Conversion Rate Optimization 101: How To Get What You Want?

For online stores, you must be so familiar with the phrase conversion rate. This number is the metric to define the success of your business.

Retailers always put tremendous effort to achieve and maintain a high conversion rate. This is when conversion rate optimization methods show its strength.

But first, let’s get to know some basic info about the conversion rate!

What is the conversion rate?

The ultimate goal of every store owners is to make visitors purchase the items successfully. You may drive lots of traffic to your site, however, it doesn’t convert into sales.

Conversion is the act of customers actually buy something from your store. Its rate illustrates the percentage of buyers who complete the desired behaviour on your page. 

Yet why every store goes crazy because of these numbers? 

The conversion rate is your guide light to establish a perfect business plan. It can show you that the money you spend on ads to attract visitors may not be that effective as you thought. It gives you early signals on the market trends and customers’ behaviours.

Thanks to this information, you can quickly adapt to the new changes and improve your performance.

So don’t underestimate the role of conversion rate!

The conversion rate of eCommerce business

Let’s take a quick look in the current eCommerce market.

More and more new brands show up every day and the competition between stores are intense. Everyone wants as many customers as possible. There are millions of site available, and it’s a smart strategy to quickly answer the question: Are you a good fit for online shopping?

The conversion rate is one factor to help you decide whether to continue or not. Until the beginning of 2020, the average conversion rate of an eCommerce website is 3%. Comparing to last year, the number has increased. This reflects on the shifting behaviours of consumers when they have much more trust in Internet platforms. 

Here are some interesting figures about the conversion rate of eCommerce brands:

• Gifts industry has the highest conversion rate (4.9%)
• The paid search brings the most successful transaction for stores (2.9%)
• Customers in the UK are most likely to complete their purchase, with 1.8% in conversion rate
• Buying sessions at the product page has nearly 44% successful purchases.

Conversion rate optimization: The key to increase revenue

Driving more traffic to your page is not enough. If hundreds of visitors generate no sales, your business is still at risk. That’s why you need to have efficient conversion rate optimization. 7 simplest ways to boost your conversion rates are:

• Engaging product interface
• Realistic reviews
• Attractive coupons
• Safe checkout
• Free shipping
• Abandoned cart optimization
• Social networks integration

Let’s analyse each factor one by one!

#1 Everything starts from a good look

Every retailer knows that a flawless product detail page is the key conversion rate optimization to attract visitors. There are some major points need to have a deeper look:

• Product details

It’s not about you write long or short content, it’s all about you deliver the right info. Customers want to know what benefits they get from your products/services. So highlighting outstanding features is a MUST-DO.

Don’t leave your page full-of texts since the attention span of visitors is rather short; they won’t have enough patience to scroll down and read what you have spent an hour to write.

You can also feature upsell and cross-sell products to give viewers a wide range of choices.

• Product image

You may doubt that does image REALLY speak louder than words? Well, it’s a terrible plan to talk much and don’t show any real evidence. High-quality photos of your products will give customers a new way to explore their wanted items quickly.

You can install more add-ons to make your product images more catchy to the eyes, such as zooming, swatching color, or changing photos on hover.  

• Call-to-Actions (CTA)

An informative page is still not enough. It’s better to include a strong CTA to encourage more interactions from buyers. From writing reviews, sharing on Facebook, or registering to your newsletter, CTA can be your ally.

It can be popup, banner, button; whatever suits your purpose. Major brands like Nike or UNIQLO efficiently make use of these elements to increase their conversion rates.  

#2 Customers’ feedback makes you stronger

When visitors see that someone has actually bought this item and left a comment behind, at least they know this is not a fake website. Such a few words can turn your world upside down.

Customers can express their feelings or report unwanted errors of the item. It’s easy to compare each item since others have already shared their experience online. These informative feedbacks will help your conversion rate optimization.

You can upgrade your review section with more attractive and useful information such as the pros and cons of the products. Adding review photos from previous buyers is also a great way to create more credibility for your store.

If you’re looking for a tool to make this vision come true, Magento 2 Photo Reviews is the right choice for you! Other than attaching photos and providing comparison, this extension allows you to send reminder emails to buyers, and at the same time give them a coupon for each review!

#3 Limited-time coupons give visitors a sense of urgent

It’s obvious that consumers love a good deal. This is why a common conversion rate optimization is implementing a beneficial loyalty program.

With various types of programs such as points loyalty or tier loyalty, this is the best way for customer retention. So how about those who haven’t signed up yet? Can you have something to make customers finish their purchase?

Well, stop worrying ‘cause coupons and discount codes are here for the rescue!

Store owners usually use limited-time coupons to create a sense of urgency for customers. They will lose this bargain if they don’t buy right in the chosen period.

#4 Protect your customers mean to protect your business

A huge hesitation for customers when it comes to online shopping is fraud. There’s no way to absolutely guarantee their privacy. They heard too many stories about identity theft, scams and fake stores.

To increase your conversion rate, it’s vital to secure your online business from these threats, especially the checkout process.

It’s better to keep your checkout simple and safe. A multi-step process may confuse customers which make them walk away.

For Magento-based business, there are lots of integration with trustworthy payment gateways such as Opayo (formerly Sage Pay), Stripe or Barclay card. You should check whether your chosen gateway is:

• PCI DSS compliance
• 3D Secure
• Support  tokenization 
• Support multi-currency 
• Allow different payment methods

#5 Why not deliver a flawless service by free shipping?

Some buyers don’t choose a particular brand just because the shipping fee is too high. It’s a pity that your deal didn’t happen just because of the delivery stage.

So why not offer them free shipping service?

This will show that you do pay attention to customers’ needs, which is leverage compared to other competitors.

#6 Don’t you forget your abandoned cart

Customers may forget their chosen cart, and it’s your job to remind them about it! Abandoned cart optimization also means conversion rate optimization.

After going up and down at your store, visitors have finally picked an item they like. Still, they need more time to consider whether this is the right choice. These customers are just one click away from completing a purchase.

Sending abandoned cart emails to tell them further benefits of the products or offer discount code will be the excellent hook to help customers make up their mind! 

Huge brands such as Google Store have successfully applied these reminder emails. You can create an email chain to make your call more convincing and in an irresistible order. You can either use online tools like Mailchimp or integrate an extension like Magento 2 Abandoned Cart Email. 

#7 Be ready to connect cross-platform

With the rapid development of 4.0 technology, connecting cross-platform is a trendy way to convert more sales. Online stores now leave their trademarks everywhere: On Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

This is the closest road to engage with customers, especially young buyers. It also makes a streamlined process which creates no obstacles in purchasing products online. 

Customers can also easily share hot news right on their personal newsfeed to friends and family. Thanks to these user-generated content, your reputation can expand faster than you think! 

You can find out more at Magento 2 Instagram Shop - the best way to transform your Instagram to more sales! 

Final words

Conversion rate optimization is not a difficult task: It begins from our daily works. Increasing your conversion rate results in higher revenue, so why not make the most from your usual routines? We hope that with these 7 best ways will support your business development effectively.

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