Making Your eCommerce Site Convert

As more and more people are shopping online as opposed to shopping at brick and mortar stores, it only makes sense that ecommerce sites would want to do everything they can to ensure that their traffic is converting. In this interview, Khalid Saleh of Invesp Consulting shares the shockingly low number of conversions some ecommerce sites are getting but also shares how they can improve them.

Some ecommerce websites are only converting 1-3 percent of their incoming traffic, which translates into 1 conversion for every 100 visitors. For comparison, sites like Amazon are getting conversions at a 12-14 percent rate.

According to Khalid, conversion optimization is where the real ROI is. There are a few basic assumptions that ecommerce sites need to realize about their traffic. The first is that roughly 25 percent of the visitors to your site are probably there by accident. Secondly, you need to understand that another approximated 25 percent of your traffic are offline shoppers simply comparing prices.

You are now left with 50 percent of your traffic to convert. There are a few quick tips for converting such as correcting headlines and images, but Khalid says you have to take a systematic approach to get the conversions that really matter.

Going back to basic marketing, having a thorough knowledge of your target audience is the first step in this approach. Use your market research and translate the data into personas and then determine how they interact with your website.

Here are several common mistakes that ecommerce sites make that prevent conversions:

1. Neglect to understand what customer is looking for
2. Shopping cart and shipping costs aren’t clear
3. Assume customers are “committed” to shopping transaction
4. Fail to include security seals
5. Insist shoppers complete forms before shopping process begins

What are some other mistakes that ecommerce sites make that you have experienced as a shopper? From a marketing standpoint, what advice would you offer to ecommerce site looking to improve their conversions?

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