If you’re not making as many product sales as you want to, it may be time to look into conversion rate optimization tactics. Instead of trying to draw in more traffic, this approach focuses on taking steps to encourage a larger portion of your traffic to make a purchase.
1. Analyze Product Page Analytics
Using data from Google Analytics, look at what’s going on with your product pages. If you find that they are the exit points for many people, it’s time to take a closer look at what’s on the page and see what you can change.
If you’re not sure what changes you should make, make use of a heatmap tool to see what areas of the page get the most attention. The area where lots of people are clicking or acting is where you should move your action button.
You can also use split-testing tools to run two different versions of your product pages – being sure to test one element at a time so you can easily see what makes the biggest difference to your conversion rate. For instance, you can split-test your page layout, colors, fonts, copy, images, and more, to see what affects your results.
No matter what split-test you decide to run, you should leave the test in place for at least a couple of weeks so you can gather enough data to find the clear winner. Implement it, then run another test. In theory, after you’ve tested everything, you can create the “perfect” product page for your business.
2. Keep Everything Important Above the Fold
The more people have to scroll, the less likely they will make it all the way to the bottom. According to research, people are scrolling more vertically than they used to, but new eye-tracking data shows they still look more above the page fold than below it.
Because of this, you want to keep everything important, such as your “add to cart” or “buy now” button above the fold, like this CBD product page, for example. Bonus points for changing the color of the button so it stands out from the rest of the content on the page to draw the eye to it.
3. Use High-Quality Product Photos
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on professional photography, but don’t just take product photos with your cell phone and call it good. The better the photos look, the more attention they’ll get from your audience.
If you can effectively demonstrate your product in the “lifestyle” of your audience with the photos, that’s even better. Remember, people shopping online cannot see, touch, or feel your products, so you should show products from multiple angles.
4. Include Reviews and Ratings
Reviews and ratings from previous customers help increase your customer trust. Why does this matter? Let statistics do the talking.
- 97% of people read reviews for local businesses. (BIA/Kelsey)
- 93% of customers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions. (Podium)
- 3.3 stars is the minimum star rating of a business consumers would engage with. (Podium)
- 91% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations. (BrightLocal)
- 89% of consumers read business responses to reviews. (BrightLocal)
- 90% of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews. (Dimensional Research)
- A one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9% increase in revenue. (Harvard Business School)
- Customers are willing to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews. (Invesp)
- 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (G2.com)
5. Feature a Clear Call to Action
All your product pages need a clear call to action. You don’t have to be fancy – it’s okay to use direct phrases like, “add to cart/bag/shopping bag” and “buy now.” Use a color that makes your CTA stand out from the rest of your page.
6. Create a Sense of Urgency
Leverage the power of the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This gets your customers to think they may lose a great opportunity. One of the easiest ways to do this is to create a limited time sale. They’ll miss out on a bonus, or a discounted price if they don’t act right now. Add a countdown clock, or list a number of items left. This may give them the nudge they need to go ahead and buy that they may not have otherwise gotten.
7. Write a Detailed Product Description
Your product images can only go so far. Your product pages need to provide high-level information about the product, along with the features and benefits of the product. It may be what convinces them to buy from you, especially if they haven’t made a purchase from you before.
88% of shoppers consider detailed product content “extremely important.” Make sure all your product pages include:
- A relevant product title
- Price
- Important features and components
- The material of the product
- Care and maintenance instructions
- Information about the brand
- Size / dimensions / capacity
When crafting the content, use a polite, engaging, and personal touch in the product descriptions. Optimize the content for relevant keyword phrases with purchase intent to help you rank in the search engine results pages. You can always find out more about how to write product descriptions and attract more buyers.
8. Optimize for Speed
Research shows that a 100-millisecond delay in your page loading speed can decrease your conversion rate by 7%. The faster it loads, the better. Though media elements on your ecommerce page make it attractive, keep it light.
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test your page loading speed. This will let you see what you’re currently at, while also giving you suggestions to improve overall load speed.
9. Create an Engaging Title
A catchy-title is crucial because the title is the first thing people will see on your page. The one-liner should hook their attention. Let the title stand out by increasing the font size, changing the color or background so that it contrasts with the things around it.
Look at it this way – if you have a 1% conversion rate and you’re getting 1,000 visitors to your page, that means you’re getting 10 sales. At $50 a sale, that’s $500. If your conversion optimization efforts boost your conversion rate to 2%, that’s 20 sales and $1,000 – doubling your money for the same amount of traffic.