Turning visitors into buyers
July 11th, 2006 | by ScottIt appears that you're new here, if you like what you read, please subscribe to the news feed or sign up for the Leap eTips news and updates email list. Thank you for visiting :)
Anyone with a web site that sells something wants to improve their conversion rates. Even the big names in online eTailing like Amazon and Overstock are constantly testing and tweaking their product presentation pages to encourage more visitors to make a purchase.
Whole novels can be (and have been) written on how to do this, I can’t go that far into detail here so I’ll just offer a few tips that I’ve learned over time and have all worked for me in raising conversion rates.
Lose the “Add to Cart” buttons (if you have them). A button that says “Buy Now!” or even “Order Now!” can make a huge difference. First, it’s a call to action that some impulse shoppers need. Second, it partially addresses those lost sales at checkout. Everyone selling online knows that lots of visitors stop short of completing the transaction at the checkout page. For some consumers, the notion of an online shopping cart is sort of wishy-washy, by “adding items to their cart” they lack a sense of commitment to ultimately make the purchase. They’re just ‘window shopping’ so-to-speak. Terms like “Buy Now!” and “Order Now!” add that sense of commitment. It may seem trivial, but I’ve seen this simple change lower the number of lost sales at the checkout page and raise a site’s conversion rate drastically.
Have “Best/Top Sellers” and “Recommended Products” lists that link to the product pages. It shows that you have a customer base which makes some shoppers feel more comfortable doing business with you. It’s also good for suggestive sales because people naturally like to know (and buy) what other’s are buying. This is how and why trends exist.
Do everything you can to make your visitors feel safe purchasing from you. This goes beyond having your checkout pages secured, have a Privacy Policy and make sure every visitor sees the link to it–don’t hide it at the bottom of pages. Have a FAQ page and be sure to include clear details on your shipping methods and procedures. Shoppers often want to know when to reasonably expect their purchases and can be “put off” if they have to wait until your checkout page to find out.
Make contacting you as easy as possible. This is huge. Don’t just have a “contact us” page, have your email or better still, your toll-free phone number displayed on every page. There are services that provide toll-free phone numbers that forward to your home or office line for just a couple dollars per month now, if you’re doing business online and asking people to give you their credit card information there’s absolutely no excuse for not providing them with an easy way to contact you.
Repeat after me, “suggested sales”. Every product information page on your site should display a small listing of related/similar/peripheral items that you offer too. It’s the equivalent of the fast-food window clerk asking “would you like fries with that?”
If you’re visitor is looking at Designer Sunglasses you’ve been promoting they should also know that you offer hard and soft-cover storage cases that will protect their expensive shades when not being worn. If your site doesn’t do this then trust me, you’re losing sales.
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One Response to “Turning visitors into buyers”
By Peat on Jul 11, 2006 | Reply
Greetings! If I were to add one thing, it would be to use as big an image as you can get away with. People love to see what they’re buying, even if it’s paper clips …
You have some pretty good material on your site. Keep up the good work!