Conversion optimisation strategies may often seem confusing and complicated. In reality, there are a number of simple changes that you can make to your ecommerce store that make a drastic impact on conversion.

Conversion rates essentially refer to the percentage of visitors arriving on your website that complete specific action. Whether that is spending a certain amount, making a purchase of any amount, downloading free information, signing up to your mailing list, using a promotional bonus, referring a friend, clicking on specific links, completing a purchase that has been left in a shopping cart, following your pages on social media or performing any other action, conversion is defined by your unique goals.

The first step is to define your primary goal. For most e-tailers, conversion relates to successful online sales. This could be the difference between a customer signing up, browsing, adding products to a cart and leaving your store, and a customer signing up, browsing, adding products to a cart and proceeding through checkout. As important as sales are, this is not the only way to measure your success, however. Some of the other conversions that could take place include products being added to carts, products adding items to a wishlist by a new user, email subscriptions, social media shares and any other KPI that you define to be valuable.

A big challenge in conversion optimisation is that fact that conversion is such a broad term that can technically apply to every aspect of user experience. In the case of ecommerce growth, conversion rate optimisation applies to the process of improving user experience to increase sales. You can improve many different areas within your store to increase conversion – landing pages, category pages, product pages, shopping carts, signup pages, FAQ pages and just about any other point that drives customer interaction or sales.

Conversion Optimisation Strategies for Ecommerce Growth

Some of the conversion optimisation strategies that can have a surprisingly high impact on your ecommerce results include the following:

‍Demo videos displayed on the home page and key landing pages

‍Video is a powerful digital marketing tool that can add huge value to drive engagement as well as sales rates. These should be displayed on key pages, including your home page and other landing pages. Because humans are visual creatures who also respond to other stimuli, being able to see and hear products in action is key. This ensures that more than one sense is activated. Over and beyond the sensory impact, video also helps people process information more easily. You could identify core benefits or features of your product, offer a useful overview of how the product is used, create a fun or engaging video that makes people connect emotionally to your product or offer a behind-the-scenes look at how your product is made. You could display these on product pages, home page, category pages, FAQ pages or even about pages.

‍Smart, easy to use search function

Do not underestimate the power of the search bar. The easier it is to find information, the easier it is to make an informed purchase decision. One of the biggest reasons for lost sales is an inability to find information easily. If your shop does not display search results even when product names, numbers and keywords are entered, you are missing out on a huge chance to make a sale. Filters such as brand, size and price can help to fine-tune searches, while a smart search bar that displays all relevant results in an easy to view list will also allow this feature to be used effectively.

‍Powerful product pages

Once people arrive on your product pages, make sure that they want to proceed to checkout. Do not compromise on quality in your product copy and descriptions or photographs. Consider additional features such as videos, reviews, similar products, product availability, wishlists, ratings, useful tips and anything else that will help customers finalise their purchase.

‍No nasty pricing surprises

A major reason for abandoned carts is a disparity between displayed price and final price after shipping is added. Even if your shipping price is not very high, it can make your entire price seem high if it is not expected by customers. Try incorporating shipping into your price or include total price plus shipping on product pages to avoid any final surprises.

‍Streamlined product filters

‍Surprisingly, too many choices can end up harming conversion optimisation rather than helping to close the deal. Product filters are a very useful way to allow customers to browse products by price, size, colour or any other pre-defined criteria. When you offer too many choices, it can lead to overwhelm. When you offer a few choices, it helps the decision-making process, reducing distractions at the same time.

‍Reduced need to register

‍Another major factor that influences abandoned carts is a complicated registration process. Compulsory registration is annoying and off-putting to many customers. Instead, keep registration optional and allow customers to check-out products as a guest. You could offer benefits to registration, such as customer support, order tracking or referrals.

‍Faster, simpler checkout

‍The faster and simpler the checkout, the less likely people are to complete the order. Complicated checkouts that require entering lots of personal information, proceeding through security checks and making customers repeat information is a quick way to result in an abandoned cart. Simplify the checkout and you eliminate barriers to purchase instantly.

‍Reviews and ratings

‍Asking customers to review and rate products can also be a powerful conversion optimisation strategy. This information helps new customers by making new customers feel good about your products and service. It also gives them the chance to feel invested in your store. Reviews also help prospective customers in the decision-making process, which further adds value.

‍Frequent, consistent testing

‍Test, test and test again. Keep testing so that you are always sure that people can use your store on any device. This means either hiring someone to perform this function or getting your team to test every possible page and process from various devices at least once every quarter. There are many tools that can help this process. A good marketing automation platform will also allow you to test digital marketing messages so that you can be sure that you are converting across the board.

‍Omnichannel marketing

‍Finally, as much as on-site conversion optimisation is important, it is not the only channel. A good omnichannel marketing strategy is the best way of reaching your customers at every touchpoint. If you are not using the channels that are already converting, you run the risk of losing out on the chance to reach customers where they are already showing signs of engaging, purchasing and investing in your products and brand.

Using a digital marketing platform that incorporates high-converting channels is your best chance at seeing consistent results across the board.

Grapevine Interactive helps you take control over your conversion optimisation with all the tools you need to grow your results. Get in touch today to learn more about how our system helps you fast-track your conversion optimisation strategies for optimal growth.