If you can optimize your e-commerce conversions, then you can increase annual revenue for your business and potentially increase market shares. Depending on the conversion that you set — customers signing up for mailing lists, inquiries about a certain product, using a contact form to talk to representatives — you can create apt benchmarks for customer interactions and purchases.
With conversions, you have ample potential to reach relatively large audiences. Oberlo estimates that by the end of 2020, global digital buyers will reach 2.05 billion users. This is 25% of the global population. Imagine if you could reach a small portion of them to become buyers and patrons for your business.
Customers are also more eager to buy online. Statista believes that in 2021, e-commerce sales will increase to $4.927 billion globally. By 2023, that number will increase to $6.542 billion globally. You need to jump on this wave and establish your place in the e-commerce frontier.
What To Do Before Implementing Conversion-Rate Optimization
A conversion is a certain action that you want a customer to take, and you can use that as a benchmark for measurement. Conversions don’t necessarily need to be purchases or quotas filled. They need to be responses to a call to action (CTA) set by the storefront in question.
You as the e-commerce owner or manager must set that goal. Make it specific, concrete and measurable within a designated amount of time. Are abandoned carts an issue? See if you can reduce the number of abandoned carts over three months. That is specific and measurable. Are people not using coupons for promotions? See if you can increase discount usage.
Conversion rates are calculated as the number of visitors to your site divided by the number of conversions that occur within a given time period. On average, conversion rates reach 2% at a maximum, and this shows you’re doing a job well. So 2% needs to be your goal and then your ballpark to maintain the number of customers responding to your CTAs.
Tricks To Increase Your Conversion Rates
These tricks are incremental in the long run and may not produce immediate results. E-commerce is a slow build when you want to establish yourself. Track your progress and find ways of measuring financial success.
1. Give Customers A Reason To Buy From You With Unique Selling Propositions
Why are you in business? That’s a huge question. Your unique selling proposition denotes what value you give to users. If you cannot answer this question in a few words, then you are not going to reach customers.
Establish on your website and social media that you provide unique value to customers who use your products and services. Show that you are an expert and that you know what you’re doing.
2. Take Advantage Of Mobile Screen Time
More online users are making purchases using smartphones or tablets, especially when they are in a hurry and away from their computers. You need to make sure you can reach them, and you’ll need to reformat accordingly.
Create a mobile version of your website so that it’s legible on a smaller screen. Research which platforms will reformat the store automatically, or delegate the work to a web developer. Schedule regular tests to see how your website’s mobile quality appears to a random customer. Check personally, as well, to see how the mobile version looks at a glance. Remove giant ads that are eyesores and graphics that take up excessive memory.
Apps are another great option to not only reach customers but maintain their loyalty. If you have the money, invest in creating an app for your business that offers rewards like loyalty points and discounts. Certain movie theaters, for example, use this to encourage people to purchase tickets in exchange for a free movie. You can apply the same practice, only on a smaller scale.
3. Utilize Free And Paid Tools
You need to know how to use free and paid tools to assist with analytics, tracking and strategies. For this, paid tools need to be added to your monthly budget, especially as older ones become obsolete and new ones enter the market.
Google Analytics is a good starting point for beginner businesses. As long as you have a Google account, you can enter your website address into an Analytics page to review the metrics on a regular basis. Google also notes sources for online traffic, including searches and direct links.
Some web platforms for storefronts have built-in analytics pages. BigCommerce is one such platform. Especially when deciding on a migration, analyze if a platform can provide this service to you with other benefits.
4. Proofread And Fact-Check Your Content
Typos can kill a website. Even if many people engage in typos, you want to appear professional. The same goes for grammar.
Outsource to a copywriter or hire one in-house to handle your content on category pages and blogs. Educate the copywriter on specific terminology, and provide as many references as possible for them to do research. Sometimes specific niches have complicated terms.
Triple-check all your data and information. Cite sources when needed, and show that you are an expert. This increases trust from the customer and helps your business’s branding.
5. Make Sure Every Media Portion Of Your Website Is High-Quality
No one likes images and videos that are blurry, broken or unclear. Always check quality for both, especially when using them to describe products or services.
If your image links don’t work, add alt text to describe what the pieces are. As an added benefit, this increases Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and allows you to better reach users with disabilities.
If necessary, use public domain images with the creative commons license. Use a video editor if you have the resources, or outsource the work using freelancer websites.
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