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

Customer Service
13 WordPress Plugins for Customer Support

October 11, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Offering support throughout your shoppers’ purchase experience is a good way to ensure their return. If you have a WordPress site, there are a variety of customer-support plugins to help. Here is a list of plugins for customer support on WordPress.
Product Pages
3 Rule-breaking Product Pages, Designed for Conversions

October 6, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Most ecommerce platforms have a standard layout. Their product page designs are relatively conventional, with a left-to-right display and a dominant image. Calls-to-action almost always appear near the top, especially on mobile. But the norm isn't always the best.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 8: Composition Essentials

October 5, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Photo composition refers to the arrangement of an image's items and elements. For product photography, composition has one goal: create an image that draws a shopper closer to purchase.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 7: Magnification and Close-ups

September 29, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

The best product photos provide online shoppers with precise detail to know what to expect when the goods arrive. Specialty magnified shots can help. This is the seventh post in my series on helping ecommerce merchants elevate their product photography.
Checkout Tactics
Remove These Distractions to Lower Cart Abandons

September 22, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Cart abandonment rates remain high. I've seen estimates in 2021 ranging from 50% to 80% depending on the product and industry. A common culprit is sticker shock from excessive shipping and handling fees. Another is distractions: unnecessary or confusing checkout fields. In this post, I'll address steps to streamline checkouts to save the sale.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 6: Selecting a Lens

September 21, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Choosing the best camera lens depends on the products you’re shooting and on the camera itself. This is the sixth post in my series to help ecommerce merchants take better product photos. “Part 1” addressed the importance of backdrops. “Part 2” explained tripods. “Part 3” examined the fundamentals of artificial lighting. “Part 4” reviewed angles and viewpoints, and “Part 5” described how to select a camera.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 5: Choosing a Camera

September 14, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

I'm frequently asked to recommend a camera. Sometimes folks inquire about the camera I use to display my artwork online. But both queries miss the point. Knowing how to use a camera is far more important than the unit itself. Nonetheless, choosing a suitable camera is critical.
Product Pages
11 Product Page Features to Drive Conversions

September 8, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

When it comes to compelling product pages, less can be more. Cluttered pages distract from selling points. Focus on the crucial details. Embrace a minimalist approach to lessen the thinking process and close the sale. What follows are 11 product page features from three online stores.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 4: Angles and Viewpoints

September 5, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Angles matter in product photography. They expose details, helping shoppers make informed decisions. Plus, shoppers who cannot see the particulars of a product will not likely buy it. This is the fourth post in my series on helping ecommerce merchants take better product photos.
Analytics & Data
Ramping Up Google Analytics 4

September 2, 2021 • Morgan Jones

I first addressed Google Analytics 4 last fall. It is becoming the go-to platform in Google's analytics ecosystem. The older version, Universal Analytics, will eventually sunset. For now, continue using Universal Analytics while ramping up GA4.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 3: Artificial Lighting Basics

August 25, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Quality product photography has less to do with a camera and lenses and more with lighting and its use. Thus if you're looking to improve product photos, learn about proper lighting. This is the third post in my series on helping ecommerce merchants take better product photos.
Customer Retention
9 Ways to Reduce Customer Acquisition Costs

August 23, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Customer acquisition costs can make or break an ecommerce business. Efficient spending could produce new, profitable customers. Spending too much could bankrupt the company. Computing the CAC is straightforward: Divide total promotional costs by the number of new customers.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 2: Selecting Tripods

August 17, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

How do you create flawless product photos? It's often as simple as using the right tripod. A tripod allows you to level horizontal lines and keep your camera fixed and steady during shoots. This is the second post in my series aimed at helping ecommerce merchants take better product photos.
Conversion
Is Your Supply Chain Vulnerable?

August 12, 2021 • Armando Roggio

The combination of pandemic lockdowns and rising freight prices has forced some companies to focus on supply chain vulnerabilities. Many commerce businesses have experienced some form of supply chain disruption in the past 18 months.
Checkout Tactics
Ecommerce Conversion Rates beyond the Averages

August 9, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Monitoring the percentage of visitors that convert to paying customers helps businesses track the performance of marketing campaigns, landing pages, design and navigation, and the checkout process. Email signups, survey responses, and social media shares are important conversions, too.
Conversion
CommerceCo Recap: Winning the Digital Shelf

August 9, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Consumers with access to physical stores, ecommerce sites, online marketplaces, apps, and social selling seek consistent and frictionless shopping experiences. This makes it tough for brands to maintain product messaging. Call it the dilemma of the digital shelf.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 1: Choosing Backdrops

August 5, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Choosing a backdrop is the first step in product photography. Pairing a product with the right background is crucial when trying to convince shoppers to make a purchase. This post is the first in a series aimed at helping merchants take better product photos.
Product Pages
What Online Shoppers Expect in 2021

August 4, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

The pandemic-induced shift to online shopping is permanent for many consumers. That's the good news for ecommerce companies. The not-so-good news is those consumers have heightened expectations. Here are seven of them.
Product Pages
The Full-funnel Product Detail Page

July 26, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Once found only at the bottom of a sales funnel, the ecommerce product detail page is evolving to address the entire buyer journey, from awareness to sale. Consider a free, basic theme on Shopify called "Simple." Its product detail pages are sales-focused, with eight sections.
Analytics & Data
15 Analytics Plugins for WordPress

July 26, 2021 • Sig Ueland

With the right analytics plugin, a WordPress merchant can track prospects and customers, get advanced stats to improve site performance, and fix what’s broken. Here is a list of analytics plugins for WordPress.
Analytics & Data
Combining Google Analytics Data with Other Sources

July 20, 2021 • Morgan Jones

Google Analytics provides data from a website or app on engagement, conversions, and transactions. However, many online merchants need data from other sources, such as search engines, social media, affiliates, and more. Some of these sources can be connected or imported into Google Analytics. Others cannot.
Customer Retention
Online Shopping, Post Covid, Retains Consumers

July 14, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Covid-19 brought a huge increase in online shopping. Many consumers became online shoppers for the first time. It appears that they will continue to rely on ecommerce for a myriad of items. Second-quarter 2021 results demonstrate that online shopping is holding on to much of its gains.
Conversion
Online Grocery Lessons from Covid-19

July 7, 2021 • Charles Nicholls

Covid-19 greatly changed the grocery industry, perhaps more than any retail sector. Years of projected evolution occurred in three months as the pandemic altered consumers' lives. eMarketer now estimates that 12.4% of total U.S. grocery sales in 2021 will be online.
Customer Service
Policy Pages, Done Well, Enhance a Brand

July 6, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Shoppers search an online store's policy pages for details on shipping, returns, and more. Rarely are these vital pages engaging. But they should be.
Product Pages
Need Better Product Descriptions? Address Emotion, Logic

June 29, 2021 • Kaleena Stroud

Product descriptions drive conversions. Neuroscience confirms that people buy with emotion and justify the purchase with logic. So shoppers need to know the benefits to make an emotional decision and the features for a logical one. Let's look at examples.
Conversion
What Is Your Company’s Secondary Audience?

June 21, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Ecommerce sites rely on a primary target audience. These are the people who are most apt to purchase products and become loyal customers. It's the same audience marketers use for advertising. However, secondary audiences can be lucrative, too.
Conversion
The 3 Common Mistakes of Ecommerce Launches

June 6, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

I've consulted over the years on dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ecommerce launches. Here are three frequent mistakes in the building of online stores.
Customer Retention
Text Messages Are an Ecommerce Opportunity

May 31, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Many ecommerce and omnichannel marketers treat text messaging as pared-down email campaigns. But text alone is a powerful way to drive sales. Nearly everyone, after all, grabs their mobile phone the moment a message arrives.
Analytics & Data
‘Assisted Conversions’ in Google Analytics Are Attribution Gold

May 23, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Google Analytics "Assisted Conversions" reports are hidden attribution gold deep in the platform's conversion analysis tools. While most Analytics reports show the immediate source ("last click") of traffic and conversions, Assisted Conversions identify the relationship between all channels and conversions.
Product Pages
3 Keys for High-converting Product Descriptions

May 20, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Writing product descriptions sounds simple. But it takes planning. The best descriptions address a broad audience, which is why many companies employ marketers to help. When writing descriptions for the masses, focus on the following three elements.

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