The ultimate goal of every business, whether big or small, is to improve the ecommerce conversion rate.
SEO specialists optimize the site to drive traffic and improve conversions. Similarly, digital marketers leverage different paid marketing tactics to convert leads into conversions.
So you see, every effort you make for your online business is inclined towards improving your ecommerce conversion rate.
But having more sales isn't as easy as it may sound. The competition in the digital space is already aggressive, and customers are more demanding than ever before.
They know there are thousands of other options to turn to if they fail to get the expected services from your brand.
That's where conversion rate optimization strategies come in.
Ecommerce conversion rate optimization ensures that every aspect of your online business is tailored to the needs and wants of your target customers.
In this post, you will learn about 10 well-aligned conversion optimization strategies that guarantee marketing success. But before that, let's have a quick look at what conversion rate is and why your business should focus on improving your conversion rate.
What Is A Conversion Rate?
Simply put, a conversion rate is the percentage of customers who complete your desired action (not always sales).
You can easily calculate your conversion ratio by dividing the total number of conversions by the total number of website visitors and multiplying by 100.
Conversion rate optimization, on the other hand, is the process of improving your website and overall user experience by leveraging different CRO strategies.
The process involves different tactics to help boost the number of quality leads and improve ROI.
The key here is to understand that conversion can happen on any page of your website. Your goal as a seller is to design your ecommerce website in a manner that turns potential customers into long-term paying clients.
These 4 areas of your website can benefit from CRO in particular:
Home Page
Your homepage acts as a gateway to your website. It helps you make a first impression on your prospects and let them decide whether they want to spend more time exploring products on your site.
Do not oversaturate your homepage space with unnecessary links and tabs. Having a free signup button and a live chat option is a good idea, though.
You can also place action-driven CTAs on your homepage to help visitors know where they should go next to complete the transaction.
Product/Event Landing Pages
The purpose of creating landing pages is to encourage customers to take action. One of the biggest mistakes online sellers make is they display everything on their homepages.
Doing so will result in more confusion for the buyers. Try to create separate landing pages for every piece of information you have in hand instead of embedding everything on a homepage.
For instance, you should create separate landing pages for each product you have in your store.
Also, if there is an event coming up, you can dedicate a page for that with detailed information. You can also embed a video of last year's event to encourage visitors to register for the upcoming show.
Pricing Page
Customer rate optimization strategies can significantly benefit your pricing page. Since potential customers always visit a pricing page to know about their options, CRO can help them convert.
Make sure your pricing page includes everything a potential customer might be interested in - detailed product features associated with each price, your contact details, and more.
Blog
The blog section on your site acts as a source of information for your customers. Also, it proves your industry expertise and helps prospects convert into paying customers.
Having CTAs throughout an article is a good practice as it enables customers to move on to the next stage of the funnel and convert.
What Is The Average Conversion Rate?
According to research, the average ecommerce conversion rate is 2.86%. Many factors affect your conversion score, including ad clicks, downloads, newsletter signups, and more.
Also, every ecommerce website has a different goal and audience. Sure, averages may be beneficial if you're starting out. But, this isn't something you can completely depend on with 100% confidence.
So instead of chasing this figure, it is better to focus on establishing an in-depth understanding of what works best for your business and your target customers.
How does Conversion Rate Optimization support your Marketing Efforts?
Helps You Know Your Customers
Have you ever noticed why every marketing blog emphasizes knowing your target audience? That's because your conversion ratio depends on it. How? Let us explain.
As an online seller, your every business activity revolves around your buyers. You can't even think about converting them into paying customers without knowing who they are and what they want.
What ecommerce conversion rate optimization does is help you understand your customers better. Figure out what inspires them and what causes friction.
Gets You More Conversions
Customer acquisition is costly. Also, there is no guarantee that a new customer will turn into a loyal customer over time.
That's why successful brands prefer to focus more on customer retention than on customer acquisition.
When you constantly optimize your e-store for conversions, you get to know about your buyers and their needs. As a result, you offer personalized solutions which lead to an all-in-all smooth shopping experience for your customers.
Happy customers = brand advocacy = more customers
Boosts ROI
Both marketing and conversion rate optimization strategies are designed to drive conversions. But unlike traditional marketing and advertising techniques, CRO provides a quick and tangible improvement in your profit margins.
Gives Your Business Competitive Advantage Over Others
Owners who implement the right customer optimization strategies get a competitive advantage over those who do not. Running a profitable online business is no joke. CRO helps you master the art of winning customers.
Builds Credibility
With conversion rate optimization strategies, you can make your site look legitimate and reliable. Because modern customers are very concerned about the security of their sensitive information, using various data protection strategies as part of your CRO tactic will give you an edge over your competition.
Increases Your Customer Lifetime Value
Ecommerce conversion optimization strategies help create a strong bond between you and your buyers, which is not possible with conventional marketing tactics. This increases your customer lifetime value and will make your buyers keep coming back for more.
10 Well-Aligned Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies For Marketing Success
1. Attract Customers Using FOMO And Social Proof
It's the human psyche to grab those things first that are limited in number.
The FOMO effect is powerful. It forces us to take our cell phone devices wherever we go and keep on checking social media accounts to ensure we're not missing out on something important.
The good news is you can benefit from this conversion optimization strategy to increase sales. Announce time-sensitive deals and discounts and showcase the FOMO effect in your CTAs to tell your users they're missing out if they do not take action in the stated time frame.
Another effective conversion optimization strategy that fuels your brand's marketing is using social proof and customer testimonials.
Customer testimonials build trust and encourage other buyers to trust your offers. For even greater credibility, you can ask your customers to give video testimonials.
2. Use Videos To Explain Your Product And Tell Your Business Story
The internet has turned into a visual space. Gone are the days when a text-based 'About Us' was enough to drive sales and conversions.
Today, customers want to connect with the brands on a more personal level. Using videos to tell your brand story can go a long way. It helps establish a strong connection with customers that drives great value in the form of sales and conversions.
In addition to that, you can also use videos to explain your products. Especially if you're selling anything technical online, videos will help you better explain the benefits and features of your product to your target audience.
3. Turn Regular Leads Into MQL
Some customers skip stages of the conventional buyer's journey and get straight to the point by connecting with the sales rep. In that case, you don't get a chance to convert them through typical step-by-step conversion tactics.
Fortunately, there are ways you can still convert those high-intent visitors so that they can convert into marketing-qualified leads.
For instance, you can lure such visitors by creating compelling product pages and copy. Also, you can offer value-added benefits and superior customer service to remove friction from the selling process.
4. Split-Test Your Landing Pages
As discussed above, most conversions occur on landing pages. That's why it is critical to perfectly optimize your landing pages using the best design elements and content features.
But obviously, whether or not these elements will convert depends on your buyer's preferences and not yours.
That's where A/B testing steps in.
With A/B testing, you can test and compare two variants of a similar design or feature to single out the one with better potential. There are many tools available online that you can use to split-test different elements on your website. Just pick the one that best caters to your needs, and you're good to go.
5. Optimize High-Performing Blog Posts
Blogs are an integral part of your customer optimization strategy. The good news is you can optimize your already published posts to generate leads and drive conversions.
All you need to do is identify your high-performing posts, update content, and optimize it for search engines. Simple and rewarding.
6. Use Retargeting To Re-Engage Visitors
No matter how hard you try, the fact is not every visitor who comes to your website will convert. By implementing retargeting strategies, you can win back those potential customers who left your site for some unknown reason.
For your retargeting offer to work, make sure you invest your time in creating a compelling copy with some visuals and a powerful CTA that gives your prospect a reason to convert.
You can also make your retargeting offer more exciting by throwing a discount or a cashback offer.
7. Offer Excellent Customer Service
Excellent customer service sets your business apart from others. Also, customers prefer brands ready to go the extra mile to help them with their questions and concerns.
Invest in a live chat support team. Train your agents so that they can provide timely assistance to your customers whenever they need it.
8. Offer Optimal User Experience
There are many reasons why customers do not convert. Maybe they do not get what they're looking for from your site.
Maybe your product pages failed to impress your visitors.
What about pricing? Maybe your pricing strategy isn't in line with your customer's expectations.
So instead of keeping your focus on one or two areas, make sure you streamline the entire user journey.
9. Build Automated Workflows To Streamline Your Processes
There are different marketing automation tools available online that you can use to build automated workflows for your teams. This enables them to handle multiple customers at a time.
Businesses that use such tools do not have to struggle in terms of providing impeccable customer service. Also, they can always keep their buyers informed about any upcoming deals or discounts.
10. Map Your Customer Journey
Mapping your customer journey is one of the most critical stages of your conversion funnel. From brand discovery to conversion, you have to map their journey to spot areas where you can use conversion strategies to drive sales.
The process begins by conducting in-depth market research. Create buyer personas based on demographics. Also, keep your audience's interests and behavioral choices in mind.
Now, create a conversion funnel describing the various stages your buyer will go through during the journey. Look for ways to optimize each step to improve conversions.
