Conversion improvements

[Gillf]

Hi,

My new year resolution is to improve my conversion rate on the site. I do get good traffic but a lot are just "looking" because of the product. So I accept that my conversion rate is not as high as it might be if I were selling nails or something equally uninteresting. But I am also sure there is room for improvement.

I've stared at Google analytics until my eyes are ready to pop and frankly think I need help. But the world is full of people who will say they are the best at this and that, take your money and run... so I am as distrusting of e-commerce conversion "experts" as I am of most SEO "experts" - so does anyone know of either a software program that would help or a good guide to understanding and using G Analytics or an honest real expert who won't charge the earth to share their wisdom and will have real wisdom to share?

Or just if anyone has made a change to their site which resulted in increased conversion please share this experience.

Thanks in advance

Gill
www.ever-so-sexy.com

[Gillf]

Hi all

Well loads of people have looked at this post and no one has joined the conversation! Does this mean that no one has any knowledge about improving conversion?! It's so important to all of us to make the most of our web traffic that I am quite surprised that no one has jointed this topic. So I am trying again! What has worked for you in improving your conversion rate. What do you think puts a potential customer off buying.... have your say please.

Gill

Sexy & Silk Lingerie Online (http://www.ever-so-sexy.com)

[mikepayn]

Hi Gill,

I did read your original post but don't really feel qualified enough to answer. I have read stacks about this but I'm still not sure how to improve our own conversion rate.

Apparently the "norm" ?? is a 1% conversion rate from shoppers just browsing.

What I continually do is check on my referring searches in the Site Stats, to see what is bringing people to our site. I then try to make the info they would receive as full as possible without bombarding them. The weird thing is though that the "Top Referring Searches" don't relate exactly to the "Most Viewed Pages"? I'm sure there is a valid reason but it escapes me at the moment.

A few times during the day I check on the Site Stats "Users on Line today" and click on "Action" to check on the number of page views the users have had. In our case, the more page views - the more (and larger) orders. I then try to make the landing pages interesting enough to make them want to see more.

I think some sites more than others attract browsers and have a low conversion rate. I am a Land Rover addict (old ones) and am constantly browsing spare parts sites and my wife is into crafts and is always browsing her "Crafty" sites.

All of these little things (I think) help our conversion rate but, like you, I'd love to know what everyone else does. And I'd love to get our conversion rate higher, if only it could equal the 57% conversion rate from PayPal.com (7 hits and 4 conversions) !!!! I don't know how they find us they are not repeat customers, or old eBay customers and PayPal don't answer my emails?

Anyway, I hope my thoughts and ramblings help a bit.

[Dave]

Hi Gill,

Like Mike I am not really qualified enough to give you definite answers. I understand the usual conversion rates for visitors from browsing to ordering is something like 1% to 2%

Your daily traffic may be good but how many visits are from actual shoppers? You have to strip out the search engines and shopping comparison sites to get the actual number of visitors and something like Google Analytics should help with this.

In terms of trying to increase your conversion rates look at your site from a shoppers perspective and not a site owners. If you were looking for a certain product
a) how quickly can you find it
b) does it have a good picture and detailed description
c) is the price competitive
d) are delivery charges clearly shown
e) are your contact details easy to find
f) if you are selling a brand unique to you make this clear on the website
g) ask family and friends for any suggestions
h) is the site secure

One thing I would do on your website would be to show your telephone number in the header and therefore this would be visible on every page

The other thing to work on is to increase your search engine rankings to get more traffic which will then mean more conversions even if the rates stays the same. Look at your competitors keywords and see where they rank in all the major search engines compared to you. See where their inbound links are coming from.

You can get software which compares your keywords and rankings to your competitors such as
http://www.ibusinesspromoter.com/optimize/top-10-rankings-vid.htm

I did have a document from Pete about SEO but lost this when my Laptop crashed but this is also well worth a read. I would try and do as much yourself because SEO companies can cost the earth and give you very little results for your money or give you good rankings by using methods which will eventually get you blacklisted.

There is no quick fix and it all times a lot of time and effort.

As said I am no expert but hope this helps a little.

[Gillf]

Hi Mike and Dave,

Thanks for replying. I was beginning to feel a bit lonely on this post.:(

All good points from both of you and many already done... I will take on board the tel number suggestion, Dave. My reluctance is due to the fact that we get the occasional perv call even now... I'd hate that to increase!

My product is a difficult one... loads of (I think someone called them one handed surfers!). But traffic is good (could always be better) Ranking is not bad. Page 1 and place 1 for many good key words and phrases on Google and other engines. Working on improving one particular search term which should result in a massive increase in traffic.

I think the pictures are good, and product info as good as any competitor if not better than some. I think product search is working well.

I just have this feeling I'm missing something that if I could work out what it was my conversion would increase. :rolleyes:

Bye for now

Gill
Silk & Sexy Lingerie Online (http://www.ever-so-sexy.com)

[petad]

I too am not qualified to give advice. I just work on the premise that more visitors I can get to the site, the more sales I'll ultimately make.

If you want a copy of the SEO eBook Dave mentioned, just PM me with an email address to send it to.

[Dave]

Page 1 and place 1 for many good key words and phrases on Google and other engines.

Blimey Gill it can't be all bad. Page one/Position one, you must be doing something right

Wish all my keywords were No.1 !

[Gillf]

Hi Dave,

Yes, I think I have the SEO side of things under control.... though you can never tell. The Great God Google only needs to change a rule and like when you hit a snake on a game of snakes and ladders down you go! It's the site itself I am focusing on now, or trying to. I keep looking at Analytics and the Optimiser on Google and getting a headache! Wondering what I need to do, or what to change to get more of those visitors actually buying. I've ticked all the boxes in terms of competitive price, USP, etc etc. and now I just don't know what else to do.... and I am sure there must be something. Though I could be wrong!

Thanks and bye for now
Gill

Sexy & Silk Lingerie Online (http://www.ever-so-sexy.com)

[Jonathan Read]

I think we are all keen on SEO without the need of the 'SEO Expert', unfortunately, there appears to be no option but to keep learning and putting as much time as possible to it as you can. I have been finding that small changes are best and allowing time for search engines to find you before trying something else.

We are trying as best we can to acheive good natural search results and using Google Base (which is free at the moment). We use minimal Adwords as we have yet to have great success with these so far. We have found the correlation of home page title (title tag), title in the home page body (h1 tags) and wording in the visible text (including image alt tags) crucial and these must contain the main keywords to your site. Tweaking these does make a difference.

I am interested in the product Dave mentioned above - it looks good but the free version leaves you wanting more - has anyone gone further and brought the full package?

Regards

[Dave]

I am interested in the product Dave mentioned above - it looks good but the free version leaves you wanting more - has anyone gone further and brought the full package?

I know some people who have used the software and think it's fantastic and well worth the money. Also some have used the following
http://www.websiteceo.com/

As we are on Mac we can't run either but have found something simular for Mac and hope to evaluate this over the coming months.

[Robin]

I started a thread called Layout of Checkout on technical.
It seems very strange to me that in the checkout the shipping charge shows but not the total order value. As a customer this would not give me confidence to complete the process.
Surley having the checkout show the order total would increase conversions?
Gillf, I tried this on your site just now and it has the same "fault".

[Dave]

Gillf, I tried this on your site just now and it has the same "fault".

Robin,

Everyone uses the same software with various functions enabled/disabled depending on whether they are running Retail, Business or Enterprise Park. Therefore the checkout procedure will be the same for everyone.

I have just checked our hp toner cartridges website and your website and it does show the total transaction value. Maybe Rich has recently changed this?

[Gillf]

Hi Robin,

Now I am confused.... :rolleyes: I've just run a test purchase right through to payment and the total order value shows at every stage. Perhaps I should read your original post???

Cheers

Gill

Sexy & Silk Lingerie Online (http://www.ever-so-sexy.com)

[Robin]

This could be explained by a couple of options, as I am now seeing the totals when using another computer.
1) My ancient lap top really does need replacing, nearly did yesterday anyway.
2) Software change, unlikely.
3) I just missed it ! ??
If 3 is correct (likely) then apologies. BUT the carriage charge is a lot more prominent than the actual total order. I may be digging my hole deeper but this is one very rare part of bluepark that could maybe be improved for added customer confidence & increased conversions.

[will]

Hi

have you set up the conversion goals feature in analytics? You list every page in your sales funnel and then the report will show you exactly which pages customers are leaving on and how many. You can then make changes and test to see whether they make a positve or negative difference to your conversion rate. Also google website optimizer will let you design 2 different pages and it rotates which one is shown to different customers and then you can tell over time which one is the best in terms of improving conversions. I have read a lot on the subject and it always comes back to the basics of testing one page design or passage of text against another over and over in a disciplined and accurately measured way and then scrapping the worse performing one and trying to beat it with a new design etc. And gradually your conversions should go up.

Checkout www.crazyegg.com (http://www.crazyegg.com) as well - very interesting stuff.

[Gillf]

Hi Will,

I am using Google Analytics... though it does give me a headache! but I will check out crazyegg - not heard of them before. Thanks

Gill

The Most Beatiful Nightdresses! (http://www.ever-so-sexy.com/coemi-fine-nightwear/coemi-efidriade-short-nightie.html)

[Sumit]

I know some people who have used the software and think it's fantastic and well worth the money. Also some have used the followinghttp://www.websiteceo.com/As we are on Mac we can't run either but have found something simular for Mac and hope to evaluate this over the coming months. Sorry to drag up an old thread guys, but just wondering whether people are still getting results with iBusinessPromoter? I've been looking at the software, and then noticed Dave's post about a similar software for Mac.. What's it called Dave? I love using my mac and would prefer to find a software for that rather than having to load up a version of VM Fusion just to use the iBP software..ThanksSumit