1. Visuals are critical to build the trust your visitor needs in a product to convert. Contemporary site design that is consistent with the product and audience will convert better every time.
2. Use benefit statements in headlines and/or key bullet points. Visitors are unlikely to read lengthy descriptive texts unless they know what goodies are in there before they start.
3. Photography is critical – use multiple angles if possible to show more aspects. For some products, using additional objects with the images can make the dimensions much clearer – it’s easier fora visitor to visualise the size of a sofa with someone sitting on it!
4. Be clear on price. Complicated discounts put buyers off, so keep it simple.
5. State stock clearly – your customer is ready to buy now and they’re often distracted from the purchase if they’re not sure when they’ll get it.
6. The #1 gripe we hear of eCommerce stores – how much is delivery? Ideally, offer free delivery, but if that’s not possible, be clear about how much it costs and how long it will take. If possible, offer a guarantee and finally, under no circumstances, hide the delivery cost until the visitor gets a shock during the checkout process – nobody likes that surprise!
7. Use firm action calls – larger “buy now” or “add to cart” buttons that are clearly actions work better than smaller buttons that blend in to the scenery of your site. State delivery and stock near the “buy now” button, just to make sure.
8. If you can, test different payment gateways and checkouts – not everyone has a PayPal account. Some gateways will convert better than others.
9. Check your checkout. How much unnecessary information are you interrupting the sale with? Your customer is here to buy, not to give you War and Peace. Every extra field you ask to be filled in, every extra step in your checkout process is a barrier to completing the goal – making a purchase.
10. Use customer reviews and testimonials wherever possible, they might just be the thing that tips the balance between a thinker and a buyer.
11. For technical products, provide a specification and compatibility chart. This needn’t (and shouldn’t) be too prominent in most cases, but again, that information could make the difference between leaving or buying.
12. Offer live help via an online service, a forum or by good, old-fashioned telephone – not everyone will use it, but they can shop with the confidence that help is available if they need it.
13. Be clear about your guarantee and the returns policy. Assuming the product is sound, not many will use it, but you’ll get more sales from customers with peace of mind that they can get a refund.
14. The length of the conversion funnel is proportional to the complexity and price of the product. Use remarketing to remind visitors of your brand and offer and drive them back to your site when they’ve considered and they’re ready to buy.
15. Use Website Optimizer to test different layouts of your landing pages and product pages to establish which motivates your audience best and produces the best conversion rate.
16. Use Display advertising to position your brand to your target audience before they search. Customers familiar with your brand are more likely to convert.

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