There’s many ways to increase e-commerce conversion. The first one which springs to mind is to get more eyes on your website. Without a good volume of website traffic it’s going to be more difficult to sell. But there’s other things to consider too such as your email list. By getting website visitors to join an email list, you can increase your conversion rate.
On a list you get the opportunity to get in front of your subscribers a lot more frequently than is possible only from a website. Most website visitors leave without having taken any action and it takes around 6-8 touch points before many website visitors will actually make a purchase.
So by offering a good value driven “giveaway” on your website, you can encourage more people to join an email list of subscribers. You can nurture your email list by giving them value driven email messages, and information about your products/services.
Increase E-commerce Conversion – Optimise
Most website visitors will click away when they have to wait more than a few seconds for a website to load. So if you have a problem with loading speed on your website you could be losing thousands of potential customers.
There’s plugins you can use to help optimise the speed of your website. Checkout this article on the 7 best wordpress plugins for speed optimisation.
Optimising for mobile is another important thing you should do, since many website visitors now browse using their phones! If your website isn’t optimised for mobile, they are more likely to click away and find a website which works better for them! Again, money on the table!
There’s tools and software which allow you to see how your website visitors interact on your website too. By altering the navigation on your site, you can create a better flow through to your most important (and best selling) pages. See website visitor tracking for some available tools.
Increase E-commerce Conversion: Send Abandoned Cart Emails/Retargeting
When someone decides to drop a purchase and abandon their shopping cart on an e-commerce website, you can track it and follow up with an email. Here’s one I received a while ago after leaving a cart on a website for AVG (website antivirus protection).
Notice the handy button in the email to “complete my order” so I can pick up where I left off! User personalisation can be set up to work completely automatically too.
If someone has watched one of your videos, but not another, you can tailor make an email (once you have it) which talks to their position through your sales funnel/sales process. Personalising emails like this means you get more engagement with potential customers who are moving through your sales systems.
Retargeting can also be used for website visitors who have left your website. You can set up a retargeting campaign which reengages them on another website through the use of cookies which “follow” them off your site, and advertises to them on another.
Increase e-commerce Conversion – Customer Reviews/Guarantees
Use customer reviews where your website visitors will see them clearly. A good list of customer reviews helps new visitors trust your company more. Most online shoppers won’t buy immediately from a website they don’t know and trust. Amazon is favoured by shoppers because it’s a trusted brand. But to get people to trust you is more difficult if they don’t know you.
Offering a guarantee builds more trust online too, so make sure your website visitors are aware of your guarantees, and they are protected if they want a refund.
A/B Testing/Opt In Offers
Marketers who build huge email lists of subscribers to deliver products through email marketing will have tested their web/landing pages to optimise for opt ins. Your opt in rate is a factor you can test and control. So it’s a good idea to look at your email opt in offer. What does someone get when they sign up to your email list and is it worth it? How does your website communicate the value in your offer?
By testing different web pages and opt in offers you can build an understanding of which ones work the best. Here’s an example of a cross testing of a landing page (pic above). By testing one against the other over a similar number of visitors, you can optimise for opt ins. Changing elements of landing pages such as colour, headings, benefits and position of opt in form (the right works best) all have an effect on your rate.
Provide A Live Chat Service
A live chat helps answer customer questions and engage potential customers. You can use a “bot” very cheaply and many marketers do so because it increases their conversion rate. Checkout the 10 best WordPress chatbot plugins for websites.
Email receipts & Trust Building
Usually when someone buys something they expect to receive an email receipt. You can use this as an opportunity to showcase your other services and/or products. Buying customers are much more likely to repurchase, particularly if they’ve had a good experience. You’ve proved they can trust you.
Trust online is earned not given. One of the best ways to build trust with potential customers is through email marketing. By sending emails which are value driven and offer some useful information, you are building trust with your potential customers, whether or not they buy from you.
Get to know your target market persona so you can deliver value driven emails which talk to them. If you know their pains and problems, you’re much better able to communicate to them in a language they understand.
Use More Opt-In Options
You can increase your email conversion rate from a website by offering more ways for your website visitors to sign up to your email list. Use pop-ups, email forms, drop down menus and direct links to landing pages. Make sure each page of your website has an offer on it whereby visitors know they value you give through your email list.
