Make more sales on your online store!

Apply these general guidelines to your unique site

If you’re running any type of store on your website (WooCommerce, Shopify, etc.), then you’re running an eCommerce site. And I bet I can guess your goal: sell more! Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done. With a plethora of other competitors, both small and big (looking at you, Amazon), it can be hard to make your site stand out. Online marketing can get users onto your site, but it’s the content they find there that will dictate whether or not they purchase from you. The percentage of people who purchase after making it to your site is your eCommerce conversion rate, and you can start boosting it with these guidelines. Every website and website audience is different of course, but there are some general tips that can point you in the right direction.

Make your messaging clear and compelling

Every product or service has three crucial elements: a USP (unique selling proposition), offer, and CTA (call to action). The USP outlines the benefits of using your product or service, and tells your audience what your product can do for them. The offer is a compelling reason to act. This is commonly some kind of coupon or discount, but could also be a free trial, free quote, or just the baseline price if it’s compelling enough. And finally, the CTA is telling your users what you want them to do. This could be “Sign Up,” “Buy Now,” or just a simple “Learn More.”

Additionally, every one of these elements should be clear, meaning it’s the center of your audience’s attention. Having three different prominent buttons of “Learn More,” “Contact Us,” and “Buy Now” may seem like a good idea, but it can easily lead to decision-paralysis.  Pick which one, single action you want your users to take, and hammer in on that. For bigger, more considered purchases it may be to “Learn More.” For quick, cheap, impulse buys, “Buy Now” may be the better option. It all depends on what you’re selling. If you must include other options, keep them smaller and less vibrant than the option you’re focusing on.

Build confidence and trust

Long story short, people won’t buy from you if they don’t trust you. There are tons of ways to build trust, which you can see below. You don’t have to use all of these, and some will resonate with your audience more than others:

• Provide positive expert opinions. If you or your product have been featured by a third party, don’t be afraid to brag about it! Simply showing the logo of a reputable reviewer will boost your user’s confidence.
• Provide social proof, specifically reviews from any relevant platform (Facebook, Yelp, your own website, etc.)
• An “About Us” page to show that there are real people behind the company who care about more than just selling
• A Live Chat system can show your audience that you’re there for them, and confident enough in your product to answer any questions immediately
• Provide in-depth specifications. Even if the majority of people won’t read them, this can show your own confidence in the quality of your products
• Compare yourself to your competitors before anybody else does. Be sure to provide reasons and numbers (if applicable) too, don’t just say “we’re better than them!”
• Provide a clear and valuable return policy. More than 50% of people want to know the return policy before they purchase online

These certainly aren’t the only options, but hopefully, these can get you started in building trust and boosting your eCommerce conversion rate!

A/B test to boost your eCommerce conversion rate

We’ll repeat it again: every website is different. The best way to find out what works best to boost your eCommerce conversion rate is to A/B test different elements of your website pages. There are tons of different third-party platforms that can help you streamline this process, but if you have two pages and a Google Analytics account you can do it yourself with a little more work. This process will allow you to show half your audience one page, and the other half another page with different elements. This could be a different USP, different trust-building elements, or even a totally different offer. With some simple tracking, you’ll be able to see which leads to more conversions, and implement that on your entire site!

A/B testing is an in-depth process, so look forward to the next Mr. WPress post where we overview said process and provide more tips and tricks to get the most out of this valuable technique!

Tags: Conversion Rate, eCommerce, marketing