Once upon a time, there existed a dot-com-bubble – where internet usage boomed and internet-based companies multiplied by infinity. To stay in competition, internet marketers were thus prompted to go the extra mile to analyze their conversion rates (the rate at which your visitor gets converted into a customer) and increase them. And that’s how the legacy of conversion rate optimization (CRO) began and continues to evolve till date.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is great to drive traffic to your e-Commerce website but what next? How do you start generating revenues? Unless your e-Commerce site is optimized for converting your users to buyers, you cannot successfully generate revenues. After all, that’s the sole intention for your e-Commerce website to exist, isn’t it? There are tons of reasons why your conversion rates aren’t as good as you expect it to be. You have to constantly make sure that your conversion rate gets better with time and not worse.
You will find a plethora of tools available that promise to help you increase the conversion rate for your e-Commerce store. There are tools that will let you survey on real people about what they think about your products, services or experience. So, you gain your insights straight from the horse’s mouth! Then there are analytics tools that help you analyze your website through and through. Like which products and categories are performing well and what is getting ignored. Depending on these results you can re-organize your web layout if needed. User-testing tools track visitors’ actions throughout their journey on your website. They let you see how user’s interact with your website via clicks, looks or scrolls. Complied below is a list of CRO tools you can use:
As an e-commerce brand, raising your conversion rate should be your constant aim which will include spending your time and money on it. But it will definitely be worth it, if not immediately then on the long run. Don’t try to compete with a standard conversion rate. Strive to contend with yourself and outrun your current conversion rate. When you choose the right development partner for your e-Commerce website development, you have already taken that first step towards conversion rate optimization.
Bonus infographic:
Source: Digitaloft.
Author Bio:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is great to drive traffic to your e-Commerce website but what next? How do you start generating revenues? Unless your e-Commerce site is optimized for converting your users to buyers, you cannot successfully generate revenues. After all, that’s the sole intention for your e-Commerce website to exist, isn’t it? There are tons of reasons why your conversion rates aren’t as good as you expect it to be. You have to constantly make sure that your conversion rate gets better with time and not worse.
Mind-blowing Content Marketing
If you’re aiming to be the best e-Commerce brand, you shouldn’t settle for anything less than an amazing content marketing strategy. Statistics have proven that great content marketing can increase your conversion rate by 6%. Here’s what you should keep in mind for an effective content marketing strategy:- Include a variety of relevant content via blogs as that will help you improve your SEO ranking (by using the right keywords) and create an awareness about your e-Commerce brand.
- Provide useful information about related products too that will make them want to buy your product without screaming “BUY FROM US!”. Try to make subtlety obvious.
- Attend events that you can then turn into content. You can also turn your content into events and connect with people who follow you.
- Use fine quality images wherever you can. Images are the only way your users can relate to your product. If they like them, they’ll buy them.
- Product videos are the future. It’s just more expressive than an image and your customers will really know what they’re getting into. Close-up videos of your products will work wonders.
- Having a good product description is key. Keep a short and a longer description and make sure you’re not missing out anything your users need to know.
- An impressive ‘About’ page will help your users in trusting you. Share your story via a combination of text and images/videos, talk about your people and be authentic.
Captivating User Experience
We’ve all heard about shopping cart abandonment – happens about 70% of the time. With a bad user experience your products might not even end up in their carts.- Start thinking like a customer and show them what they want to see.
- Speed up your website/app. Don’t keep them waiting.
- Less is more. Keep it simple and clutter-free.
- Your e-Commerce web-experience should be consistent and free from any errors.
- Responsive-ize your website. It needs to look and feel good irrespective of the device.
- Don’t make it mandatory for users to register. If you have to, make it concise.
- Try not to surprise your users by adding up on taxes and other handling fees at the end.
- Make their checkout process easy and simple. Consolidate form fields. Don’t give them too much work.
- Offer as many payment options as possible.
- Get trust seals from well-trusted brands like Verisign or Norton that will give your users a sense of trust.
Retain your customers
Because it is cheaper than gaining new ones! Did you know it costs up to 6-7 times more to acquire new customers than retain the existing ones? According to a study by Bain & Company, repeat customers tend to spend more per purchase than new customers. About 67% more! If you have managed to retain your customers, it goes to show that they are happy with your products and services. A happy customer will always have nice things to say about your e-Commerce brand. And when they spread the word about you, you’re in for new customers! Here’s what you can do to retain your customers:- Always stay in touch with them by sending them useful info via Newsletters.
- Implement a loyalty program and reward them.
- Let them review your products and services.
- Connect with them on social media.
- Send Thank you notes or discount coupons for the most loyal customers.
Optimize your Product search
More often than not, your users know what they want to buy. Unless they’re just browsing. If they know what they want, they’re going to search for the product in your e-Commerce website’s product search box. If they’re not happy with the way the results are displayed, they might leave you for your competitor, resulting in lost sales.- Don’t hide your product search box. Place it where it is the most visible.
- Make it accurate and fast. You can use third party search engines like SOLR if you have a huge inventory and need results to be fetched faster.
- Implement auto-suggestions. This can help your users search for relevant keywords.
- Provide them with appropriate friendly messages if their search results don’t match your content.
Shipping and Return policy
If you handle your shipping and returns well, you are most-likely going to retain your customers. It can play a vital role in boosting your conversion rate. A study by UPS has shown that while people prefer free shipping, they don’t mind paying a little more for a faster shipment of their products. Keep these points in mind –- Free shipping can do wonders for you but if you must, provide your users with a shipping fee calculator right at the beginning of their purchase.
- Provide them with the most accurate delivery dates.
- Keep them in the loop about their shipment status.
- Offer an attractive return policy. And stick by it if they return it. Even if your product was not what they expected it to be, if you handle returns well, they will still come back to you for more purchases.
Conversion Rate Optimization Tools
You will find a plethora of tools available that promise to help you increase the conversion rate for your e-Commerce store. There are tools that will let you survey on real people about what they think about your products, services or experience. So, you gain your insights straight from the horse’s mouth! Then there are analytics tools that help you analyze your website through and through. Like which products and categories are performing well and what is getting ignored. Depending on these results you can re-organize your web layout if needed. User-testing tools track visitors’ actions throughout their journey on your website. They let you see how user’s interact with your website via clicks, looks or scrolls. Complied below is a list of CRO tools you can use:User Survey Tools
- Survey Monkey
- Qualaroo
- Survey.io
- PollDaddy
Analytics Tools
- Google Analytics
- Mixpanel
- KISSMetrics
- Clicky
User Testing Tools
- Crazy Egg
- Click Density
- Balsamiq
- Optimizely
Conclusion
As an e-commerce brand, raising your conversion rate should be your constant aim which will include spending your time and money on it. But it will definitely be worth it, if not immediately then on the long run. Don’t try to compete with a standard conversion rate. Strive to contend with yourself and outrun your current conversion rate. When you choose the right development partner for your e-Commerce website development, you have already taken that first step towards conversion rate optimization.Bonus infographic:
Author Bio:
As a passionate technical writer for Specbee Consulting Services , Shefali loves crafting content and sharing information about technology and business. Since her world mainly revolves around digital media, business growth and technological advancements, you can always find her delved in the digital world.
