Boosting your conversion rate is the ultimate goal of every online shop owner. So what conversion rate should I be shooting for? Anything that is better than what you have is the goal. Continuous improvement of your conversion rate is all you need.A List of Factors that You Need to Look at on Your Ecommerce Site
- Great Words Sell Products - Many ecommerce stores miss this point. Internet shoppers read and those that are the best customers read very closely. Spend as much time on your descriptions as you do your photos and videos. Offer a short version that can be a quick read. Also have a longer version that answers every conceivable question.
- Great Product Photos - The internet is driven by images. Make sure that every item you sell has lots of great photos. If there are several sides that a buyer might be interested in, be sure that each is photographed. Be sure that the lighting is true. It is always best to make the images zoomable so that a customer can see your online products just as they would if they were in a store.
- Build Your Own - The fastest way to get someone to fall in love with one of your products is to allow them to customize it. After they have chosen a color, a fabric, or a style, they won't be able to resist the urge to hit the buy now button.
- Everybody Loves a Sale - Create a space on your website that you can offer discounts and specials. You might not make a great deal of money from these items, but potential clients will love the idea that they can get a bargain.
- Always Free Shipping (if you can) - Anytime you charge shipping you are losing customers. The problem is that if I can buy the same item in a store, why would I want to pay shipping? Shipping can kill a sale very quickly. If it is possible to offer free shipping or to hide the cost of shipping the price, that will go a long way to making many more conversions.
- Videos for Your Products - If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a thousand pictures. They can show a prospective customer more detail and more information about a product than images or words alone. If you are just starting out, they don't need to be expensive professional videos, but can simply be produced from a decent smartphone. Take a look at Zappos.com for some great samples of product videos.
- Drag Them Back to the Cart - Shopping cart abandonment is one of the most frustrating parts of being an online retailer is when your customers leave their shopping cart full and go some place else. If this happened in a brick and mortar store, it would put the companies out of business. The best way to solve this problem is to have great prices, a quick and easy check out, and a follow-up to ask you customers what they need to complete the sale.
- Easy Contact - Make sure that you have an easy way for your customers to contact you. 24 hour chat can allow customers to ask questions and learn additional details as needed. If you don't have chat, make sure that your team answers emails as quickly as possible. Helping your customers feel comfortable about purchases is one of the best ways to convert sales.
There is an amazing amount of study given to conversion rates and ways to make the online sale. Interestingly, most of the final reports don't get too far beyond these basic ideas. Following these rules can help you to convert sales more consistently and efficiently.
Remember: Better than you are doing now is the goal. Simply make constant improvements to your site and eventually you will have a conversion that is the envy of your competitors.