7 Elements of a High-Converting Ecommerce Site

Are you getting plenty of traffic to your ecommerce site but no conversions? If you’ve already gone through the checklist – quality content, on- and off-site SEO, targeted ads – but still aren’t seeing much success with conversions, it’s possible that you’re missing the mark on a few basic yet essential elements.
When evaluating your ecommerce site, always look at it through the customer’s eyes. Great content and SEO can bring people to your site, but you need other elements to make users convert. This includes high-quality product images and descriptions, customer testimonials and trust elements. Don’t let a few basic things stand in the way of making a sale.
Let’s look into seven crucial elements that every high-converting ecommerce site needs.
1. Attention Grabbing Headline
Your headline is the first thing that customers see when visiting your website. If you don’t have an attention-grabbing headline, you are more likely to lose visitors to your competitors’ sites. Subheadings also hold importance as they demand attention from your visitors and provide a hierarchy of content.
When creating a heading or subheading, keep things simple. Avoid using confusing words and phrases. Use clear, concise language so that visitors may decide if they want stick around. Check out our previous blog post for more tips on beefing up your headlines.
2. Sales Video or Image
Sales videos are one of the highest rating conversion elements on a website. The reason why people enjoy watching videos is because they can learn about the product or service in a condensed and engaging manner. Additionally, research shows that 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text.
Based on these statistics, visitors are more likely to stick around to watch a sales video and remember your product or service. Images are also important, as they add depth to your website. Include plenty of high-quality product images with various angles so that customers can get a good idea of what the product looks like.
3. Customer Testimonials
People prefer hearing from real customers rather than the brand itself. Consumers feel that user-generated content is genuine and honest compared to paid content. Show visitors that you will deliver on what you say by posting customer testimonials.
To gather more meaningful feedback, make it possible for customers to write reviews or rate your products. Claim your business listings on the most popular directories and update them with the appropriate name, address and phone number (NAP). This way, customers can leave reviews on the sites and boost your rankings in the SERPs.
4. Trust Seals
Another element that should be added to your ecommerce site is trust seals. Like customer testimonials, trust elements give visitors reassurance that they are working with a trustworthy, reputable brand that will deliver on what they promise.
There are many types of trust elements that can be added to your site. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Brand logos of companies you’ve worked with
• Partnerships with other companies
• Awards and credentials
• Testimonials
• Guarantees
• Antivirus seals

When adding trust seals, stick to those that people are most likely to recognize. Visitors only scan through these badges, so adding those that people aren’t familiar with can do you more harm than good. If you want to whip something up on your own, at the very least, choose a familiar 100% Money Back Guarantee seal.
5. Call to Action
Visitors need to know what you want them to do next. This is the purpose of a call to action. Call to action buttons are the single most effective way to get people to convert. To make your CTA effective, show visitors what you want them to do each step of the way. Be clear about what they can expect in return, such as exclusive content, a free trial or a free consultation.
CTA buttons should stand out from the rest of the copy. Be mindful about the placement of the calls to action as well. Depending on your product or service, your customers may need more or less nurturing.
6. Features and Benefits Checklist
It’s important to include content on your ecommerce site because this is what informs your customers. However, how this content is arranged is vital. Long copy should be avoided, as this could overwhelm your visitors, especially those who are undecided. Instead, keep your content short and to the point. To help with this, incorporate checklists that list out the features and benefits of your product.
Additionally, all important information should be included above the fold. This gives visitors a chance to glance at your content and make a decision to stay or leave. If you can grab their attention in a few seconds, it increases the chance that they will stay on your site.
7. Return Policy, Guarantee and Wishlist
Return policies and guarantees function as trust seals. If people aren’t familiar with your brand, they won’t know how you handle returns unless you tell them. Larger brands like eBay or Amazon make their return policies know, and this provides consumers with peace of mind. Instead of having your customers turn to Amazon, make your return policies and guarantees obvious.
Another element you can add is a wish list. Just because a visitor lands on your website doesn’t mean they are ready to convert. To keep them engaged, offer the option to build a wish list. This way, users can choose their favorite products and add them to this list. At a later date, they may return to complete the sale, especially if you add in an incentive such as a discount code.
Summary
It’s not always easy to get users to convert, but there are proven, effective ways to increase conversions. By including the above elements on your ecommerce site, you can gradually improve the length of time that people spend on your site and boost conversion rates.
WSI Net Advantage is also happy to help you find ways to be more efficient with your website, so feel free to give us a call at 510-687-9737 or fill out our contact form so we can chat!