Conversion

[bitsnstuff]

Hi All,

I was wondering whether anyone could provide me with some hints and tips on improving conversion? I can't seem to find any info on this subject and was wondering whether it is a 'trial and error' type thing or if there was an exact science to it?

All help appreciated.

Kate :lol:

 

[Rob Holmes]

First get a good website stats package and also note as many factors about your website down as you can..

Details of each page like..

Colour, fonts used, prices, wording, graphics, visitors (unique and returning) and the conversion ratio per page.

Then make only one change to each page and let 1000 visitors through and check the conversion ratio again.

See if it goes up, down or remains static. Then make another change and angin and again until you really understand what you are doing and the results each small change has or doesn't have. Use different pages to make different changes and you'll be able to run multiple tests at the same time.



Hope this helps a bit,

Rob

 

[SillyJokes]

May I make the following suggestion based on your Christening Gift page alone.

It is too long and requires too much scrolling.

You need to split it down further Christening Picture Frames, Silver Christening Gifts, Blankets and Soft toys etc - really obvious sub category titles that will help the shopper make the best and quickest decision.

The first gift shown is priced over £100. It is always best to order your pages in beat selling order, not the order you want them to buy in.

You alternate your products left to right, presumably to add interest and balance th look of the page. In actual fact this makes it very hard to scan down the page as the shopper must constantly switch back and forth to see the images (which is what most people go on). Put them all on the left to make for smooth browsing.

If a big image is available make the image clickable to access it. You don't always do this.

Overall you do not have sufficient contact details available. the menu at the bottom of the page is very hard to read and you don't have a proper address. I appreciate it is under the terms heading but I shouldn't have to turn detective to find simple contact details.

You have a box mentioning shipping and info - why not put a link to the shipping and info there instead of giving directions via the other menu. It's like saying "I wouldn't start from here if I was you,"

Finally (for this post but not by any means the end of what you could do) please stop showing unpopulated categories. There is nothing worse than clicking a link only to find it is under contruction or is coming soon. If it isn't ready, it isn't ready, don't upload it until it is ready. It will not make people think about coming back just in case you have chocolate next time. It will make them think your site isn't finished or has been abandoned.

I do hope you will consider my suugestions in tandem with the testing suggested by Rob. I'm sure we can improve your conversion.

 

[bitsnstuff]

Thank you both for your help.

Matrixx - I can see your advice will be a long-term approach, so will definitely have to start monitoring my figures more closely.

SillyJokes - Thank you for your comments, all were very helpful and I will take note and action asap! One thing though, I did have my section very segregated, but then I was told that it meant too many clicks before reaching a product and was told that was bad and to change it. So that comment, is a little confusing.

These were the sorts of comments I needed, as you can stare at a site all day, and have no idea what is putting people off. Thank you for taking the time to help me - much appreciated.

Kate :lol:

 

[SillyJokes]

It is true that too many clicks will put people off, but you have such a massive catalogue you need to break it down a little.

The point I tried to make is that when you give people a choice of what to click next you make it as obvious as possible what they are likely to see if they do click the link.

To do this it would be helpful to have an informative alt text on all the links, example montages of products next to all the links, a small description of what to expect in 7 words or so, anything to help the visitor to know what to expect by clicking rather than clicking and hoping for the best.

People will be happy to click links if what they get when they do is what they expected.

An example of this on your site is Cat and Dog Gifts. This ambiguous. It is gifts for animals or for animal lovers. Suggested change would be Gifts for Cats and Dogs and some for their owners too. Pet beds, lead hooks and blankets.

In this way people will not make clicks they don't need to, reducing the time it takes for them to find the perfect gift and increasing the chance they will stay on your site and not click off to one which is better designed and easier to use.

I think that by putting all your images on the left it swill make browsing a lot easier for customers and maybe then you could get away with a long page.

Do not, however, turn your long page into 1of4 pages type of layout where customers must chew through page after page of much of the same without being able to remember where they saw the one item they fancied.

 

[bitsnstuff]

Thank you once again! :lol:

I am now working on your suggestions and you are right, it does look clearer with all the images on the left. I have also managed to remove several redundant sections which makes a big difference to the number of clicks to get to a product already. I obviously have a huge job ahead of me, as I was currently trying to load on 100s of new products, but this is obviously a priority.

I really appreciate your help.

Kate