Want to increase conversion rate for e-commerce? That’s a goal shared by every ecommerce business. After all, higher ecommerce conversion rates mean more revenue, and that’s the ultimate goal of any online store. But improving conversion isn’t always easy since there are so many different factors that influence it.
Remember, conversion rate optimization isn’t a new term. It’s been around for a while, and it’s been studied exhaustively by many industry experts. While the concept remains the same, there are different approaches to this subject.
Every ecommerce store in 2023 is expected to face new challenges, especially in reaching and retaining more customers. With the rise of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores have a harder time competing with the convenience and low prices offered by these gigantic websites. This means that you’ve probably been looking for ways to stay on top of things, and we’ve got the tips for you to succeed!
It’s important to understand why ecommerce conversion rates are important and how ecommerce websites can increase their numbers.
Experts at ConversionWise, a noted ecommerce conversion rate optimization agency, have revealed their top strategies for maximizing ecommerce sites’ average conversion rates.
Read on if you want to incfease your ecommerce conversion rate.
But first thing first.
What exactly is an Ecommerce Conversion Rate?
As the term suggests, ecommerce conversion rate simply refers to the number of visitors that take the desired action on your ecommerce website, whether it’s signing up for an email list, making a purchase, or any other goal that you’ve set.
This number is usually expressed as a percentage (for example, if 75 people visited your site and purchased 10 items, your average conversion rate would be 13.3%). An ecommerce business with a higher conversion rate can expect more sales and revenue, so it’s no wonder that companies are investing heavily in optimizing their website for the best possible conversion rate.
Personalization on the website is a key factor that attracts the customers’ attention. This is because customers have different needs, and it is essential for ecommerce companies to tailor their website content according to the individual’s preferences. If you know your audience, know your product and understand their motivations, you can create an experience that compels customers to take action.
According to a recent survey, marketers claim 90% of the personalization efforts helped businesses to increase conversion rates, while 80% of online shoppers said they were more likely to buy from a company that offers tailored content.
So, how exactly can you personalize your website for better conversion rates? Let’s jump to why your website doesn’t convert as much as it should. Or in other words, what are the most common reasons people aren’t purchasing your products or services?
- Your site’s first impression is bad
- You don’t know who you are selling to
- Your hero image is lackluster
- Your website’s design is dated and ugly
- Your checkout process is complicated and confusing
- You don’t offer multiple payment options
- You don’t offer live chat or other customer service options
- Your website is too slow and crashes frequently
- You ignore mobile users
- Your product pages aren’t attractive
- You haven’t optimized your site for SEO
Now with these mistakes that businesses often make, let’s see how we could reverse the situation and improve our conversion rates:
Following are the scientifically proven tips to improve ecommerce conversion rate:
Apply AIDA Principles on Above the Fold Area:
The first principle for conversion rate optimization is to use psychological triggers like AIDA. AIDA, or Attention-Interest-Desire-Action, is a psychological principle that describes the pattern of decision-making for potential customers. The above-the-fold area of your website is what visitors see first, and it’s important to make a good first impression. This means you need to use appealing images and a clear, persuasive headline to attract attention and draw in visitors.
How would you drive attention to your above-the-fold area?
Your hero image or video should grab your visitors’ attention, and you can use colorful contrast or simple but eye-catching graphics to do this. Do you know visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text? This isn’t just a normal fact but also shows why visuals are key in driving attention.
Hero image always puts a hot spot in the product or service you are offering. Remember, the hero image should say the story you are trying to tell. Visitors first notice the hero image, and then the headline, so makes sure that it is attractive and tells an interesting story.
Do you know why the clothing brand H&M is so popular? It’s because they put their model in the hero image wearing their latest fashion statement every time they launch something new. You can’t unsee it; the model grabs your attention and makes you want to desire what they are wearing.
Check this screenshot from H&M:
Do you see the homepage of this ecommerce site? It worked. Both the models and the tagline grabbed my attention. Look how hhigh-quality the picture is. And did you notice they didn’t need any text to persuade their customers?
The lesson here is that the powerful combination of visuals and a strong headline can grab attention, stoke interest in your product, and drive action.
How would you develop an interest in your above-the-fold area?
Once you have visitors’ attention, focus on developing interest in your product by using engaging copy and smart storytelling. Why should they use your services? What benefit will they get from it? What features does your product offer?
You’ll pique their interest and keep them engaged by answering these questions and showing how your product or service can improve their lives.
The best example would be any marketing agency. Do you know why online shoppers convert into a marketing agency? It’s because agencies don’t just tell customers what they offer but how it will help them gain leads and improve their search engine ranking.
Check this screenshot from NoGood:
Do you see how the copy is constructed? They have used smart words like ‘sustainable,” and highlighted it. They didn’t go into too much detail, but they were able to create an interest in their services.
The second step to further strengthen their interest is to outline the additional benefits or perks they will get from buying your product or service. More benefits mean more interest, so you should focus on highlighting the best features of your products and services in order to increase your conversion rates.
Check this screenshot from Payoneer:
Do you see how they’ve outlined all the benefits of using Payoneer to get across-border payments? They’ve pointed out how easy and convenient it is to use this service, so it’s no wonder that visitors are getting interested in learning more about this product.
How would you create the desire for your product?
So, now we have their interest, how will we create a desire for our product or service? You can use effective emotional triggers, like fear of missing out (FOMO) or social proof, to encourage customers to take action. Using powerful imagery to illustrate your product’s value can also help create desire, as can showcasing customer testimonials or other types of social proof.
Check this home page of ConversionWise:
Our home page has Trustpilot reviews that help build a sense of trust and credibility with potential customers, as well as powerful imagery that speaks to the value of our services and helps evoke an emotional response. We know that our customers want to feel confident in their decision to work with us, and by providing these elements, we are able to create a sense of desire and urge website visitors to take action.
So, the last element of AIDA is how do we get customers to act and convert? You can use a strong call-to-action (CTA) button or offer relevant to your target audience. A clear, well-placed CTA button that stands out from the surrounding text or imagery can help drive conversions by enticing customers to take the next step.
A descriptive, persuasive call-to-action can also help you increase your conversion rates. For example, Payoneer’s CTA leverages the emotional trigger of FOMO, telling customers that they “don’t want to miss out.”
Check this screenshot from glo:
Check this unusual, curiosity-provoking CTA from glo. Have you seen a brand using “Sounds good” as a CTA? It is a brilliant way to personalize the experience and make customers feel like they are doing something beneficial.
So, this is how you can apply AIDA in your marketing efforts to increase conversions and boost your sales. By focusing on attracting attention, building interest, creating desire, and getting customers to act, you can create a strong foundation for your marketing efforts and increase the likelihood of success.
What is Your Goal?
After AIDA, make sure the goal of your e commerce site or landing pages are clear and well-defined. With a clear goal in mind, you can focus on building the right elements into yourconversion funnel, like compelling copy, engaging images and videos, powerful CTAs, and social proof, in order to increase your conversion rates.
Example of Wise:
What does Wise do? They provide cross-border money transfer services, helping customers get paid or receive money quickly and easily.
Their homepage is well structured with the goal of what they do. Even if you don’t know about Wise, you will get an idea of what they do within seconds. The goal must be clear and the destination obvious so that customers know exactly where to click or what to do.
Persuasive Copy
Copy sells. The copy on your ecommerce site needs to be persuasive, highlighting the key benefits of your products and services in a clear, structured way.
Copywriting is essential to conversion rate optimization, and you should focus on creating compelling copy that entices customers to take action. This might include using emotional triggers, like fear of missing out (FOMO) and social proof, or emphasizing features, benefits, and values that will resonate with your target audience.
Example of PetSmart
At PetSmart, the copy on their homepage is highly effective at highlighting the benefits of their products and services. It seems someone with great interest in pets wrote it, as the copy appeals to pet parents who want to give their dog (or cat) the best. Their messaging is clear; dog lovers know they have everything a pet parent could need, from toys and treats to food and supplies.
Check Site Speed and Functionality
Google considers page speed and functionality when ranking your site in search results. For a goodf ecommerce conversion rate, businesses need to ensure that their web pages load quickly and are user-friendly.
Let’s say visitors click on your ad or search results listing and arrive at your site. If they have to wait a long time for the page to load or if the site doesn’t work well on their mobile device, they’re likely to hit the back button and move on.
It will cause double loss: lose the subscriber, click and bounce.
To ensure optimal performance, you should run regular speed tests on your site and use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to find ways to optimize your site and make it more user-friendly.
You can also use a free tool like Pingdom or GTmetrix to check your site’s speed and ensure that you’re using a reliable web hosting provider with fast server speeds. If you see room for improvement, consider updating your web host, optimizing images or videos, and removing any unnecessary plugins or other elements that might slow down your site.
Some tips for increasing website speed include:
- Minimizing the number of plugins and other third-party scripts that your site uses
- Choosing a reliable web hosting provider with fast server speeds
- Reducing the size of images and videos on your site
- Streamlining your checkout process and eliminating any unnecessary steps or fields
- Utilizing caching to speed up page load times
When it comes to improving conversion rates, your website’s performance and usability are key. With the right optimization techniques and tools in place, you can ensure that your site is speedy, efficient, and easy to navigate. And with higher conversion rates, you can drive more revenue and grow your business over time.
Make Site Navigation Easy
In order to improve ecommerce conversions, you also need to make sure that site navigation is easy. This means breaking your website down into simple sections with clearly labeled buttons, drop-down menus, and other navigation tools.
For example, H&M’s ecommerce site features a simple navigation bar with clear navigation. Each and everything is clearly labeled, from “Clothing” to “Bags and Shoes.” This makes it easy for visitors to find products quickly and easily and to complete their purchases.
HMU (Help Me Understand) for Sales Pages:
HMU stands for “help me understand,” and you should always keep it in mind when creating product pages, sales pages, and other content that is meant to persuade loyal target customers. Try to explain why your product is the only way for them to solve their problem.
See, if a customer has landed on your site, no matter whether they came from social media ads, they searched your brand’s name, or they came from organic search, they are in your sales funnel. This is the time when you have to nurture them and convince them why your product is the best for their needs.
The biggest mistake ecommerce stores make here is to assume that all visitors have the same level of knowledge about their products. But this isn’t always true; your visitors may be from different backgrounds and have different levels of understanding.
You need to clear this gap in knowledge by providing helpful information about your product on the sales page. You can explain how your product works in simple words and also add visuals side by side to explain the features.
Examples of top businesses from around the world:
The biggest example of HMU strategy is Apple. Have you ever noticed that on every product page, they explain how their products work and what makes them unique? That’s their HMU strategy. The second example is Airbnb. They have a great HMU strategy on their homepage, and it is easy to understand why they are so successful in this business.
Give Users Multiple Discount Offers:
Discounts are a great way to entice customers and compel them to buy more of your products. Nothing excites customers as much as discounts. You can’t possibly think of any customer who would pass up a good deal.
You can offer discounts in various forms, such as coupons, promotional codes, and percentage discounts. Consider offering customers multiple discount offers to maximize sales. You can provide a bundle of deals such as:
• Buy one get one free
• App-only discounts
• Loyalty programs and rewards
• A percentage off sitewide sale
• Social media discounts
• Referral programs
• Limited-time offers
You will find hundreds of ideas to offer discounts and attract more customers. But remember, it’s important to make sure the deals you offer are also profitable for your business. Customers will come back to your store if they find these promotions useful. Not only come back, but they also refer your business to others.
Check this supplement brand page:
Discounts and special offers are a big part of the marketing strategy for this supplement brand. On their product pages, visitors can find multiple discount codes and coupons, also offer free shipping and buy-one-get-one deals. This encourages users to make a purchase right away, increasing the brand’s conversion rates and sales. Whether you’re running a holiday promotion or offering loyalty discounts, giving users multiple offers can be an effective way to increase your conversion rates and boost ecommerce sales.
Allow Guest Checkout:
Statistics show average eCommerce abonnement rate has increased to an alarming 69.57%. This is because customers don’t want to go through the process of registering. The reason is they find it too time-consuming to fill out the long registration forms. So, guest checkout could be a game-changer. Hundreds of brands are doing it successfully.
This allows website visitors to quickly and easily purchase without registering an account or entering their personal information. This can be particularly helpful for first-time buyers who may not want to create an account or for customers who already have an account with a competitor and don’t want to enter their information again.
You might think it to be a minor change, but in real, it can boost your conversion rates significantly. What happens is that guest checkout is a simple, one-step process that allows visitors to checkout as a guest by entering their credit card information. It can be an effective tool for increasing conversion rates and sales, as it makes the checkout process quick and easy for customers.
Check this screenshot from Infinite CBD:
This shows how Infinite CBD has used the guest checkout system to bring more conversions. It is simple and concise and provides an easier way for customers to make purchases.
Multiple Payment and Order Options:
In addition to guest checkout, offering multiple payment and order options effectively converts customers. Customers always appreciate the convenience of having different payment options available and the ability to customize their orders. It’s also a great way to make the checkout process easier and faster.
Let’s say a customer wants to pay by Apple Pay; If a business doesn’t accept this type of payment, then customers may look for another provider who does. That being said, every ecommerce site should offer multiple payment options to increase the chances of customers completing their orders.
The world has transformed into a digital age, and the number of people who shop online is growing, so it’s important to make sure your ecommerce website has an easy, secure, and efficient checkout process.
Following are some of the new and valuable payment options you can offer:
• Apple Pay and Android Pay
• Cryptocurrency payments
• AmazonPay
• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
• Debit and Credit cards
• PayPal
• Bank Transfers
Among all, BNPL has become very popular, as it gives customers the flexibility to make purchases and pay on their terms. BNPL allows customers to purchase items immediately and pay later, usually in installments.
Remember, nothing is more frustrating for an ecommerce site visitor than having to jump through hoops to make a purchase. Why would they even want to stay on your site if they feel like it’s too difficult or complicated?
That’s why it is important to offer multiple payment and order options to customers. This will not only make them feel comfortable, but it can also help you convert more customers.
The next step is to make delivery and shipping as smooth and hassle-free as possible. Customers want to receive something as soon as possible when they order something. So make sure your orders arrive on time or even earlier.
Following are some strategies to follow for efficient delivery and shipping
• Offer free or discounted shipping
• Provide various shipping services
• Trackable orders
• Give customers the option to pick up in store
• Offer flexible delivery times
• Re-route shipments
• Make sure orders are packaged securely
Among these, trackable orders are important as it allows customers to track their orders in real time and feel confident that their purchase is safe. Sometimes, customers have ordered something for urgency and want to know how much time it will take to reach them. Thus, giving a tracking system makes customers more confident and trust your business even more.
Wrap-Up: How to Increase Conversion Rate for Ecommerce?
If you are an eCommerce store and want to increase your ecommerce conversion, implement these tips and see the immense benefits of e-commerce conversion rate optimization with ZERO investment but carefully followed strategies.
Conversion killers can really dampen your sales numbers and frustrate your customers. Each strategy mentioned above can help to increase your conversion rates and boostecommerc sales. Whether implementing AIDA principles, persuasion techniques, or offering flexible payment and delivery options, there are many ways to increase your ecommerce success. So, if you’re looking for ways to increase conversion rates for ecommerce and improve your sales, try these strategies today!
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