Are you opening a new online store, but don’t know how to improve conversion rates? Perhaps you already own an ecommerce business, but are unable to turn leads into customers?
You’ve come to the right place.
Ecommerce conversion rate refers to the percentage of visitors to your ecommerce website/store or landing page who fulfill the action you want them to (e.g., purchasing a product, subscribing to your newsletter or a service, etc.) depending on the nature of your business.
The higher the conversion rate of your website – the more productive and impactful your marketing efforts are. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best approaches you can undertake to boost your conversion rates.
How to Calculate Conversion Rate
Calculating your conversion rate is essential for keeping track of your business growth. The mathematical formula is very simple – divide the total number of converted clients by the number of your website visitors, then multiply the result by 100 to get the percentage.
For example, if your store made 60 sales from 3,000 visitors in a month, you divide 60 by 3,000 then multiply the result by 100. Therefore your conversion rate is 2%.
So, how do you know if that is a good conversion rate?
Based on the latest data, the average conversion date for ecommerce should be between 1.5% and 2%, so you’re right where you want to be.
10 Tips to Increase Conversion Rates
There are lots of strategies to increase online conversion rates. We’ve compiled the best and most effective tactics you can implement to boost the sales from your website.
Let’s get started.
A/B testing, also called split testing, is a technique used to assess the responsiveness of your website and monitor how different changes may attract more visitors and stimulate conversion rates.
This technique relies on creating two instances of your site to test the different versions simultaneously and compare which one has a better effect on visitors. Using A/B testing is an essential and fast way to learn more about the status of your conversion rates. It can be used to analyze website designs, headlines, landing pages, and content.
A/B testing also helps you easily differentiate between your business strategies that are actually working and those that need improvements. However, in order for this to work accurately, your website must already have stable amounts of traffic.
Still, if your sample size is too small, the results won’t accurately reflect the effects of the changes made when the number of your site visits rises.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Unique selling proposition (USP) is what makes your business or product unique and standing out among your competitors. This needs to be displayed clearly on your homepage. It can be anything, from certain quality certifications to the way your products are created (handmade, 100% local craftsmanship, etc.).
You can display your USP in the tagline under your brand logo which will appear on every page of your website. You can also show it off on your homepage in full size, to let visitors know what they’re getting as soon as they access your online store.
Website Design and Product Visuals
It takes 50 milliseconds for a visitor to get a first impression from your website. Accordingly, you must make every millisecond count for a successful conversion. Designing your website based on studying your target audience will help you choose the right color scheme, font styles, and create an aesthetic balance to capture their attention.
Shoppers prefer clear, organized, and easy-to-navigate pages. Having a cluttered website that’s full of flashy banners, pop-ups, and random content will put off your visitors. Instead, be subtle about guiding your shopper through your website to the desired call to action (CTA).
It’s also smart to place your navigation bar away from intersections so the visitor focuses on the CTAs rather than navigate away. In addition, an F-shape design of a website is more favored by users.
The F-shape pattern is based on occupying the top and left side of your page with important elements or content as people prefer to read horizontally starting from the upper part then move down a little further to read in another horizontal manner. Finally, they scan the rest of the page vertically from the left side. Therefore, make sure to arrange the essential elements and CTA along the F-shape lines.
How you display your products plays an important role in improving conversion rates. Displaying clear photos of products from different angles with zoomed-in details and detailed descriptions will help customers make a purchase decision faster.
A slow website is often a traffic killer and doesn’t rank well. Did you know that 75% of shoppers tend to abandon slow websites just out of impatience?
There a few actions you can take to avoid this disaster and make your website load faster:
Shopping cart abandonment is a serious issue for online stores and people tend to empty their carts when they feel they can get a better bargain elsewhere.
Offering discounts may increase purchases and conversions, but you should award incentives strategically to avoid profit loss. It’s best to find a balance between promotions for new customers and existing ones. You can also provide referral and seasonal discounts to keep the ball rolling.
Offer coupons or vouchers to existing customers occasionally to maintain their loyalty through push notifications, SMS, or email for example. Another good use of discounts is promoting other sales platforms like a mobile app. Rewards like a free item or a voucher when a customer makes a purchase through your phone application.
Provide Multiple Shipping Options
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. You finally find exactly what you’re looking for, but might end up facing one or more of these scenarios at the check out:
What are you going to do in this case? Most probably, you won’t proceed with the purchasing process and look elsewhere.
Shipping is an integral element of an ecommerce store and an important conversion rate optimizer. That’s why it’s critical to ensure you provide a smooth and transparent delivery experience for your customers, especially one-time shoppers. This is one of the best ways to turn normal users into loyal fans.
Fast shipping is a high priority when it comes to driving more sales. Collaborate with a third-party logistics service (3PL) that has a proven successful shipping history and maintains a network of locations that aligns well with your business.
Give your customers various shipping options like home delivery and include extra services such as pick-up from your retail store (if available), or from the nearest 3PL station.
Free shipping is another excellent perk to increase conversion rates and will also give you an edge over your competitors. For instance, you can offer this service for customers who make purchases over a certain amount or for bundle deals.
Make sure to include a clear and detailed shipping policy on your website. Let your customers know when they should expect their goods to be delivered and provide them with a tool to track their orders.
Your competitors may offer similar services or products, but customers will always go for the most trustworthy business. Clients need to be in the know and feel their opinions matter in order to trust your brand and continue doing business with you.
So, how can you achieve that?
Customer support is the bridge between customers and your brand. Providing excellent client assistance ensures your visitors will feel appreciated. As a result, they will return to your store and spread the good word about it, leading to more traffic and higher conversion rates.
Train your staff to handle queries and complaints with care and efficiency. Implement multiple support channels such as live chat, ticket system, phone, and email. Add FAQ and comprehensive knowledge base sections to your website for self-assistance.
Getting customer feedback through reviews and ratings on the products/services you sell, and surveys about the level of service they receive is crucial. This level of transparency makes it easier for other potential clients to learn more about your products and build a long-lasting bond with your brand.
Take Advantage of Social Platforms
Being available on social media is not only a marketing strategy to widen your target audience but also a way to win the trust of potential visitors.
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow people to get to know your business. For those who already used your service or bought your products – it’s a platform to express their honest opinion about their experience. In return, this gives other potential shoppers a sense of trust that your business is legit and has been used by plenty of customers.
Another advantage of being on social media is that you can create paid ads (i.e. Facebook’s marketplace or Instagram’s Instafeed) and use the platform’s popularity to have a wider outreach to your target audience and potential customers.
Creating a sense of urgency or scarcity is to indirectly give the impression to your visitors that if they don’t take a specific action (e.g., purchase an item), they’ll miss a great opportunity. This can be done using several different strategies. The most common one is displaying a notification under each product whenever a few items are remaining in stock (usually less than 10).
Another common marketing strategy is to have limited time offers. For instance, having a certain attractive discount that’s only available for a specific period of time (a day, the weekend, until the end of the week, until the end of the month, etc.). Shop owners often display a countdown until the offer ends to make it even more exciting.
Creating this sense of urgency plays a big part in visitors’ subconscious attempts to avoid missing a good chance.
Make Your Website Mobile-friendly
It doesn’t come as a surprise that mobile shopping, or m-commerce, is gaining popularity as more customers find it easier to purchase goods using their phones.
For that reason, having a mobile-friendly website can greatly increase your conversion rates. Adding a mobile app for your smartphone users is even better. The most important thing is for your site to be easy to navigate, load fast, and don’t contain bugs when viewed on any screen or device.
You can easily advertise your user-friendly mobile app on your website and include a link to the store where users can download it from. Having this means that visitors will be able to access your site or app no matter where they are, boosting your traffic numbers in return.
Getting your customers to convert is more paramount than just attracting them to your website. By implementing the discussed tips, you’ll be able to optimize your conversion rate and gain even more clients in a shorter time. You’ll also notice improvements in your marketing campaigns, brand popularity, and rise in traffic.
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