Many ecommerce businesses struggle with low conversion rates. In this comprehensive FAQ guide, we’ll answer the most common questions around how to optimize conversion rates for online stores.
Questions covered:
- What is conversion rate optimization?
- Why is conversion rate optimization important for ecommerce?
- What is a good ecommerce conversion rate?
- How can I calculate my ecommerce conversion rate?
- What are the main factors that influence ecommerce conversion rates?
- What are some conversion rate optimization best practices for ecommerce?
- What tools can I use to improve my ecommerce conversion rate?
- How can I optimize my website for mobile conversions?
- How do I track and measure conversion rate improvements?
- How can I continually improve my ecommerce conversion rate over time?
1. What is conversion rate optimization?
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of systematically improving the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action (known as a conversion). For ecommerce stores, the primary conversion goal is purchases. So conversion rate optimization focuses on getting more people to complete purchases.
2. Why is conversion rate optimization important for ecommerce?
Optimizing conversion rates leads to more sales and revenue for ecommerce businesses. Even small improvements in conversion rate can translate into big revenue gains. For example, if an ecommerce store has 100,000 visits per month and a 2% conversion rate, that’s 2,000 customers. If optimization efforts improved the conversion rate to 2.5%, that would be 2,500 customers, an extra 500 sales per month.
3. What is a good ecommerce conversion rate?
The average ecommerce conversion rate is 2-3%. But conversion rates vary widely depending on factors like your product type, price point, website design, traffic sources, and more. A good benchmark is to look at conversion rates for competitors in your niche. Focus on continual improvement rather than comparing to averages. Even boosting conversions by 0.5% can have a big bottom line impact.
4. How can I calculate my ecommerce conversion rate?
Conversion rate is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the total number of visitors to your site over a given time period.
For example, if you had 5,000 website visitors last month, and 100 of them made a purchase, your conversion rate would be 100 (purchases) / 5000 (visitors) = 2%.
5. What are the main factors that influence ecommerce conversion rates?
Key factors that impact ecommerce conversion rates include:
- Website design and user experience
- Product selection, pricing, promotions
- Trust and social proof elements
- Page load speed and technical performance
- Quality of traffic sources
- Mobile optimization
- Checkout process and shopping cart abandonment
Optimizing each of these areas can help improve conversions.
6. What are some conversion rate optimization best practices for ecommerce?
Top conversion rate optimization practices for ecommerce sites include:
- Simplifying the checkout process as much as possible
- Reducing steps customers need to take to purchase
- Offering guest checkout options
- Displaying trust badges, security guarantees, policies
- Providing live chat customer support
- Making mobile checkout seamless
- Using exit-intent popups to capture abandoning visitors
- Testing pricing, promotions, and offers
- Optimizing page load speed
7. What tools can I use to improve my ecommerce conversion rate?
Helpful tools for boosting ecommerce conversion rates include:
- Website builders with optimized templates (e.g. Shopify)
- A/B testing software (e.g. Optimizely, VWO)
- Analytics platforms (e.g. Google Analytics)
- Heatmap and user tracking tools (e.g. Hotjar)
- Popup and exit intent tools (e.g. Privy, Exit Bee)
- Page speed checkers (e.g. Pingdom, GTMetrix)
8. How can I optimize my website for mobile conversions?
Tips for improving mobile conversion rates:
- Adopt a mobile-first design and development approach
- Ensure checkout process is simple on mobile
- Check website speed on mobile devices
- Make buttons and links finger-friendly
- Reduce need to zoom in or scroll horizontally
- Personalize for mobile app users
- Use click-to-call options
- Leverage location signals
9. How do I track and measure conversion rate improvements?
Analyze conversion rates over time and run A/B tests to see the impact of changes. Use analytics platforms to track key conversion metrics like:
- Bounce rate on landing pages
- Add to cart rate
- Checkout completion rate
- Sales by traffic source
- Sales by marketing campaign
10. How can I continually improve my ecommerce conversion rate over time?
- Keep optimizing your website for speed and mobile
- Regularly update your product selection and pricing
- Test new page layouts, headlines, and call-to-actions
- Experiment with different promotions and sales
- Monitor analytics and double down on what works
- Stay up-to-date with ecommerce UX trends and best practices
