When your e-commerce sales need a boost, it can be difficult to know where to focus, what to change, and how an optimized site should work.
Here is a list of nine things to start with that are sure to increase sales:
1. Clever use of intrusive (and often annoying) “pop-ups”
Many e-commerce (and non-e-commerce, for that matter) sites will provide you with a popup the moment you arrive.
Some are essential — like privacy compliance — while others are purely promotional.
Popups can work very well, as long as you follow some basic common sense guidelines:
- Just because you may have a local mobile app for shopping, It does not mean that you need to ask the visitor to download it Once they reach the site.
- Don’t ask anyone to take a survey the moment they land on the website. Wait for them to complete the purchase or leave without doing so.
- If you want to collect a subscription email, make it useful to the visitor. Give them an incentive that will bring them near instant gratification on an instant purchase.
- Make sure you don’t use the kinds of pop-ups that can get you in trouble. Here’s a recent Search Engine Journal post that goes into more detail about popups.
2. Website vigilant search
It tells your visitors exactly what they want when they make a site search query.
Make sure you are paying attention and acting accordingly.
Here are some basics to make sure your site’s search experience is beneficial to your customers.
- Review inquiries regularly So you know what are the most popular searches.
- Test the search suggestions and subsequent results page for yourself in Top Queries (especially when adding a new product to the store).
- Use search query data to guide your marketing, promotional, and product decisions. Remember, your visitors tell you exactly what they want, so respond accordingly and win.
- For a more in-depth study of the site searchAnd the Here is a summary of a recent Search Engine Journal webinar (With an option to watch a replay).
3. Cross selling link
This is a big thing that is often overlooked.
There is no easier way to increase your AOV (Average Order Value) than to make a relevant proposal that leads to an impulse addition to a planned purchase.
You’ll see these displayed in some of the following ways throughout the purchase process:
- People watched too.
- Customers also bought.
- You may also like.
- related items.
- Items that go well with this.
- Recommended for you.
If your site is built to sell complementary items, make sure that you are constantly researching the experience to make sure it is perfect for your customer And the Looking at the data to monitor the rate of attachments.
4. Website speed
This should be obvious: fast sites = good. Slow sites = bad.
If you are using a hosted platform (eg Shopify And the BigCommerce) for your e-commerce store, make sure that any apps you use don’t slow down the site and always make sure that your image sizes don’t hinder load times.
If you are using a non-hosted platform (eg Magento And the Wu trade), your hosting plan will greatly affect your overall site speed.
Make sure you have the right plan, data, and resources to ensure optimal site speed.
5. Product List page
The experience you give your customers viewing your product listing page can be the difference between adding an item to your cart and exiting the site completely.
Some very important items to consider include:
Default sorting and available options
Is the list page sorted by newest first?
Best seller? Lowest price?
most relevant? Goods offered? common?
Ask yourself what makes the most sense to the user as a default and what other ways visitors will want to sort through your product selection.
Sort filters
This is all about ensuring that you have the right product attributes to allow customers to filter through.
Examples include size, color, style, price, rating, release date, compatibility, etc.
The attributes you need will vary based on what you sell, but be sure to pay attention to how customers view the product.
Keyword research and site search data can provide useful insights here.
Availability and delivery
This is important – especially now.
In an era of supply chain problems and product scarcity, availability often plays a bigger role than price.
If you have them in stock for immediate shipment, you increase your chances of getting a sale.
Make sure your ecommerce store is set up to show customers stock availability and delivery estimates before they make a purchase.
Pricing and promotions
It’s simple: make your discounts clear to your customers.
If 20% off means the price goes from $53.99 to $43.19, do the math for the customer instead of just saying “20% off”.
6. Product details page
What information is useful to your customer in determining whether or not a product is the right choice?
Start a list and get to work.
Here are some suggestions for making sure your product detail page is optimized.
- Use case scenarios.
- Pictures from every angle of the product.
- The ability to enlarge the image.
- Video overview.
- A/R experience.
- Inventory, stock status, or delivery time frame.
- Question and Answer.
- Moderated reviews.
- Detailed specifications.
The biggest tip here is to understand what matters to your customers and make sure you include it.
Take something simple like a T-shirt, for example.
Customers may be interested in things like:
- Cleaning Instructions (Dry Clean, Machine Wash, Hand Wash, Separate, Hang Cold, Line Dry, etc.).
- Materials.
- country of origin.
- Sustainability / environmental friendliness.
- ethical manufacturing.
- Wrinkle care.
- Flammability.
- sizing chart.
- dyes.
- etc.
ImportanceThe above list of shirts is not complete and may not apply to everyone. If you sell a cheap t-shirt with a goofy logo on it, that audience will be interested in something very different from a fancy t-shirt.
7. Shopping cart
Think of the shopping cart as the critical point in the buying journey where your customer will either confirm the decision and move on, or begin second-guessing themselves.
Here are some techniques to use to help relieve client anxiety:
- Make sure you have an easy path back to the product detail page So that the customer can search for any necessary details.
- Crystal clear and Customer friendly return policy.
- Clarity of pricing/savings. Again, don’t give the customer a math problem to solve.
- Clear and flexible execution options (eg: ship home, ship to store, pick up in store).
- Related cross selling (See No. 3).
- Set up an abandoned cart program where the logged in customer receives an email If an item has been left in the cart for X amount of time.
8. Checkout process
Here are some of the things you want to make sure are in place to ensure that the customer completes the payment process after this limit has been reached:
- The ability to easily perform a “guest checkout”.
- Clear exit instructions So that the customer is not lost or overwhelmed.
- Free/low cost shipping option included (Even if it’s the “slow boat” option, you want to give the customer a free option.)
- Ensure that the customer can take advantage of the browser’s autofill capabilities to reduce friction.
- Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Options. You might think your product’s price point isn’t high enough to go with BNPL options, but you’d be surprised how popular this option is for orders under $100.
9. Mobile web experience essential
10 years ago, mobile e-commerce auditing had its own separate checklist.
Today, there is no separate checklist.
Everything stated in points 1 to 8 applies equally to the mobile experience.
The work element is clear: test everything on mobile to ensure an enjoyable experience for your customer.
conclusion
While focusing on these elements cannot guarantee success, your ecommerce profits will likely grow by optimizing the areas covered in this post.
If you are just starting out, use this article as a checklist to put you on a path to growth and in a year you will be looking back and thanking yourself.
good luck!
More resources:
- Last call: 5 tips for getting last-minute ecommerce sales
- Increase online sales with these 5 search improvements
- Ecommerce Marketing: The Ultimate Guide
Featured image: New Africa / Shutterstock
