{"id":3938,"date":"2021-01-04T18:39:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T18:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondbluemedia.com\/?p=3938"},"modified":"2021-01-04T18:39:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T18:39:01","slug":"how-to-optimize-conversions-on-your-e-commerce-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/04\/how-to-optimize-conversions-on-your-e-commerce-site\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Optimize Conversions on Your E-Commerce Site"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

E-Commerce is a booming frontier many business owners are trying to stake their claim in. It\u2019s projected that there will be over 2 billion digital buyers worldwide<\/a> in the year 2021. As more and more businesses move online, especially after the impact of 2020\u2019s pandemic, savvy business owners are doing all they can to capitalize on this booming consumer space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to make sure you\u2019re keeping up with your competitors is to focus on conversion optimization<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Conversion Optimization?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A \u201cconversion\u201d in marketing is defined as converting a customer to take action for a particular business goal. When we talk about conversions in regard to online e-commerce marketing, we are attempting to change site visitors <\/em>into paying customers<\/em> and steadily increase that rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes conversion rates can also refer to another action you want your site visitors to take such as signing up for your newsletter. Regardless of what you want your site visitors to do, the overarching goal of conversion optimization is to increase your efficiency in attaining conversions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like other digital marketing practices (such as search engine optimization), there isn\u2019t just one method of implementing e-commerce conversion optimization. When you set out to optimize your site, you\u2019ll need to try multiple methods and do regular maintenance to assure your strategies are working across the board of devices we use today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, a little can go a long way when you start to make changes in the name of converting site visitors into paying customers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Optimize Your Conversion Rates <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned, there isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all approach to conversion rate optimization (CRO). Your strategy will depend on the existing interface of your website and where you need to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many times, a potential customer starts with the online advertising methods you\u2019ve set up and how that ad will lead the customer to a particular page on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s walk through some of the best tactics you can implement when optimizing your e-commerce website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set a Goal <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before you set out to optimize your conversion rates, it\u2019s wise to get a snapshot of where they\u2019re currently at and where you want them to be. You can view this data using tools such as Google Analytics, Google AdWords, or even a heatmap (heatmaps track user activity on select pages on your website to better understand their engagement and where they are most interested).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On average, e-commerce conversion rates are around 1% \u2013 2%. With that in mind, it\u2019s often a good idea to set a baseline goal to exceed a 2% conversion rate on your e-commerce site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Calculate Your Conversion Rate:<\/strong> x conversions \u00f7 y visitors = conversion rate <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start With Your Home Page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Oftentimes, the first page a visitor to your site will see is your home page. This is precious real estate that you should not take for granted. Take the space on your homepage to highlight the best products and offerings of your business. You can also take the opportunity to sell your site visitors on your values and mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just remember that your home page is a valuable marketing asset that\u2019s important to drawing in conversions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your home page should also be easy to navigate. If someone who\u2019s never visited your site lands on your home page and can\u2019t find what they\u2019re looking for quickly, they\u2019re likely to head back to the SERP (search engine results pages) and search elsewhere. Be sure you have clear pathways on the home page for your potential customers to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t plan on leading customers directly to your home page, create a better landing page. The landing page will be the page a potential customer enters on your website from an ad click or a click on search engines where that page is displayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Display Your Products Attractively <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your product pages offer a quick overview of your wares and a call to action for your potential customers to convert. The last thing you want to do is publish a half-baked catalog that doesn\u2019t showcase your products in their fullest glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your product pages to convince your potential customers that they should do business with you. What makes your product special? Why should they decide to shop with you instead of your competitor? Show them why with high-quality written descriptions, photos, and videos. And be sure to optimize any media you upload to lower page load time too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your product is as good as you say it is, include a reviews section where you can show an aggregate rating of your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create Intuitive Product Categories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of products, how you organize them can make or break your conversion rates as well. Just like your home page, your product categories must be presented as a manicured pathway your potential customers can leisurely stroll through until they find a product that piques their interest. That is if they don\u2019t already have a product in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your categories are organized more like an advanced-level game of I Spy your site visitors will bounce.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organize your products intuitively. That means dividing up your offerings into groups that make sense. The goal is to make the shopping experience as streamlined as possible. Only 11% – 22%<\/a> of e-commerce shoppers use the search bar to find what they’re looking for. The rest will look through your categories manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Break down your catalog into a handful of main categories<\/strong> and then you can go on to create subcategories from there. This makes it easier for your customers to quickly locate the product(s) they\u2019re looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offer Free Shipping <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now before you say you can\u2019t afford to offer free shipping, stop to consider the psychology of an online shopper. No one likes hidden prices or a surprise $10 shipping fee as they move to checkout. When you offer free shipping, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you need to pay the difference. It can actually just mean you\u2019re including the shipping rate in the price of the product<\/strong>. This can be an appealing draw to a customer and could lead to higher conversion rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Limited-Time Coupon Codes <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Coupons are another major draw for online shoppers. Putting an expiration date on your deals can instill a sense of urgency in your site visitor. In this now-or-never scenario, they might decide it\u2019s worth it to take the leap and make a purchase right then and there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streamline Your Checkout Process <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A little over 68% of customers<\/a> leave their shopping carts while shopping online. Sometimes they\u2019ll turn back to check out at a later time but more times than not they never return. This can be for a number of reasons. But configuring your checkout process in a way that is logical can help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t want to force your potential customers through a ton of hoops just to purchase a product from you. Streamline the process with one-click purchases and multiple payment gateways (ways to pay for products through e-commerce websites). If you\u2019re serving an international audience, be sure to adjust accordingly so your customers using other currencies can have a smooth experience as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get A Little Help From Your Friends At BBM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond Blue Media is here to make your CRO journey run as smoothly as possible. We understand that a lot of moving parts go into creating a cohesive business. A lot of the time online marketing can get lost in the shuffle. But having a team with a focus on conversion rate optimization for your e-commerce store should be your focus this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We offer a range of services including web maintenance and CRO. We are happy to help your business reach new heights with a comprehensive plan to help you gain more conversions. And beyond that, we\u2019d love to help with online advertising, content creation, social media, and more digital marketing strategies! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get in touch today!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

E-Commerce is a booming frontier many business owners are trying to stake their claim in. It\u2019s projected that there will be over 2 billion digital buyers worldwide in the year 2021. As more and more businesses move online, especially after the impact of 2020\u2019s pandemic, savvy business owners are doing all they can to capitalize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3938\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beyondbluemedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}