Last updated on August 26th, 2022 at 06:35 pm

Picture this: you launched your business several weeks or months ago. And despite going through innumerable tutorials on how to increase your conversions, you still have a hard time seeing sufficient results.

While there are tons of how-to guides on achieving a successful e-commerce store, it’s always best to practice the basics first. You may have tried some (if not all) of these tips, or you may have skipped a few of these. Nevertheless, try and see if these fundamental practices work best for your startup.

So read on and let’s get down to basics!

1. Tell Your Story

In other words, let your customers know that there’s a human behind the website. Don’t just write a generic “about us” copy—explain how you started your brand in the first place. Maybe display your photo, along with your team members’ photos, to show your customers that they’re going to buy from people, not just from a company.

2. Make Your Website Look Good

No matter how tempting it is, avoid asking a family member or a friend to create your website—unless they’re professionals, of course. Compared to building your website the DIY way, hiring a professional website designer, programmer, copywriter, and marketing specialist can save you tons of time and money in the long run.

A team of professionals knows what they’re doing, and they’re most likely backed with years of experience in the industry. And when you have some professionals on your payroll, you can spend your valuable time on other, more important business matters.

3. Optimize Speed and Mobile User Experience

Who even wants a slow-loading online store? Certainly not your customers. 

According to the latest Page Speed Report by Unbounce, page speed affects the likelihood of about 70% of customers buying from an online store. While a huge percentage of customers are likely to refresh a page, over 20% report that they’ll close the page and 14% will go to a competitor site instead.

So how fast is fast enough? 1-second page loading speed is ideal. 

Again, your team comes in handy for this problem. Ask your developer to help speed up your website. And on that note, optimize your website to be mobile user-friendly.

Almost 80% of mobile users have made an online purchase using their devices. So when your website isn’t mobile user-friendly, you’re missing out on tons of selling opportunities.

4. Add Videos

Some people prefer reading, others like to watch videos. Appeal to both kinds of customers by adding videos to your website. Doing so can make your online store attractive to your younger audience. Because let’s admit, it’s common knowledge that Gen Y and Z are more selective in the type of content they consume.

That isn’t to say that the younger generation has a short attention span. Just bring more visuals, along with your copy, to your website and see how it’ll make a difference to your conversions.

5. Reach Out After Cart Abandonment

This might be a no-brainer for you, especially if you’re experienced in digital marketing: creating retargeting ads and sending out emails after cart abandonment can remind your potential customers why they put your products in their carts in the first place. 

Don’t just send out emails like, “Hey, you forgot something in your cart!” Ask your customers what nearly stopped them from going through the checkout process. That way, you can easily identify what’s hindering your business from getting the results you want.

Another tip you might want to consider is to add a “special” offer to your remarketing campaign. Create an exclusive discount code for customers who abandon their carts and place that in your emails and ads. This will no doubt make their carts more appealing to return to and encourage them to finish their purchases.

6. Run A/B Tests

Another fundamental practice among digital entrepreneurs is conducting split tests or A/B testing. It’s simple yet so effective that it’s an incredibly common strategy among online store owners.

Make two or more landing pages with different headlines or CTAs, font colors, layout, etc., and see which page performs best. Then, use that on your website and continue conducting split tests until you reach the optimal conversion rate.

You can do this by sending out cold emails, with one template for 50% of your potential customers and another template for the other 50%. You can also put up similar ads with these different templates to see which drives conversions the most.

7. Promote “Limited-Time” Offers

They don’t really have to be available for a limited time only. Create a sense of urgency or FOMO (fear of missing out) for easy, quick conversions.

One thing you can do is to launch sales, offer free shipping on certain order amounts, and promote special deals regularly. By doing this, you can convince your visitors that if they don’t buy your product/s now, they’ll miss out on a huge deal.

8. Build Trust

Virtually no one wants to be the first to buy a product or service. So you might want to consider putting testimonials or reviews on every page. 

Building trust is an essential step in increasing your conversions; social proof is a huge factor in most customers’ purchasing decisions. Plus, when you put reviews on your website, your visitors won’t have to go elsewhere to find out what other people are saying about your products.

9. Invest in Ads

Want quick results? Then you have to pay for them. Investing in ads, whether they’re on social media or Google, is a sure-fire way to increase your website traffic and thus conversions. 

Be where your potential customers are. Ads can help you do just that as they boost your online presence. Without an adequate online presence, you’re losing tons of opportunities to make sales.

10. Streamline Your Checkout Process

Does your checkout page require your customers to create an account? Are there several unnecessary forms in the checkout process? Remove them or make them optional. The faster and simpler your customer experience is, the better.

Conclusion

When it comes to increasing your conversion rate, it all boils down to your customer experience. Sure, you can put up numerous ads and frequently launch sales, but if your customers don’t really enjoy shopping on your online store, it’s time to take the necessary steps to improve your website.

And remember: change doesn’t happen overnight. Starting an e-commerce store is challenging at first, but when you practice these tips, measure your results, and act on these results, you can get better sales conversions in no time.