Why Conversion Rate Optimisation Matters for E-commerce Success

Many things go into e-commerce success, from having an impressive website and a strong digital marketing campaign to being active on social media and engaging with your target market.

However, one thing that is often forgotten is conversion rate optimisation. Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) describes the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors that take action, such as filling in a form or placing an order. The goal of Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is to increase the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or subscribing to a newsletter. The objective of CRO is to maximize the effectiveness of a website or landing page by improving its user experience and reducing barriers to conversion.

CRO can be done in a variety of ways, depending on the struggles that your e-commerce store is having. For some businesses, making changes to the website and improving the user experience is the key to CRO. For others, changing the layout and highlighting calls to action are needed. CRO will be successful when you increase the number of conversions without increasing the amount of traffic or your budget. Below, we have looked at why CRO is vital to e-commerce success. 

CRO is increasing how many website visitors convert into leads and sales for your business. Though you might have a lot of website traffic, your business will struggle to grow and develop if this traffic is not successfully converted. A successful conversion could mean someone making a purchase or booking a service, or it could be a case of them getting in touch to find out more or providing their contact details. CRO is hugely important for e-commerce businesses, especially if you want to increase your revenue and improve your website’s user experience. Without a reasonable conversion rate, staying ahead of your competition and succeeding in a saturated industry is very hard.

There are many reasons to focus on conversion rate optimisation as an e-commerce business, especially if you hope to grow your company and increase revenue. Though you are bound to get some conversions based on what you are already doing, there is always room for improvement, and CRO can help even the smallest of businesses to grow online. Some of the most impressive benefits of CRO include: 

• Increased Sales – By increasing your CRO, it’s possible to boost your sales without spending more on your marketing. As you get the most out of those visiting your e-commerce store, you can enjoy more sales from your existing website traffic.

• Advantage Over Competitors – There are a lot of competitors out there, but CRO can give you an edge over other businesses. Improved CRO can boost customer loyalty and brand reputation, making you one of your industry’s ‘go-to’ businesses. As well as increasing the number of conversions, you have a better chance of being your target audience’s first port of call.

• Better User Experience – A key part of CRO is ensuring that your e-commerce store is easy to use. This improves user experience and ensures that website visitors enjoy their time on your website and want to return. This boosts engagement, helps to spread brand awareness and encourages customer loyalty.

• Improved ROI – ROI (Return on Investment) can be boosted by optimising your conversion rate as you increase the number of conversions generated from the people visiting your website. It’s a way to get the most out of your current marketing budget without spending more.

• Reduced Bounce Rate – Improving your CRO often means improving your e-commerce store by ensuring the content is attractive, engaging and relevant to your target audience. Having website visitors that want to spend time on your website reduces the bounce rate, which can positively impact search engine rankings and your store’s visibility online.

CRO is a vital part of turning a growing number of website visitors into paying customers, and there are a few things that you need to consider before getting started. When you are planning your optimisation efforts, ask yourself the following questions.

• What are you planning? – Before you put your CRO plan into action, consider what you plan to do. Your overall aim will be to increase the conversions you are getting, but there are various ways to do this. Take the time to make a plan, set your goals and have a desired result in mind. Having a clear plan helps to ensure that everyone on your team is working towards the same CRO goal. 

• What is the competition doing? – It’s always a good idea to consider what your competition is doing, as this could guide you towards CRO success. Though you shouldn’t copy another business’ efforts exactly, there is nothing wrong with taking on board what is working (or what isn’t working) for them and using this to your advantage. If something works for a competitor, it will likely work for you too. 

• What is the biggest pain point to solve? – There are many ways to improve your e-commerce CRO, but your approach should depend on your biggest pain point. Pain points are problems customers face when shopping on your website, and improving CRO is difficult unless pain points are addressed and fixed.

A lot goes into optimising your conversion rate, but asking yourself the above questions will help you stay on track and improve, refine and boost your efforts throughout your strategy. At Quickfire Digital, we have worked with a number of clients, and CRO is always a big part of what we do. Whether it’s improving the design of a website or building an e-commerce presence from scratch, the conversion rate is something we keep in mind from beginning to end.

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