21 Effective Ways of Optimizing Your E-Commerce Website and Boost Conversions
Getting Consumers to Notice You
Are you a business owner looking to take your e-commerce website to the next level? Look no further! In this blog post, we will unveil 21 incredible strategies that will help you optimize your online store, boost your conversions, and skyrocket your sales.
If you’re thinking about opening an online store or perhaps already have one, you might wonder what makes one online shop better. The obvious answer would be the quality of the product and service. Although quality plays a role, it will only mean a little if shoppers know about your business.
20.1% of retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2024.
Forbes
Being seen can be challenging with thousands of competitors. Yet plenty of new stores jump to the front of the line quickly. So, how do they do it, and what do these frontline companies have in common?
E-commerce optimization is essential to converting visitors into customers. The following article will examine what e-commerce optimization involves and provide valuable tips for optimizing your e-commerce.
The Importance of E-Commerce Optimization
Business owners want to boost sales and drive conversions regardless of their industry. As more people open e-commerce stores, you must be at the top of your game when optimizing your store.
When it comes to steady revenue growth, creating a sustainable strategy should be a main priority. The quest for e-commerce optimization is about making subtle yet impactful tweaks that can boost your online store’s performance, enhance the user experience, and ultimately lead to higher conversion rates.
But how do you navigate this changing landscape? Making the proper adjustments can lead to even more clarity and results for your business. To help clarify the process of e-commerce optimization, we’ve crafted this guide, which covers everything you need to know and offers tips on achieving ultimate success with digital commerce.
What is e-commerce optimization?
Before optimizing your e-commerce store, let’s define the term. At its core, e-commerce optimization is about refining your online store to maximize efficiency and profitability. It entails a strategic approach encompassing various elements, from your website’s design and navigation to its performance and content personalization.
E-commerce optimization is a holistic approach to improving your website and allowing visitors to convert into customers quickly. Everything on your website should intentionally lead users to the end goal of purchasing your products or services, from navigation and design to content and product descriptions.
Once you understand the best practices for keeping your web store fresh and appealing, you can easily master them.
The significance of consistent optimization
Why should you invest your efforts in optimizing your e-commerce store? Consider this: Visitors take ten seconds to form an opinion about your website. Within that brief window, they decide whether to explore further or exit. Websites face rapid judgments, highlighting the importance of making an exceptional first impression.
It takes about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they’ll stay or leave.
FastSpring
Your e-commerce homepage is pivotal in shaping various aspects of your marketing strategy. It influences website traffic, search engine rankings, conversion rates, sales figures, and more.
If you’re determined to get it right and create an e-commerce site that captivates visitors, you’re in the right place. This article will guide you through optimizing your e-commerce site for success.
First impressions count
First impressions are the last impressions. And this is true for e-commerce stores as well.
Suppose you went to an expensive store but got poor service. Would you enjoy that? Not really, right? The same goes for websites. People want to avoid visiting a site that’s not optimized; they will instead move to a competitor’s site. That’s why optimization is essential for any business.
That’s a lot of work. But to make things easier, we have found some simple yet exciting ways to optimize your e-commerce website. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
21 Tips for Optimizing Your E-Commerce Website
Every website has multiple components directly connected to its speed. Proper optimization is therefore necessary to improve its overall performance. Here are a few ways to do that.
1. Improve user experience
Optimizing an e-commerce website is essential for improving the user experience.
You can achieve this by analysis, constant iteration, and testing. The world is constantly changing, and so are digital experiences. So, to stay on top, you need to know and implement the necessary changes and optimizations.
Now, you might wonder what those changes are and how you can implement them. It’s pretty easy. They include straightforward and essential components like payment options integration. Customers will find it much more appealing if your e-commerce site has additional payment options like Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.
Another thing is website design. You might think it’s fundamental, but remember that the basics are the backbone. A properly optimized website catches consumers’ eye, improves user experience, and increases engagement and conversions.
2. Optimize for mobile consumers
Reaching mobile users is now a non-negotiable part of e-commerce website optimization. As of 2024, mobile shopping makes up 60% of all e-commerce sales, likely to hit 62% in the next two years.
By 2024, there will likely be over 187 million active mobile shoppers in the US alone.
Tidio
If your site works well on mobile, those users are likelier to buy from you. It needs a fast load time and a simple layout so it’s easy for users to find what they want. If menus and buttons are too hard to find on a smaller screen, people will get frustrated and leave.
Visit your website on your mobile device and navigate it as a customer might. Is it simple to navigate? If it is better, try some tips to create a mobile-friendly site.
3. Add search functions
Finding a product is easier if a website has a proper search bar or function.
Let’s give you a practical example.
Suppose you’re trying to find a phone case from a specific brand. You go to a website but find out you need help to search for it. You have to search page by page, which is very tiresome. You leave that website and move on to the next one. So it would help if you implemented easier ways of searching for products. You can do this through ecommerce site search and optimizing the search tool on your website.
4. Enhance on-page elements
Multiple things can affect a customer’s buying decisions, such as product descriptions, headlines, placements, visuals, and call-to-action buttons, which are the most common.
Therefore, you have to optimize each element to get better conversions.
5. Optimize your landing pages
Each landing page serves a specific role in the customer journey, whether a thank-you for joining a mailing list or a step in a marketing campaign.
You need to add e-commerce landing page optimization to your site strategy to get the most from these pages. That means:
- Consistent branding
- Relevant keywords
- Effective copywriting
- Lively images
- A specific CTA
Learn how to optimize your landing pages, including purchase confirmations, email signup confirmations, and any marketing landing pages.
6. Make CTAs obvious
A call to action (CTA) is a prompt for website visitors in text, link, or button that encourages them to take a specific action. Difficulty in finding, reading, or understanding CTAs can hinder visitors from taking action on your e-commerce site. Therefore, CTA visibility is fundamental for optimizing your e-commerce website.
The best way to make a CTA button stand out is to pick a color that contrasts against the background. For example, a red “Buy Now” button stands against a white background. This style attracts the eye, making it the first thing visitors notice when they land on the page.
Your CTA copy must be noticeable. Instead of using witty or cute language, stick to clear, descriptive text. While it may be tempting to replace your “add to cart” button with one that says “treat yourself” to stand out, visitors may not understand what clicking the button with the unconventional text will do. Using straightforward, descriptive language in CTAs is also a great way to improve website accessibility.
7. Use personalization
E-commerce content writing is your most powerful tool for converting website visitors. Well-written content speaks to your potential customer’s pain points and makes them picture you as the solution they need.
Your website has content everywhere, from your home page to your blog.
Optimize the content on all your site pages, including your Home, About, and Category pages. (It’s okay if you call them something different.) Remember to keep them readable, reader-oriented, and benefits-focused.
If you don’t have a blog, consider starting one ASAP. It’s a great way to reach people at the top of the sales funnel and can help bring potential buyers to your site as you optimize each page. Plan a few months’ worth of posts and use your target keywords as a guide.
8. Add live chat functionality
These days, live chat pop-up boxes are everywhere, but you should carefully consider how to implement chat features on your site.
Some 73% of customers say that a company valuing their time is the most essential part of good customer service. That’s right: Good customer service is not about free shipping, easy returns, or even being nice—it’s about not wasting customers’ time.
Live chat support is the most effective way to respect customers’ time. People don’t have to abandon their shopping experiences in search of answers ge,t on the phone or wait for someone to respond to an email.
Live chat support is a time-efficient solution for your company. It enables customer service representatives to assist multiple customers simultaneously, enhancing their productivity.
Integrating live chat directly into your ecommerce website provides a seamless support experience for your customers, enhancing their satisfaction and loyalty.
Other service options require customers to call or email your business from a separate “contact us” page, which removes them from the careful customer experience you’ve designed through your website.
Because live chat is written communication, it continues the conversation your website started without requiring customers to adjust their mindsets.
9. Build trust
If you want shoppers to purchase goods or services from your website, you need to make your website trustworthy. The best way is to provide as much information on your products as possible. Your website also needs to be transparent and provide visitors with contact details.
Trust is the cornerstone of customer relations in the e-commerce market.
Business.com
You can also ask your customers to leave reviews on their purchases. Reviews will allow you to monitor customer satisfaction and identify weaknesses. Research shows that customer reviews can boost sales by up to 76%.
10. Create urgency
Conversion is always the primary goal of your content. At earlier stages of the buying journey, that might mean convincing a shopper to join your email or SMS list. As you approach checkout, you can guide them to purchase.
Urgency is the most essential element. Whether you soften the touch for early-stage customers or drive the sale at checkout, you want people to act now. Getting those messages right is the core of conversion optimization for e-commerce. You need to figure out how to say the right thing at the right time so people feel encouraged but not pushed.
The question to ask yourself is: What establishes true urgency — not pressure — at this process stage? On your home page or blog, that might be clicking through for an answer they need. Product pages are the place for time-limited deals or supply-limited freebies.
11. Write clear product descriptions
Writing a clear and comprehensive product description is a crucial component.
As buyers only see your products and read the descriptions but can’t touch them, a perfectly written product description is the only way to grab and hold the consumer’s attention.
These descriptions are not a once-off. You must constantly monitor how customers engage with your content and reoptimize each description to increase conversion chances. You should use a Product Information Management (PIM) tool to manage such data.
12. Use high-quality product photos
We’ve seen everything from pixelated images to huge image renders and sites with few to no product photos! Don’t join the crowd. Always use high-quality product images to showcase products.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you grab and upload a random HD pic. You need to add an actual picture of an item to your description. Detailed product images will help buyers make an informed purchase. Try to show the product from a different angle and add zoom-in features.
13. Add engaging videos
Nowadays, some websites also add videos of their products.
These show the product features and dimensions with additional information. According to US-based research, this feature can increase the chance of purchasing by up to 73%.
14. Use product reviews
No matter how much consumers trust you, they want to hear someone else’s opinions of your products and company. If you willingly share those opinions on your website, they are more likely to trust you.
When you buy something from a website, what do you consider? The product reviews, right? You already know the benefits of utilizing product reviews on your website.
Trusting other people’s opinions is fundamental to human nature. So, if you have positive feedback, you can expect high conversion rates.
The average customer is willing to spend 31% more on a retailer with excellent reviews.
BigCommerce
For 98% of consumers, reviews are an “essential resource” when deciding whether to buy a product. However, 45% only purchase a product with available reviews.
Consider adding reviews to your website instead of waiting for customers to search elsewhere. Please include them in product listings and add some of the best to your home page.
You can also add other elements of social proof, such as:
- Industry awards
- Product ratings
- Case studies
- Customer testimonials
- Social media mentions
- Influencer endorsements
Don’t worry about packing them in — a few well-placed social proof elements go a long way.
15. Reduce cart abandonment
Shopping cart abandonment is not just a minor issue for e-commerce retailers; it’s a significant problem. According to the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is 69%.
So, seven out of ten customers who add an item to their cart will leave without purchasing.
Cart abandonment costs e-commerce stores $18 billion in sales revenue annually.
Gartner
Cart abandonment is preventable to some degree. Optimizing your e-commerce website, providing an easy-to-navigate shopping experience, and varied payment options decrease the likelihood of attrition.
A simple user interface and checkout process that uses familiar language let users know what to expect. To give customers more flexibility, ensure secure checkout, and offer varied payment options.
16. Improve page load speed
Site speed is critical to e-commerce success. It directly influences conversion rates, repeat business, and search engine rankings. And with recent changes to Google Search ranking, a fast website load speed is even more important as a competitive edge.
Page load speed is another factor to consider. Mobile users have limited patience, so many visitors will simply leave if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load.
Page speed optimization is a primary step in optimizing your e-commerce website. It’s a critical factor that improves engagement and is also one of Google’s ranking factors. To add some more, it reduces the bounce rate. Visitors will close the page or go to another website if it isn’t optimized correctly.
17. Implement analytics
Knowing what’s working and what’s not for your e-commerce store. Doing it manually is nearly impossible. So what should you do? Implement analytics tools. They will help you track down important metrics and KPIs that you can use to streamline and optimize more.
You can also see why customers drop off and what led more users to complete a purchase. You can optimize the conversions and improve poorly performing features by using analytical data.
18. Execute SEO best practices
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the first and foremost in e-commerce, regardless of niche. SEO is a big topic that can’t be explained in one article, so we decided not to bombard you with facts and stick to highly relevant information.
Search engines like Google highly value high-quality and trustworthy content. Creating unique and reliable content improves your website’s ranking and provides a valuable resource to your audience. However, search engines penalize duplicate content. So, if you want to secure a spot in the top 10 search results, it’s crucial to consider several factors.
There are two SEO techniques to focus on: on and off-page SEO. On-page SEO, which refers to your site’s content, is essential as it directly impacts the user experience. It focuses on the following:
- Implementing a user-friendly URL structure for your homepage, product, and category pages.
- Compelling meta titles and descriptions as these are what users will see when they look up a specific product on a search engine.
- Rich snippets for product or service pages are vital to increasing click-through rates. Snippets provide users with a summary of your product’s offerings.
- Use keywords to describe services.
- Avoid keyword stuffing and duplicate information.
Off-page SEO refers to external factors that influence your website. You can improve your off-page SEO by considering the following elements:
- Get high-quality backlinks by posting guest posts on authoritative websites.
- Post your product or service to social bookmarking forums like Reddit and Pinterest.
- Get your product more exposure by working with social media influencers.
- Have customers leave product or service reviews. It can be a text, photo, or video review.
- Teach users about your product with an online blog or social media posts.
19. Keyword optimization
The goal of optimizing your e-commerce website is to reach your target audience. To do that, you need to do keyword research. Be careful about the keywords you use on your site to make them more search engine-friendly, which is one of the most challenging things to achieve. Find keywords related to your business to increase traffic to your website. Remember, the more traffic you have, the better chance of conversion you gain.
You aim to find the words and phrases your audience uses to search. Those terms must be:
- Relevant to your business
- Not too competitive
- Popular enough for people to use them
Imagine yourself as your target customer. What would you enter into Google to find your products? Think about search intent—what the person hopes to see in the results. Consider their pain points and questions. Brainstorm a few ideas, then do sample searches for each one.
Scroll the results page for related keyword ideas. The “people also ask” section is a valuable resource. You can also enter ideas into a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner. Remember to look for general keywords and keywords for different product categories. You’ll optimize home, category, and product pages.
20. Marketing and advertising
E-commerce is among the most competitive industries right now. Competitors are waiting to bring you down no matter what you sell, from property to food and anything in between.
So, how can you stand out from others? You’ll need great marketing and advertising strategies to keep up with the pace. If your strategies aren’t optimized for current trends, you will fail.
For example, what can you do if you are a retail business but have yet to learn about the local market or a streamlined strategy to market correctly? You’ll fail miserably. Therefore, it is essential to do your research and determine what your target consumers want.
But you have to implement more than just SEO for marketing. PPC, social management, content marketing, and email marketing are some approaches you’ll need to optimize your e-commerce business.
21. Keep an active blog
Just because you’re an e-commerce business doesn’t mean you can’t utilize blogging. Blogging is one of the essential optimization strategies for your e-commerce website if you want to rank higher in the searches, beat your competition, and present yourself as an authority in the industry.
Post informative, engaging, top-quality content regularly. Do this at least twice a week, if not more often. Do not plagiarize, though! Otherwise, you’ll get a penalty and risk wasting your previous efforts.
Enable comments to interact directly with your readers and potential customers. It’s also essential to have sharing buttons available, making sharing much more accessible. Speaking of sharing, having your blog content will also help you engage your audience on social media.
Taking Your Online Business to the Next Level
Optimizing your e-commerce website is crucial for converting visitors into customers. This article has provided valuable insights and 21 simple yet effective ways to optimize your e-commerce platform. These tips can enhance the user experience, boost conversions, and drive more sales.
A great product at a reasonable price alone doesn’t guarantee the success of an online business. Business owners and entrepreneurs must think creatively to ensure their e-commerce websites are one step ahead of their rivals.
E-commerce optimization is an excellent way to achieve that goal. It focuses on creating a straightforward experience for shoppers and is a proven way to ensure optimal sales.
Because of the intense competition in the e-commerce sector, you should seek any advantages you can gain to acquire the market. Customers are more likely to purchase from a well-designed and efficient website because it provides a better experience. So, take your e-commerce business to the next level by optimizing your website using the above approaches.
Take advantage of the opportunity to maximize your online business potential. Contact us today for more information and take your e-commerce success to the next level.
Are You Selling Online?
Do you want to boost your online sales? Our professional e-commerce designers will be happy to help you with this. But first, look at our portfolio and read our case studies.
Contact us if we are a good fit for your eCommerce web design needs! We offer a full range of consulting and design solutions for businesses and product brands.
If you are still determining how optimizing your e-commerce website will benefit your business or product brand, let’s talk! We will listen to you, answer your questions, and recommend the best e-commerce solutions for your company or product brand!
What Would You Add?
Do you have anything to add to our e-commerce optimization tips? Feel free to comment below so our audience can benefit. Also, grab our feed so you don’t miss our next post, and feel free to share our post with your audience!
For more content relevant to your business or product brand – check out the range of articles on our web design blog. (This one, on simple eCommerce website design tips, is an excellent place to start!)
Thank you! We appreciate your help ending lousy business websites, one pixel at a time!
By Gregor Saita
Co-Founder / CXO
@gregorsaita