Proven Ways to Increase Conversion Rates

Once you have the traffic coming to your e-commerce store, it's time to start improving conversion rates. On average, the conversion rate of a website is around 2%, which means that you can expect two sales for every 100 people that visit your site. This may not sound like much but bear in mind that a vast number of e-commerce websites have conversion rates as low as 0.1%, representing just one sale for every 1,000 visitors.

In this informative edition of the Pivotal Prints blog, we'll share with you several tips on how to increase your conversion rates and make more sales.

• Try Adding a Pop-Up. A study by Sumo found that the average conversion rate for pop-up ads was over 3%, rising to more than 9% for the top 10% of pop-ups. Your pop-up could contain a range of different information, from new product information to special discounts and sign-up options. Prevent your pop-up from being irritating by making sure it only appears once to each user and is easy to close. 
• Keep Form Fields to a Minimum. A long-form that requires many details can be off-putting to a potential customer so only include necessary fields. This could even be just the customer's e-mail; you can then request more information via this channel. 
• Include Reviews and Testimonials. Potential customers can be put off if they do not have reviews from past customers to help influence their purchasing decision. If you find that customers are not reviewing your products, you can solicit these directly and offer an incentive to do so. 
• Avoid Distractions. The customer buying journey should be as smooth and seamless as possible, with each step carefully optimised to keep them moving in the right direction. Make sure that landing pages are clear and distraction-free. The first step is the most important so make sure that this is easy to complete. 
• Consider Adding Third-Party Signup Services. These services, which allow a customer to sign up and log in using existing accounts such as Google or Facebook, continue to increase in popularity. They permit the complete elimination of signup forms so the potential customer can get straight to shopping. 
• Provide Live Chat. A customer may have a single question or doubt that is preventing them from completing their purchase. Offering a live chat service will allow you to provide instant advice. You can also consider offering a chatbot so that questions can be answered even when you are not available. 
• Experiment with Offers. Special offers can dramatically increase conversion rates but you need to be sure that any offer you provide will appeal to your target market. Try different offers to see which work best and don't be disheartened if an offer doesn't succeed: try a different tactic. 
• Add Countdown Timers. Research published by Neuroscience Marketing shows that a countdown timer results in an increased sense of urgency with a corresponding increase in conversion rates. In another study, CXL found that one brand successfully used a countdown timer on a limited offer to increase sales by a massive 332%. 
• Experiment with Headlines. A study by Copyblogger found that an average of 80% of website visitors will read headlines while only 20% will go on to read the remainder of the text. Use the A/B testing technique to find out which headlines work best.
• Refund Guarantee. Nobody wants to take a risk when buying a product and this is especially true in the print-on-demand sector. Offering a money-back guarantee helps consumers to avoid such a risk and is more likely to result in a conversion. Of course, with the superlative quality of print on demand products and drop shipping services from Pivotal Prints, it's highly unlikely that you'll ever have to refund anyone!

Check out our superb selection of products and services on our website. If you've found this edition of our blog helpful and you'd like to receive more special features from Pivotal Prints, please subscribe to our free newsletter.