Category

Conversion

Fewer than 5% of visitors to an ecommerce site typically convert to customers. In this Conversion category, we offer insights to increase that percentage. Our expert contributors address ratings and reviews, social proof, site search, product page enhancements, product descriptions, checkout options, live chat, and much more — anything to help close online sales.

Analytics & Data | Checkout Tactics | Customer Retention | Customer Service | Photography & Video | Product Pages

Product Pages
Increase Apparel Conversions with These Sizing Tips

October 9, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

Many women (and men) will tell you that buying clothes and shoes online is difficult, primarily because of sizing. Zappos does well with its “free shipping both ways” policy, but the ...
Photography & Video
How Much to Pay for Photography, for Ecommerce?

October 6, 2016 • Armando Roggio

What is a picture worth, in dollars and cents? Online retailers need product photography, relevant product lifestyle images, and even stock photos (for blog posts and social media). All of ...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: Using Site Speed Data to Improve Conversions

September 30, 2016 • Morgan Jones

Niche ecommerce merchants face challenges in competing with big box retailers. Providing an online shopping experience on a tight budget that is comparable to the larger sites (with huge budgets)
Customer Retention
Using Supporting Content to Build Loyal Customers, Authority

September 22, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

The ideal customer — one who makes regular purchases over time — wants more than just good prices and an attractive return policy. The ideal customer wants a positive experience ...
Conversion
Google Analytics: Track Individual Behavior in New ‘User Explorer’ Report

September 8, 2016 • Brad Booth

In April 2016, Google Analytics launched a new report called “User Explorer.” It allows you to see individual user behavior and interactions with your website. Each interaction is in order ...
Customer Retention
Customer Accounts Can Boost Conversions

September 6, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

Merchants often argue that customer accounts should be optional. And they should be. But there are good reasons for encouraging shoppers to create accounts and, done right, this practice can ...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: Using Site Search Data to Grow Revenue

August 31, 2016 • Morgan Jones

Do you wonder how people navigate to find products on your ecommerce site? What about visitors that hit just one or two pages and then leave, without buying anything? Did they ...
Analytics & Data
SEO: Measuring Performance of the Long Tail

August 26, 2016 • Jill Kocher Brown

The long tail should drive most of the natural search performance for ecommerce companies. But whether it actually does is another matter. Don’t assume that the long tail is working for you ...
Customer Retention
Using Referral Marketing to Fuel Ecommerce Subscriptions

August 17, 2016 • Armando Roggio

When your subscribers refer your ecommerce subscription service, they are helping your business grow. Both the customers who refer your products and the referred customers they bring in are likely ...
Conversion
Google Analytics: 4 New Reports for SEO

August 7, 2016 • Brad Booth

In May 2016, Google Analytics launched new reports for analyzing organic search traffic. Now you can view search engine data and Google Analytics data side-by-side, in the same report, to ...
Analytics & Data
Using Google Analytics to Optimize Bing Ads, Other Channels

August 3, 2016 • Morgan Jones

Ecommerce merchants strive to optimize their returns on investment from advertising. Google Analytics can help, with its integration to Google AdWords that allows ecommerce sites to view advertising spend, revenue, and ...
Customer Service
Boost Conversions with SMS Messaging

July 26, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

Many restaurant chains rely on SMS (text) messaging to entice customers. The text messages typically include a link to a special graphic, accompanied by textual content and a special code.
Analytics & Data
10 Google Analytics Custom Alerts, for Ecommerce

July 12, 2016 • Brad Booth

Google Analytics provides a way to receive email and SMS alerts when something important occurs on your website, such as a traffic spike or a sudden traffic drop. The alerts ...
Checkout Tactics
Subscription Model Can Increase Lifetime Values

July 7, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

While small business ecommerce continues to find ways to compete with large, branded sites and mobile apps, subscription models are getting more attractive. Amazon was one of the early adopters ...
Analytics & Data
Using Google Analytics to Identify Conversion Weaknesses

July 1, 2016 • Morgan Jones

It is essential to optimize sales conversion rates to be successful as a niche ecommerce merchant. Potential customers are unforgiving. They will not struggle through a purchase process or checkout ...
Product Pages
Before Advertising, Make Sure Pages Will Convert

June 22, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

Visit an ecommerce group on Facebook or LinkedIn, and you’ll likely find one question asked repeatedly: “How do I use AdWords [or other advertising platform] more effectively, to get more ...
Checkout Tactics
Taking the Unexpected Out of Cart Abandonment

June 13, 2016 • Armando Roggio

The Internet is full of window shoppers. They look at products on virtual shelves, but most leave without buying anything, or at least that it what years of shopping cart ...
Customer Retention
Focus on Existing Customers for Better Profitability

June 9, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

Should ecommerce merchants direct their resources to finding new customers or marketing to existing ones? The answer, according to most experts, is that companies achieve better return on investment by nurturing their ...
Product Pages
Value Propositions Increase Interest and Sales

June 7, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

If an ecommerce storeowner were to focus on just one thing to increase sales, what should it be? While there are plenty of worthwhile features and policies, the store’s value proposition ...
Customer Retention
5 Ways to Draw Shoppers In, and Keep Them

May 21, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

The percentage of people navigating sites via mobile devices continues to climb — some sites are as high as 75 percent. That means fast-loading images and descriptive video, among other ...
Conversion
Could Guided Selling Help Your Ecommerce Store?

May 18, 2016 • Armando Roggio

Helping online shoppers navigate complex buying decisions may help ecommerce retailers improve conversion rates, reduce returns, and earn loyal, repeat shoppers. Guided selling is a form of product recommendation to make ...
Product Pages
How to ‘Manufacture’ Product Descriptions, for Ecommerce

May 9, 2016 • Armando Roggio

Thinking about ecommerce product descriptions like factory-built widgets manufactured to a set of specifications may help ecommerce business owners and managers overcome writer’s block and avoid publishing duplicate content. Writing product ...
Analytics & Data
Using Real-time Analytics to Boost Conversions

May 6, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

During a time of demanding shoppers, online merchants need to quickly address the most critical issues. Real-time analytics can help catch mistakes before they become massive deal killers. By reviewing real-time data,
Analytics & Data
Using Google Analytics to Value Soft Conversions

April 25, 2016 • Steve Hammer

The fantasy of ecommerce is that every user who visits a site is ready to buy. The data tells us otherwise. More than 90 percent of users leave without purchasing, and the ...
Customer Retention
Use a Blog to Build Loyalty, Increase Conversions

April 21, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

If you’re relying solely on category and product pages to convert visitors into customers, you’re missing a good opportunity to build a loyal following. Today, more than ever, consumers rely ...
Product Pages
Create Responsive Ecommerce Product Pages with Bootstrap

April 11, 2016 • Armando Roggio

The Bootstrap framework makes it easy to lay out responsive ecommerce product detail pages. Small business owners and even novice site designers can use Bootstrap to build a professional looking ...
Product Pages
How to Grow, Manage Customer Reviews

April 8, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

A while back I addressed customer reviews and how they can help sell products. Amazon relies on customer reviews to sell everything from nail clippers to high-end appliances. Without ratings and reviews, it ...
Conversion
4 Things Add-to-cart Rates Tell an Ecommerce Business

April 6, 2016 • Armando Roggio

Monitoring an ecommerce business’s add-to-cart rate can identify and solve conversion problems, and, ultimately, help an online store earn more. Add-to-cart rates track the percentage of site visitors who add a ...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: 3 Ways to Use Transaction Data to Grow Revenue

March 29, 2016 • Steve Hammer

You’d be hard pressed to find an ecommerce operator that didn’t think that revenue was the most important metric. Revenue is easy to track, and most ecommerce platforms integrate revenue ...
Product Pages
4 Simple Product Page Layouts That Work

March 22, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

I’ve written a great deal about design and functionality and the important role each plays in the usability of an online store. Usability is the driving force behind conversions. Even ...

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