CRO is a process that, when done consistently, gives you better results for the same amount of effort and money you’re already investing in selling your product or service through your online store.
For example, a Shopify CRO expert looking to improve conversion rates may want to optimize the average click-through rate of their target audience from the time they view an ad on Google to clicking on an ad or purchasing a product.
Conversion rate: the most important metric
Today, more people than ever prefer to shop online, and the share of e-commerce sales in total retail is growing worldwide. Therefore, it has become increasingly important for businesses to implement effective CRO strategies and track their online performance to stay on top. This trend became even more evident amidst the coronavirus pandemic, when lockdowns and other restrictive measures were imposed around the world, resulting in physical stores closing or reducing their footfall.
How to increase your conversion rate
Get to know your users and understand their needs
The vast majority (70-90%) of new products on the market fail to find customers. In fact, the number 1 reason why startups fail is because they develop products that offer something interesting and new, but fail to address existing user needs.
Here are some guidelines that will help you avoid such failures and contribute to the success of your eCommerce business:
- Gather information about your customers’ past buying habits from your internal data management systems (e.g. CRM) and web analytics services.
- Conduct surveys and get customer feedback from a variety of sources such as email, chat support, website feedback forms, and even phone calls.
- Conduct online research to identify new consumer trends.
- Enhance your customer relationships by offering personalized experiences.
Remove the barriers to e-commerce sales
A major part of conversion rate optimization is to remove barriers that can prevent potential customers from buying your products.
Some of the most popular ways to do this include the following measures:
- Developing a website according to best practices such as clear calls to action (CTAs), attractive visuals, mobile-friendly interface, etc.
- Simplifying the navigation and checkout process.
- Reducing your web page load time and speeding up your website.
- Consistency and integrity of your website to ensure a high level of trust.
- Focusing on offers and discounts on products that are likely to attract the most customers.
Test
In digital marketing, as with almost anything, there is no such thing as a “flawless investment.” Success isn’t about avoiding mistakes, it’s about making decisions backed by solid data.
An excellent way to collect impactful data is through A/B testing.A/B testing is a research method that involves making small changes to the user interface in order to collect and analyze data sets from potential and current customers.
Some of the aspects on which you can conduct A/B testing:
- Colors used in CTA buttons and banner ads
- Copywriting used in important headlines, subheadings, promos and pricing.
- Grouping or highlighting key pricing models
- Removing navigation and links from your landing pages
Continually optimize your keyword list
There are many tools you can use for keyword research, and the most well-known of these is Google Search Center. It offers a wide range of keyword opportunities for search queries where your website shows up in the search results.
Concentrate on the pages with the best conversion rates
The majority of traffic for many of today’s most successful retailers comes from a small number of pages. This doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore the rest of the pages, but in order to increase your online sales, it is recommended that you focus on the pages with the highest conversion rates.
