Improving Ecommerce Conversion Rates

Launching and building an eCommerce business is not a simple task. First, you must decide what to sell. Then, you source your product by looking for suppliers. Next, you set up your store and start sending visitors to your website.

If you think that’s all it takes to keep the wheel in motion, you’re wrong. Not everybody who goes to your website is going to buy your product. There are things you need to do, and avoid, to convert your visitors into paying customers. Your store’s Conversion Rate is, thus, the single most important metric you need to watch if you want your business to succeed.

An eCommerce conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who bought something from your store in a given period of time; however, this is not the only way to gauge your store’s success.

Conversion also measures the percentage of website visitors who completes a desired action, such as:

1
Adding a product to their cart.
2
Adding an item to their wishlist.
3
Sharing your site in social media.
4
Signing up for email.
5
Any KPI you wish to achieve.

Of course, the ultimate KPI is sales. Improving or optimizing your conversion rate is done with that end goal.

Simply put, you improve a customer’s shopping experience to increase the chances of a visitor buying your product.

You do this by optimizing the places in your website that a customer goes to, like your collection and product pages.

What is the Acceptable Conversion Rate?

Based on different surveys, the average eCommerce conversion rate is 2%. There are websites who hit higher than that, so 2% should be your baseline. For example, if your website has 1,000 visitors in one month and you have 20 conversions, then your conversion rate is 2%. This number is acceptable, but you can always aim for more.

Importance of Conversion Rate

Conversion rate has a big role in your store’s success. It’s no wonder why websites work on conversion rate optimization to ensure an increase in ROI.

Conversion rate optimization is the most reliable way to get more sales. It is more effective than advertising.
Conversion rate optimization provides more value to your website. You optimize your website by improving the user experience and adding valuable content. By doing this, you also add value to your products.
Conversion rate optimization is an effective remarketing tool. It is a given that the best customers are former customers, but to have this, the first sale must happen first. If you can lure back visitors and convince them to buy the next time they’re on your site, it’s a big win for you.

If you want to be a market leader, you must increase your conversion rate with the help of digital junkies. Converting visitors into customers is more beneficial to your business than the value of the actual purchase they make. This is because your customers become your marketing prospects and you (ideally) get them to buy from you more than once. If you do this, your competitors lose prospects.

How to Increase Conversion Rate

If you take a look at the websites that have high conversion rates, you will see that they all have the following characteristics: strong value proposition, product pages that are user friendly, website that loads quickly, and consistent trust signals.

Here are some ways that can help you increase your conversion:

1. Identify and set a benchmark for your conversion rate.

If you are on Shopify, look for the built-in analytics dashboard to see what your conversion rate is. Open the Analytics section on the left panel, then choose Dashboard. Look for the Online Store Conversion Rate widget and you will see a breakdown of your sales funnel into three separate stages. {insert photo}
For other websites, you can use Google Analytics. Go the Conversions section and open the Goals report. The conversion rate is divided into different goals and you can add alternative dimensions and metric to further break down your data.

2. Let your customers know that your store can be trusted - All first-time visitors are wary when it comes to trusting you with their credit card information. This is one of the biggest obstacles in online shopping. When a visitor lands on your site, make him feel comfortable.

Make sure that your checkout has SSL (secure sockets layer). This is a protocol for web browsers and servers that allows authentication, encryption, and decryption of data sent over the internet.
Show visual signals that you use customer-trust payment options like credit card images, PayPal, and other payment options.
Display the security badges that you use like GeoTrust or McAfee.
Display your phone number on your website. It gives a touch of authenticity and helps reduce your customer’s scepticism about your business’ authenticity.

3. Make your website user friendly – A website that is difficult to use will turn off customers. Identify if you have issues in usability. To do this, check your Site Content report on Google Analytics. You will see the page views, bounce rate and % exit for each of your site’s URLs.
The following ensures a good user experience:

Keep the website simple by making it focused and transparent.
Structure your products in a logical manner but use as few levels as possible so that the buyer can get to the product quickly.
Implement a website search so that customers can easily find your products.
Highlight important elements with visual cues.
Give detailed product descriptions. Remember that customers cannot touch your products and they are not in the store where they can ask questions, so a detailed product description will help them. It helps prevent returns too.
Make checking out easy. The form should be easy to understand and fill up. When the customer types out his credit card number, format it for them to make it easier to read and difficult to make mistakes in. Digital wallets (PayPal Express, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, etc.) help with this because they are faster and more secure.
Let customers check out as guests. Do not force them to sign up for an account; you will get their name and email address anyway. Some customers get turned-off when asked to register and leave the store instead.

4. Work on your content – It is not enough that you display your products well accompanied with a product description. Include content that will persuade your visitors to buy your product. Here are some tips:

Make your visitors feel that they are going to miss out on something big if they do not try the product you are highlighting. Tap on their fear of missing out and create a sense of urgency by invoking time limits and limited supply.
Write personalized product descriptions. Your product will be accepted more if you present it using your customer’s point of view. Make the product relatable to their personal situation and circumstances. For example, if you are selling a slow cooker to a working mother, highlight how it can benefit her particular situation.

We are big advocates of testing. To find the method that will improve your conversion rate, test all of them and measure how each method engages your customer and compel him to buy. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy so test the combinations that work best for you. Do not settle for 2% when a much bigger conversion rate is workable.