In an increasingly competitive eCommerce ecosystem, there are a lot of factors that could drive sales. ‘Digitally speaking’, a conversion is a process where visitors perform a desirable action. For the majority of web shop owners and eCommerce managers, conversions are the most important KPI's in building their online business and increasing their revenue. In this article, we further-explain conversion rate, the definition of conversion rate optimisation and best techniques to achieve conversion rate optimisation for eCommerce websites.
What is the conversion rate?
Conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors that complete a desired action while browsing on the said website, divided by the number of total visitors. An eCommerce conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who purchased something from an online store within a set period, divided by the number of total website visitors. Purchases are the most widely-used measures for success, but other conversion events for eCommerce include some of the following metrics:
- A user adding an item to their cart
- A user adding an item to their wishlist
- Newsletter sign-ups
- Social media following and sharing
There are many conversion factors, depending on the KPI’s that matter the most for different eCommerce websites. A conversion is a measurable action that converts a passive user towards a paying customer. There are different types of conversions, depending on how specific or broad one needs their conversion rates.
- Overall conversion rate (how well does a website convert traffic from any source?)
- Keyword conversion rate (which Google keywords deserve more advertising budget?)
- Marketing channel conversion rate (is AdWords, Instagram, Facebook Ads traffic or other traffic source more likely to convert?)
- Page-level conversion rate (which of these pages are better at converting traffic?)
- Specific ad conversion rate (does an ad drive more qualified traffic or do you need to apply changes to copy/ creative?)
Conversion rate formula
Conversion rates are calculated as the number of conversions per website visitor, shown as a percentage. The conversion rate formula is the following:
Conversion rate = (conversions / total visitors) * 100
For example, if your website had 10,000 visitors and 200 conversions last month, your conversion rate is 2%. The majority of analytics platforms (i.e, Google Analytics) can measure the conversion rate through their interface.
What is conversion rate optimisation?
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is the systematic process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action on the website. The CRO process is the ongoing effort of building a webpage in such a way that visitors will convert to customers. By designing, modifying, tracking and analysing users’ behaviour on the webpage, an eCommerce business can increase the chances of a visitor converting to a paying customer.
Average shopping cart conversion rate
The question is what’s a good conversion rate? Each industry has different benchmarks. Conversion rates in eCommerce are fairly low compared to other sectors (finance, legal etc). For Q2 2019, the average conversion rate in the UK was 3.81%, while in the US it only reached 2.57%.
In terms of conversion rates by device, in the UK 4.40% of conversions events were spotted on desktop, while 4.23% of conversions occurred on tablets and 2.97% on mobiles.
Conversion rate optimisation tips
Before you go through with following our top tips for conversion rate optimisation, be sure to perform a “health check-up” to your online shop. Every merchant should know exactly what a visitor is doing when browsing through their website. Where are they getting stuck and how are they interacting with your website? Only when you answer these questions will you be able to identify conversion rate benchmarks and improvements to optimise conversions.
eCommerce tools to analyse conversions
There’s an abundance of tools to help you analyse conversions for your eCommerce website. Start by setting up Google Analytics to get valuable insight into traffic sources, average time on site, exit pages, devices and conversions based on goals set-up. Consider adding a heat-mapping tool to track visitors’ behaviour while browsing your website. Depending on which tool you use, you can capture page views and map clicks, cursor-movements and scroll depth, to name a few capabilities. By analysing the above, you will be able to modify elements to your user interface and put them to test.
Improve landing page design
There are several elements an eCommerce website should include in their landing page. High-quality images and attention-grabbing text are key. The first three seconds a visitor spends on your website are crucial when it comes to converting. Your unique selling proposition must be clear – i.e. why should a customer buy from you and not from a competitor? Your copy needs to be A-list. Typos and syntax mistakes can turn visitors away and make them lose trust in your brand. To increase your chances of conversions, add product videos so that potential customers can see how they could use your products in real-life.
User experience (UX) pointers
When online shopping, people are impressed by high-quality visual content that elevates the product's capabilities. Ensure product information is well-layered and decluttered throughout the website. Availability of product, full specs and details are key for online customers. Last and most importantly, be sure to make CTA’s prevalent. An actionable button that stands out from surrounding text and imagery may prompt visitors into clicking on it and buying or adding to cart / wish-list. Use them sparingly though. Too many CTA’s on a single page could overwhelm your visitors.
If you are interested in more tips and hints about the above two topics, stay tuned as we will release two more guides shortly.
Test the checkout process
Checkout pages are the single most important step for the payment journey. eCommerce websites should constantly test their checkout process to ensure that it’s short, secure, smooth and as frictionless as possible. It’s worth investing time for A/B testing so that your payments page remains efficient and on-brand. emerchantpay provides merchants with the option of customising your hosted payments page – so you can create a tailor-made checkout experience that fits your brand.
Offering secure payment methods
Let your customers know that you offer multiple payment methods and, most importantly, make them feel secure when shopping online with you. Customers need to know that they are trusting their hard-earned money with a legitimate business that follows industry-specific rules. Install SSL site-wide so customers can feel their card details are protected. Display security badges with services you are actively using and payment method logos as visual signals that your customers’ payment data is safe with you.
How to optimise both for SEO and conversions
In the past, page titles and backlinks were enough to rank. Nowadays, user experience, relevance and engagement are important. Google has introduced multiple algorithms, requiring more sophisticated long-form content that’s converts readers into buyers.
On top of that, the content needs to be both informative and actionable, with an easy-to-notice call to action buttons in key areas throughout the page.
The best SEO practice for eCommerce websites is to combine long-form content with UX, providing attention-grabbing visual elements such as: icons, photos and videos as part of the content. These types of graphics might get you more engagement, but they can also make your site slower. So, aim for a more than 80 out of 100 speed score, using various tools such as: Page Speed Insights and Gtmetrix.
As a takeaway for SEO best practices, make sure your eCommerce website includes the following:
- Killer headlines
- Good UX design to achieve conversions
- Copy that satisfies user intent
- Place the most valuable information ‘above the fold’ (anything that you want the user to see without scrolling down)
- Trust factors, reviews and user-generated comments are always a good idea (with moderation)
- Fast loading times
- Visible call-to-action buttons
In conclusion, aligning SEO and CRO might sound like a difficult task. However, these tasks seem to go hand in hand.
What is abandonment rate?
The definition of abandonment rate is the percentage of visitors adding items to their shopping cart and then abandon it without completing the purchase.
Combatting cart abandonment rates
Shopping cart integration comes with its challenges. Along with fraud and data security risks, shopping cart abandonment is a common issue which online entrepreneurs need to address. You know the feeling, right? You put all of your items into the basket, head to pay, then at the final hurdle change your mind. Below are some common factors behind shopping cart abandonment.
Flexible payment options
Sometimes, shoppers just drop whatever they like into their basket when browsing. Once the time to pay arrives, they decide these items cost more than they want to afford.
The solution: introduce promotional items and sales cycles, making your offering attractive to multiple target audiences. You can also look into specific payment methods that either allows the customer to pay at a later stage or offer to spread the cost into instalments. You could also send payment links to your customers over email or SMS for when you want to secure a pre-order, ask for a deposit or complete an order over the phone. emerchantpay can help you seamlessly integrate APM’s such as PayByLink or Pay Later.
They simply didn’t want to buy
We browse when we’re bored. Often for things that aren’t of much use to us. It’s therefore not surprising that, sometimes, shoppers simply don’t want to buy that inflatable palm tree or puzzle-of-the-day subscription. The solution: just because you lost the customer once, it doesn’t mean that they won’t come back. When they return, remind them that there are still items in their cart. If they’ve emptied this, use targeted suggestions to highlight what they might wish to purchase.
They got distracted and left the page
Many users browse around a web shop on their laptop, while streaming a movie on their tablet and simultaneously texting their friends on their smartphone. It’s very likely that they’ll get distracted and accidentally close the web shop window and not proceed to checkout. Here’s why remarketing could help you reduce abandonment rates. Remarketing is a form of online advertising that enables sites to show targeted ads to users who have already visited their site. For eCommerce, the opportunities are plenty: past visitors will see ads of items they viewed or added to their cart from your online store, while they are browsing the web, scrolling down their social media feed, reading blogs etc. These visitors are already familiar with your brand and are much more likely to become customers.
They found a better deal elsewhere
You might sell the same item as somebody else. That ‘somebody else’ might offer a better deal. They’ve taken your customer.
The solution: if possible, adjust your pricing to remain in line with your competitors. You could also start a loyalty programme, which gives customers more of an incentive to not just shop with you once – but keep coming back too.
Unexpected costs arise
High shipping costs and other administrative fees can trigger purchase abandonment. Quite simply, customers don’t want to pay more than they initially expected to.
The solution: be transparent. Nobody likes it when their account takes more of a hit than it needs to, so make sure all additional costs are highlighted. You could also develop a pop-up, which appears each time an item is added to the basket and states the total price.
To summarise…
Optimising your shopping carts page is just one part of the jigsaw. You might have created a website, but that doesn’t mean that people will just find it. Therefore, developing an efficient marketing strategy is another vital component. It’s also imperative that you think about what causes customers to not complete their purchase and act before they become a big issue. By following these tips, both small and large merchants can enjoy sustainable long-term success within eCommerce.
emerchantpay offers a range of popular shopping cart solutions, each coming with their customisation features. To find out more, please contact us or visit our Shopping Carts page.