For online retailers, high bounce rate hits where it hurts, at the bottom line. Bounce rate is the percentage of entrances on the page that result in the visitor immediately leaving the site and therefore missed revenue, so while a landing page will never get 0% bounce rate, any reduction will result in additional revenue. Very similar to planning a website optimizer test, first you should isolate the test subject (page or category) and traffic source as different traffic sources will vary in terms qualified traffic.

For example:

Test page: ecommerce product page
Traffic source: Yahoo organic traffic

Off page steps:

Goal – ensuring high levels of qualified visitors

1. On the page title metadata which is visible in the search results, describe the page accurately (taking into account SEO implications as well) so the level of traffic is as qualified as possible. Avoid promising anything the product doesn’t deliver.

2. Add a short call to action at the end of the metadata page title, for example “Free shipping!” as it will reinforce the offer.

3. Use the metadata page description to list your unique selling point(s) such as “next day delivery” or “price match” again reinforcing the message.

Information steps:

Goal – ensuring the product includes the most important information for the visitor

4. Check that the product title is right and the page includes any possible variations of the product title under “Also known as” block.

5. Check that the product includes all its features and compatibilities.

6. List the product stock availability and estimated delivery times.

On page steps:

Goal – converting visitors into customers

7. The product title should be visible above the fold in a clear place on the page as the visitor should see the title instantly.

8. Ensure the product price is competitive because your visitors have likely been on another website.

9. If you can beat them, join them so in cases where the product price is higher than your competitors list why visitors should buy from the site (next day delivery, extended warranty, loyalty points etc).

10. List your payment gateway in a clear place on the page (credit cards, paypal etc).

Bonus tip – Improve your call to action and test different messages such as “buy now” and “add to basket” as different demographics respond to different messages.

The process of increasing online conversion rates includes 5 main steps every website should adopt. Successful online retailers use a combination of website usability, website credibility, online merchandising, shopping cart and checkout process tactics to increase online conversion rates.  As a successful retailer you should be looking to adopt the most applicable tactics while testing their effectiveness on your conversion rate.

Enhance Website Usability

1. Offer a search functionality - Websites selling online must offer an easy to use, functional search facility particularly if a website offers many products so customers can easily find what they are shopping for within a a few seconds. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting lost in a sea of products and having to work hard to find a search box. If a product isn’t found, make sure to offer an alternative as the customer is already engaging with the site and it would be a shame to let a lead go. Either offer a similar product, or at least display items with offers. Make sure to list what could be found using the search like ‘keyword / item’, as some users might try to use the search as a support forum, typing queries like ‘return policy’ etc

2. Offer a refine search functionality – Refine search functionality helps customers engage more with the site, keeps them for longer which will help increase conversion rates. Again if a product isn’t found, offer product suggestions for similar products.

3. Always lead customers – When a website is offering many similar products, some guidance is needed to drive potential customers to take desired action. Recommended products functionality is a great start. If possible indicate why those products are recommended e.g. ‘top valentine day’ gift ideas etc, this means potential customers have to do less ground work. There are however more intelligent recommendation engines such as criteo which learn over time what users are buying and offer similar recommended products to customers.

4. Show additional payment gateways – If you offer additional payment gateways such as PayPal and Google Checkout make sure you list it above the fold on the homepage and landing pages as some customers prefer to pay using those services.  The other added value here is that by offering these 3rd party gateways, customers feel the website is certified and checked by those providers thus increasing a website’s credibility.

Enhance Website Credibility

5. Great design – The first step to being seen as a credible website, is to offer great functional design. It doesn’t have to win awards, just make sure the basic design elements are well presented and the site looks as if it’s designed by a professional team.

6. Add a sales phone number – Great websites make it easy for customers to buy products online, however they also offer a phone number to call, most of the time a toll free. Offering an option to call is a great way to generate leads and establish new customer relationships from potential customers who may call or email rather than place an order through the online checkout process.  In a customer’s mind the fact that a website has a clear phone number means support will be available if needed, making the decision to buy easier.

7. Use testimonials and references – Testimonials are a great way to market a website. They give credibility and third-party endorsement, especially if the reference is from a well known brand or individual. Make sure testimonials and references include a date so customers can see that the website is continually being updated and has been selling online for a while.

8. Show 3rd party accreditation – Use professional accreditation to boost credibility by listing them in the website’s communications.

Enhance Online Merchandising Offer

9. Offers, offers and more offers – Some customers find ‘free delivery’ offers appealing, some find ‘buy one get one free’ offers appealing so make sure your website has as many multi level offers available as possible. Other great suggestions include product bundles where customers buy one product and get another product free and a clearance section which can include end of line products, over stock products and products which are just not moving fast enough. Best practice is to allow customers to receive special offers by RSS and email. Online offers are an integral part of any ecommerce development plan.

10. List price savings – Everyone likes a good bargain! Listing a product’s saving in percentage or list price Vs. our price is a great call to action and stands out on the page. Consider adding savings by percentage at the refine search page which attracts bargain hunters.

11. Sale always on – Consider a ’sale’ section which is always on. If the website is running a pay per click advertising program, it will increase CTR, lower PPC prices and increase conversions. A sales section is also a great favorite among affiliates if the website has an affiliate programme.

Follow Basic Shopping Cart Tactics

12. Log-in is bad for conversion rate – Never ask the customer to log in to add a product to the shopping cart. 80% of potential customers are initially searching for the best offer, price and spec before deciding on where to buy. By requiring customers to log in prior to adding a product to the shopping cart, you might be stuck with only 20% of the potential customer inventory.

13. Offer shopping cart preview – Have the shopping cart preview ‘follow’ customers during the shopping experience, while ensuring the cart appears in a non intrusive place on the site. A visible shopping cart is a great call to action, reinforces a customer’s state of mind when purchasing a product and provides a simple ‘favourite’ list.

14. Remember, no one likes surprises – One of the biggest mistakes when analysing a sales funnel drop off rate is the additional charges at the check out page like excessive delivery charge, taxes and ‘forced’ add-ons. Make sure the cart price includes an estimated delivery cost. Another good suggestion is to include estimated tax or at least include the phrase ‘tax may apply’ and price with VAT / Ex VAT especially for corporate customers.

15. Brag about the offer during a visitor’s journey using the shopping cart preview – When a product is added to the cart and has an offer promotion associated with it, consider listing the offer in the cart. The strongest message for a great converting cart is ‘price was‘ and ‘price now‘, together with a saving message which is the total price was minus the total price now. For example price was £49, price now £34.

16. Allow editing – Customers should always be able to edit the cart by removing products and changing quantity even at the preview stage. This is especially important as some customers use the shopping cart preview as a simple version of ‘favourite’ list.

17. Back to basics – Enforce a strong call to action in the cart such as ‘checkout now‘

18. Total cost, Total cost, Total cost - Some customers might abandon the site if they find it hard to see the total cost for their purchase. Make sure total cost appears clearly at the shopping cart preview window, and if the website has mainly corporate customers, consider total cost with VAT and Ex-VAT.

Follow Basic Check Out Process Tactics

19. Where am I? – Make sure customers can see a clear progress indicator during the checkout process and that they can return back to any stage during the checkout to edit details.

20. Live chat sales support – If you are a pure internet retailer then chances are your the goal is to keep costs as low as possible and hiring an online sales agent doesn’t seem to make sense, however at the check out stage ROI can be demonstrated using Google Analytics. It’s possible to create a conversion goal to include customers who used online chat support. A good sales agent can also help ‘close’ the sale. Some 3rd party chat applications are even free, others like www.stardevelop.com and www.leadchat.com are available for a small fee.

21. Phone sale support – Not only does listing a phone number above the fold increases a website’s credibility, it can also help convert more customers into buyers. Some website owners are concerned that phone sales line might be used for customer support (is that so bad?, customer retention…) so one option is to offer a toll free phone line for sales and a basic paid for 0870 / 0845 for support calls. Finally another option is to only list the sales phone number during the checkout stage based on the shopping cart total value and again, telephone sales can be tracked by using a call back feature which can ping Google Analytics.

22. Offer buy now pay later – If website products are expensive consider a web based ‘buy now pay later’ offer. New technologies by providers such as www.able2buy.com make it simple to integrate ‘buy now pay later’ offers and the customer shopping experience isn’t effected as customers obtain a credit decision in seconds. For customers who failed the credit check, a one off discount code offer can be used to close the sale.

23. Offer PayPal, Google Checkout, purchase order and even cheque payment options -  Many customers are used to paying with their favorite method and to become a successful online website retailer, additional payment options are important. Additionally, more payment gateways are a good alternative when your normal credit card facility is acting up. Purchase orders and cheque payments are essential if a website customers are of the government or education type.

24. Offer check out a guest - Many customers associate sign up with potentially receiving SPAM or junk mail so many customers prefer to purchase without having to sign up.

25. Offer a bit extra – Competitions are a great way to drive customers towards completing a checkout process, provided no further action is required.

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Other great resources

E-commerce Otimization Blog eCommerce & Shopping Cart Usability: 21 Best Practices
Seomoz blog 17 New Rules for Successful E-Commerce Websites
Conversation Marketing Blog 5 Things You’re Forgetting on Your E-commerce Site
Seo Book Website Checklist: Getting The Close

The days of cheap prices as the only mean to become a successful online retailer are looking like they might be numbered for a few retailers. Recently I posted a guest blog post on Glasses Direct Blog, the online spectacles store after working with them for a while in order to understand better what motivates their consumers and makes them such a success. From our work it is clear that low prices alone are not enough and consumers are asking for professional telephone support, long term product support and many more services we might associate with the high street stores.

Read the entire blog post on their blog.

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