7 Ways to Increase Conversion Rates on Your eCommerce Site

Competition is high for today's eCommerce retailers. Not only do you need to drive traffic to your online store, but you also need to convert that traffic into paying customers. That's where conversion rate optimisation or CRO comes into play. .

We've made a list of 7 things you can do which will help increase conversion rates, without you needing to pay for advertising. 

How to Increase Conversion Rates in 7 Ways

We've made a list of 7 important things you can do to help you increase conversion rates of your eCommerce store: 

1. Check your website speed

Website speed remains a key factor in achieving positive user experiences and search engine rankings. The best possible performance you can expect on a website, is to load in less than 2 seconds. There are many things to be aware of which can impact the loading speed of a website including:

• number of images and videos on a page - the more images and videos you have on a page, the longer its loading time. Consider removing excess photos.
• unnecessary plugins - plugins can be chat boxes, animations, Facebook pixels, and Google analytics. These tools can double the loading speed of a page. 
• cloud fonts - any font that you have uploaded and installed on your website can add up to 30% to the download time. 
• website platform - the type of platform your website is built on can slow your loading speeds, such as WordPress which has so many individual files to download.
• website host - super cheap website hosts can overload their servers with thousands of websites competing for memory, CPU and bandwidth. 

2. Use high quality photos

The product photos on your website must be amazing! Because customers are limited to what you show and tell them, your product photos must give them enough visual information that they are comfortable to buy the product. Use high resolution images from different angles to show all of the product, plus photos of the product in use. 

As well as photos, you may want to consider including videos which demonstrate the product in use and explains in depth the key features of the product, which can help reduce customer return rates. 

3. Write great product descriptions

A product description, together with photos, will sell - or not - your product and affect its visibility online in SERPs. It must not only describe the product accurately, but it must also tell the customer of the benefits they will receive when using the product. Use bullet points, answer common questions, explain the problem the product solves and include keywords in your headings.

Check our articles Your Guide on How to Write Product Descriptions and Writing High Performing Product Descriptions for more detailed information on writing product descriptions. 

4. Test your cart & checkout for ease of use

Customers want their entire online shopping experience to be simple and problem free. Your shopping cart and checkout processes are two places where customers often stop and leave the website. Be sure to have tested the full customer journey on your website, which includes checking that the shopping cart and checkout function seamlessly. There should be available guest checkout, multiple payment gateway options and forms which require customers to enter the minimum amount of data. Make sure that there is also easy access to your terms and conditions, shipping and privacy policies too.

5. Use a mobile responsive template

It's really important that your website is mobile friendly. Choose a mobile responsive template which adapts to all device sizes, use large and clear buttons, avoid popups and be sure to check the entire customer journey to look for areas that could be improved upon. 

6. Use clear calls to action

Calls to action (CTAs) tell visitors what to do next, which increases conversion rates. CTAs need to be clear, easily identifiable and specific. The use of larger font size, contrasting colour and buttons will make it easier to view and act upon these calls to action. Buy Now, Buy Two & Save 25% or Shop Here are CTA examples. They are best positioned above the page fold, and you can complete A B testing for best phrasing, positioning or other changes.

7. Free shipping

When completing the checkout process, the cost of shipping is one of the top causes for cart abandonment. Luckily the offer of free shipping is always popular with online shoppers. You can offer free shipping in multiple ways: as a coupon in exchange for signing up to a newsletter, when a minimum order value is reached or even as a special offer.