Setting up an e-commerce store isn’t the hard part (see the best platforms). Making consistent sales is the real challenge!
If you’re new to e-commerce, you’re probably wondering, “What do I do now?”
How do I get people to actually look at and buy what I’m offering?
Don’t worry, it may take some time and dedication, but there are many easy and well-known ways to increase your conversion rates! Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. A/B testing
A/B testing involves tweaking small things like button color, font, line spacing and testing to see whether or not it makes a difference.
Every entrepreneur should always be testing. Although marketing does require expertise, most of it is hands on. The marketer is actively trying out different messages, content, and branding to see what kinds of results they generate. It’s almost like experimentation.
2. Quality product images
The name of the game is communication. You might have the best product in the world, but people need to see that. Show them, don’t tell them.
Post high quality pictures of the products you are selling. That includes being aware of the setting and lighting, the image sizes, photos of different color and customization options, etc.
Just because you know this product is amazing, doesn’t mean that your potential buyer does!
3. Remarketing
According to Google Ads, remarketing “lets you show ads to users who’ve previously visited your website as they browse the Web.”
This way, if an internet visitor comes to one of your pages, but for whatever reason decides to leave, you will still be able to keep in the forefront of their mind! They’ll see your ads on other sites in the google marketplace.
By making your brand present for your target audience across a range of sites, they’ll get to know your company more and it encourages them to choose you when they are ready to make a purchase.
4. Abandoned cart follow-up
Abandoned cart follow-up is a highly sought after feature on today’s leading ecommerce platforms. Being able to see abandoned carts, figure out why that person might not have completed the purchase, and the opportunity to try again later can help boost revenue for small businesses starting out.
This is another way of turning browsers into buyers and converting traffic into sales. Let’s be honest, we all lead busy lives and sometimes we aren’t able to complete an order! Rather than losing that potential customer, abandoned cart follow-up lets you continue the dialogue with that individual.
5. Site search and good filters
Shoppers need to be able to quickly search your site and quickly what they are looking for. If you have a wide selection of products, make sure they are sorted out well and that customers can search for things without feeling frustrated.
6. Great product copy
Whether you are selling a product you created yourself, or selling other people’s products on your site, make sure you have full, complete copy that gives customers all of the information they need to make a decision. Your copy should be engaging, with long and short versions so people can get a quick idea of what your product is about and decide if they want to know more.
Remember, that most of the time, we buy things based on emotion, not logic. What emotions does your copywriting evoke?
7. Keep it simple
Giving people variety of options to choose from is always good, but don’t make things too complicated. Make sure that everything you put on your site is easy for you to make and ship, and while customization is one of the things that we recommend in this post, use it in moderation.
You want to make sure that customizing your items is simple for customers and easy for you to keep track of when it comes to order fulfillment.
8. Short forms to fill out
When it comes to having new customers fill out forms to purchase something from your site make sure that you keep forms as short as possible! Just like Amazon saves your information after the first time you buy from them, make it easy for customers to make purchases without feeling overwhelmed over filling out useless info. If your product is digital, don’t ask for their shipping address!
9. User testing
This can be friends, family, people you hire or other people who are just willing to look at your site and give you their honest opinion. As the business owner, you may be a little biased towards your page and not notice that from a customer standpoint there are some major functionality issues. Hear customers out and do your best go build your site around their needs.
One thing I would recommending is user testing with strangers as well. You can only judge so much based on what people will tell you. You must also track and analyze their behavior. Often times, it conflicts with what they actually say.
10. FAQ, returns, address
Running a successful ecommerce site is all about anticipating your customer’s needs. That includes making all of the information they need to make a purchase easy to find on your site. Put together an FAQ page to answer common questions, a return policy, and an address on your page to help increase customer trust.
11. Offer something unique
Another way to encourage people to purchase items from you online is to offer them something that they can’t get anywhere else, something unique. People will buy from your page if your items are one-of-a-kind and handmade, something that they can’t get cheaper in their local area.
12. Gather reviews
These days checking out customer reviews is one of the easiest ways to find out if an ecommerce business is legitimate or a scam. Sometimes I see ads for cool-looking clothing companies on sites like Facebook, but when I search for reviews on Google, people complain about never receiving the item or having the item arrive in much poorer quality than they expected. Giving away samples for free to friends and family or at a reduced price in exchange for honest reviews can be a good way to get some positive feedback for your site early on.
13. Show cart and subtotal on all pages
This reminds people that they are planning on making a purchase. Having a reminder on the side screen of your website is a great way to let people continue to browse your site (and add items to their cart) without forgetting to check out when they are finished.
14. Test landing page variations
Instead of doing small, simple (and maybe ineffective) A/B tests, you can also consider making two completely different landing pages and test how they perform against each other. This can be a faster way to see how totally different designs can bring unexpected results. Just don’t focus on making too many different landing pages – you want to focus on a few strong ones and put your efforts into those.
15. Optimize for all devices
Optimization across multiple devices is important when it comes to e-commerce these days. People want to be able to make convenient purchases on the go, from their cell phones, tablets, or computers without running into any trouble. The better you do this, the more likely your sales will increase across all platforms.
16. Segment your audience
Find different audience segments to reach out to, testing different social media, advertising and email campaigns. For example, you can reach out to: people who have come across your site but haven’t purchased anything, past customers, customers in certain age groups, etc.
17. Keep shipping costs low or free
High shipping fees are one of the biggest reasons that people abandon their online purchases. Of course, to run a profitable business you often have to include shipping in your price, especially if it’s expensive. To avoid this, you can focus on shipping lighter objects or try to offer shipping discounts where possible.
18. Create a sense of urgency
You can encourage an interested potential customer to make a purchase on your site to now rather than later by creating a sense of urgency. You can do this by running contests, or including tickets to a special event with purchases over a certain amount – anything you can think of to add value and a time limit to a purchase your customer is thinking of making.
19. Value proposition
Tell customers why they should choose you. What makes you the only option to solve their problem, or why are you better than the competition? Are you offering high end products at a lower price? Are you sourcing fair trade ingredients or materials? Give people a reason to feel good about their decision to buy into your brand, not just what you’re selling them, and you’ll form long lasting customers and advocates.
20. Clear calls to action
People aren’t going to like your page, buy from you, share your page, or recommend you to their friends unless you ask. Keep this in mind when designing your page. Use clear calls to action like a “BUY NOW” button and create pre-set messages that make it easy to share your items with their friends. Nudge customers to do what you want (and make sure they know you are grateful) or you will miss a lot of opportunities.
21. Video
Featuring video footage of your products or a video introduction to your company and staff is becoming more common. It can be a great way for people to connect with the human side of your company, even if their only interactions with you are online.
22. Keyword optimization
Proper keyword optimization can bring higher quality traffic to your site. If you take time to do this right, people will be able to search for your site and come across it more easily, and you will get people who are actually interested in what you are selling rather than chance traffic from some shaky connection. Just don’t go overboard with it, or you’ll actually be penalized by google.
23. Low stock indicator
A low stock indicator is another way to create a sense of urgency. If you can show potential customers that you only have one or two, or a handful or a popular item in stock, they might buy it sooner instead of leaving your page and eventually forgetting about it.
24. Multiple payment options
Another reason that people will often abandon purchases online is if their preferred payment method isn’t supported. Do your best to find a platform that enables you to accept various credit cards, even PayPal or other popular methods.
25. Customization
Selling customized products is a great way to attract more customers. People love products that seem like they’re designed just for them. Adding a little engraving, custom color choices, or other custom options can increase demand for your product over those that are all made to look the same.
26. Time sensitive shipping
You can increase your conversions by offering time sensitive shipping – for example, “Item ships in two days if purchased in the next 48 hours” or something along those lines. Giving people access to fast or free shipping if they make their purchase before a deadline can be another way to create urgency.
27. Trust signals, awards (Better Business Bureau, McAfee Secure)
Unfortunately there are a fair number of scams and badly run businesses launched online these days. If your business is given any awards or your site is recognized as safe by a trusted company, make sure you display it proudly. It will help customers feel more secure making purchases on your site and knowing that they gave found your official page rather than an imitation.
28. Sales/specials section
Even though people often prefer free or affordable shipping to sales, having a dedicated sales/specials or clearance section on your site can give people an easy point of entry to make their first purchase. Once this first item is shipped to them, they may return to your site and purchase more items at regular price.
29. Clear progress indicators
Offering prominent progress indicators, like steps 1 (item verification) – 2 (payment and shipping) – 3 (complete your purchase), can give people an idea of how long the check-out process is actually going to take. Try to minimize these steps so that the process seems as simple and quick as possible.
30. Contact info, live chat
Make sure that customers have a way to reach you if they have any questions or problems, and make sure that your communications with them are: prompt, friendly, and professional. Several companies offer live chat software that you can use for your e-commerce business, which can make you seem more responsive than the competition if used correctly. A few of these services include Olark, LiveChat, BoldChat and more.
Conclusion
Depending on your particular business, some of the things on this list might not apply to you. The point is not to do all 30 things, but to use it to decide where some of your weak spots might be and where your site can be improved. One of your biggest strengths will be feedback from friends, family, and early customers. Remember, watch their behavior more than what they say. Leave some flexibility because small changes can make a big difference.
