Conversion Optimization 101: How to Increase Sales for Your E-Commerce Site

Conversion Optimization 101: How to Increase Sales for Your E-Commerce Site
Are you interested in turning your e-commerce site into a converting powerhouse? Who isn’t? Getting there is all about learning who your customers are and how they shop.
by Square May 04, 2015 — 7 min read
Conversion Optimization 101: How to Increase Sales for Your E-Commerce Site

If you’ve been dragging your feet on setting up your e-commerce site, it’s time to seize the day. It’s now easier than ever to get started — and get started right. Not only can you now integrate your Square account with e-commerce platform Bigcommerce, but also we have their Managing Editor, Tracey Wallace, on tap for a series of e-commerce 101 guest blog posts. Her first installment is on what you probably care about most — increasing your sales. Read on for her top tips and tricks.

Are you interested in turning your e-commerce site into a converting powerhouse? Who isn’t? Getting there is all about learning who your customers are and how they shop. Different types of customers shop in varying ways online, and it’s important that your site appeal to your target audience. After all, there is a big difference in customer targeting for an online store selling candy versus one that sells juice cleanses

That said, there are a number of steps you can take to optimize your conversion funnel. But first, what is a conversion funnel? To put it simply, conversion funnel is a term that helps you visualize and understand the flow potential customers go through once they land on your site and then take a desired action (i.e., “converts”) — like buying something.

Let’s first go through the five main elements of a conversion funnel. Since this is such a highly visual concept, I’m using a food analogy to keep it interesting and help you envision how you want to capture and pull in your customers.

#1) Awareness

In this phase of the funnel, you’re working on attracting potential shoppers to your site.

#2) Interest

During this phase of the conversion funnel, you’re working to pique shoppers’ interest in your product or service.

#3) Desire

In this phase, you want to make your potential customers really want what you’re offering.

#4) Conversion

This is when shoppers take your desired action (i.e., convert). The action you want them to take could be many things (like signing up for your newsletter), but we’ll focus here on guiding shoppers to convert to customers (i.e., buy something).

#5) Reengagement

This is the missing step in most conversion funnels, but it’s extremely important for e-commerce businesses. After customers have taken a desired action and converted on your website, you want to make sure you encourage them to become repeat buyers.

As you can see, there are many small or inexpensive things you can do to help streamline your conversion funnel. Also know that the smallest changes can make a world of difference. Optimizing for mobile is not just important, it’s essential to e-commerce success. Below are a few additional ways to optimize for conversion, focusing more on color contrast, calls to action (CTAs), and your overall site design.

Pick colors with purpose

It’s fun to pick your favorite colors. But make sure you develop a cohesive color scheme for your e-commerce site and stick to it:

Here are three steps to get you headed in the right direction:

Calls to action that have a kick

A compelling CTA has a few important components. First, you need to get in your customers’ mindset. To do this, learn as much as you can about what they want to know about your product or business. Also keep in mind the following when crafting or designing your CTAs:

Labor over layout

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to e-commerce site design, but it’s a good idea to keep current with industry trends. For example, on April 21, Google changed its algorithm to penalize sites without mobile-friendly variants (i.e., sites without a responsive or mobile-dedicated template). In general, your e-commerce site needs to be optimized for usage on any device and allow for the full functioning of these key areas:

Fine-tuning these tactics can make a world of difference for your online store. Better yet, they don’t have to cost a lot of time or money. In general, conversion optimization is always about testing and — as trends come and go — updating the colors, verbiage, and more that lead to conversion for your audience. Make sure to test your CTAs (an A/B test is a great way to do that) to ensure that your conversion funnel pulls in as many customers as possible and nurtures them all the way to checkout.

Bigcommerce is part of Square App Marketplace. Learn how you can quickly set up a beautiful e-commerce store for your business.

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