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-
Analytics & Data
Using Google Tag Manager to Track Visitor Interactions
August 3, 2020 • Morgan Jones
Online merchants need data to drive decisions. An example is tracking visitor activity. In this post, I'll review how to set up the reporting of common site interactions using Google Tag Manager.
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Customer Retention
It’s the Perfect Time to Launch a Loyalty Program
July 21, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
The pandemic is prompting consumers to stay at home and buy online. It's a perfect opportunity for ecommerce companies to introduce a well-defined loyalty program. Also called rewards or points, loyalty programs help the business and its customers in three key ways.
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Analytics & Data
Using Google Analytics to Track Site Changes
July 7, 2020 • Morgan Jones
The ability to measure changes to pricing, shipping, and other items is essential to successful ecommerce merchants. Google Analytics has features to document and track changes to provide critical feedback. Annotations in Google Analytics allow you to document change history.
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Product Pages
Tailor Product Descriptions to the Channel and Audience
July 6, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
Product descriptions are vital to attracting website traffic and closing sales. But the type of description to use depends on your target audience and the channel, beyond your own ecommerce site. Potential customers are everywhere, waiting to be found.
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Product Pages
6 Ways to Drive FOMO on Ecommerce Pages
June 22, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
The "fear of missing out" is nothing new. Humans have always coveted what others possess. FOMO marketing is about urging shoppers to buy what is popular or in high demand. What follows are unique ways to trigger shoppers' FOMO on ecommerce pages.
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Analytics & Data
3 Data Visualization Tools — Basic to Robust
June 16, 2020 • Rebeca Pop
Charts and maps can increase the effectiveness and expressiveness of data. Microsoft Excel in 1985 was the first of many visualization tools to help communicate data. Many visualization tools have emerged since then. In this article, I will evaluate three of them.
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Analytics & Data
Using Internal Data for New Products, New Customers
June 11, 2020 • Anna Kayfitz
Ecommerce merchants miss opportunities by not utilizing their data. New products, new customers, upsells, cross-sells — internal data can provide insights on all of them. In this post, I'll address data sources to help merchants grow their business.
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Conversion
Top 5 Mobile Page Speed Fixes
June 9, 2020 • David Shreni
We've tackled in previous posts mobile page speed and Google’s efforts to drive mobile-first indexing. Having built and advised many mobile ecommerce sites, I’ve discovered hundreds of optimization tactics. In this post, I'll share the top five issues that impact mobile page speed in my experience. I’ll also offer tips to assess and quickly fix.
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Customer Service
10 Essentials for ‘Contact Us’ Forms (and 6 Mistakes to Avoid)
June 8, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
"Contact Us" forms enable visitors to request information, ask questions, and submit concerns. The forms are important for customer acquisition and retention. Yet most contact forms fail usability tests. In "How to Get More Form Submissions, Even on Checkout Pages," I addressed key points, such as requesting only what you need and explaining why.
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Conversion
Store Closures, Slow Shipping Could Drive Retail Prices Lower
June 7, 2020 • Armando Roggio
The coronavirus pandemic could lead to much lower retail prices for some categories, as store closures and product returns caused by slow shipping lead to an inventory glut. The problem might be divided into two broad categories.
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Analytics & Data
Understanding ‘Sessions’ in Google Analytics
June 1, 2020 • Armando Roggio
The word "session" in an English dictionary reads something like "a period of time devoted to a particular activity." It could be, for example, an individual working on a specific task or goal. Google Analytics uses the term "session" in a similar manner.
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Photography & Video
Even in 2020, 360-degree Product Photos Boost Conversions
May 27, 2020 • Armando Roggio
A long-time ecommerce conversion tactic — 360-degree product photography — is making an appearance on major retail marketplaces, large B2B sites, online furniture stores, and automobile marketplaces, indicating, perhaps, that it still represents an opportunity to increase sales.
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Analytics & Data
Using Filters in Google Analytics
May 24, 2020 • Morgan Jones
Accurate data is essential for decision-making. Google Analytics can provide that data, but it may need a bit of sanitizing. Filters in Google Analytics can remove data impurities. In this post, I'll introduce Google Analytics filters.
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Customer Retention
Building Trust during the Pandemic Drives Long-term Loyalty
May 20, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
As most U.S. states start to reopen, it's easy to consider ditching temporary coronavirus policies. Instead, online businesses should focus on retaining customers and addressing concerns. Consider the following pointers.
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Analytics & Data
How to Pace Monthly Ad Spend
May 8, 2020 • Anna Kayfitz
Choosing marketing channels is only the first step in digital advertising. Equally important is assigning a budget and then managing the spend based on performance. In this post, I'll provide a framework.
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Product Pages
Write for 5th Graders to Drive Conversions
May 5, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
Ecommerce content is more than sales pitches and technical info. Shoppers who cannot understand your communication will not convert. To grab their attention, write at a fifth-grade reading level.
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Conversion
Pandemic Alters Retail Return Policies
May 4, 2020 • Armando Roggio
The coronavirus pandemic has forced retailers large and small to make significant, temporary changes to their return practices. Since March, retailers have handled returns in two ways, generally.
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Conversion
25 Global B2B Exchanges for Supply Chain Diversity
April 29, 2020 • Gagan Mehra
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted supply chains, forcing distributors and retailers to find alternative product sources. Global B2B exchanges have existed for years. What follows is a list of 25 leading B2B exchanges.
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Analytics & Data
Using Google Analytics to Respond to Covid-19
April 28, 2020 • Morgan Jones
Google Analytics can identify pandemic-related problems and opportunities for your ecommerce business. I'll explain in this post.
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Analytics & Data
How to Manage, Visualize KPIs for Ecommerce
April 26, 2020 • Anna Kayfitz
This post will offer a framework for identifying, tracking, and visualizing key performance indicators. It applies to all company sizes — big and small. Start by establishing the most important metrics for your business.
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Customer Service
Need Sales in the Pandemic? Boost Customer Service
April 23, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
As the coronavirus keeps millions of people at home, traffic to online stores continues to increase. According to Statista, even non-essential purchases are shifting online. The keys for businesses are two-fold: encourage sales during the shutdown and retain as many new customers afterward.
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Customer Retention
Tips to Retain Online Customers after the Pandemic
April 14, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
The coronavirus is raising the visibility of ecommerce among consumers. Merchants, especially those selling so-called "essential" goods, have experienced a boost in sales. What follows are tips to consider now, to help retain those new customers when the pandemic passes.
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Customer Service
Ecommerce a Crucial Industry in the Pandemic; 7 Ways to Ease the Burden
March 27, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
Online stores will become increasingly crucial in the coming weeks. What follows are seven measures to keep your ecommerce business afloat and ease the burden of operating with limited resources.
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Analytics & Data
Workarounds for Errors in Google Analytics
March 26, 2020 • Morgan Jones
One-hundred percent of all Google Analytics implementations have broken at some point. The impact can range from minimal to extreme. An ecommerce example is when sales as reported by Google Analytics does not align with actual results from a shopping cart.
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Conversion
5 Tips to Overcome Covid-19 Supply Chain Disruptions
March 24, 2020 • Gagan Mehra
Covid-19 has disrupted the supply chain by shutting down manufacturers and suppliers in China, the U.S., and elsewhere. This post suggests five ways to overcome this challenge.
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Product Pages
Using FAQs to Close More Sales
March 20, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
There is a page on your ecommerce site that likely needs attention. Perhaps you don't have it, but a frequently-asked-questions page is essential to any online store. Done right, FAQs can close sales.
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Conversion
U-shaped Marketing Attribution for Ecommerce
March 13, 2020 • Armando Roggio
The so-called "u-shaped" marketing attribution model emphasizes a shopper's first and last marketing interactions before a conversion. The model can help identify the marketing tactics that are closing sales.
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Product Pages
Simple Ways to Offer Customized Products
March 5, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
Personalized and customized products can help smaller ecommerce businesses stay ahead. Personalization can be simple as packaging a group of items as custom “kit” or providing engraved plates or quality vinyl decals.
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Analytics & Data
6 Ways Geography Impacts Ecommerce Conversions
February 26, 2020 • Anna Kayfitz
Merchants are typically aware of the states or countries where their customers reside. Many variables can impact sales or performance by region. In this post, I'll address six of them.
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Checkout Tactics
10 Useful Elements for a Post-purchase Thank-you Page (and 3 to Avoid)
February 21, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
One of the most underutilized features of online stores is the post-purchase thank-you page. A thank-you page often contains only order details. That’s a mistake. Here are 10 useful elements to include on a thank-you page, and three to avoid.