A conversion activity is a broad term that describes when a visitor lands on a web page and completes a particular activity – also known as a site goal (to the marketer).

Goals can be any of the following:

• Buying a product
• Creating an account
• Filling in a form
• Downloading a white paper
• Sending an inquiry
• Booking a flight
• Making a donation
• Signing up for a newsletter/blog

Different types of websites have different primary and secondary conversion goals, as seen in the table below.

Optimizing for Conversions

One of the most important ways an online retailer can maximize their conversions is to invest time in the information and overall layout of their website.

1. Product photos increase conversion rates
2. Important product information should be at the TOP of a web page
3. The purchase process should be intuitive, comfortable, and easy for the visitor
   • if possible, include a “1-click” shopping feature to reduce the number of steps from visit to purchase
   • make sure the add to cart/basket button is easy to find and located where the online shopper would expect to find it
   • include all product and purchasing information that reduces cognitive dissonance: return policies; shipping time; guarantee/warranty
   • provide customer reviews so the online shopper isn’t navigating away from the site to find them

Online retails should pay close attention to the purchasing journey of a visitor on their site: how many clicks does it take from product selection to checkout? Can these steps be simplified and reduced? Has the customer been provided opportunities to purchase similar or complimentary products? Is the customer’s information stored to make their (repeat) purchasing experiences easier and faster?

Studies show that the fewer steps the customer takes the higher the conversions. Therefore, an online retailer should be making every effort to ensure their web design optimizes the visitor’s purchasing journey by including these features:

• Always have the proceed to checkout step follow the add to cart step (intuitive sequencing)
• Include related or compatible products for consumers to evaluate in order to maximize order value
• Storing customer information can save time and effort for the online shopper (e.g., shipping details and credit card information)
• Place the most important information on each web page above the fold (at the top of the page)

Revenue Maximization

For any retailer, finding and acquiring new customers will always be more expensive than marketing to existing customers. Online retailers should be designing a site that not only maximizes conversions, but also maximizes revenue per conversion. One of the best ways to do this is to build product recommendations into the retail site. Most online shoppers are familiar with these as they often appear on large e-commerce sites. Add-on products, as they are known, make up a significant amount of additional revenue for any retailer. Integrating customer reviews; including customer recommendations; and featuring add-on products are all effective ways to maximize revenue per conversion.

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