So, you’ve got a great looking website with fantastic products, and you’re even getting the traffic to your site in good numbers. So why aren’t your product pages converting? Why aren’t you getting the sales your business needs. Of course, there are multiple reasons that this could be the case, but there are a number of common issues that are highlighted again and again by struggling eCommerce sites. Here we take a look at 6 major issues that could be a problem for you.
1. Poor product images
One of the most common mistakes the eCommerce sites make is they will upload their products with a single image. It might seem like it’s enough, but the fact is that customers don’t necessarily trust a product for a single picture – they understand that a good angle or a specific shot can make a product seem better than it is.
Women’s fashion retailer Tina Bucknall is one of many sites that makes a point of never uploading a product without ensuring that there are multiple images. Having multiple shots gives the customer a similar experience to shopping in a store – they can get a look at the whole of the product to see if it is right for them.
2. Your page is loading too slowly
Slow page loading speeds is a real conversion killer. It has been well-documented that page loading speeds have become a key ranking factor for Google – and perhaps it's no surprise that they also dramatically affect conversion rates.And the truth here is there’s no need to take anecdotal evidence; the numbers speak for themselves. A review into the effect that page loading speed has on conversions found that when a page has a loading speed of under 2.4 seconds, they had a conversion rate of 1.9%. But when that loading speed was over 5.7 seconds the conversion rate was just 0.6%.
3. Failing to test your pages
It is all well and good for webmaster and SEO specialists to tell you about the latest tactics in conversion rate optimisation, but the truth is that every website is different. This means that some tactics that are extremely effective at pushing conversions on 1 website, will simply fail to have any effect on another.
This means that the onus really had to be on you to test your pages properly. It is essential that you should run thorough A/B testing on any product page that you update. This will allow you to analyze the difference between the 2 versions of the page, and understand whether this has been an effective measure for your site. If it hasn’t, you can easily switch back and try something different.
4. Producing weak written content
Weak written content is another common failing of a huge number of eCommerce sites. Many websites make the mistake of either using product content that has been hastily written to get the product up as soon as possible, or worse, that has been lifted directly from a manufacturer's site. If you want to improve your conversions, you need to make sure you have genuine high-quality content.
Web content for eCommerce sites needs to be punchy and snappy. It’s also important that customers should be able to skim read it quickly and easily. You should work with a professional copywriter with experience in creating content that sells.
Bryce Henderson left a steady 9-to-5 job to start his own company working as a real estate agent for first-time homebuyers. Read how Bryce has been able to automate his business using Keap, allowing him to spend more time with his family: https://t.co/tR85F5YUSZ pic.twitter.com/ON6UEzVQPq
— Keap (@KeapGrowing) September 16, 2019
5. Only optimizing for desktop conversions
You might well be stuck in a mind-set that says customers will do their research on mobile phones and tablets, but that they won’t convert on them – preferring to use a desktop for the actual purchase itself. While it is true that desktop sites will convert at a better rate than mobile, it's still vital that you optimize for your mobile experience. As people get more used to the technology, and feel comfortable converting on smaller screens, businesses need to get used to it.
6. You don't understand your audience
Finally, remember that if your products are not converting in the way that they should, it could be because you are marketing to the wrong audience. You should never assume who your audience is going to be – make sure you delve into the details of sales for a better picture of the people who buy your products.
When you have done this, you can re-evaluate your marketing strategy, and get the right people onto your site.
There are many reasons that a site might not be converting at the optimum level, and dealing with it can be a slow process. Make incremental changes and track how they affect your site. This can help you understand the problem so that you are in the best position to deal with it.
