E-commerce Tips & Tricks

5 min read

04 Nov 2021

Discover Shopify's Biggest Killer: Low Conversion Rate (And How To Combat It With These 7 Steps)

What if I tell you that not getting enough conversion rate is Shopify's biggest killer?

Yes, it's true! This is one of the reasons why ecommerce businesses fail.

That's why, if you ever wanted to increase your conversion rate...

This is the right article for you!

This article is for you if you're doing everything you can to lead your website visitors into conversion...

Or if you're sick of having website traffic but no conversion...

Worry no more!

Because you're about to discover 7 easy tips to combat your Shopify store's biggest killer - it's the fact that you're not getting enough conversions!

In this post, I'll share my conversion rate optimization tips...

The good news? You don't have to be an expert to put these tips into action.

So, let's fire away!

What Is Conversion Rate Optimization?

Let's start with discussing conversion rate first, shall we?

It's the number of visitors who took action on your website. It can be through downloading your pricing guides, signing up on your website, or purchasing your products.

It depends on which actions you want them to take.

If you have a low conversion rate, it means that your customers are not taking the actions you want them to do.

And because of that, you need an ecommerce CRO (conversion rate optimization) audit.

So, what exactly is conversion rate optimization?

It is optimizing your website to make sure that your visitors will take your desired action. That way, you can improve your site's performance. And eventually, it leads to visitors taking action on your website.

A failure in doing this is mostly why ecommerce businesses fail.

But before all that... let me tell you what the benefits of conversion rate optimization are.

Benefits Of Conversion Rate Optimization

1. Increase Your Conversion Rate

If you're going to conduct an ecommerce CRO audit, you can increase your conversion rate.

I mean, look. If you find out what's wrong with your business, you can fix it. And when you do, you can improve it.

That's why ecommerce businesses fail... they can't find solutions to their problems because they don't even know they exist.

The next benefit is...

2. Know Your Users' Behavior

You can determine your customers' or website visitors' behavior when you do an ecommerce CRO audit.

You can see what actions they're taking on your website.

Here's how:

Check your analytics and find where your visitors spend time the most on your website. You can also check the bounce rates, website visits, etc.

Another one is...

3. Improve Your Website's Performance

One of the reasons why ecommerce businesses fail is that they don't try to improve their website.

But let me tell you this... improving your website's performance can increase your conversion rate. One thing you can do to improve your site is to have a Shopify theme for conversions, like Debutify.

So, why do you need to improve your website's performance?

Because you're doing it to ensure that you'll lead your visitors to conversion.

Sounds good, am I right?

But let me show you how to calculate your conversion rate first.

How To Calculate Your Conversion Rate?

When you're doing an ecommerce CRO audit, you need to calculate your conversion rate.

And later, I will tell you what's a good conversion rate.

But first, here's how you can calculate it.

How To Calculate Your Conversion Rate?

It's pretty easy. Just divide the number of conversions by your website visitors. Then multiply it by 100.

Let's say that you are running a newsletter for your ecommerce website. And for October, you captured 300 emails. Let's assume you have 20,000 website visitors.

If you have 300 conversions, divided by 20,000 and multiplied by 100... your conversion rate is 1.5%

You might be thinking that it's too low... but what's a good conversion rate?

It depends on the industry. But generally, a good conversion rate is between 2-5%.

So, what are you going to do if your conversion rate is way below the benchmark?

Hmm... aren't you just lucky? Because I have some tips for you!

Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies

1. Use A Funnel

So, what's a funnel? And why do you need to use it?

Using a conversion funnel helps you lead your website visitors into becoming a buyer. It's basically guiding your customers on which steps they need to take before taking your desired action.

Let me give you an example.

Suppose you want them to sign up for your upcoming recipe book sale.

How can you convert them and increase your ecommerce funnel conversion rate?

First, you have to determine the traffic source.

Then when they reach your homepage, you can put up a banner that promotes your upcoming book sale.

Bonus tip: you can also use a pop-up form. It depends on what you think would work.

Another one is...

2. Focus On One Main Offer

You need to focus on one offer because your customers might experience a case of the paradox of choice.

What is it?

It's when your prospects have a lot of choices, they might feel stressed. Instead of being excited about your offers, it can be hard for them to make decisions. And this might affect their purchasing process.

That's why focusing on one offer is one of my conversion rate optimization ideas.

Well, I understand that you might be selling a lot of products on your website.

So, let's just assume that you have a 20% off on all chocolate products if they sign up for your exclusive membership.

You can focus on how to capitalize on that offer. Because if you have a lot of offers on one page, your customers might feel overwhelmed.

As a result, you may not convert them into paying customers. That's why if you have multiple offers, do it in different ways.

You can offer several discount codes, free shipping, referral programs, etc. But you need to focus on one main offer.

Another CRO ecommerce strategy is...

3. Optimize Your Blog Posts

Blog posts are helpful for your conversion rate optimization or CRO ecommerce strategy.

But do you want to have blog traffic but no conversion?

If not, optimize your blog posts for conversion.

Here's what you can do:

Choose a topic that your audience might have an interest in. Write about it and tell how it can help them in detail. Then include your products or website.

Why do you need to do this? Because if they find value in your blog posts, you can convert them into customers. But if there's none, they're just traffic but no conversion.

Yikes! Doesn't sound good to me.

So, make sure to optimize your blog post to improve your conversion rate!

And don't forget to...

4. Create A Responsive Website

Wanna be one of the best converting ecommerce websites?

Then create a responsive one!

This is probably why ecommerce businesses fail...

Newsflash: Having an unresponsive website and slow is driving your customers away!

Just think about it. Your customers want to purchase your products. But they can't even click the check-out button properly.

That's the consequence of not having a responsive theme or website!

So, what can you do to improve your conversion rate?

When you're conducting an ecommerce CRO audit, test your website.

Choose a theme that works on your website perfectly... even on mobile. And make sure that all your buttons are working.

That way, you can make sure that your customers are enjoying their stay on your website!

Another tip is to perform a User Experience (UX) audit.

This will help you determine what's working well and what needs improvement on your website. As long as you know your audience, you know who you are designing your website for. And it will be easier to find out what you can work on.

Also, you can try using Google Analytics' Behavior report. This can help you figure out which pages on your website your audience visit the most and what actions they're taking.

You didn't expect that, right?

Another conversion rate optimization or CRO ecommerce strategy I have here is...

5. Use Pop-Ups

But not too much!

If you want to say "Bye Felicia" to your visitors, have several pop-ups.

Okay, I know pop-ups are helpful. But not when it's too much.

I saw websites that show pop-ups whenever I move my cursor. Yeah, that's annoying. And that's what you need to avoid.

So, let's say you want a website visitor to sign up for your newsletter. How can you do this without annoying them?

On your landing page, you can put a sign-up form on the side. Or, if you don't like that idea, you can put it at the bottom part.

But if you want to use a pop-up, don't scare your visitors. Try having one, and if they close it, make sure to have a sign-up form somewhere else.

Why don't you try using Debutify's Newsletter Pop-up add-on? This will surely make your customers join your newsletter!

Again... you can have pop-ups, but limit them.

Let me give you another tip...

6. Include Social Proof

Customers don't trust you 100%. They trust other customers.

That's why social proof can be one of your most valuable assets.

Why? Because if your customers see that other people love your products, they will buy from you.

And obviously, you can increase your conversion rate! Because the best converting ecommerce websites use social proof.

But... how can you include social proof?

You can do this by having a section where your customers can review or rate your products.

You can also include how many people purchased your products when you're writing your website copy.

It doesn't take much time to do this, but it's definitely helpful in increasing your conversion rate.

And speaking of writing a website copy...

7. Write A Compelling Website Copy

How can you convince your customers to take action if your website copy is... err.

That's why the last of my conversion rate optimization ideas is writing a compelling copy.

So, to increase your conversion rate, make sure you can write a copy that would help you sell.

But... how?

My tip is to tell your customers the benefits of your product. Your customers want to know how your products can help them.

Another tip is to be clear on what you offer. Be straightforward and cut the waffles.

This is why ecommerce businesses fail. They bluff too much.

If your customers don't see what they're looking for, they're out.

But here's the thing... don't bait your customers just to make sales.

That's one of the worst conversion rate optimization or CRO ecommerce tactics.

So, be honest about the products you offer. When the customers see the benefits of your products using their own eyes... they can be loyal to your brand.

Now, with all these conversion optimizations or CRO ecommerce tips... are you ready for the next big thing?