In the world of eCommerce, driving traffic to your website is only half the battle. The real challenge lies in converting those visitors into paying customers. That's where conversion optimization comes in, or the skills of an expert eCommerce conversion rate optimization agency.
But what exactly is conversion optimization, and how can you use it to boost your sales? The answer lies in the science behind consumer behavior. By understanding how people think and make purchasing decisions, you can tailor your website and marketing strategies to meet their needs and preferences.
In this article, we'll explore some tips and tricks used by Media Contour, an eCommerce conversion rate optimization agency, for optimizing your ecommerce site for conversions, from tweaking your copy and design to implementing social proof and urgency tactics. Whether you're a seasoned eCommerce pro or just starting out, these ecommerce conversion rate optimization strategies will help you increase your conversion rates and drive more revenue for your business. So let's dive into the science of eCommerce conversion optimization and take your online store to the next level!
The customer journey refers to the steps that customers go through before making a purchase, from awareness of your brand to post-purchase evaluation. By mapping out the customer journey, you can identify areas where customers may be dropping off or experiencing friction, and tailor your optimization strategies accordingly. This will help you take a targeted approach to where customer pain points are occurring, and avoid making site wide changes with hopes that the journey will improve as a secondary result.
The customer journey typically follows a few key stages: awareness, consideration, decision, and post-purchase evaluation. During the awareness stage, customers become aware of your brand and products through channels like search engines, social media, and advertising. During the consideration stage, they evaluate your products and compare them to competitors. The decision stage is when they make a purchase, and the post-purchase evaluation stage is when they evaluate their experience and decide whether to make repeat purchases.
For ecommerce conversion rate optimization to work effectively, it's important to understand each of these stages and tailor your messaging and strategies accordingly. For example, during the awareness stage, you may want to focus on building brand awareness and establishing credibility through social proof and testimonials.
During the consideration stage, you can emphasize the unique benefits and features of your products compared to competitors. And during the decision stage, you can use urgency and scarcity tactics to encourage customers to make a purchase. The post-purchase evaluation is your opportunity to highlight pain points in your customer service, order fulfillment, and creating lasting relationships with your customers.
Make sure you know where these touch points are occurring online and offline. Make sure your messaging is consistent across platforms, and remove unnecessary touch points that are convoluting your messaging and confusing the customer journey.
Even if you have a strong understanding of the customer journey, there are some common obstacles that can prevent customers from making a purchase. By identifying and addressing these obstacles, you can improve your customer experience which leads to more purchases.
One common obstacle is a lack of trust or credibility. Customers may be hesitant to make a purchase if they are unsure of the quality of your products or the security of your website. To overcome this obstacle, you can use social proof and testimonials to establish credibility and build trust with customers.
You can also display trust badges and security certificates to reassure customers that their information is safe. Make sure to display which payment vendors you accept. Seeing that Visa, or Mastercard, etc. is willing to do business with you goes a long way in establishing trust with new customers.
Another obstacle is a confusing or frustrating user experience. If your website is difficult to navigate or if customers can't find the information they need, they may become frustrated and abandon their purchase. To overcome this obstacle, you can simplify your website design and navigation, use clear and concise product descriptions, and provide helpful customer service resources like chatbots or FAQ pages.
A helpful navigation hack is to employ what we call user self selection in your navigation. Allow users to search by activity, pain point, price/sale, condition, etc. This allows users to search based on their criteria, and delivers on the expectation that your site has what they’re looking for.
Lastly, another obstacle is a lack of urgency or motivation to make a purchase. Customers may be interested in your products, but they may not feel an immediate need to buy. To overcome this obstacle, you can use urgency and scarcity tactics like limited-time offers, countdown timers, and low-stock notifications to create a sense of urgency and motivate customers to make a purchase.
To truly optimize your eCommerce site for conversions, you need to base your strategies on data and analytics as if you were an eCommerce conversion rate optimization agency. By tracking and analyzing onsite customer behavior, you can identify areas for improvement and test different strategies to see what works best.
One key metric to track is your conversion rate, which measures the percentage of visitors who make a purchase. By tracking your conversion rate over time through eCommerce Conversion Rate Optimization Services and identifying any changes or trends, you can identify areas for improvement and implement targeted optimization strategies. Be sure to A/B test (split test) any changes to track exactly which optimization strategies worked and remove any guesswork.
Another metric to track is your bounce rate, which measures the percentage of visitors who leave your site without taking any action. A high bounce rate can indicate a problem with your website design, messaging, or user experience, and can be fixed by implementing targeted optimization strategies. See which pages have the highest bounce rate, and focus your efforts there.
Finally, you can use tools like heat maps and click tracking to analyze how customers interact with your website and identify areas where they may be experiencing friction or confusion. Heat maps are a great way to identify where user’s attention is focused on each page, and determine what they find valuable, and which elements are missing their mark.
In the world of eCommerce, copywriting is a crucial element to drive sales for your online store and turn potential customers into loyal ones. But what makes product features or an ad copy truly compelling?
The answer lies in the power of emotional triggers. Emotional triggers are the psychological cues that evoke strong feelings and reactions in people. They can be positive, like joy and excitement, or negative, like fear and anxiety. When used effectively in good eCommerce copywriting, emotional triggers can make a product or a brand stand out from the competition and create a lasting connection with the audience.
In this article, we'll explore the science behind emotional triggers, how they influence purchasing decisions, and how you can leverage them in your eCommerce copywriting to increase conversion rates, user experience, and customer loyalty.
Emotions are an integral part of human behavior. They influence the way we think, feel, and act. The science of emotions is complex, and researchers are still trying to understand how they work. However, there are some basic principles that we can use to understand emotional triggers.
Emotions are processed in the limbic system of the brain, which is responsible for memory, motivation, and behavior. When we experience an emotion, it triggers a chemical reaction in the brain that influences our thoughts and actions. For example, when we feel happy, our brain releases dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel good.
Emotional triggers work by tapping into our subconscious mind. They evoke an emotional response that is not necessarily logical but rather instinctual. For example, when we see a cute puppy, we may feel an overwhelming sense of joy and happiness, even if we don't need a puppy. This is because the image of the puppy triggers a positive emotional response that is hard to resist.
Now that we understand the science behind emotional triggers let's explore some examples of emotional triggers in eCommerce copywriting.
One of the most common emotional triggers for eCommerce sites is the fear of missing out (FOMO). FOMO is the feeling that you might miss out on something valuable if you don't act now. This emotional trigger is often used in limited-time offers, flash sales, and countdown timers.
For example, "Don't miss out on our biggest sale of the year! Only 24 hours left to save 50% off!" This kind of copy creates a sense of urgency and scarcity that motivates customers to act quickly.
Another emotional trigger in eCommerce copywriting is social proof. Social proof is the idea that people are more likely to do something if they see others doing it. This emotional trigger is often used in customer testimonials, user-generated content, and influencer marketing.
For example, "Thousands of satisfied customers have already tried our product and loved it! Join the club and see for yourself!" This kind of copy creates a sense of trust and credibility that reassures customers that they are making the right choice.
Emotional triggers can have a powerful impact on consumer behavior. They can influence how people perceive a product, how they feel about it, and whether they decide to buy it or not.
For example, a study by the University of Southern California found that emotional ads are twice as effective as rational ads in driving sales. Emotional ads create a stronger emotional connection with the audience, which leads to a higher likelihood of conversion.
Another study by the University of Michigan found that people are more likely to share content that evokes strong emotions, such as awe, joy, and anger. This means that emotional triggers not only impact individual behavior but also social behavior. When people feel strongly about something, they are more likely to share it with others, which can lead to viral marketing.
Now that we understand the impact of emotional triggers on consumer behavior let's explore some tips for incorporating emotional triggers in your ecommerce copy.
First, identify your target audience and their emotional needs. What are their pain points, aspirations, and desires? What kind of emotions do they respond to? By understanding your audience's emotional triggers, you can create copy that resonates with them on a deeper level.
Second, use descriptive language and sensory details to create a vivid image in the reader's mind. For example, instead of saying "Our coffee is delicious," say "Our coffee is rich, smooth, and aromatic, with notes of chocolate and caramel that will transport you to a cozy café in Paris." This kind of copy creates a sensory experience that taps into the reader's emotions.
Third, use power words that evoke strong emotions. Power words are words that have a strong emotional impact, such as "amazing," "unforgettable," "life-changing," "exclusive," "limited," "free," and "guaranteed." By using power words strategically, you can create a sense of excitement, urgency, and exclusivity that motivates customers to act.
Conversion Rates are crucial to any e-commerce business. It refers to the percentage of visitors to your website who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. Having high conversion rates means that your website is performing well and is effectively communicating your value proposition to your customers. On the other hand, a low conversion rate may indicate that your website is not engaging enough or that there are obstacles preventing customers from making a purchase. Therefore, it is essential to continually measure and improve your conversion rates to optimize your website's performance and increase your revenue. By analyzing and optimizing your conversion rates, you can stay ahead of the competition and ultimately grow your e-commerce business.
In this article, I’m going to explain why your conversion rate is absolutely your most important KPI if you’re an eCommerce business, and what factors going into improving it. I’ll also be discussing other metrics that can hint at a conversion rate problem, and how to tell if there is room for improvement.
Firstly, it is important to define and prioritize your KPIs so that you have a clear understanding of what you need to measure and what goals you are trying to achieve. Businesses should be setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) and aligning their KPIs with these goals.
Prioritization plays a key role, especially when it comes to data analysis. You will want to focus on the KPIs that are most relevant to your business's goals and objectives, and this should be your primary focus when analyzing your data.
In eCommerce, the most popular KPIs tend to be Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Average Order Value (AOV), Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV), Add to Cart Rate and Conversion Rate. Most eCommerce platforms provide analytics for these metrics and will calculate conversion rates and give you an average conversion rate over time so you don’t have to worry about the math.
One of the most important e-commerce KPIs is the conversion rate. It is an indication of how well your website is performing and how effectively you are converting your visitors into customers. Tracking this metric provides you with valuable insights into the effectiveness of your sales funnel and can help identify areas for improvement.
But, knowing your conversion rate isn’t nearly enough. Take a look and compare it to your industry’s average to see how you measure up. Next, decide on your conversion goal, and figure out a plan for exactly how you're going to increase your conversion rate. Conversion rates are tied directly to user experience. If you have a conversion rate problem, chances are likely you have a user experience problem somewhere on your site. This is where other analytics tools and CRO tools can be utilized to help you focus on the issue, instead of making a huge mistake like redesigning your site to fix the issue.
Let’s take a look at some of the other metrics to help us diagnose where a problem is occurring on your landing page or site.
Another important e-commerce KPI is Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). It is the amount of revenue a customer will bring to your business over their lifetime. CLTV is a great metric to monitor as it provides insights into how much you should be spending to acquire new customers, the type of customers you should be attracting, and how to better retain your existing customers.
This can vary dramatically depending on your business model. Do you offer a subscription service in addition to products? Are people signing up for loyalty programs and taking advantage of them? Does your business model only require a one-time purchase (i.e. wedding dresses, maternity)? How long should one purchase technically last your customers? CLTV is also a measure of how long people are sticking with your business, and there can be more than one way to measure this. You need to establish a goal for your CLTV, and establish and action plan for increasing it.
Sure fire ways to do this include personalization for repeat site visitors, remarketing/re-engagement campaigns via email and sms, or loyalty programs that offer VALUE to customers for their loyalty (i.e. not just run of the mill discounts).
Cart abandonment is when a customer adds items to their cart but leaves the website before completing the purchase. This can be a major problem for e-commerce businesses, as it means that potential revenue is being lost. Monitoring your cart abandonment rate is crucial in identifying problematic areas in the sales funnel and taking corrective action to rectify them.
Your cart abandonment can some sometimes feel like a war of attrition. Your cart abandonment may be on par with industry averages, but take a look at what percentage of visitors are viewing your product pages. We’ll often see that PDP views are extremely high, while add-to-cart is average. For reference, eCommerce industry averages for sessions with a page view are about 43%, while sessions with an add-to-cart are around 14%. This is where the war on attrition comes into play. If your PDP views are 60%, and your add-to-cart is 5%, then you’ve just diagnosed a PDP issue.
Google Analytics is a helpful tool for tracking conversion funnel drop-off, and helping diagnose if you have a Cart Abandonment problem, or a PDP problem. Cart abandonment in a vacuum can usually be handled by personalized remarketing campaigns to customers to encourage them to checkout. However, take the time to analyze your checkout process to make sure the user experience is on par with customer expectations. Check out our article on Cart Abandonment to learn more about a conversion optimized checkout experience.
Email marketing is a direct marketing approach that uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to (1) sending emails with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, and (2) sending emails with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately.
The main difference between email marketing and other types of direct marketing is that with email marketing, businesses can communicate one-to-one, as opposed to one-to-many. This allows for more personalized attention that can result in better conversion rates.
While the statistics are overwhelmingly in favor of email marketing as the best method for converting leads, but you can’t expect those kinds of returns without putting a lot of thought and effort into your campaigns.
Having your own email list is obviously ideal, but if you don't have one you can utilize other lead-generation methods to help you get started. Either way, you're going to want to capitalize on the 50% of people who say they buy from marketing emails at least once per month or the 59% of people who say that marketing emails have influenced their purchases.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. How many bad marketing emails have you received for everyone that’s converted you? Nearly 1 in 5 email campaigns aren’t optimized for mobile devices, and 41% of marketing emails are viewed on smartphones (59% of millennials, and 67% of Gen Z).
Email marketing isn't just about sending out mass emails to everyone on your list. The success of your email marketing campaigns depends on three things: the quality of your list, the quality of your content, and the frequency with which you send emails. Keep these things in mind as we go over some tips for successful email marketing.
Remove any inactive subscribers, bounced addresses, and duplicates on a regular basis. Not only will this keep your list manageable, but it will also improve your deliverability rate (the percentage of messages that are successfully delivered to subscribers' inboxes).
This seems like a no-brainer, but it's important to make sure that everyone on your list has opted in to receive emails from you. Otherwise, you risk being marked as a spammer.
There is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to large email lists. Instead of blasting one giant list with the same content, consider segmenting those lists and personalizing your content as much as possible.
Daily is too much, and monthly is not enough. Based on studies, the sweet spot seems to be between 9-16 emails per month. While slightly more or less still generate significant returns, we're going for outstanding, not pretty good results.
Companies that test their email campaigns enjoyed 28% higher ROI than their counterparts. Keep it simple at first by testing different subject lines. Definitely make sure you're testing for spam filters and deliverability, and preview before sending for formatting issues. Once you're comfortable, you can start testing different content and even the landing pages where you're directing traffic.
Dynamic content is essential to add a personalized touch to your email campaigns, and companies that do experience ROIs 4x higher than companies that don’t.
This seems like a no-brainer, but it's important to make sure that everyone on your list has opted in to receive emails from you. Otherwise, you risk being marked as a spammer.
Segmenting your list allows you to send targeted content that is relevant to each group of subscribers. This increases engagement and makes people more likely to open and click through your emails.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a crucial part of digital marketing. It’s an effective way to maximize the number of visitors that convert into customers. With the right CRO strategies, you can boost your website’s performance and increase your ROI and advertising efficiency. Let’s take a look at some of the different types of CRO strategies that you can use to optimize your site.
A/B testing is one of the most popular types of conversion rate optimization methods. It involves creating two versions of a page or element on your website and then testing them out on different audiences to see which performs better. This allows you to determine which version resonates more with users and which one drives more conversions. You can also use A/B testing for email campaigns or other marketing materials.
The greatest benefit of A/B testing is it removes the guesswork from your strategy. You may have an idea of what your audience needs and wants, but A/B testing allows you to test that hypothesis on a limited number of your visitors and prove your hypothesis correct before committing to any changes.
You can even segment the results of your test by traffic sources and see which audience segments respond to certain changes more positively than others. This provides a wealth of knowledge about the little differences in your audience segments that can generate HUGE results.
Testing different variations of your products or services pages is something ALL eCommerce sites should be doing on a regular basis.
Personalization is another type of conversion rate optimization strategy that can help you increase conversions by providing tailored experiences for each user. By understanding user behavior, you can create personalized content that speaks directly to their needs and interests, making it easier for them to find what they’re looking for and more likely to complete a purchase or sign up for a service.
The entire theory behind Conversion Rate Optimization is better understanding your audience and customers to determine what information they find most valuable, and what experience makes them most likely to convert. Personalization allows you to speak more directly to different parts of your audience at the same time while providing both of them with the information they each find more useful. It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that this is an extremely effective strategy for increasing your number of conversions.
With mobile usage continuing to grow every year, optimizing for mobile devices is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses looking to increase their reach and sales volume. A key component of this is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), which ensures that the correct offerings are displayed to users during their mobile visits and the checkout process is highly optimized for a hassle-free experience. After all, no one likes dealing with long forms or slow-loading images on their phones! Through the strategic use of CRO, companies are able to boost user engagement, nudge potential customers toward a purchase, and make sure they come back time and again. The bottom line: If you’re not prioritizing mobile optimization and CRO, you’re likely missing out on an essential piece of your success puzzle.
An important part of mobile optimization is making sure the user experience is consistent across all devices. Users are extremely turned off when they find a brand on their mobile device and decide to continue their search on their desktop only to find a completely different experience. Consistency is essential for creating seamless transitions between devices. Mobile and desktop web should not be in competition, but your approach should ensure they work in tandem to deliver a full journey experience.
Mobile traffic was a higher percentage of traffic vs. desktops across all industries this past year (58% vs. 42%) but desktop still has a higher conversion rate on average (3% vs. 1.6%) and an average higher order value (91% higher on desktop vs. mobile). Having a multi-device strategy will ensure you capitalize on opportunities across all devices and acquire and retain your customers.
Landing pages are typically a single webpage or a standalone site page linked directly to a marketing campaign with the goal of lead conversion. Landing pages can be your most profitable weapon in an ad campaign. Increase your ROI (Return on Investment) and ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) without increasing ad spend by driving users to a specific page with one action in mind.
Landing page optimization is a must-have if you want to increase conversions. The average landing page conversion rate across all industries is just below 10%, yet landing pages remain the least popular type of sign-up form. In addition, only half of the companies that utilize a landing page have optimized it for conversions. Keep in mind, companies that utilize conversion rate optimization tools on their landing page see an average increase of 30% in their conversion rate.
A landing page is an essential part of any website. It serves as a hub for your visitors, allowing them to easily access the information they need and guiding them through the process of becoming a customer, subscriber, or donor. To make sure your landing page does its job effectively, you'll want to pay attention to five key elements: design, message, content, call-to-action (CTA), and optimization. Let's take a look at each of these in more detail.
Design is one of the most critical aspects of your landing page. It should be visually appealing and easy to navigate, while still adhering to your overall brand identity. If you're working with a web designer or agency on this project, make sure to provide them with detailed feedback and style guidelines. That way you can ensure that the design meets your expectations and accurately reflects your brand.
The message of your landing page should be clear and concise; there should be no confusion about why people are visiting this page or what action you want them to take after reading it. When crafting your message, ask yourself: What makes my product/service different? Why should someone visit this page instead of another? What value do I offer? Answering these questions will help you focus on the essential elements of your message and get visitors excited about what you have to offer.
Once you've got the design and message nailed down, it's time to start adding content! Content is crucial for engaging visitors and getting them interested in what you have to offer. Make sure that all the content on your landing page is relevant, informative, and easy-to-read—no one likes slogging through long-winded paragraphs! You'll also want to include visuals such as photos or videos if possible; these can be great ways to draw people in and show off what makes your product/service unique.
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