So, you’ve got a beautifully designed website, you invest in SEO, and you’ve got paid campaigns running on all the right platforms – but your ecommerce store still isn’t converting. Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence.
According to Wolfgang Digital’s 2020 KPI Report, the average retail conversion rate in 2020 was 1.9%, a number in line with the industry’s standard for the past five years. But the thing is, if large retailers like Amazon can have 7 to 37 times better results, then why wouldn’t small businesses aim for higher CTRs? Clearly, it’s doable.
But where do you start?
Well, the course of action for boosting ecommerce results includes a lot of work. For one, increasing ecommerce conversion rates often relies on optimizing user experience. Secondly, it can necessitate a change in website aesthetics. And, of course, it might require you to work on your branding.
But if you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and make a few changes, you can be well on your way to getting more sales on your website, all the while keeping your PPC budget as it is. The following are the top tips for doing just that.
#1. Highlight Value
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make in designing their online presence is that they tend to focus on their product’s features instead of its benefits.
Think about it this way: how many times have you seen a landing page address technical specifications that mean absolutely nothing. For example, take the tech industry. Manufacturers promote their products based on the number of GHz or GB of RAM they have. Yet consumers rarely understand what these concepts mean in real life.
So how do you avoid this trap? Well, the best way to get around it is to focus on the following two things.
Be the solution to a problem
When putting together your ecommerce website, think about features not as selling points but as solutions to consumer problems.
Do your clients need a better phone camera for taking pictures in low-light conditions? Do what Apple does and focus on the benefit: better Night Mode. After all, most people won’t have the slightest clue as to what an aperture is.
Perhaps you sell a welcome alternative to the standard in your industry? Point out how it can help your buyers. GetSafe’s main value proposition is that they offer medical alert systems that don’t require wearing a button.
Appeal to emotions
Another foolproof method of boosting ecommerce conversion rates is to understand how consumers behave. Today, we know that most shopping decisions are based on feelings rather than rational thinking. To make sales, you better appeal to those emotions.
Imperfect Foods, for example, appeals to ecologically conscious users. They do this by addressing the wastefulness of the food industry. Stating researched facts, the brand is offering an alternative way to shop for groceries. One that isn’t just healthy, but that’s cheap and eco-oriented as well.
#2. Set Goals and Structure Pages to Achieve Them
One common cause for low ecommerce conversion rates is that there’s no clear path for web visitors to follow. Sometimes, this is the result of poor design choices. Other times, it’s because of inefficient calls to action. But, whether it’s an aesthetic or UX issue, it’s definitely worth fixing.
On the whole, business owners need to pay attention to three aspects of their ecommerce websites. Either can provide an instant boost in conversions, and all three are relatively easy changes to implement.
Increase visibility
The easiest way of adding structure to a website is to pay attention to how the products are visually presented.
Generally, it’s known that visuals play a significant role in shoppers’ buying decisions. But that doesn’t mean more is always better. In fact, too much could just as well be hurting your site’s performance instead of giving you the results you’re after.
For this reason, it’s not a bad idea to address page layout with a clear goal in mind. What elements do you want your web visitors to see? Where do you want them to go next? Are there any crucial pieces of information they have to find out from a single glance?
A minimalistic design with plenty of white space is always a good idea when highlighting selling points. For example, you can draw inspiration from Manolo Blahnik’s ecommerce store. The designer brand doesn’t maximize product visibility by adding highlights. Instead, it takes almost everything away. The result is a clean, contemporary look that directs the customer towards a clear path towards engagement and conversions.
Restructure CTAs
A clean background and stunning product photos won’t be enough for most online retail businesses. That’s why, to increase ecommerce conversion rates, brands must optimize the CTAs that drive people towards making a purchase.
Make sure that the buttons are highly visible, as in the example from TransparentLabs below. Perfect the text so that it’s appealing and gives clear instructions. And most importantly, choose a color that will immediately catch the eye to prevent web visitors from wandering aimlessly on your homepage.
On the whole, it’s always a good idea to test any website design changes, especially when they have as big of an impact as CTA buttons. Make incremental adjustments to design and copy, and give each version sufficient time to measure its efficiency against previous variants.
Minimize friction
Finally, when it comes to your site’s structure, it’s not a bad idea to consider the effort required from your potential customers when they’re browsing your site.
How many steps does it take from landing on your homepage to completing a goal? Are these straightforward and logical? Or do consumers have to jump over hurdles to make a purchase or get in touch?
To increase ecommerce conversion rates, you will want to make your website as user-friendly as possible. That means investing in simplicity.
If you take a look at the UTIL website, you’ll see that from the moment a person lands on their homepage, it takes a total of 4 clicks for them to be finished with their shopping.
The products can be accessed straight from the hero section. The checkout button appears automatically when an item is added to the cart. Finally, there’s an express checkout option to speed the payment procedure up even more. All in all, UTIL offers a smooth, hassle-free shopping experience that can be applied to any ecommerce store with excellent results.
#3. Build Trust
When consumers aren’t making purchasing decisions based on visual information or emotional impact, they’re doing so on the basis of trust. According to Edelman, 3 in 4 consumers today avoid advertising, 81% base their shopping choices on trust, and 67% will stop buying from a brand if it proves to underdeliver.
With this in mind, your website must exude authenticity and reliability.
For one, pay attention to the technical details. Provide a secure connection with HTTPS and display contact information in a visible spot. Secondly, consider adding trust signals to your homepage and product pages.
For a brand that has an excellent trust-building strategy, look no further than Mannequin Mall. Not only does the company show reviews on their homepage, but they also feature their business partners, use recognizable security certificates, and provide a live chat option for anyone interested in purchasing their products.
#4. Show off Why You’re Unique
The last thing you can do to increase web conversions on your ecommerce website is to highlight all the reasons why you’re different from everyone else in your industry. After all, anyone can optimize their website for conversions. But, very few companies actually have something that’s 100% theirs.
If you want to drive your message home and make all your efforts pay off, identify the things that make you stand out and proudly present them. Perhaps you offer free shipping, use superior materials, or sell unique designs? Don’t be afraid to point this out, even if it means giving away information or comparing yourself to your competition.
If you look at what ISTO is doing, you’ll see that the brand successfully uses this tactic to drive conversions. They use a combination of transparency and comparison to show consumers why they’re a company worth investing in. And, combined with all the other conversion-boosting techniques they apply, the approach seems to be working.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there’s quite a lot you can do to increase ecommerce conversion rates. The best thing is that none of these tactics require complete website redesigns or dramatic marketing strategy changes. Instead, they’re smart optimization methods that have been proven to work time and again.
So, if you’re ready to take your business to the next level, go through these tips and see which ones you can implement on your website. In the end, even if you just apply one or two, you’re sure to see the benefits to your bottom line as well as your branding.
Learn more about Rain and create an ecommerce website for your business.