Effective Strategies For Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
In this blog post, we will cover:
- The Importance of A/B Testing
- Strategies for E-commerce Conversion Rate Optimization
- Final Thoughts about Conversion Rate Optimization
It’s highly competitive out there for e-commerce businesses! That means you have to use every available strategy to stand out and get ahead. One of the most important things you need to focus on is e-commerce conversion rate optimization.
As you may already know, the conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who take a specific action. It could be different things, e-commerce focuses on sales, brand pages on audience growth, and so on.
Conversion rate is one of those metrics you want to keep an eye on and there’s a lot you can do to optimize it. Granted, the ideal percentage varies from industry to industry, so you have to look into that.
For example, the conversion rate for luxury goods is generally lower than the conversion rate for, say, clothing stores. Generally speaking, if your conversion rate is approximately 3%, then congratulations – you're already doing very well!
Test, Verify, Implement, and Iterate. The Importance of A/B Testing
Whatever strategy or combination of strategies you decide to adopt, A/B split testing is what will help you find true success with CRO. Essentially, it consists of testing two or more versions of something to see which one performs better. For example, you can make multiple versions of your campaign trying to validate different messaging and see which one resonates best with your visitors.
Then, based on the results, you can make adjustments to your implementation of the variant that converts best for your e-commerce website. A/B testing facilitates data-driven decision-making, reduces guesswork, and optimizes conversions.
The most important thing A/B testing does is show you the truth. You may think a particular strategy will work, but the results may show the contrary. That’s the value of A/B testing. Systematic comparisons to identify what works and what doesn’t is how you optimize.
With that in mind, let’s discuss the most effective ways to achieve e-commerce conversion rate optimization!
5 Effective Strategies for E-commerce Conversion Rate Optimization
While there are many CRO strategies to consider, today we will focus on 5 of the most effective ones. Any e-commerce business can put these strategies to use and see a difference, so let’s explore them:
1. Make Your Checkout Process Easy
One of the strategies successful e-commerce businesses live by is a simplified conversion funnel. Your checkout process should require as few steps as possible. Even when you’re setting up guest checkout, you have to reduce the number of fields as much as possible. The best way to simplify your checkout process is to try a variety of versions.
Make it as easy as possible so the journey between selecting products and finalizing the purchase is smooth. Reduce the number of fields required, keep only the essential buttons, and make sure the checkout process is decluttered. This will increase funnel performance and reduce abandoned carts, which will improve your conversion rate.
2. Optimize Your Product Pages
The main issue with online shopping is that people can’t see the products in person. This is something you have to keep in mind when creating your product pages. The main goal is to make your website visitors confident about the product and its quality. One of the things you must do is provide high-quality images and videos of your products. That’s the best way to help your customers feel confident about what they’re getting.
Another important thing you need to do is provide detailed and honest product information. Online customers can’t ask questions like they would in a brick-and-mortar store. So, the product description should answer the basic questions that usually pop up in people’s minds. The more informative and concise the product description is, the better!
3. Offer Product Recommendations on Your Website
Did you know that product recommendations can have an influx of conversion rates? That’s what McKinsey and Company found in their research. As such, offering product recommendations is a very effective strategy to adopt. It does many different things; first of all, it makes the customer experience feel more personalized.
Product recommendations are based on individual browsing history, purchase behavior, and demographics, so they’re usually very spot-on. This makes it more likely for customers to purchase. Plus, it allows them to discover products they didn’t know existed. Product recommendations can also trigger people’s fear of missing out on popular products that other people are enjoying.
4. Set Up Abandoned Cart Strategies
Customers abandon carts for all kinds of reasons. Some of them include poor website experience, technical problems, high shipping costs, long checkout processes, long delivery, and more. Ideally, you must optimize your e-commerce operation to avoid most of these common issues. Even so, customers may still abandon carts for other reasons out of your control.
For example, a lot of people add things to their carts and get distracted or they plan on coming back later but they forget. To avoid that, you should have strategies in place. They can be preventive, such as using exit intent pop-ups before people leave the site, offering an incentive to complete the purchase. Or they can happen after the fact, such as sending email reminders encouraging people to revisit the items they left on their carts.
5. Use Special Offers and Discounts
Customers all want to feel like they’re getting a good deal, so offering special offers, discounts, coupons, and more are very powerful incentives. If your customers are on the fence, a special offer, discount or coupon could be just what they need to go ahead with the purchase.
You can also use this CRO strategy to inspire loyalty in existing customers. For example, sending limited-time, exclusive offers and deals to their inboxes will encourage people to purchase new products or products they already know and love. There are many ways you canuse special offers and discounts, it’s just a matter of identifying the method that suits your e-commerce business the best.
Final Thoughts about Conversion Rate Optimization
With these e-commerce conversion rate optimization strategies and consistent A/B testing, even the smallest business will have the best opportunity to thrive. Never think of your e-commerce website as “done”; it’s a work in progress and the more you tweak it, the better it will perform.
If you need help with e-commerce conversion rate optimization, Fluentos offers A/B testing opportunities for very flexible campaigns! We work hard to make the optimization process easier than ever.
