Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is directed at improving the ratio between visitors and final conversion into a desired action.
The end goal of the conversion process may or may not be a sale; it could be some other form of interaction with an organisation, such as signing up to a mailing list.
Conversion Rate Optimisation and SEO
CRO should be complimentary to your SEO efforts. Once you have managed to convince people to visit your site as a result of its high search rank, you will need to make sure that the landing page is set up in such a way that encourages them to convert.
It is the antidote to a problematic bounce rate and needs to be taken seriously by any business hoping to achieve e-commerce success and build a strong digital brand.
CRO is also important in terms of some of the more targeted promotional campaigns you may operate, including email marketing.
In essence, CRO focuses upon leading visitors to your site through a process which culminates in the completion of an action that is beneficial to your business, thereby leading to increased sales and revenues.
The following are a few tips to help you optimise your website accordingly.
Streamline Site Design
Ensuring that a site is easy to access and use is the first step to improving conversions. And with more people browsing from smartphones and tablets than ever before, mobile optimisation should be at the top of the agenda.
Embrace Honesty
Honesty is important. Hiding key pieces of information from shoppers relating to issues such as stock levels, product prices and delivery costs can lead to cart abandonment late in the process.
Make sure that your customers know exactly what they are getting from the word go, whether they have clicked through from a PPC ad or a link shared on social media.
Foster Trust
Online fraud is rife and users need to know that they can trust a new site. Using secure services for handling payments is important, but it is also necessary to advertise this fact to build confidence amongst visitors.
Similarly it is essential that you provide them with easy access to information about your organisation, including an address where you can be contacted.
Keep Copy Concise
Some e-commerce landing pages are overcrowded with dense copy, much of which may be copy-pasted from the manufacturer’s site. Others may be sparsely populated with little or no relevant content.
Striking a balance between the two and creating clear, concise and compelling copy to help sell items is vital to CRO.
Highlight Customer Service Options
Customers may have questions about a product, your business or any other element of the e-commerce experience. And answering queries quickly and effectively can drastically improve conversions.
This is why many sites now offer live assistance which is prominently displayed, or available via a separate chat pop-up.
Combat Click Fatigue
Studies have shown that if you can minimise the number of clicks required for a customer to complete a transaction, they are more likely to convert and you can reverse a high bounce rate.
So reduce the number of extraneous pages they need to visit in order to make a purchase; keeping it at 3 or less clicks will be optimal.
Add Multimedia Elements
Having great copy to support a landing page is one thing, but embedding media elements including images and even videos can further improve the chances of a conversion.
If this content is unique to your site then the optimisation benefits will be even greater.
Provide Additional Recommendations
Recommending other products in which a visitor may be interested when they arrive on a specific landing page can help to increase the value of their basket and increase their level of engagement with the site and with your brand.
Add Value
If you really want to create mind share with your audience, then it is not enough to simply provide pages about products and services. The addition of other informational and advisory content, including product guides, customer reviews, blog articles and more can ensure that your site becomes far more than just a digital storefront.
So is it perhaps time to take a hard look at your own site and see whether your customer journey is designed around… the customer?
