4 things you can do to boost your conversion rate
Being a successful online retailer requires smart strategies based in consumer psychology. Even if your website has a fantastic layout and great products, it’s often not enough to get people to finalize their purchase.
That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favorite conversion boosters—along with explanations about why they work so well.
1. Offer free shipping & returns
Offering your customers free shipping and returns is a no brainer. Why?
Because a whopping 74 percent of US consumers say free delivery is the top factor that would improve their online shopping experience, according to the Boston Consulting Group.
Shipping costs can increase the final cost of an item, especially a bulky one, by quite a bit. Add in the inherent risk of online shopping—never knowing 100% if you’re going to like an item—and it’s easy to see why so many people love free shipping.
The same is true for returns.
Like shipping, returns can be costly. That’s why consumers are much more likely to choose a business where they are assured that they won’t get stuck paying for something they weren’t satisfied with.
If you’re already offering free shipping and returns, make sure that information is known to the public on your website and in all your marketing materials. Offering free shipping can lead to greater sales revenue since most people are willing to buy more to hit the free shipping threshold.
2. Put a live chat box on your site
Did you know that, according to a study by Aspect Software, 76 percent of people view customer service as a “true test” of how much a company values them?
In light of that fact, it’s no surprise that live chat has become a popular channel of communication for online sellers and buyers alike!
One of the main benefits of live chat is that it gives consumers the chance to speak with a (presumably) “real live person”. It provides an instant connection, and makes your customers feel important.
This is probably why 90% of customers consider live chat helpful and 63% of customers return to a website with live chat support.
If you’re using an ecommerce platform, there are plenty of live chat apps available for Shopify, WordPress, and Magento.
3. Display the right trustmarks
Trustmarks, sometimes known as security badges or seals, reassure customers that the site they’re on will keep their personal information safe. They’re valuable tools for persuading customers that your site is the right one to make a purchase from.
Why?
Because so many people are worried about their security online, they tend not to buy from places that don’t reassure them. In fact, 70% of online shoppers cancelled their online order because they did not “trust” the transaction, according to Forbes.
Those cancelled orders are missed sales—and you need a trustmark to get them back. But not every trustmark gets the job done.
According to Inflow, a company that specializes in conversion rate optimization, only the best known trustmarks actually help increase sales. Lesser known trustmarks will actually hurt you!
Further, they found that of the best known trustmarks (McAfee SECURE and Norton), the McAfee SECURE trustmark increased conversions the most:
(Source)
The McAfee badge showed a higher lift rate of 15.7%—over three times the rate of Norton’s.
4. Adding videos on your website and product pages
You know how a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, video is worth even more to website owners because it helps engage even the laziest of consumers who won’t read product descriptions.
In fact, 88% of surveyed business owners and ecommerce managers say product page video has increased conversions.
That’s not the only reason video is valuable. It also helps your site perform better in search engines. You’re 53 times more likely show up first on Google if you have a video embedded on your website.
How to make your videos effective
We recommend testing out the length of your videos to see how well your customers respond to long versus short videos. You should also add a call to action to your video, either by keeping the call to action visible throughout the entire video or presenting the call of action at the end of the video.
Wrapping up
While by no means comprehensive, these four tricks are a great place to start improving your conversion rate. They’re easy to implement and require minimal technical knowledge, and best of all, will help your business increase sales and achieve your profit goals.