How to Increase Conversions On Your Ecommerce Site

It’s a pretty good assumption that if you have a website with products that you want to increase conversions on your ecommerce site. To get more click-throughs, more sign-ups, and of course more sales. Sometimes there are obvious improvements that can be made to help a website perform better, and sometimes it takes more creative solutions. It stands to reason that the best places to increase conversions are all along the buyer’s journey. This is typically something like Homepage -> Listing page -> Details Page -> Cart -> Checkout -> Success. In this article we’re going to touch on ways to improve all parts of this process, as well as some that are not always considered.

Homepage

On the homepage, especially if you have a rotator or other sections with call-to-action buttons, you should be tracking the clicks on these, and testing other variations so that you know what is working and what could use a little help. On an ecommerce site, the best thing you can do is constantly A/B test elements. Does your CTA work better as a green button or as a yellow button? Do you get more conversions if it says “Shop This Look” or “See More Details”? There are hundreds of ways to include A/B tests on your homepage.

It’s good to keep in mind these tests don’t have to be limited to the home page either. Any page that receives a lot of pageviews, and especially a lot of entrances, should be optimized to give you the most clicks to your product pages.

Listing Page

The next step for many customers is a listing page where they’re searching for which product they want from you. Depending on how many products you have, this could just be a handful or thousands. If you have more than one page of products, you should have a way to filter them and make it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. Keep an eye on your analytics on these pages as well to make sure that there aren’t too many searches being initiated after they’ve selected a filter. This makes it apparent that customers are not finding what they’re looking for.

Sale/Discount page

Another page that is similar to a listing page is your Sale, or discounts, page. You may have one already, you may not. If you’re not offering any sales, they can be a great way to boost revenue and increase click-throughs in organic results. Using schema markup will enable you to let Google know when your items are on sale so they can show them in search results. Make sure that your Sale page is refreshed regularly, to attract return visitor traffic to your site.

Details Page

Now that your customer has found a product to purchase, it is important that your product both draws them in and answers all of their questions. Nowadays, consumer want to be able to view products from all sides, with great detail and an ability to zoom in (especially on mobile, it feels like you’re touching it!). Without being able to see and touch something in person, this is the best way for your customer to make a connection with your product. Then, you have to make sure that you’re answering all of their questions and concerns. How does it work? Does it need to be put together? How much does it weigh? What if I don’t like it or it doesn’t work for me?

Having a live chat feature is a great way to answer all the questions your customers have very easily, and it allows you to better engage with them during the whole process. Sometimes just that little extra effort is all it takes to turn a bounce into a paying customer.

Shopping Cart

Which takes us to the shopping cart. When they first add an item to the cart on the details page, loading their cart on the page rather than directing them to a cart page will give them a more fluid experience, especially on mobile devices. It also allows them to continue shopping, without pushing them to finalize their purchase too early.

Promo Codes

Related to the shopping cart, promo codes do not always necessarily help conversion; sometimes, they can actually hurt you! If a customer sees a promo code field on the cart, the first thing most people are going to do is search the internet for a promo code and then—

“Squirrel!”—you’ve lost them in the depths of the internet. When you offer deals, take your discounts directly off your products so customer get instant savings.

Pro tip: Show them how much they’re saving near the total, just like at the grocery store. There’s nothing better than seeing “You’ve saved $114 today!”

Shipping Costs

At this point it is very important to be upfront with your shipping costs. It is best if you’re able to follow in the steps of companies like Amazon and offer free shipping unconditionally, or with purchases of $50 or more. But if you’re not able to offer free shipping, being upfront about the cost, and keeping it at a fixed rate so that it’s not confusing, will help make sure you don’t lose your customer before they checkout.

Checkout Page

Now as they make their way to the checkout page, it is important that you do not force them to create an account. This will deter many customers these days, so be nice and let them checkout as a guest. You can always allow them to create an account later, and often they will. Having a clear and concise checkout process is important. A “one step” checkout process is best, where they can fill in shipping info, billing if it is different, and their credit card information all on the same page without going through 4 or more steps. You should also offer them a review of the items they’re purchasing.

Pro tip: Use a different header and footer on your checkout page than the rest of your site that doesn’t include navigation or other links. This reduces the chance for them to click on something else and never come back. A logo for the header and copyright info for the footer should be about all you need. Just make sure to keep a consistent look with the rest of your site.

Success Page

Okay, now they’ve checked out! Yay! You’re done right? No. This is so often where companies quit, but they’re leaving behind so many opportunities. First off, you didn’t make them create an account while they were checking out because you didn’t want to deter them from getting to this point, but now that they’ve already taken the plunge, offer them the ability to easily create an account by just choosing a password. Since you already have all the rest of their information that is all it takes for them to get all the benefits of an account. Speaking of, be sure you list the benefits here.

Shipping and Delivery Times

Be very transparent about shipping and delivery times so they know exactly when to expect their items. Do this even earlier in the process if you can, by asking for their zip code and email address, so you can let them know when to expect their items. You can also give them the option to sign up to receive text message updates when their item ships, but at the very least they should get an email letting them know this, along with their tracking number.

Follow-up

Alright, now their item(s) have been delivered, but you’re still not done. Make sure to send them a nice email reminding them of any assembly instructions, other pointers, or just a one liner to make them laugh (if that fits your brand). Then, 30 days (or so) after delivery, send them another email and make sure they like their item(s) and maybe even offer them a survey or chance to review for a giftcard or discount on their next purchase. And now you’ve brought them back to do some more shopping! Rinse, lather, repeat.

Referrals

Plus, this whole experience was so nice for them that they’re going to tell all their friends and they’re going to come shop from you too. Friend referrals often have a higher conversion rate than other sources, especially if you offer a referral incentive.

So there you’ve got it, from beginning to end, some very simple things you can do to improve the conversion rate for your site. Some of them are very easy, some require a little more technical expertise. That is of course where Pyxl comes in. If you have any questions about increasing conversions on your ecommerce site, reach out to us today.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022