10/11/2021
How to Improve the Conversion Rate of Your Web Store: Part 2
In the first installment of our series on how to increase your ecommerce conversion rate, we laid a foundation for improvements by breaking down the key concepts and setting an achievable target to work towards.
The next step is to drill into your website data and find opportunities for improvement, both ‘quick wins’ and longer-term projects to get your conversion rate to where you want it to be.
The data-driven process we apply at this stage is called a conversion rate optimisation audit, or CRO audit. The audit yields a valuable document revealing key insights to boost sales and return on your marketing investment (ROI).
When we conduct a CRO audit for Studioworx customers, we apply a range of tests, tools and techniques to ensure we leave no stone unturned in our search for ways to improve your conversion rate. We test site health vitals, run speed tests using Lighthouse, and analyse visitor behaviour with user session tools like Mouseflow and HotJar. We conduct an in-depth competitor gap analysis and assess the quality of traffic coming to your website. But professional tools aside, you can still gain valuable insights using only Google Analytics and your common sense!
Using Google Analytics for your CRO
If you know where and how to look, your Google Analytics data can show you key performance leaks in your buyer journey. These insights could reveal sources of confusion, friction or disappointment resulting in early exits from visitors who might otherwise have become customers.
Here are a couple of scenarios you might encounter when looking at your data:
- You notice that a significant percentage of customers are dropping off before adding a product to cart.
Considerations:
Is your product page failing to provide useful information that your customer needs, expects or wants at this stage in the buying process? Does your product description lack detail? Are you displaying reviews or other forms of social proof? Are your product images clear and high quality?
- Your bounce rate is high: people are leaving your site almost immediately after arrival.
Considerations:
Look at data on demographics: is there a particular subsection of your audience that is leaving your site before looking further? Is your site running slower than it should? Is your home page or landing page providing an experience that is congruent with the ad, social media post or Google search result that brought the visitor to your site? Does the content on your site immediately communicate how your product will solve a problem for your customer?
By now it will be clear that before you go down the Google Analytics rabbit hole, it’s crucial to understand what your visitors want from your website. Having a clear sense of your customer’s expectations will empower you to develop theories that you can test in the next step of the conversion optimisation process. Of course, you may learn when you confront the data that you have an inaccurate sense of what your customer wants. This may not be the takeaway you hoped for, but if it encourages you to invest more in getting to know your customer, then your first mini CRO audit has undoubtedly been a success!
In the next article, you’ll learn how to take findings from your Google Analytics data and test your theories, beginning a systematic process of improving your conversion rate.
If you’re interested in a full CRO audit from Studioworx, please reach out to our marketing team.