How to increase conversions in an online store? 6 proven methods!
The e-commerce market is growing year after year. As recently as 2018, the sum of sales in online stores worldwide was one and a half billion dollars. This is a gigantic number that can be impressive. In Poland, on the other hand, the value of annual sales was estimated until recently at 40 billion zlotys. In 2020, it is expected to rise to 70 billion zlotys. This potential is desired by all those who own online stores, and one of the ways to achieve success is… to optimize sales-related conversions, in simplest terms, to increase the number of sales while maintaining the same number of users. The value of conversion can take many forms, but for online stores the most important is the ratio of visits to sales. Learn more about what a conversion is.
And we will deal with this topic in this post.
First – analysis of the online store
Marketers today have more and more data, thanks to which they can analyze the traffic directed to the online store. However, the basis of operations still remains the reliable Google Analytics and Google Search Console, which provide the most up-to-date data on the site. In addition, the loading speed of the store is checked using the GTMetrix tool. Despite these opportunities, relatively few companies make sufficient use of web analytics and do not consider whether potential is hidden in the site’s untapped functionality. Some do not pay attention to factors as basic as sales conversion, purchase statistics or rejection rates. Without such analysis, it should be considered impossible to increase conversions at a site such as an online store.
Second – awareness that conversions can be increased
Anyone with an online store has one goal – to increase sales. This is as possible as long as you realize the number of factors that affect the end result. There are indeed many of them. The primary, and very broad, area to consider is the usability and functionality of the online store. Very often this is where you will find untapped potential. It is worth checking, because it happens that the home page or product sub-page effectively prevents an increase in conversions by its unattractiveness.
Third – what is the conversion goal?
Determining the goal of conversion is absolutely crucial, in terms of taking the correct path of development. Without a specific goal, we won’t know where to go. On the other hand, if we know that the store records a lot of visits, but this does not quite translate into the number of sales, we should first of all trace the product sub-page, the shopping cart and its functionalities, and check the customer’s purchase path and navigation on the site. After all, users very quickly leave the store if they are unable to efficiently find the products they are looking for. Paradoxically, the layout of elements on the shopping cart sub-page plays a very important role in the shopping process.
The design of the product sub-page itself must be simple and quick, and the “add to cart” button should be highly visible. In addition to this, it is worth taking care to place icons that encourage the purchase process in a simple way to encourage the execution of the action. Worth noting – the need to register is one of the factors that effectively deter users from making purchases.
Fourth – attractive descriptions, photos and videos
Yes, this has a very big impact on whether a user will make a purchase. Products and information should be presented in an attractive way, so that a customer who goes to the store knows exactly what he is buying. Conversion in an online store therefore depends to a large extent on whether you have good quality images and photos depicting specific products. It is therefore worth taking care of the quality of images and videos – as these are aspects that can definitely convince a potential buyer to buy.
Fifth – free shipping and multiple payment options
Expensive shipping is one of the primary conversion killers, so it would be worthwhile to increase the price of the product and set up free shipping. This has a positive impact on the user experience. Everyone likes to get something for free. It is very common for a potential buyer to abandon the shopping cart due to high shipping costs. At the same time, it is worth ensuring that he can take advantage of multiple payment options. About this we should, inform by placing icons of payment solutions in visible places. A good example of attention to these details is the online store x-kom.pl
Sixth – efficient contact in the online store
It is important to place all contact information, i.e. address, phone number, in a prominent place. In addition, consider adding chat to your store (e.g. from Callpage), which can also have a positive impact on the conversion rate. This is especially important for small and less well-known online stores. Users today want to get an answer to their inquiry very quickly. If the competition gives such information before us then we can expect the customer to purchase goods from them.
In summary – the road may be long, but it is worth the effort!
Raising conversion rates in an online store is a task that requires putting a dozen factors together and drawing conclusions from the analysis. Raising conversions is not easy, but not impossible. It requires using a variety of tools and forming conclusions. For this purpose, it is worth opting for an online store audit, which can answer many questions about the store and be a good starting point for further action. At the same time, it is worth remembering that all steps taken within the development of an online store must be long-term, and it may turn out that in the long run analytics, conversion optimization or improving the site in terms of UX will be the smallest, yet most effective investment.
