“Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.”

This saying very much applies to website audio. Adding audio to your site MUST enhance your main marketing message. It's simply the spice that helps make the dish spectacular.

So, if your website content is sub-par, don't expect the addition of audio to help matters much. However, if you have great content that is focused on profitable keywords, expect the judicious use of audio to help improve your conversion rates.

Audio can be a great way to:

• Help increase your newsletter signups

• Encourage visitors to purchase your ebook or other product/service

• To provide testimonials about your products and services

• Help establish trust and create a sense of personal contact

• As a way to deliver unique targeted content as in a podcast

The use of website audio is not a substitute for:

• Generating quality content

• Basing your content on profitable keywords

• Filling out all your META tags

• Building quality incoming links

Well known Internet guru Ken Evoy, author of Make Your Site Sell!, has tested audio on a few of his landing pages and has reported an improved conversion rate of 15-30% on every page it was used.

My own testing on my newsletter landing page showed an increased conversion of 20% after adding audio. You can view my audio enhanced newsletter registration page here.

The real question to ask when you feel the need to add an audio button to any particular page is this:

“Will the audio enhance my visitor's experience and increase the likelihood of them completing a registration or purchase?”

If you can honestly answer ‘yes' to the above question, then adding a short audio message may benefit the page.

Where are the best places to consider using audio?

• Homepage

• Newsletter registration page

• Main service page

• Product landing pages

Once you have made a decision on where and how to use audio on your website, you'll need some tools to get you going. Here are some recommendations.

The Microphone

The first piece of equipment you will need is a microphone. You must have a way to convert your voice (an analog signal) to a digital signal that your computer can process and edit.

The simplest way to attach a microphone to your computer is to use a USB microphone. These microphones are simply plugged into one of the open USB ports on your computer.

You can find a decent quality microphone for $20-30 through Amazon.com or your local electronics store.

The Audio Editor

Once you have selected your microphone, the next step is to install an audio editing program so that you can alter the bass/treble as well as cut and edit portions of the audio and finally, to export your audio file as an MP3.

My recommendation here is the free program Audacity. Audacity is one of the best-known free audio editing programs around. It has been thoroughly tested and continually improved over the years. There's really no reason to pay for more sophisticated programs when Audacity can do the job and do it well.

To install Audacity on your computer, just go to the Audacity Website and download the latest version. There are versions for Windows, Mac and Linux. Make sure to download the correct version for your operating system.

The Audio Player

The last thing you will need to download is the free audio player which you will eventually embed on your web page.

The player I recommend was originally designed as a free plug-in for WordPress blogs. It was developed by a company name 1pixelout. If you go to the 1pixelout website, you will find instructions on integrating this free website player into your blog or website.

Final Words

Used in moderation, website audio is just one more way to build trust and establish confidence in your site visitors. Once you've done this, you'll find the barrier for purchase is quickly lowered.