Conversion Rate Optimisation Articles

An interview with published author, Johann van Tonder.

Many people dream of publishing a book, and Johann van Tonder is no exception. In January 2017, his dream becomes reality, when E-Commerce Website Optimization hits the shelves as the first how-to business book specifically for retail websites. 

Does the product recommendations engine on your product details page help or hinder conversion? How important are reviews on your product listing pages? What impact do the security badges in your checkout have?

Ecommerce web pages are made up of dozens of individual design elements which, to a greater or lesser extent, play a role in persuading visitors to buy from your website. Discovering the size of the role they play can provide you with powerful insight about how you can improve your site for more sales.

Guest blogger Johann Van Tonder, chief operating officer for AWA digital, takes a look at two hot Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) topics for 2016.

Website personalisation and the return to analytics as a source of ideas for marketers were two strong trends to emerge in 2015. These both look set to move to the next level in 2016 as companies large and small search for innovative ways to increase their conversions and CRO tools rise to the challenge.

Do you ever find it hard to explain to family and friends why you’ve already been thinking about Christmas for weeks (or even months), even though it’s only September?

Since the unexpected rise of last year’s Black Friday, as well as Cyber Monday and January Sales taking place in November, this peak ecommerce trading period now spreads over months, not weeks.

By now you’ve probably got your Christmas plans well underway – but here’s a last minute check to make sure you’re not missing any tricks – even at this late stage.

This year, for the first time, more people are accessing the internet on their smartphone than on a laptop or PC*. General web browsing is the second most popular activity carried out on a smartphone (77%)* and 45% of smartphone owners say they use their phones to make purchases online*. Among owners who have 4G the figure is even higher at 55%*.

All this activity points to a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour, and means that mobile is now an integral part of ecommerce strategy and planning.

Can you transfer learnings from your desktop optimisation to your mobile site? Do you need to optimise each site individually? These have suddenly become critical questions for online businesses – and here’s why.

Mobile is mushrooming. Analytics data for several of our clients shows that, for the first time ever, sessions on a mobile device have overtaken desktop sessions. Much of this growth is fuelled by increased 4G coverage, which has been found to have a positive relationship with online shopping. As the roll out of 4G continues, you can expect not only more mobile visits to your site, but also increased mobile sales.

When you were at school did your careers teacher ever suggest that being a conversion rate optimiser might be a great job? No, thought not. It’s one of those careers that just never existed until a few years ago, like web master, professional blogger or Wizard of Light Bulb Moments (yes, that’s a real job title). 

So given that there are now thousands of people worldwide who make their living by being an optimiser, what exactly do they do?

Over the last few weeks, the question my clients have asked more than any other is whether it’s a good idea to switch to Universal Analytics (UA). Of course, that question really means, “Should we switch from Google Analytics (GA) now and not in 2016 when Google switches it off for good? When should I invest in Universal Analytics? Is UA as good as the hype, or is it just a fancy renaming exercise?”

In short, yes, it is well worth switching as soon as possible. Why? As well as putting you in control, UA has a host of benefits that GA doesn’t have. They are so useful you’ll want to get your hands on them. But first a bit of background.

One of the quickest ways to get a true insight into how to increase your online sales and revenue is to act as if you are your own customer. When you work in the business, the way you view your e-commerce website is completely different from how your visitors and customers experience it. Where you see an efficient purchasing process, your visitors may be having an entirely different experience. In their reality, it may well be preventing them from re-purchasing or even purchasing anything in the first place.

This is our top tip for discovering how to get more people to buy from your website as seeing things from a customer’s perspective identifies hidden opportunities and uncovers useful Conversion Rate Optimisation insights. Some key opportunities can only be seen from an external viewpoint. When you experience these customer frustrations for yourself, it becomes immediately obvious what needs to be fixed.

This may sound like a lot of hard work, but the good news is that “walking in your customer’s shoes” is easier to achieve than it might appear, especially if you have an e-commerce businesses

Follow our step by step guide to being your own customer and discover a world of insights that you can turn into profit by optimising your e-commerce conversion rate