When managing an E-commerce or any other type of website, it’s not enough to just attract traffic; what really matters is the action visitors take once they arrive at your page. This is where Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) comes into play.
The continuous optimization of conversions on your e-commerce page or website is essential to ensure that your marketing and advertising efforts are not in vain. CRO also provides you with opportunities to improve your site’s overall experience.
In this context, let’s delve into what “conversion rate” means.
What does “Conversion Rate” mean?
The term “conversion” refers to the specific action you want visitors to take on your website. These actions can vary and could include:
- Interacting with a product page.
- Adding items to their shopping cart.
- Adding products to their wishlist.
- Sharing products on social media.
- Using discount codes.
- Signing up for email newsletters.
- Completing a purchase.
It is important to understand that multiple small actions can add up to a final conversion, such as a purchase. Therefore, it’s crucial to identify all relevant conversions on your site and then determine which ones need specific optimization.
Each page on your website can be geared towards a particular type of conversion. Depending on where you notice less satisfactory results, you can focus your efforts on applying optimization strategies to improve CRO.
What constitutes an “adequate” Conversion Rate?
The conversion rate considered “good” varies significantly based on the product category and is influenced by several factors such as geographical location, store age, target audience, and other business-specific aspects.
If you have precise data, you can conduct tests to identify improvements that drive conversions on your website. It’s important to avoid testing multiple variables at the same time, as this can distort the results with unreliable information.
An effective strategy is to conduct A/B testing with different elements on your website. Even small changes, such as modifying the position of the “Buy Now” button, can have a significant impact.
Additionally, here are other key factors to optimize conversion rates in general:
- Improve the user experience on your website
- Clarify your calls to action (CTAs)
- Design your site with mobile devices in mind
- Highlight customer reviews and testimonials
- Implement a Chatbot or Live Chat
- Optimize the checkout process
- Experiment with new product images and videos
- Make it easy to find your returns policy
- Offer promotions and discounts
- Consider offering free shipping
- Implement cross-selling and upselling strategies
- Send abandoned cart recovery emails
1. Improve the user experience on your website
For large websites, navigation can become complicated. Your visitors may not take actions like “Buy” or “Subscribe” simply because they can’t easily find what they’re looking for. To improve navigation, you can apply the following strategies:
- Make the main categories more visible by removing them from dropdown menus and placing them at the top of the page.
- Create specific tags and sections for particular product groups; for example, if you sell sports items, you can create separate pages for fishing rods, baseball accessories, and sportswear.
- Incorporate navigation tools like “breadcrumbs” so customers can easily locate themselves within your site and return to previous pages.
- Add “Sort by” options on your pages so customers can filter products by categories and other relevant criteria.
- Evaluate the optimal number of main categories your online store should have according to your customers’ navigation preferences on specific pages.
2. Clarify your calls to action (CTA)
The appearance, placement, and wording of buttons and links can influence visitors’ responses. Since CTAs are crucial for conversions, here are some recommendations:
- Conduct A/B tests with different button colors and formats to determine which ones produce the best results.
- Place multiple CTAs in different areas of the page.
- Avoid ambiguity by using clear, action-oriented language like “Start Shopping” and “Add to Cart.”
- Replace “Register” buttons with integrated forms that users can complete without leaving the page.
3. Design your site with mobile devices in mind
Consumers today expect a mobile experience that goes beyond the basics. To enhance the mobile experience, it’s important to consider the following:
- Ensure visitors can navigate the page with one thumb, without needing to zoom in.
- Make sure text, images, and buttons are easy to see on small screens.
- Optimize the website’s loading speed.
- Make navigation and menu usage easy on mobile devices.
- Offer effective search functions for mobile users.
- Simplify form completion.
- Avoid excessive pop-ups and annoying animations.
4. Highlight customer reviews and testimonials
The likelihood of customers buying a product with five reviews is an astounding 270% higher than a product with no reviews. Reviews and testimonials increase trust in your brand and products. Here are some suggestions:
- Enable customers to leave reviews after making a purchase.
- Evaluate where to place reviews on the product page and other areas of the site.
- Consider integrating social media feeds that display user-generated content to encourage others to buy.
5. Implement a Chatbot or Live Chat
When customers have questions about your products, they expect immediate answers. Chatbots and live chat are effective ways to meet these expectations and optimize conversions. Here are some recommendations:
- Use live chat during business hours and chatbots outside of those hours to answer specific questions.
- Conduct tests to evaluate the impact of these support options on conversions.
6. Optimize the checkout process
Currently, the average cart abandonment rate for online stores is close to 70%, and 17% of those abandonments are due to a complicated checkout process. Here are some improvements you can try:
- Add a “Quick View” option to the product gallery to allow customers to view details in a pop-up window without leaving the page.
- Include “Add to Cart” and “Buy Now” buttons on the product page for immediate purchase.
- Offer more payment options on your website.
- Enable autofill to reduce the number of fields customers have to complete manually.
- Display progress bars showing buyers where they are in the checkout process.
7. Experiment with new product images and videos
High-quality images are crucial, especially when buyers cannot touch or see the products in person. Whether you’re optimizing the homepage or product pages, updating images can inspire buyers to take action. Here are some suggestions:
- Provide professional images of your products from all angles.
- Include close-ups revealing details like stitching and materials.
- Show lifestyle images that allow users to imagine using your product.
- Provide size charts and instructional images when relevant.
- Incorporate 360-degree product images so users can view it from all angles.
- Integrate user-generated product images as social proof.
8. Make the returns policy easy to find
Around 67% of buyers check the returns policy of an online store before making a purchase. Therefore, it’s essential that your returns policy is easy to find. Here are some strategies to achieve this:
- Add a link to your returns policy at the bottom of every webpage to ensure that buyers can quickly access the necessary information.
- Consider including your returns policy, or a link to it, in the “Contact Us” section and assess whether this increases conversions.
9. Offer promotions and discounts
Discounts are irresistible and can prompt your customers to make a purchase decision. However, it’s important to balance this strategy to avoid negatively affecting your profit margins or brand perception. Here are some suggestions:
- Run limited-time promotions and experiment with different durations, times, and messages to find what works best for your audience and business.
- Use prominent ads on your website, like banners, sliders, and pop-up windows on the homepage, to highlight your promotions.
- Consider implementing flash sales as an additional strategy to boost conversion rates.
10. Consider offering free shipping
Although not always possible for all retailers, offering free shipping can be an effective incentive to attract more buyers. You can try this strategy by offering free shipping for a limited time or for specific products. Additionally, you can adjust your shipping policy based on customer preferences.
11. Implement cross-selling and upselling strategies
Since time is valuable, your customers may not be inclined to explore your entire catalog. Make this task easier by implementing elements on the page that show “Related Products” or “Customers Also Bought.”
12. Send abandoned cart recovery emails
There are various reasons for abandoning carts. Buyers might get distracted, receive phone calls, or explore other products on the site. Regardless of the reason, sending reminder emails that tell buyers where they left off can rekindle their interest in completing the purchase.
After exploring these 12 effective strategies to improve your conversion rate, it’s time to look at some tools that will be useful during the process.
Tools to measure Conversion Rate
While you’re in the process of calculating your own conversion rate, you’ll come across several useful tools to help you gather the necessary information to make data-driven decisions.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
GA4 is a versatile tool that lets you customize reports according to your specific needs. It provides detailed analysis of user sessions, business-related events, and goal tracking. This is essential for understanding user behavior after they enter specific sections of your website.
Google Tag Manager
With this tool, you can create custom events that can be tracked through Google Analytics. For example, you can track the number of clicks on the “Buy Now” button on your homepage. This will give you valuable insights into the specific conversions that interest you.
Hotjar
Hotjar offers features to generate heatmaps and screen recordings, allowing you to see how users navigate your online store. Through real user sessions, you can identify where your buyers click and where they may encounter obstacles along their journey.
Conclusion…
In summary, optimizing the conversion rate is essential for the success of any e-commerce page or website. This process focuses on increasing the percentage of visitors who take desired actions, such as purchasing, subscribing, or adding products to their cart.
