If you are the owner of an eCommerce website, you probably know what we are referring to when we talk about average income per visitor.
Generally, we use this figure because it is the ultimate indicator of the profitability of your online store. It helps to determine the maximum CPC you are willing to pay for a PPC campaign, it also helps to better consider the store’s revenues and to assess the profitability of the budgets allocated to its promotion.
Very often, to increase the sales of your eCommerce store, you can synthesize the thing in two broad lines of objectives. Either we focus on generating traffic to the store –Â logical – because, with more people, we automatically sell more. Either we turn to improving the conversion rate of the store.
Ideally, an effective eCommerce strategy should always aim for both. If we are able to attract more traffic to our website in addition to optimizing our conversion rate, we have succeeded. Today, I wanted to focus on optimizing the conversion rates of an eCommerce store.
In this article, we will cover most of the strategies that you can implement and test on your store in order to improve the conversion rate and therefore the income generated for your business.
1- Target the right people
This point seems logical, but unfortunately in most cases, companies do not focus too much on it. Attracting fewer visits, but more good people can and will likely pay more for your business. Attracting the right personas allows you to lower your bounce rate and increase your chances of converting.
A high bounce rate does not necessarily mean that the content of your site is bad or that your prices are too high, perhaps you are simply attracting the wrong people to your store.
2) Choose the right keywords
In 2020 if you do PPC, choose your keywords carefully. Often when you launch an Adwords campaign, you are tempted to choose lots of keywords, without necessarily brainstorming about the state of mind of the user at the time of research.
I have often seen Adwords campaigns with the objective of selling a product X, for example sporting goods, but using keywords that are a little too generic such as specific brand names like Nike, Adidas, etc.
This has the consequence that the visitor is not necessarily in the right phase of the purchasing process and perhaps simply looking for information on the brand in question or other. In short, keep in mind the three phases of the online shopping process which are discovery, consideration and action.
3) Image matters
In online sales, images are probably the most sought after by users. The images make it possible to highlight your products and play a big role in the conclusion of the sale because they allow the user to better evaluate your product, that is to say, from several angles.
In short, images are important. So take the time and resources necessary to present images with the best possible resolution.
4) Product presentation
Well, everyone knows it, but it’s worth spending some time on it. It often happens to visit E-commerce sites that offer descriptions of products that are a little too generic, such as size, color, price, etc.
The product description acts like your seller. It must, therefore, demonstrate the added value of your product. Remember, you are not the only website selling products, what sets you apart from the rest? Why are your products the best? Make sure you have a clear USP (unique selling proposition).
The only way to do this is to identify your personas, your ideal customers, and ask yourself the question about what they really seek, the added value that your product brings them.
5) Product presentation videos
In recent years, especially thanks to platforms like YouTube, videos have probably been the most viewed content on the net. Besides, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then video is never too much.
Videos allow you to better present your products and highlight the benefits they provide. They therefore play a big role in reassuring online buyers about the quality of the product they will receive.
Video has supported roughly half of online sales for the past few years, so in 2020 be sure to incorporate this into your online marketing.
6) The personalization area
This option is nowadays accessible through the net. In fact, having an online store cuts several fixed costs such as rent, employees, etc., which once were obstacles to the development of small businesses. Since it is easier to sell your products these days, offering a customizable product is an option to consider, really.
Companies like Nike, letting your user personalize their product significantly increases the conversion rate of the online store, because everyone finds their account there.
In addition, personalization greatly improves the shopping experience and develops a sense of belonging to the brand.
7) Keep the shopping cart visible at all times
When visitors add products to the basket, the work is not necessarily finished. Often, we save the products in the basket to compare them or to see the final price (tax, shipping costs included). Leaving the basket visible during the entire visit acts as a reminder.
Users want to see the products they have already put in their basket, take the opportunity to continue promoting them until a purchase
8) Upsell and Cross-sell
Playing with combined promotions is a fairly widespread practice in order to increase the average shopping basket. If, for example, you sell women’s clothing, you could offer a combination with a handbag or a complementary accessory.
This tactic is very interesting but requires a lot of rigor in the implementation. You don’t want to offer the add-on product too early in your sales process, and you don’t want to spread user interest. Also be sure to follow best practices in terms of pricing (typically, a discount that affects user perception is around 20%). Test to see!
9) Delivery costs, seriously?
Well, one of the easiest things to pay for is delivery costs. Very often, they play a big role in the abandonment of the baskets (roughly 57% of the baskets are abandoned for several other reasons too).
My advice, get rid of these fees! They literally kill your business. Ultimately, include it in the selling prices of your products if you really want to.
10) Create a VIP section
A VIP section is a great strategy to increase your conversion rates. Registered users have this perception of having preferential rates, and it’s always nice to know that we are appreciated.
In addition, creating a VIP section offers many other benefits such as developing the feeling of belonging to your brand, increasing repeat sales, capturing visitor contact information in order to relaunch it later, and above all, justifies your promotions. How many times have you come across ads offering extravagant discounts? Too often. Promotions are therefore becoming obsolete and creating a sort of VIP section justifies the low prices.
Apply these techniques and improve your conversion rate in 2020.
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Author Bio: Vikram Rana is the Marketing Manager at LiftnGift, and has served as the Head of Conversion Marketing at Design by Lavassa. He’s an expert in inbound marketing and lead generation.