Most eCommerce store owners put in a lot of effort when trying to bring in website visitors to their store, which is a logical thing. After all, website traffic is very important for an online business. However, this is not where the story ends, because that traffic is only the first step.
Think about it. No matter how many people visit your store, it wonât mean anything unless they make a purchase. Since the average eCommerce conversion rate is 2.63%, it is obvious that conversions are where most online stores struggle. If you want to see better sales figures, you need to work on increasing your website conversions.
Here are some proven tips you can implement to increase your eCommerce storeâs conversion rates.
Improve site search
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Website search that functions poorly presents a barrier between a website visitor and their desired products or pages. If they canât reach their destination, you canât expect them to convert.
If youâre seeing bad conversion rates, itâs probably due to less than optimal site search. Here is how you can fix that problem.
Make your search bar easy to see
This seems obvious, but too many eCommerce websites have search bars that arenât located in a visible place. Keep the search bar in a place where you know it will be spotted, such as the header or sidebar. Also, avoid putting it next to other boxes to avoid confusion.
Keep track of your frequent search results
Frequent user queries will probably appear in your search logs after your website has been up for some time. Keep track of all common and popular queries and make sure that the search algorithm on your website displays the most popular and relevant items to website visitors.
Make it easy for users to find what theyâre looking for
To further improve the shopping experience, add features and tools that will enable users to search through your website.
Here is how anyone can use your website with ease:
- Use predictive search. Use predictive search to show your website visitors products or categories based on the words they have typed to save their time and bring them closer to the conversion.
- Donât forget about synonyms. A lot of website visitors wonât know the exact terms you used for your products and will often use synonyms and various substitute terms. Configure your internal site search to understand these terms and connect them to the appropriate products or categories.
- Include filters. Allow the website visitor to narrow their search as much as possible with filters such as color, brand, type, price, ratings, and so on.
With a great site search, you give your customers an opportunity to actually find what theyâre looking for. Guiding your website visitors, increasing conversions, and reducing helpdesk expenses are just some of the benefits you can get by implementing such a solution.
Use semantic search
When people search for something online, not just in eCommerce stores, they type the same way they speak. That is the reason why Google is increasing its capabilities for semantic processing and the result is usually very precise search query anticipation.
If you use semantic search, your website will understand the human language much better and give your website visitors exactly what they wanted to find.
Implement email marketing
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The emails you send out arenât just a part of your marketing strategy. If you implement the right tactics and choose one of the best email marketing services, this will definitely positively affect your conversions.
Here are some examples of the email marketing campaigns that will help you significantly increase conversion rates.
Abandoned cart emails
Cart abandonment is a big reason for low conversion rates, as the average cart abandonment rate is 69.57%. However, just because the cart has been abandoned, it doesnât mean the conversion is lost as well. All you need to do is send a well-crafted abandoned cart email
These emails are usually sent within one day of the cart abandonment to remind the customer of the item they left behind.
Promotional offer emails
When you launch a new product line or have a special discount on your website, you will increase your conversion rates by sending a quick email to your customers to inform them of these offers. Whatever promotion youâre offering, all you need to do is entice the customer with the email.
Customer loyalty emails
One loyal customer is worth much more to a company than any new one, and itâs always a smart tactic to keep your loyal customers satisfied. Offer customers to sign up to your customer loyalty program, and when they do, send them special offers and discounts via email to increase the chances of repeated purchases.
Also, include special life event emails to send on occasions such as birthdays or significant dates where you send a personalized message and discount to make the customer feel appreciated.
Re-engagement emails
Sometimes customers that were once loyal suddenly disappear and stop shopping at your store. This is a big hit for your profits and conversion rates, so itâs in your best interest to try and lure this customer back.
Send them an email with a phrase such as âWe miss youâ and include a special discount. That way, you will most likely re-engage the customer. All you need to do is remind them why they fell in love with your store.
Cross-sell emails
When a customer already purchased something from your store, you already know they like one of your products and will probably like other products as well. That is the perfect time to implement cross email marketing.
When you cross-sell, you use the information you have about the customerâs previous purchase and offer them a similar item they will probably be interested in too. You can do this by using two different tactics:
- Product follow-up. After a customer purchases a product from you, send them a follow-up email where you will offer products that go well with and complement the one they already purchased.
- Category follow-up. This is a similar process but focuses on the category from which the customer has purchased an item. For instance, if they bought an item from the category âParty suppliesâ, offer them different types of party supplies.
Add pop-ups to your website
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Some people find pop-ups annoying and intrusive, but thatâs only the case if you donât implement them correctly. Good pop-ups offer something of value to your customers and are another tool that you can use to increase conversions.
Here is how you can create an efficient pop-up:
- A/B test your offers. There are many different things you can offer to your website visitors, but you canât know what works best until you test out multiple options. Some of the most frequent pop-up offers are premium content, freebies, and PDFs, but this will ultimately depend on your niche.
- Install a delay timer. The biggest reason why website visitors are annoyed by pop-ups is that they need to wait too long for them to turn off. Install a delay timer that doesnât last too long (30 seconds for instance) to solve this issue.
- Use cookies. Donât show the pop-up to repeat visitors, as this doesnât really serve any purpose. Instead, use cookies to make sure that the pop-up only appears once per website visitor, no matter if they acted on it or not.
Even though it will probably take some time until you figure out what kind of pop-ups work best for your website, be certain that once you find what works, you will see your conversion rates increase.
Final thoughts
Low conversion rates are a huge problem for most eCommerce store owners. If itâs happening to you at the moment, just remember that itâs not the end of the world, but a problem that can be solved very easily.
As long as you apply the tips you just read about and use tools to boost your eCommerce store, your conversion problems will be a thing of the past.
Featured image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
