How Can I Increase eCommerce Conversions in 2024?

The Internet is a big place, so it makes sense that those with an online store are keen to do what it takes to increase eCommerce conversions. The journey a brand takes when increasing conversions can differ, but it is important to ensure that areas of a website are noticed.

The Internet’s competitive nature means that a simple flaw with a website is all that is needed to rank lower than the competition online. Fortunately, some steps can be taken to ensure that eCommerce conversions are always the best they can be, regardless of the product or service sold.

What Is Conversion Rate

Before exploring ways to increase conversion rates, defining what a conversion rate is is essential. A conversion rate is not merely the number of customers buying your products. Instead, it represents the number of people who take any action you’ve asked them to take on your site. This action could be signing up for a newsletter, subscribing to a webinar about your new product launch, or filling out a contact form. Your conversion rate measures the ratio of site visitors to those who take action.

For instance, if you get 20,000 visitors to your webinar landing page and only 200 people sign up, your conversion rate would be 1%. Investing in conversion rate optimization involves taking specific measures designed to encourage more positive actions from your audience. When done successfully, this improves revenue and provides the necessary tools to achieve consistent sales.

How to Increase eCommerce Conversions?

Let’s explore some strategies for increasing your eCommerce conversion rate and scaling your business. Feel free to start with the approach that resonates most with you.

1. Ensure The Design is Persuasive

Despite there being several ways of increasing conversions, one of the essential starting points is the design of the website. Of course, an e-commerce store mustn’t compromise its brand. However, the design must persuade visitors to remain on a site.

A clean design with an obvious call to action (we will talk about it further) will always fare better than a page cluttered with options and information. Likewise, explicit imagery of the products that reflect the brand’s essence should be used instead of standard stock imagery. An e-commerce site that can keep visitors on the site longer is more likely to see increased conversions.

2. Ensure the User Experience is the Best it Can Be

The design of the website may entice visitors, but niggly navigation and slow-loading pages will often be enough for a potential customer to look elsewhere for products or services. Fortunately, this can be easily avoided by ensuring the user experience is the best it can be.

Not only must the site load quickly, but it must also be designed with mobile users in mind. It is also important that any information regarding products or services can be found quickly. Users who can find information quickly are more likely to make a purchase, thus increasing conversions.

3. Use SEO and CRO Together

When promoting an e-commerce store online, some may choose search engine optimization or conversion rate optimization. Both are important, but those wanting to increase conversion will find using both methods is often the key to success.

SEO is often about being found online and is carried out via keyword research. However, this doesn’t mean that visitors will stick around after visiting the site. This is where CRO comes in.

Keywords need to be used in the content, but not to the point where it is unreadable and bewilders visitors. Conversion rate optimization means taking the keywords and using them in a way that still offers value to the visitors while being complimented by a clear call-to-action and an easy sign-up process.

4. Establish a Referral Program

Referral marketing can yield conversion rates that are 3–5 times higher than other channels, with referred customers proving to be 18% more loyal and 4 times more likely to refer to others. People tend to favor purchasing products recommended by trusted individuals, such as friends or colleagues. Additionally, implementing a referral program that rewards both new customers and those who direct them to your business can significantly improve retention rates, resulting in a customer base with higher lifetime value.

For example, you could offer customers discounts or rewards for successfully referring a friend to your business, similar to what Dropbox does. Fortunately, creating a referral program is often simpler than expected.

There are various apps and platforms compatible with website builders like WordPress, enabling you to set up referral programs quickly. After establishing your program, promote it widely. Highlight it on your website, email customers with links, and emphasize the benefits in your social media posts.

5. Take The Shopping Experience to Social Media Platforms

Very few businesses need information about social media’s popularity, but many are surprised to discover how lucrative social media websites can be for increasing conversions.

Although nothing can replace an efficient e-commerce store, offering the same great products and services with the same branding on social media allows a business to connect with customers who may have been overlooked. In addition to promoting products to a new audience, social media integrations mean making a purchase is easy and can increase the likelihood of repeat purchases in the future.

6. Add Live Chat

Adding a live chat feature to your website can greatly increase customer service in real-time, satisfying visitors and increasing conversion rates. In fact, 63% of customers report that they are more likely to return to a website that offers online chat. Live chat also facilitates client feedback collection and pain point identification, enabling enhancements.

Use platforms like Drift, Zendesk Chat, or Intercom to add live chat to your website. You can alter the chat widget’s layout and appearance with these tools. Make sure live chat is used efficiently after it is set up by answering questions promptly and professionally, offering useful resources and information, and following up with clients after their initial conversation.

AI chatbots can also answer simple questions and offer round-the-clock assistance, keeping a personal touch while speeding up response times.

7. Make Sure to Promote Reviews and Feedback on the Website

An e-commerce store is about finding balance when delivering information to customers, but showcasing a brand’s excellence should be a priority for all e-commerce stores. Despite many e-commerce stores offering fantastic products and services, some mislead or exploit customers. Fortunately, those shopping for products online have become more knowledgeable about checking the integrity of an e-commerce store.

An e-commerce store with a strong social presence online will find more favor with customers than those who don’t. Customers can leave reviews on various platforms, but there will be no issues integrating reviews into the website. Showcasing genuine reviews from others instills confidence in those using the site, increases the likelihood of a purchase being made, and helps improve the social proof of an e-commerce store moving forward.

8. Abandoned Carts Should Be Treated as a Benefit

When checking the sales of a product, it can be disheartening to see an abandoned cart. However, it is important to ascertain why this has happened. If there are many abandoned carts, then it could be due to a checkout problem. Making a few changes could be all it takes to improve conversions. However, there can be other reasons for abandoned carts that aren’t due to a fault with the e-commerce store. Some may have been in the middle of a transaction before becoming distracted by something else.

Similarly, those using a smartphone to make a purchase may have lost Internet access when trying to make a payment. Reaching out to customers with a small discount can often be enough for them to make a purchase and gives customers an example of the brilliant service they can expect moving forward.

The steps taken to increase conversions can differ among e-commerce stores. However, taking advantage of the steps taken ensures that a website is taking full advantage of every opportunity when increasing its online conversions.

9. Enhance Your CTAs

A clear and compelling CTA (call to action) can greatly improve your site’s conversion rates by guiding users along a defined path. To make your CTAs more engaging, consider these design and placement strategies. Larger buttons draw more attention but should be proportionate and not overpowering.

Position CTAs strategically, either above the fold for immediate visibility or at the end of content sections, as a logical next step. Surrounding your CTAs with ample whitespace makes them stand out more and reduces visual clutter. Subtle animations, like hover effects, can draw attention to the CTA without distraction. Finally, use colors contrasting with your site’s color scheme to make your CTA buttons pop and grab attention.

10. Assessing Your Website’s Friction Points

Every website has inherent friction points that can disrupt a seamless user experience. Evaluating these areas is crucial to enhancing navigation and usability.

• Scroll Depth and Heat Map Reports: These reports can indicate where users drop off on a page. Noticing a significant drop in attention at specific sections suggests those areas may be causing high friction.
• FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions sections can be invaluable for research-oriented visitors. However, if they are dense or manageable, their effectiveness may remain high. To create a smoother user journey, consider integrating answers or solutions directly into the core site experience, making them readily accessible throughout.
• Funnel Drop-Off Performance: Comparing the drop-off rate at each stage of the conversion funnel against benchmarks can highlight additional friction points. For example, a common friction point is the payment information page, where visitors may reconsider their purchase. Adding social proof, such as testimonials or a money-back guarantee, can help reassure potential customers and reduce drop-off rates.

11. Do Rigorous A/B Testing

A/B testing is a useful technique for website performance optimization. This technique compares two landing page variants with various text, buttons, and image elements. You can increase your conversion rates by making well-informed judgments based on the analysis of the test findings. Focusing on components like headlines, call-to-action buttons, or graphics that greatly affect user behavior is essential for successful A/B testing. Choose what you want to test first, such as several headlines, to discover which appeals to your audience the most.

After choosing which piece to test, make many versions of your landing page by altering the selected element. For instance, you may change the title but leave the remainder of the page unchanged. To ensure proper data collection, set up and run your tests using technologies such as Google Firebase A/B Testing. Continue the test until you have collected enough information to get statistically significant findings. Next, important performance metrics are evaluated to ascertain whether the version yielded superior results. If one version performs better than the other, adjust the modifications appropriately. Consider breaking up your A/B tests into distinct marketing campaigns targeted at various audience categories for more focused testing.

12. Optimize Your Technical Setup

A good technical setup can significantly help website conversion rates. Issues such as slow page loading times, inadequate mobile optimization, and broken links are common culprits. Fortunately, these elements are easily testable through various tools. Many tools offer actionable insights into page speed for ecommerce sites. Google provides a free mobile compatibility test, and Screaming Frog can scan your pages for broken links.

Leveraging these analyses can boost your conversions. For further improvement, consider A/B testing your strategies to validate their effectiveness.

Understanding a Good Conversion Rate for an eCommerce Business

If you run an online store, tracking your conversion rate is crucial. Tools like Google Analytics can help you monitor how visitors interact with your website and how many of them make a purchase.

To give you a benchmark, here are average eCommerce conversion rates by industry:

• Food and Beverage: 6.64%
• Home & Furniture: 1.85%
• Beauty and Personal Care: 4.92%
• Consumer Goods: 4.53%
• Fashion, Accessories, and Apparel: 3.59%
• Pet Care & Veterinary Services: 3.4%
• Multi-Brand Retail: 4.71%
• Luxury & Jewelry: 1.26%

Remember, these are averages. Many eCommerce stores can significantly increase their conversion rates with the right optimization strategies.

The Significance of Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is far from a mere buzzword; it’s a fundamental strategy that can determine the success of a business. Here’s why:

• Increases Customer Lifetime Value: CRO isn’t just about converting one-time buyers; it also improves the user experience and nurtures repeat customers. This increases each customer’s lifetime value and reduces the need for constant new customer acquisition.
• Maximizes Marketing ROI: CRO ensures that the traffic driven to your website through various marketing campaigns isn’t wasted. By improving your site’s effectiveness, you extract more value from the same number of visitors, boosting your marketing return on investment.
• Enhances User Experience: A key element of CRO is making your website user-friendly, naturally improving the overall user experience. Satisfied users are more likely to convert, recommend your site, and return in the future.
• Reduces Acquisition Costs: By raising conversion rates, CRO lowers the cost of acquiring new customers. This way, instead of casting a wider net, the net you have is more efficient at catching and retaining fish.
• Boosts Revenue: Ultimately, CRO’s importance lies in its ability to increase revenue. By turning more visitors into customers and doing so more efficiently, businesses can see a significant impact on their financial performance.
• Fosters Data-Driven Decisions: CRO relies on analytics and user feedback, encouraging a culture of making informed, data-driven decisions rather than relying on intuition or incomplete information.

Conclusion

In the constantly evolving world of e-commerce, boosting sales in 2024 requires a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond just incentivizing purchases. It involves creating a seamless user experience, optimizing website design, and incorporating persuasive elements to drive conversions. By coordinating search engine optimization (SEO) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) channels, businesses can maximize their visibility and engagement, which is crucial for sustainable growth.

In addition, innovative tactics such as referral programs and social media integration can help deepen customer connections, increase loyalty, and encourage advocacy. By offering real-time support through live chat and showcasing social proof through customer reviews, businesses can establish credibility and trust, which is pivotal for conversion success.

The e-commerce landscape is constantly changing, and businesses must be agile, creative, and relentlessly focused on customer-centricity to succeed. By continuously refining strategies and adapting to emerging trends, businesses can unlock new growth opportunities, drive conversions, and secure their position in the highly competitive digital marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions