15 E-commerce Best Practices For Conversion Optimization

Mission Possible: 15 Maneuvers To Strike Conversion Optimization

Conversion rates are likely to cause anxiety. Here’s a couple of potent remedies to make your worries disappear.

The Basics of Conversion Marketing

It all starts with Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), a system called to convert visitors of the website into active buyers. Generally accepted successful e-commerce conversion rate hovers around 2%. This figure shows how many people out of the total number of viewers should make a purchase or perform other desired actions on the page. On the way to this benchmark, Conversion Optimization has to be carefully looked at due to a range of reasons:

• firstly, engaging a regular audience in a more consistent customer behavior is more cost-effective than winning new visitors;
• secondly, a higher rate of conversion automatically brings us to a better ROI;
• finally, conversion optimization allows to eliminate risks of limited attention span and keeps visitors busy with tailored assortments of goods.

Having emerged from the demand of e-commerce marketers to reinforce a potential of their sites, CRO has become important for seasoned e-business sharks and enthusiastic neophytes alike. Components of success are manifold, and we’re now looking at some of the most trusted ones.

1.   Pin down your acquisition strategy 

Campaigns might show disappointing results unless backed up with a goal that empowers decision makers to make right moves.

That’s why defining the acquisition strategy prior to conversion rate activities is critical. Whether you rely upon networking or direct marketing, this constituent should be taken into consideration for a more profound analysis. After all, nobody wants to shoot off-base.

2.   Choose a proper pricing strategy and software

Price has always been an overriding factor in trade, and e-commerce is no different. An eternal battle over the best deals continues with no room for rest nor minor details.

Even price tags have chopped in, taking up their position among influencing factors. The way the client perceives the price falls under the influence of the overall presentation of each deal.

Fortunately, optimal price challenge can be substantially facilitated through utilization of almighty price optimization software and automated processes. Manual strategies have already lost to smart powered solutions that compare, analyze and adjust promptly on an automatic basis.

3.   Create an A-list of referring URL’s

In spite of being commonplace and obvious, this trick is neglected too often. E-marketers routinely lose sight of their major traffic contributors. Nonetheless, it is a great opportunity to understand why prospects come to your page and draw conclusions.

4.   Avoid over-categorization

The deeper you go into the hierarchical categorization of your site, the more confused your visitors become, and their chance to find what they’ve been looking for is dwindling.

Items with common attributes, which fall under the same types and classes, should not be divided into separate genres. This way the structure will remain clear, and, what is especially important for online stores, filters won’t ignore the products potential buyers might take an interest in.

If you follow this advice, you won’t end up among an astonishing 54% of e-commerce players who get it all wrong.

5.   Make your phone number visible

An instantly visible phone number is another example of what small things can do to enhance the overall picture. Big font and wisely chosen positioning encourage prospects to come into contact, make inquiries and take further steps.

It’s a sort of a call-to-action trick, which won’t cost you anything, but will most definitely reward you with much-anticipated calls.

6.   Go the extra mile with testimonials

It is not always easy to get your clients write an insightful testimonial. However, it is worth investing time and effort. Believe it or not, 92% of people are reported to give credit to peer recommendations, whereas over two thirds of users place confidence in testimonials, even though they’ve never met a referee.

7.   Apply promotion management

Promotions have become a household name. 38% of social network users alone have admitted being in a constant search for exciting offers, while almost 70% of mobile gadgets shoppers reveal their ongoing interest to retail coupons, — a study shows.

In order to get the situation under control and benefit from the users’ habits, sellers increasingly frequently turn to promotional software, which has already transformed into an integral part of fruitful e-commerce.

8.   Implement live chat programs

Live chats can be great, creating an impression of 24/7 two-way dialogue with your audience. However, if you go for this option, make sure to master your software. Never display “out of office” messages suggesting customer’s return at a more appropriate time. Otherwise, it’s simply better not to have any chat at all. 

9.   Say “no” to a-dime–a-dozen stock images

A picture paints a thousand words unless it has been seen a thousand times. Relevant personalized pics accumulate more credibility and willingness to act, even if they are less well-honed than the ones found in the image bank storages.

Study findings illustrate how modern users respond to preppy looks with a stunning smile vs real people with credentials. Take a wild guess at which of the two pictorials worked better.

10.   Learn the digital ropes 

Conversion rates deserve a proper tech. Today the market is replete with software and hi-tech solutions for almost everything imaginable. Google Analytics, Crazy Egg eye tracker, omniscient Inspectlet and other sets of webmaster tools will hang around on your journey to a better understanding of customer’s moves.

It thereby becomes possible to identify the strengths and shortcomings of each page. Another good idea is to setup A/B testing to establish which positions convert better.

11.    Create meaningful content

Technologies rock, but they cannot do everything. Don’t forget to support your products and services with valuable, engaging information.

If the amount of data is insufficient, your prospect will leave. On the flip side, you can win new followers by simply giving more information than your business rivals. But then again, the texts should be relevant and helpful.

12. Go “Free”

E-commerce experts observe: once users see a tempting “Free” sign, they are more likely to buy. According to the 2017 Pulse of the Online Shopper survey, nearly two-thirds of shoppers admit that free shipping is an important factor influencing their final decision. 

It’s a secure “good deal” that calls for action and appeals straight to the subconscious. Following this principle, some retailers are said to slightly increase products prices in order to afford a free shipping option. 

13.  Don’t banner-blind your users

Modernity is bringing more and more things to the table, and banner blindness is among them. This term is used to refer to a condition when users pass by endless banners and ads without even noticing them.

So-called ad blindness, whether it’s conscious or subconscious, reduces the power of the message you hope to communicate. The best way to banner-blind your audience is to enable an automatic image slider somewhere on the website. While withstanding this ill-fated attempt to get them hypnotized, visitors develop immunity (read: indifference) to every other element of the page. And a little later, they are ready to close that browser window for good.

14.   Shed colors upon your call-to-action buttons (CTA)

Sometimes all we need is just a tiny prompt. Highlighting the buttons which inspire to proceed with the order might be that missing piece of a puzzle you are digging for.

And the same goes for useful links, which may be replaced with buttons to powerlift your watchword. But do not overdose: as few as one CTA per page is enough. By the way, marketers have elicited a confusing effect on excessive choice.

15.   Demonstrate your credibility

Customers want to know they are safe and sound prior to disclosing credit card details and other sensitive information. So, gain reputation and the trust of your audience. Standard security tips include:

• implementation of commonly accepted methods, such as PayPal;
• SSL installed at checkout;
• GeoTrust, Norton, McAfee and other kinds of security certification seals.

As the CXL Institute study reveals, 62% of shoppers experience a certain degree of anxiety related to safety concerns when buying online. Upon that, they react equally well to all popular badges with good standing.

Final word

Everything comes at a price. A nice website alone cannot drive sales and grow revenue. But the moment you fortify your strategy with smart moves and learn from the experience of others… Bang! You see your conversion rates move up. That is to say, grab the tools and gently chisel marble slab of your start-up into e-commerce masterpiece.