Web Hosting Services

By Richard Guzzo
I am often asked what are some of the ways web hosts can improve their websites conversion rates.

The first thing I look at (and this has only come on board within the past year or two) is does the website offer a live chat option.

It’s not hard to figure out why its so important, the web hosting industry can be a non personal industry where most consumers like to go about their business in a behind the scenes role. Retrieving answers to their questions in a quick and easy online fashion allows consumers to make informed decisions right then and there.

Not to mention, the live chat feature must be easily accessible but not too intruding on every page. What I mean by that is to have the live chat icon accessible on all pages so that if the consumer would like assistance they know where to ask.

There are some websites who like to take a pro-active stance with the tools provided and try and initiate a chat with the visitor. It’s usually started with a pop-up asking if you have any questions or would you like to see our current specials not posted on the site. This is a great way to initiate a conversion with a potential customer should they not know the live chat option is even available and/or if they might have any questions that need addressed.

The one problem I see with the pro-active approach are those websites that soon as you land on their homepage and or any other sub page within their website you are embarked with a pop-up asking to chat. I recommend a few minutes before requesting a chat and not to ping the same customer twice if they did not accept the first request. This will ensure the potential buyer is not turned off by this feature as it can sometimes be quite annoying when it pops up on every page.

Looking to purchase a live chat software for your website? Here are three that I’ve used in the past that I recommend:

Live Person
http://solutions.liveperson.com
You receive all the tools mentioned above with the added benefit of not having the host or configure the system on your own server. All systems are hosted with Live Person so little knowledge on setup is required.

PHP Live Support
http://www.phplivesupport.com
I personally like this live chat software. You have the optioin of hosting it on their servers or buying the software outright and running it from your very own servers. Features are very similiar to Live Person and installation assistance is available if needed.

Kayako
http://www.kayako.com
The live chat feature from Kayako is built into their ticketing system software. So not only do you receive a Sales, Billing, Support ticketing system but each department can have their very own live chat. Considering this live chat feature comes with the support ticket system, its great when your trying to keep everything under the one roof, however both Live Person and PHP Live Support are superior when it comes to features and reliability.

Feel free to comment on experiences with any other live chat software programs.

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