the data that influences tests. Don't run tests that are based on what you require. Tests must be based on the likes or dislikes of your visitors. Opinions generally result in failed tests; this means you lose cash.
4. Be patient. Don't halt a test if you do not have 100 conversions at least on the winning variant. Tests which are below 100 conversions will show drastically different results.
5. There's meaning in color, so use it wisely.  One simple color has the capability to affect rates of click through by 21%, as was the case in one website.
6. Text may work great for certain websites, videos may be better for other sites. You have to find out what your audience likes. However, before creating a video, write a script.
7. Certain people love to read – a small copy will not always convert better always. Long text that sells has the potential to raise your rate of conversion.
8. Don't be overconfident about your status. Some people worry when it comes to inserting their credit cards online, particularly on new websites that are they are not familiar with. Test trust elements like the BBB seal or TRUST ebadge.
9. Large-scale conversions are superior to micro conversions. It matters little if you raise click through from one step to another. What really matters is that more people are buying from you. Concentrate on the entire picture while testing and don't try to increase to the maximum the number of people who are moving to the subsequent step.
10. Social proof may not necessarily be the greatest proof.  Social proof doesn't always help increase rates of conversion.
11. What works for another company will work for you, right? Not necessarily. 
12. Best conversion practices don't stop with front end selling, or even cancellations. Conversion optimization can be used to raise your average selling price. 
13. Best increase comes from radical changes; after some time small changes won't help your rate of conversion rate much. Drastic steps will be needed. Get creative and attempt some radical stuff.
14. Higher rates of conversion don't translate into more cash. Sometimes a fall in conversion rate could make you extra cash. If you double your product's price but your rate of conversion falls to 20%, you will still earn extra money by some 60%. So your optimization must aim at revenue, not highest rates of conversions.
15. Your visitors on Mondays will differ from those on Tuesdays. So run your tests for 7 days at least for behavior of visitors can alter over a period of time.
16. Visitors also want to see your results. Try adding testimonials and case studies which will help you to authenticate your claims.
17. Forget about bounce rates; your rates of conversion rates are more vital. Ignore bounce rates, which are more to do with vanity and which may not harm your revenue.
18. The finest experience is the traditional one. Run separate A/B tests for desktop and mobile visitors. The experience should be different on both.
19. Less is not always better. The best UX won't always raise rates of conversion. Add more steps and force visitors to hop through hoops; this could boost your rates of conversion. 
20. Don't force visitors to think. Don't presume they know just what they want or what they're doing. Have a test by giving buttons to people to click and not a test of open-ended forms. 
21. Your UX must be customized. The finest call-to-action buttons are the ones that are related to your service or product and not generic ones such as 'buy now' or 'free trial'.
22. Images are a dominant means of getting conversions. High-rise boosted its conversion rate by inserting people's images, but they discovered that some specific images converted better. If you use a picture of a very good looking person or a female versus male picture it could affect your rate of conversions.
23. Unlike what most people think, it's not prudent to always provide people with navigational menu alternatives. If you remove them, you can increase sales.
24. Don't go for multivariate tests. Every time you add up the rise in every variation, the entire increase does not match with what is shown in the multivariate test. So run A/B tests and not multivariate ones.
25. Clarity is better than persuasion. Answer basic queries like what this site does. This works better than content that is persuasive and which sells. Ideally you must be using both. Just make sure that you don't dupe people to convert; that will result in charge-backs and cancellations. 
26. Stay focused! Every page must have one aim. Pages with a single strong message classically convert in a better way than pages which attempt to accomplish many things. So create landing pages. 
27. Don't limit testing to your site. Use A/B testing standards on everything on your web. You can test your ad design as well as copy, which Twitter profile image gets you more following and everything else.
28. If a website is ugly, it doesn't mean it won't convert nicely. Ugly websites can teach you a lot, particularly the ones that make lots of money.
29. A/B testing won't harm SEO, like many feel fear. If you follow the guidelines laid down by Google, your ranking won't get affected.
30. Lessen friction; users shouldn't be made to do things they need not do. So, don’t gather needless form fields and don't ask people for verification of the address on their credit cards when the companies that processes them don't need it. 
31. Don't force shoppers to register at the time of checkout. It will simply be another stumbling block for them.
32. Your most important info must be placed at the top and at the bottom of the page. People generally skim through the middle and read the top and bottom fully.
33. Write fresh content. You could be startled to see what traffic is still coming to your present pages. Check out how you can freshen it up for contemporary audiences.
34. If you include miniature pictures in your shopping cart it will reduce the chances of the cart being abandoned.
35. Remind visitors that you value their privacy. So include unsubscribe alternatives in every email, besides a link to your firm's privacy rules on your subscription sheet.
36. Place your return and refund policy or guarantee under your checkout button; not on another page or on a client service page.
37. Don't direct your ad traffic or PPC straight to your homepage. Make landing pages that are based on actual searches.

Summing Up

It doesn't matter from where you get your traffic; there are several ways to convert it. Don't just focus on building up traffic, spend some time converting it. It's good to continually run A/B tests, for it’s the only way to maximize your conversions into customers.

In this article I've discussed some points that have to be borne in mind to gain more conversions. In my following post I'll share some more with you. Looking forward to your feedback.

Author bio
Alan Smith is an avid tech blogger with vast experience in various IT domains, currently associated with SPINX Inc., a Los Angeles, California based website design, Web Application Development and internet marketing company. Follow Alan on Google +.