Author: Tom Cottrill | Date Posted: May 24, 2022
Conversion rates are some of the most important metrics to track on any website. Sometimes the conversion will be how many web visitors make phone calls? Other times it might be how many website visitors are seeing a Facebook ad and coming onto the website. Ecommerce conversion rate, however, is usually one that demonstrates how many visitors coming to your website are actually making a purchase.
If you have a low percentage of purchases being made but a high number of visitors, you will know that you need to take a look at your user experience, images, content, and possibly even pricing to determine why you are getting people to your site that aren’t making purchases. Improving your ecommerce conversion rate can be done in many ways, but driving this conversion through content is a great place to start.
Obviously there’s no right or wrong here because every single company is a little different, and this includes ecommerce sites. Typically if about 1-4% of your visitors are making a purchase on your website, depending on what you’re selling and what type of price point. Usually you’ll be in the middle of that, around 2-2.5%, but anything lower than 1% is too low, and even 1% is a sign that you should maybe be adjusting some things on your website or with your products.
A portfolio type of website will have a significant amount of content on it, sometimes with hundreds of pages of resources, information, articles, etc. An ecommerce website will also have a good amount of content, but it will be a much different type of content. Usually the pages that take up an ecommerce site will be more and more products, plus information about those products.
Some content for an ecommerce site is essential, including:
Many ecommerce sites think content should be limited in order to highlight the products, but the problem with that approach is that it hurts SEO and the chance of keywords being picked up on search engines, it irritates customers when they can’t find content they are looking for, and it can actually hurt your conversion rate, rather than help it.
Content needs to be the part of your website and your offerings that create a story that will help your visitors trust your company and sell it to its target audience. It needs to answer questions for your potential customers about who you are, what you do, why you’re better than your competition, why they would need your product, how much they cost, etc. If these questions aren’t answered, unless you are selling a big ticket item, potential customers will probably not take the time to reach out for answers. Instead, they are more likely to not even try to trust you at all and move on to your competitors.
A website can use content to improve conversion rate in a variety of ways, but there are a few ways that are the most important starting points that are absolutely essential.
Even on an ecommerce website, your copy has to be strong and SEO-friendly. Good copy will make sure that your visitors are informed, it will drive action with the right calls, and it will foster relationships with the potential customers. Most people scan copy on websites, so it has to be engaging with the most important information at the top. It should be broken up well and use subheadings to identify topics for sections in a big way that are easy for visitors to find.
Each page should have at least 300 words of text content if it is meant to be an actual page and not just a shopping page. Even contact pages could use some more content to make sure people know which form of contact is the best for each individual need, along with a potential FAQ that they could access prior to contacting you so they can get their answer immediately (good for them), and you can answer fewer questions (good for you).
This includes revamping any blogs—or starting a blog—to create educated consumers. You can blog about your company and processes of making products, people using your products, educate on areas surrounding your products, etc. Whatever types of blogs you create, you will be helping to create more educated customers with even more ideas about how your products will be good for them.
This type of content also needs to be engaging, high resolution, and fit for short attention spans. Any images should be placed with the right copy or category, and all products should include multiple photos so people can get a great visual idea of what they would be purchasing. It is also great if you have some strong photos of you and your team or photos and videos of customers using your products.
Any videos should provide value, either by describing how the product works, or be short attention getters to help engage website visitors and encourage them further to want your product. A website should really include more value and less fun promotional because chances are if they are on your site, they’ve already seen the fun promotional content you’ve been sharing in a variety of places. These videos do help convey excitement though, so they could be included here and there.
These videos should help customers better understand your offerings and how they would be used, plus whatever benefits they would get from them. This will limit the questions and may also convey a need for your company they didn’t even realize they had. It could also help really sell the benefits in a way that justify the price and take out the cost as an objective.
Regardless of what kind of product you are selling, it should be very clear exactly what those products are and what their benefits are. If there is any question in a visitor’s mind, they may not be fully sold on it and may not make the purchase. By being upfront and clear about what exactly they would be getting with the purchase, you eliminate the doubt and help them make the decision quicker.
The descriptions don’t have to be long, especially if you’re selling very basic products that make it clear what they are through their pictures (like clothing items), but they should be clear and detailed. The colors, materials, sizing of clothing should be front-and-center so potential customers don’t have to dig to find the information. Include measurements, what the time investment is, shipping information, etc. This way if you have someone coming to your site who knows they have an immediate need, they might see that your shipping speed is overnight and your product will be shipped in 2-3 days, and that right there might be the deciding factor between you and a competitor.
An ecommerce site will have CTAs all over it in a variety of locations. These calls to action need to direct visitor attention exactly where they should go next and what they should do when they get there. If your CTAs are vague, like “submit” or “call us,” it may not drive their attention quite as much as it should. Using bold and colorful buttons will help get visitors’ eyes on them, and putting them above the fold will help them see it without even having to scroll. They can scroll if they want more details, but they will know exactly what actions to take before they start looking.
Using clear CTAs to guide them through the checkout process without confusion will help avoid abandoned carts, so buttons like “Continue Shopping” or “Continue to Payment” will clarify exactly what the next step is and what their options are. This makes sure you don’t have confused website visitors and takes them in the right direction. Just about any big store you have ever shopped online with will have their CTAs set up very clearly with big, bold buttons that are easy to see. You probably didn’t even think about the setup because it was so smooth that you didn’t really have to consider it at all. That’s what you’re going for here.
Make sure your marketing content is uniform with all your ecommerce content and that everything follows your brand. If your brand is relaxed and casual and targets a relaxed, casual person, make sure your content follows. If you’re selling a fairly simple product, don’t overwhelm people with information. If your brand is fun and witty, keep that along all your materials. The content on your website should follow suit, helping to increase your ecommerce conversion rate.
Since 2013, Ignitro Studios has been working to blend marketing and technology in support of agencies and other marketers. By understanding both sides of web development, we have a unique perspective and advantage within the industry. We provide design, development, project management, QA, and strategy, driving the bus so our clients don’t have to. We will work with our clients to get results while also empowering them to do their job better. Learn more about Ignitro Studios.