14 Ideas to Improve E-Commerce Conversion Rates

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It has been noted that the average online user has an attention span of around 7 seconds. This simply means you only have a short window of time to capture someone’s attention to purchase on our site and to feel comfortable in doing so.

There are many factors that contribute to the success of the online conversion rate. Low conversion rates can be to do with bad user experience, high costings, no trust or little credibility. It can also be technical issues such as the site speed or no SSL certificate to build trust with the client. Most problems do occur with a mixture of elements, but user engagement such as user journey and showing the customer value in the product is where the core of the success lies.

Here are just a few things to consider when testing your site or even brainstorming initial designs.1.

1. Improve your landing page quality

This can be via product descriptions, videos or even reviews. Reviews increase trust of the brand significantly. Consider using smaller social buttons as larger ones can sometimes be distracting, however sharing once orders have been confirmed can be encouraging.

2. Clear call to actions

Increasing these are the key to the success. If the customer can’t find out how to buy or make an action then there is little hope.

3. A/B Test

This is the most efficient and reliable way of finding out what your customers are doing and not doing. You can create pages with refined designs to test engagement and increase your conversions.

4. Use high quality images

Low res images damage your brand and can offer a cheap and tacky look to your business. Large quality images, as long as they are compressed, will present a high quality persona.

5. Protect the purchases

Adding guarantees and financial security could be the fine line between a great converting site or a site that never converts. Ensure your site is fully secured and that the customer feels safe in buying with you.

6. Page speed

This may seem like a small element but it can have a huge impact on conversion rates. As mentioned, if customers only have a 7 second attention span and your site is loading slow then you have lost the customer before they have even entered the site.

7. Feature your highest ticket item above the fold

Your top selling product should be placed in a visible spot on your page. Show them this is what customers like them want.

8. Engage your customers

This can be via discounts, value propositions, coupons, demos or even free trials. Reel them in and ensure they don’t let go!

9. Cross sell and upsell

Package together products during and after the purchase process. It will only help you gain revenue and increase order values.

10. Down-sell

When you can tell that customers may be losing interest or wanting to leave the site, give them a reason to stay. One time offers, exit pop ups or exclusive deals are great for optimising traffic.

11. Display your credibility

What makes your business different? Shout and scream about it – the customer wants to know.

12. Replace blocks of text with easy to read chunks

Online users do not have the patience to read through big blocks of text. If you can present this information with a graphic and in bullet points it will make it far more digestible.

13. Ensure your site is mobile friendly

This is not just having a mobile site, that’s the first step. Ensure that the whole interface on a mobile is easy to navigate, and use colour here as small devices can sometimes mean that areas that are prominent on desktop don’t become as apparent on mobile.

14. Increase your subscribers

Get people on your mailing list. This will only help market your product and increase your conversion rate from returning customers. Don’t bombard them but certainly engage and inform them as well as incentivising them to purchase.

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