Website traffic is important when measuring how your digital marketing campaign is going. If people are visiting your site you’re doing something right. However, eCommerce website traffic is only part of the challenge. Traffic means you have a great advertising campaign, but you may not be converting these visitors to buyers. Understanding eCommerce website conversions is critical for successful e-tailers. Here we look at some tactics that can help boost conversion rates.

  1. Remove the clutter

The focus of an eCommerce website is to get the user to perform an action (http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2016/10/10/8-dazzling-conversion-rate-optimization-tips-from-cro-gurus/#2c3b98e47618). A strong branded website design is an important part of the mix. Conversion, however, isn’t driven by fonts, typeface or colours. Ensure your landing pages, homepage and product pages are clutter free. Showcase your products in a very clear way so potential buyers know exactly how to find what they’re looking for. Your copy should be clear and concise, especially product descriptions - don’t try to be too clever as you may confuse and probably lose potential buyers. All costs (shipping, tax, returns) should up front and clear - nobody likes surprises. Costs perceived to be hidden from the buyer can erode trust, which can hurt your eCommerce website conversion rate.

 

  1. Consider the speed of loading

Consumers expect websites to load within 5 seconds, and 46% of consumers will abandon their journey if delayed.

 (http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-news/fashion-over-function-leaves-global-websites-7-slower/3402). Ensure your eCommerce website design isn’t so complex that it slows down loading times. This can frustrate your potential buyers. Keep only the essential assets on any webpage. Remove images, objects and links that don’t add value to your consumer’s experience. Conduct regular testing on your page loading times, don’t wait for customer’s to complain before acting. For every customer who complains there will likely be many who simply leave and never return.

  1. Have a clear and compelling CTA

We know the role of an eCommerce website is to motivate a user to take an action. The call to action (CTA) is the prompt that will make them take this action, and lights a path to checkout (https://www.shopify.com.au/blog/17156160-7-inspiring-ecommerce-call-to-action-examples-and-why-they-work). Ensure it’s easy for customers to browse your products and put items in their cart. Here are a few tips to ensure your CTA works as hard as possible:

  • Ensure your CTA is visible and concise. Don’t make people scroll through pages of text or click too many times to find it
  • Keep the CTA descriptive and clear. Customers should know exactly what will happen after they click – e.g. Start Shopping, Browse Products
  • The ideal CTA will be eye-catching and convey value to your potential customers. It pays to run some testing on your CTA devices as it’s such a critical converting tool

  1. Trust is a major factor

When considering purchasing your product, customers want to know that what they’ll receive from you. Trust is a major factor in eCommerce website conversions. It can be more challenging to build this online vs bricks and mortar outlets, where there are more physical cues

(http://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/11-simple-tactics-to-increase-trust-online.html). To enhance your potential buyers sense of trust in your brand when browsing your website, the following tactics can help:

  • Give potential customers a sense of your professionalism and trustworthiness.  Ensure you include enough information about your company in our About Us section
  • Include social follows and endorsements, reviews and testimonials to ensure people don’t feel like they’re flying blind when purchasing your product
  • Allow users to sort by popularity to enable them to feel more secure in their choice
  • Consider allowing free returns to mitigate the feeling of risk that comes with first time purchases
  • Your check out page should be encrypted and secure with clear cues that signal this to buyers

  1. Make it easy to purchase

If you’d like your potential customers to register, improve your eCommerce website conversion rate by ensuring this process is simple.  Too many fields can be off-putting and make your customers abandon the process very quickly. Keep the information you require down to critical information- name and email address. To add customers to your mailing list you don’t really need to know their occupation, location or age. It might be a useful data-gathering exercise to enable you to understand your customer demographic more, but it’s not what the customer wants. Resist the temptation to ask for too much here.

  1. Use videos & alternate product images

The human brain processes video 60,000 times faster than text (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/behind-online-behavior/201505/video-vs-text-the-brain-perspective). E-tailers who use videos see a strong increase in their eCommerce website conversion rates. Zappos increased sales by 30%, Ice.com increased conversion rates by 400% and Shoeline.com improved conversion by 44%.

 (https://econsultancy.com/blog/6834-why-etailers-need-product-videos#i.1pea32513igdkq). Asos.com topped eDigitalResearch’s (https://econsultancy.com/blog/67823-what-makes-asos-s-online-customer-experience-so-enjoyable/) latest Retail Experience Report with an overall score of 90%. They ensure their features enhance the user experience. Customers can see images of the products and watch a short video of a model wearing the item on the catwalk. This enhances the customers feeling of security in knowing what it is they’ll be getting when they purchase. Showcasing product images from more than one perspective also gives customers more information in a visual way. If you ensure you present this information in an uncluttered way your conversion rates will respond well.

  1. Consider live chat

We know that keeping your website clear and concise is key to improving your eCommerce website conversions. This means you need to include the most important information for your customers to drive sales, no more and no less. There will always be more specific questions some customers will have, and for these customers Live Chat can be a powerful tool

 (http://conversionsciences.com/blog/can-live-chat-increase-conversions/). Communication between customers and a brand at the point of purchase can help get your customer across the line. A customer might know they want in a product however need more information before they complete the purchase. You want these customers to be easily and immediately able to get this information so they complete the sale. Email addresses, ‘contact us’ forms and customer service numbers can work, but these lose the customer right when you almost have them. Live chat is an easy way for customers to get the information they need when they are at that critical point.

When you're wondering how you can improve your online sales, remember converting website visitors to customers is as important as getting them there. Strong advertising will not help your revenue if your eCommerce website is converting visitors to buyers. Luckily, there are many ways you can tweak your website to improve your conversion rate. It comes down to having the right information displayed in an uncluttered way, and ensuring you are adding value to your customers at every stage. You have a small window to gain trust and secure the sales, so ensure your website is working as hard as your advertising to make this happen.