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This e-book has been written to provide information about self-improvement. Every effort has been made to make this eBook as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this e-book provides information on self-improvement only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this eBook should be used as a guide, not as the ultimate source of web hosting information.
The purpose of this eBook is to educate. The author and the publisher do not warrant that the information contained in this e-book is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this e-book.
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Introduction to Website
Conversion Rates
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Having an e-commerce website can be challenging. There is inventory to monitor, customers to keep happy, advertising to do, and of course security to maintain in order to protect the integrity of the site and your customers. With all of the important steps involved to make sure your business website is a success, conversion rates should be taken into account.
So what is a conversion rate? Essentially, a conversion rate is the number of visits or “hits” you receive on your website that change over, or convert to, a sale. For example, if your site were to get 100 visits in one week and one person made a sale, you’d have a 1% conversion rate.
Effective advertising is important in ensuring a higher conversion rate. Making sure your website is noticed and that the product you’re selling is very clear is essential to success. Getting the hits is important, but finalizing that sale is even more important. A good website that does a lot of business is much more involved than many people might think.
A lot of factors are involved with ensuring that visitors click on and then actually buy items they see. There are many things you can do to get the most conversion rates possible which means those website views and random clicks actually turn into cold, hard cash (otherwise known as sales).
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Here are some helpful tips to ensure that your website’s hits, simple clicks, and visits turn into actual sales.
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41. Look for niche groups. Think about the products and services you’re selling, then try to find the niche groups who would be interested in them. Find forums, websites, and other sources where these people frequent, and then post some information with your link. Target groups are the way to get people who will be more likely to make a sale to come to your site and buy something. You wouldn’t add a link to your site that sells women’s clothing on a gun and ammo site, and vice versa. Be aware of who your niche customers are, and then focus in on those websites. Register as a user, and post in their forums and include your link. Many people will at least take a look at it via this method.
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42. Surveys matter. Don’t be afraid to follow up each purchase with a customer satisfaction survey. It can be completely up to the customer to fill it out, but often you will get some constructive criticism and some helpful input from others this way. The survey can be a pop up once they’ve completed an order, a link at the order confirmation page, or through an email when they are done. Survey Monkey is a good survey client, but there are many others you can use and recruit to help compile your survey data for you.
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43. Be prepared. If you don’t have anyone at certain times to answer your 800 number or you cannot answer all customer emails immediately, it’s important to be prepared. Come up with a prerecorded message stating your hours and an alternative contact method for those who call. For emails, have an auto-responder set up so people will at least have a confirmation that their email was received before you answer them.
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44. Make it short and sweet. Don’t make the checkout process so tedious that it scares buyers away. Try to streamline your cart so that adding items, entering in billing & shipping information, and then paying with credit card is a snap.
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45. Go above and beyond. Do not use a generic template to create your website. Instead, design the site yourself or hire a web designer who will give your web page pizzazz. You don’t want to look like other sites, and you want to have a unique feel to your business that distinguishes you from the rest.
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46. Test, test, and test some more. Always test your site and cart to make sure it’s working properly. Feel free to make changes as you see fit, and try to eliminate website errors. By performing frequent and thorough testing, you will ensure that your website is working the way it should be.
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47. Delegate duties if possible. Depending on the size of your business, you may want to hire or utilize one person who is solely dedicated to the sales portion of your business. This person’s mission should be to market, advertise, and reach out to potential customers. As an e-commerce business owner, that person should be you, but if you’re too busy or have too much volume to handle it all yourself, you’ll want someone else to help grab the reigns.
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48. Show costs as they go. Instead of tallying up the total cost when the customer adds in their shipping information, try to tally this info. as they go along. People are very money conscious these days, so knowing how much they’re spending in total as they shop can be very helpful.
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49. Be competitive. Not only does your site need to be competitive in the Internet world, your prices should be also. Don’t overcharge people if you can avoid it. Most web savvy shoppers know a good deal when they see one, and if they feel like they could find it elsewhere, odds are they will.
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50. Search tools rule. Make sure your search box and tool work properly. Be sure to program this script so that it shows results to the customers in detail. A lot of people go to different sites just to search for a specific item, so you want that item to easily be displayed. Test your search tool often to ensure that the results are being displayed properly.
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BONUS TIP! Host your website at EZ-Net Sytems and receive the tools to create, promote and develop you eCommerce business. Also includes tips, techniques, videos, even full courses of study. EZ-NetSystems makes eCommerce easy.
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If you even use just a few of the tips listed here, you’re well on your way to getting a higher conversion rate. No one can do every single thing on this list, and if they did, they would be the world’s most thorough Internet company. On the other hand, just a few changes can do wonders for the sales rate of your website. By trying new things, making needed changes, and testing your results, you will be on the fast track to getting sales you expect and deserve. Look at your data on a daily basis so you can get a feel for what customers are thinking. It also allows you understand the things that are working as well as the things that are not.
Never be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to having your own Internet business. New ideas are what make people successful, and what makes them stick out to customers. Know what you want, and have a goal in mind. By writing up a mission statement and creating a realistic goal, you will have a prize to keep your eyes on. This helps to encourage success, boost confidence, and help you to continue on. If you decide to hire people such as Live Chat operators or telephone customer service reps, be sure you’re using the best people possible. Using someone you know is a good idea if you’re small and starting out. If you’re a bit more established, use clients who have a good track record that hire representatives for you.
All of the elements shown here have an impact on how your conversion rate will do. By implementing a few changes, you will be amazed at how you can turn people who just click on the site for a quick look into people who actually buy the things you’re selling. A few small changes as well as constant and thorough testing should bring some awesome results, as well as the money you expect when you own your own business. Patience is the key, as well as creativity, and a great looking website.
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