We’ve had an onslaught of inquiries and requests for eCommerce sites this month, so I thought it would be useful to compile a quick guide of often-overlooked tips on how to convert visits to sales on eCommerce sites.
It’s one thing to get potential customers onto your website, it’s another thing entirely to get them to part with their hard-earned money!
1. Do your background research
Know your core customer base, your target audience, what makes them tick, and what they are looking for. Purchasing an item or service actually has emotional ties – what can you do to trigger these? Are your potential customers looking for cheap and cheerful or sophisticated elegance? Your entire site must be in keeping with these themes. Don’t expect to sell many chandeliers with a brash, fluorescent website!
2. Keep things simple
There’s a reason K.I.S.S. is so well known – simple things sell. Simply designed websites help to sell products. There is nothing worse when searching for an item online and being bombarded with unnecessary information and graphics. Avoid overfilling (particularly checkout) pages with links to other parts of your site. If you’ve already sealed the deal to the checkout, don’t distract them with a link to your ‘About Us’ section. Keep the overall layout of the online shop simple too – the easier a consumer can find the product they’re looking for, the more likely they are to purchase.
3. Only use high-quality content
This may seem a no-brainer to some but you’d be surprised how many online shops use blurry images and lack descriptions for their merchandise. Want to look legitimate and respectable online? Use high-resolution images for all of your products and advertising. Another great option to enhance conversion rates is images customers can zoom in on – they want to know exactly what they’re getting! Images aren’t the only area where high quality is essential – in-depth, interesting, well-written product descriptions are also a must-have for any respectable website.
4. Free shipping
Over-the-top shipping fees are really off-putting to online consumers. Given the choice, they would rather have free shipping than discounted products – which says a lot! Figure out the lowest price order you can offer free shipping on that makes economical sense. Give free shipping to all orders over this amount and see the orders roll in!
5. Display best sellers, discounts, and specials clearly
People love bargains. Have a fantastic sale on a certain line at the moment? Advertise it on your home page via a stand-out banner. Are there 5 items that sell more than any of your other items combined? Pop these on a bestseller list and display them clearly on your landing page. Spotlighting certain items above others really helps shoppers decide which particular item they want to buy – helping you to convert your visits to sales easily.
