Business owners can never get enough traffic (unless they’re on the 405 in California). As an online merchant looking to increase conversion rates, you’ll need more targeted shoppers landing on your site and ready to buy. In this post, we’ll walk through ways to improve website conversion right now.
What is Website Conversion Optimization?
Conversion optimization or conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a system for attracting shoppers to your site and getting them to take a desired action such as buying your product or signing up for an email newsletter. The point is to get your desired shoppers in your zone and ready to make a decision.
Let’s say you have an average of 200 daily visitors to your site with ten shoppers making a purchase. Your conversion rate would be five percent. Your mission is to increase your CRO, but how?
How Do I Increase CRO?
Riddle me this: what’s your internet marketing budget? As an e-commerce merchant, you’ve no doubt heard the old adage that “it takes money to make money.” And while you’ll need money to fund your marketing reach, working with what you already have can pay off.
You may not have a budget for a CRO guru or SEO specialist, but you do have an online store. Tweak it to improve website conversion rates and focus on gradually building a CRO team to help your business win.
To build a strong CRO strategy:
- you need to test ideas;
- you need a mobile-friendly site;
- you need to ease shoppers’ minds;
- you need to create a sense of urgency; and
- you need payment flexibility.
Let’s explore each of these steps to help you improve website conversion.
1. Test CRO Ideas
Ever heard of split or A/B testing? When it comes to websites, it’s a practice that allows you to test different elements of the site to find out what boosts conversion.
Take Action:
- Research and choose testing software such as Google Analytics, Optimizely, or VWO.
- Create your alternative site to test, but only change one element.
- Funnel customers to both sites and let the data roll in.
Key Takeaway:
In each iteration, change only one element to help you identify which element helps conversion. For example:
- Change the background color.
- Change one image.
- Change the wording on one button.
Changing several elements at one time will make it difficult to pinpoint what resonated with your shoppers.
2. Make Your Online Store Mobile-Friendly
If your store takes a while to load or isn’t optimized for mobile viewing, you can lose an interested shopper, fast. According to 2019 data from Statista, mobile internet traffic accounts for nearly 52% of all global traffic online.
Take Action:
- Make your mobile site responsive.
- Stop using elements like Flash and compress images to help your site load quickly.
- Make important information easy to find and use large fonts.
Key Takeaway:
Work with your webmaster to ensure your site is responsive. This means that your shopper can access the same content regardless of the device, but that the display will best fit the screen they’re using to view your store. Bonus: Google loves responsive sites. They even teach a free class for developers on the subject.
3. Ease Shoppers’ Minds
When shoppers feel confident, they buy. Remove their anxiety by giving them resources to fuel that confidence.
Take Action:
- Include a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section.
- Use a trusted third-party provider of verified customer reviews.
- Offer a live chat.
- Provide detailed product information or descriptions.
Key Takeaway:
Don’t overload your shoppers with information, but make sure what they need to make a decision is easily accessible.
4. Create Urgency
Deadlines are important. They prompt action. Employ methods on your site that guide your shoppers to buy today.
Take Action:
- Show the remaining count for your low quantities of in-stock items.
- Offer incentives for ordering by a specific deadline.
- Feature a countdown timer on hot deals.
Key Takeaway:
Make a time-sensitive, visual appeal to your shoppers to improve website conversion.
5. Offer Payment Flexibility
Remove price barriers by offering a buy now, pay later solution like Splitit. Having the flexibility of paying for large purchases over time without added fees or interest may be just what your shoppers need to turn a wish into a delivery notification.
Take Action:
Key Takeaway:
Having flexible payment solutions can help thwart cart abandonment and increase your average order value (AOV). Splitit works on shoppers’ existing Visa or Mastercard, giving them increased buying power instantly.
Contact a Splitit merchant advocate today! We want to hear how these conversion tips helped you, and at the same time we can get your store up and running with installment payments in no time.