At my eCommerce fashion brand, Encircled, we've been spending lots of time lately on our website.
Largely, because we just rebranded so slowly my team is working their way through the site to make sure we update all elements, but more so that I'm trying to improve our conversion rate.
We have a steady, and increasing traffic flow to our site but our conversion rate, particularly on our Canadian site still lags behind where I think it could be.
Even a small % improvement in a conversion rate can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Think about it! This is traffic already coming to your store. You've already invested immense time and energy to get it there -- now you just need to harness the traffic properly and convert them into paying customers.
What is a conversion rate? How do I calculate my store's conversion rate?
For those of you that are newer to eCommerce (or hate math), a conversion rate is simply the number of 'conversions' divided by the number of visits.
You'll get this information from your Shopify dashboard, or Google Analytics. It will likely be pre-calculated. However, if you need to run the numbers. It's a percentage.
I typically use unique visitors and total orders during the same time period. Take the total orders, divided by the unique visitors and multiply by 100%.
In general, this number is about 1-4% in startups.
How to improve your conversion rate
This is a BROAD topic with many different answers.
There is a simple answer though - make the customer experience better, and make it easier to buy from your store, online.
Without diving into overly complicated funnels, and google user flow diagrams - I always recommend as a first step that newer online store owners start with a basic review of their site, and how a customer experiences it online.
Watch this week's VLOG to learn how to use my simple tool - the eCommerce Goal Experience Planner to enhance your conversion rate
Hope you enjoyed the video!
If you're still struggling with this exercise, try this:
Get a second opinion
- Free tools, like Peek User Testing that have live people visit your website and create commentary on the site. Caveat here is that you can't pick the people - so you may end up with someone who is totally opposite your ideal customer surfing your site and hating it.
- You can also get a friend or family member, or better YET, a customer to browse your site and note any questions or barriers that come up along the path to purchase from your store.
YOUR next steps are to create your own eCommerce Goal Experience Planner for your online store:
- Download the printable PDF here
- Fill it out
- Make a quick action plan of easy fixes/quick wins to improve the overall experience
- Implement + measure
I made this planner for FREE for you and other creative entrepreneurs, so it'd be awesome if you could share it out. As sharing it helps other entrepreneur build better online stores.
Loving this planner? Share it with other Creative Entrepreneurs.
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Need help filling out this eCommerce Goal Experience Planner?
Book a 1-hour coaching session with me. I work with eCommerce entrepreneurs around the world via Skype to help them improve their online presence. In one hour, we can review your planner, adjust and come up with an actionable plan to improve your customer experience for your online store. Book today.
Kristi
Founder
RETAIL BLISS COACHING
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