Are you struggling to boost D2C sales? Reach your audience more effectively by prioritizing conversion optimization before starting a new marketing campaign.
If you have a consumer packaged goods (CPG) or e-commerce business, you already know the value of effective digital marketing. If your e-commerce sales are slumping, you are probably looking for ways to boost conversions. You may be unsure how to improve conversions. Fear not; we can help.
The trick to e-commerce conversion rate optimization is reducing decision points and streamlining the customer journey. Your first step should be to consider ways to reduce the number of clicks it takes for website visitors to complete a purchase in your e-commerce store. But don’t overlook social retail. Modern e-commerce optimization happens directly on social media.
Social retail is the integration of shopping experiences with social media platforms. Used effectively, it can reduce the number of decisions a potential customer needs to make to complete a purchase by adding a shopping cart directly to social media messaging. The first step to converting your target audience into customers is understanding Conversion Rate Optimization. Let’s break it down.
Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) refers to the tools and techniques e-commerce marketers use to increase the percentage of visitors who complete specific desired actions, such as purchasing, signing up for a newsletter, completing a product review, or adding items to a shopping cart. Each desired action is called a conversion.
By analyzing user behavior and implementing data-driven strategies, CRO aims to improve the user experience and streamline the conversion funnel. Each conversion is designed to achieve an outcome, such as building trust with the audience or driving sales.
A key component of CRO is that it focuses on maximizing the value of existing website traffic rather than solely relying on attracting new visitors. Given the competitive nature of the digital marketplace, optimizing conversion rates can give your brand a significant edge. Effective CRO strategies ensure your audience has a seamless and engaging shopping experience that will keep them returning for more.
What is a Good E-commerce Conversion Rate?
The average e-commerce conversion rate across industries is around 2%. If you’re not currently experiencing conversion rates around 2-3% or better, keep reading for a list of conversion rate optimization strategies to help you boost that number.
E-commerce brands should separate website conversion rates from social media conversion rates. The strategies that help move potential customers from your site’s homepage to the checkout page differ from those that get social media users to engage and convert. Check each social and e-commerce platform you use for tools to help you target and track specific, relevant metrics.
Key Benefits Optimizing for Higher Conversion Rates
Increased Sales Without Increasing the Budget
E-commerce businesses can boost sales by improving conversion rates without investing in more marketing campaigns. CRO strategies make the most of existing traffic, turning more social media and site visitors into paying customers and increasing overall profitability.
Lower Bounce Rates and Cart Abandonment Rates
Optimizing your e-commerce site to enhance the customer experience can significantly reduce bounce and cart abandonment rates. By addressing pain points and streamlining the checkout process, visitors are more likely to stay on the site and complete their purchases.
Improved Customer Retention and Trust
Satisfied customers are more likely to return for future purchases and recommend the brand to others. By consistently delivering a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience, e-commerce businesses can cultivate a loyal customer base and enjoy long-term success.
9 E-Commerce CRO Techniques to Implement
Now that you know why optimizing your conversion strategies is important, let’s examine how to improve conversion rates. Not every technique will be effective for your digital marketing strategy. Some techniques work well for specific consumer actions. Review this list and select the techniques you can use. The rest demonstrate best practices you may be able to adapt for other parts of your marketing strategy.
1. Create Streamlined Landing Pages
As you craft your landing pages, remember that the messaging should focus on the conversion you want your audience to make. Offering too many options like “shop now,” “create a wishlist,” “follow us on socials,” and “join our email list” can confuse and deter online shoppers. Often, a shopper will leave the page rather than try to decide on a specific action. For each landing page, guide users with one clear call to action (CTA) at a time.
A well-designed CTA should stand out and be easy to understand. Use action-oriented language that creates a sense of urgency and directs visitors toward the next step. Consider where your audience will likely be in the sales funnel and make a CTA that moves them to the next phase.
This concept applies to social media posts as well. Each post or video should have a single, clear call to action.
2. Improve the User Experience (UX)
User experience can mean so many things. While we could write a whole article on this topic alone, let’s focus on a few specific examples. Here are various updates that will improve the overall shopping experience for your potential customers.
- Simplifying Navigation and Site Structure: Make your site easy to navigate by removing purchase decision barriers. Use customer journey mapping to help you design a straightforward site structure. Help potential customers find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Use intuitive and organized product categories so shoppers don’t struggle to find the item they seek.
- Mobile Optimization: Make sure your site is fully optimized for mobile devices, as a significant portion of online shopping occurs on smartphones and tablets. Responsive design is also a key part of a sound SEO strategy. Google and other search engines will crawl a site’s mobile version. A poor mobile experience can harm search rankings.
- Utilizing Heatmaps to Understand User Behavior: Webpage heatmaps provide visual insights into how visitors interact with your site. You can identify areas that need improvement by analyzing click patterns and scrolling behavior.
- Ease of Use: Slow load times, excessive pop-ups, and low-quality images can deter potential buyers. Balancing high-quality images, useful tools, and pop-ups with page load times can be a challenge, but it is a balance you should experiment with. A powerful tool that takes thirty seconds to load might not be the right one. Experimenting will help you understand what your customers need.
3. Use A/B Testing
Speaking of experimenting, A/B testing allows you to compare different versions of your online store’s interactive elements to see which performs better. Testing variables such as tools, image size, CTA buttons, messaging, layout, and more helps improve the customer experience and drive conversions.
Examples of Effective A/B Tests
- Comparing different CTA texts and placements.
- Testing variations of product images.
- Trying out different page layouts and designs.
A/B testing can also be used on apps, social media posts, email newsletters, and more.
Use tools like Google Analytics and Hotjar to gather data and make informed decisions based on user interactions and behavior. But make sure to test only one variable at a time!
4. Showcase Social Proof and Trust Signals
Showcasing customer reviews, user-generated content, and testimonials builds trust and credibility, and potential buyers are more likely to convert when they see positive feedback from those who have already experienced your product first-hand.
5. Enhance Product Pages
It’s important to show off your products in a way that communicates quality and transparency to your audience. Many buyers will try to gather as much information as possible about your products before hitting ‘buy,’ so make sure to use accurate, high-quality product images and detailed product descriptions. You might also consider incorporating videos and 360-degree views of your product to give shoppers a better idea of what it will look like in real life.
6. Have an Updated FAQs Page
Build and regularly update a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page. Many customers will have similar questions about your product. Make it easy for customers to find an answer to the most common questions.
Answers should be clear, accurate, and relatively short. If a topic needs a longer explanation, consider linking a summary answer to a stand-alone long-form article with a more detailed explanation.
7. Engage in Social Shopping
Social retail allows brands to integrate seamless shopping experiences directly within social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. By enabling shoppable content, users can purchase products without leaving the app, reducing friction in the buying journey and increasing conversion rates.
Many e-commerce platforms like Shopify offer integration with social media platforms. Along with social shopping functionality, integrations can help you place paid ads. If you want to place ads on social media, look for ways to personalize them based on targeted user behavior and preferences. By analyzing data like browsing history and past purchases, brands can tailor their ads to target specific audiences. Targeting the right audience can reduce ad spending and increase engagement and conversion rates.
8. Optimize the Checkout Process
Optimizing the checkout process on your e-commerce website or social platform can reduce cart abandonment and increase conversions. Start by reducing the number of steps required for a checkout. Simplified checkout forms minimize the effort required from customers. If a checkout form is more than one page, provide a progress indicator so customers know how many steps are left in the checkout process.
Offering multiple payment options is another key aspect of an optimized checkout process. Including popular digital wallets and credit cards ensures customers can use their preferred payment methods. If a customer needs to go find another form of payment, they are more likely to abandon the cart.
Communicate clearly that transitions are secure. Show things like SSL certificates to build trust and confidence. Customers want to know their personal information is protected.
9. Personalize the Shopping Experience
Look for ways to personalize the shopping experience. Offer product recommendations based on their browsing history, past purchases, and preferences. These tailored suggestions make the shopping experience more enjoyable and efficient, increasing the likelihood of additional purchases and boosting overall sales.
Retargeting and remarketing strategies are also key components of a personalized shopping experience. Implementing email reminders and retargeting ads on social media helps keep your brand and products in front of potential customers. These ads are particularly powerful for customers who are considering alternatives. Retargeting can help build trust and confidence in your brand.
Analyzing and Measuring CRO Success
Key metrics and KPIs to track include conversion rates and average order value (AOV). These metrics clearly show how well your strategies are working and where improvements can be made. Here’s how you calculate these metrics:
- Conversion Rate = (Total Number of Visitors/Number of Conversions)×100
- AOV = Number of Orders/Total Revenue
Once you’ve calculated your current conversion rate and your AOV, it’s time to set realistic benchmarks that you can work toward using the strategies we just talked about.
First Media’s CRO Solutions
Are you ready to boost your e-commerce conversions? First Media takes a full-funnel approach to drive conversions that matter. Visit our capabilities page to explore our strategies and see if we are the partner your team needs to achieve your business goals.
