Last updated Mon Dec 16 2024
24-Point Conversion Rate Optimization Checklist
In the conversion rate optimization checklist below, you will find tactics and tips you can implement on your ecommerce store even today.
I've also added links to helpful case studies and software (both free and paid) to help you get started optimizing easily.
In this post:
Boost conversions without the big price tag
Optimize your site with CRO experiments, detailed analytics, A/B testing, and lead capture tools—all at a cost-effective price.
Interested in CRO? Check out these later:
CRO essentials: understanding before optimizing
The most effective CRO strategies are built on a profound understanding of why customers buy (or don't buy) from your store. That understanding will help you make reasonable assumptions about whether you need to try a certain tactic in the CRO checklist.
Get into the right mindset by taking care of these essential parts of CRO before diving into any ecommerce conversion checklist:
Expert comment:
Invest time in deeply understanding your customers. Analyze your existing customer data, conduct website surveys, and map out the entire customer journey. Look beyond basic demographics and dig into motivations, pain points, and decision-making processes. CRO isn’t about guessing—it’s about finding and fixing the things that get in the way of your customers making a purchase.
Want to take a step back?
This beginner's guide to conversion rate optimization can help.
See an example of a customer journey map: website conversion funnel guide
Conversion rate optimization checklist
Display product recommendations
Recommend related items based on a browsing or purchase history to personalize the shopping experience of your customers. The recommendations can appear on product pages, cart pages, and in notification feed (below).
The recommendations below (called AI Wishlist) are especially effective, often increasing website sales by 5% because a) customers can access them from any page and b) they are based on the items a customer has visited.
Learn more about AI Wishlist.
See how a clothing store converted 11% of customers from AI Wishlist recommendations: émoi émoi case study
Share offers and products via onsite notifications
Share marketing messages and discounts with onsite notifications to keep your homepage clean and drive customers to sales and product pages. The notifications are displayed in a website's header and let customers know if there are unread messages with a red dot.
Onsite notifications helped OddBalls generate $50,000 in sales: read case study
Run CRO tests and experiments
CRO experiments and tests usually compare two versions of a web page or an onsite campaign (popups, landing pages, etc.) by looking at key metrics like conversion rates (CVR), click-through rates (CTR), bounce rates, orders, or leads collected. CRO tools are required to automate this process.
Learn more: What is CRO testing?
Capture leads and sales with contextual popups
Popups convert around 4% on average, so consider adding a campaign to your store to build your email and phone number list.
But go further than typical email capture campaigns—share personalized deals (like a discount for a product category a shopper viewed a few times), try product giveaways, or display upsell offers only to visitors who added something to the cart.
Learn more:
Expert comment:
Increase the effectiveness of popups with these techniques:
Add a countdown timer: it increases conversions by 41%
Let shoppers browse your store: show popups on the second or third page they visit
Personalize messages using ecommerce targeting: create popups for specific visitor groups (new, returning, cart items, past buyers, etc.)—this can boost conversions by 49%
Software that includes these features: best popup tools
Make exit offers
Exit-intent campaigns can give you an extra 3% of your visitors. You can add a discount, showcase a glowing customer review, or remind about free shipping in your campaigns to improve website conversions fast.
Learn more:
Show personalized deals to regular customers
Focusing on your most loyal customers is one of the best conversion rate optimization practices. For example, you can show personalized deals such as loyalty discounts and limited-time bundle offers only to registered visitors on your online store.
Example: these are the settings for a campaign displayed only to customers who placed more than three orders on a Shopify store (below).
Learn more: Shopify display properties
Experiment with limited-time offers
Limited-time deals create a sense of urgency, so using them regularly is a great way to increase revenue in ecommerce.
Consider trying some of these options:
flash sales
"deal of the hour"
product bundles
daily deal
mystery offer
More tips: limited-time offer examples
A flash sale case study: A cosmetics business gets 17% of monthly revenue in six hours
Use gamified campaigns
Gamification campaigns such as contests, challenges, giveaways, scratch cards, and spin-to-win wheels can help you convert up to 10% of visitors. That's why many online businesses convert visitors with spin wheels with discounts and free shipping, especially around holidays.
Example of a creative campaign:
Soi Paris, a fashion store, had an Easter egg hunt on the website. Over 200 customers found the "eggs" and redeemed discounts within 48 hours. Below, are the designs of the "eggs" that were placed on product pages to encourage customers browsing more.
Collect visitor data with surveys
Not knowing enough about target customers is one of the common reasons for low conversion rates. Website surveys can help you understand their needs and preferences, so you can improve your store's user experience and increase conversions.
For example, you can ask visitors about:
their shopping habits
what they like/dislike about your store
any issues they've experienced with your website
products or features
Help with choosing products with a quiz
If you sell some products that customers might need to get some help choosing (eg the right cosmetics based on skin type or a coffee blend based on taste preferences), consider quizzes to deliver personalized recommendations and boost average website order value.
Tip: You can also offer a discount for those who complete the quiz to encourage them to make a purchase.
Case study
A fashion store increased the average order value by adding upsell offers in embedded forms on product pages.
Share marketing offers in a sticky bar
Sticky bars are notification bars stay at the top or bottom of a website while visitors browse. Use them to share special offers, promotions, discounts, and other news to encourage customers to make purchases.
Some scenarios in which bars can be especially useful are promoting product launches, sharing updates on limited-time deals, and marketing holiday offers.
Learn more: sticky bar examples + case study
Review your checkout process
Checkout process optimization is a must for online stores as a lot of reasons for abandoned cart are related to it. The checkout page in particular can also be a great place to upsell additional products or offer add-ons like gift wrapping.
The recommended CRO practices are: minimize checkout steps, offer guest checkout, have as many payment methods as possible, add trust signals, and offer upsell at the end.
Start a customer loyalty program
Encourage repeat purchases and foster long-term relationships with your customers with loyalty programs. They come in various forms, such as points systems, tiered rewards, and exclusive member benefits. By offering rewards like discounts, free products, or special offers, you can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Try different hero section tactics
A hero section (also known as hero banner and header) can make a great first impression, grab attention, introduce your brand, and drive visitors to products and sales.
Tactics to consider:
Add an image of a single product or collection
Contextual images and videos (i.e. how a product looks/works in real setting)
Emotion-amplifying images of people using your product
Faces of real people (those can improve visitors' trust)
Example: here's a contextual hero image on Intelligentsia:
Use storytelling in copywriting
Storytelling is a proven way to get sales, often increasing conversions ay as much as 30%. While this CRO tactic may seem a bit difficult to implement, you don't need to be a trained storyteller. Instead, think of it as bringing your brand and products to life by using descriptive language and emotions.
Places to consider:
Product descriptions (see an example below)
About Us page (Asphalte's "The Brand" page is fantastic)
Social media posts
Example: this description of a shoulder bag from Hardgraft is great because it makes you envision yourself using the bag and feeling stylish and organized:
Related resources:
Get an AI assistant to help you write more creatively: AI tools for ecommerce stores
Engage more customers with copy: guide to ecommerce copywriting
Embed an Instagram feed on your homepage
Almost half (47%) of online shoppers in the US have made purchases directly through social media platforms. That's why having some Instagram posts on your homepage can help you increase the conversion rate.
Embedding an Instagram feed is easy and free: for example, Instafeed and EVM Instagram feed have free plans.
Madsen Cycles gives us a good example:
Optimize your product descriptions
The most essential elements here are a) delivering a clear value proposition and b) persuasive language with emotional triggers.
To achieve that, clearly state the key benefits of your products and use descriptive language can evoke sensory experiences, helping customers visualize themselves using the product.
Like this example from Summer Fridays below.
Add customer reviews to product pages
Get reviews from your customers with emails and special apps to display them on product pages. Over 99% of shoppers read reviews before buying—so having them there is critical. Don’t worry if you’re short on testimonials for now—keep reaching out to your customers and steadily grow your collection over time.
Display both product images and videos
Have both images and videos of your products—this combination can help both get a good look and see how a product looks in action. And, of course, add a zoom feature on images, too, to let visitors examine the details.
Flaus gives us a good example. Besides images, we can also click "See it in action" (right below the visuals in the image below) and watch a video.
Discover where your visitors leave
Track key metrics such as bounce rate, session duration, and conversion rates in Google Analytics. You can gain deeper insights into how users interact with your site, including the pages with the most bounces (i.e. where most visitors leave). This information can help you understand and come up with fixes.
Add a live chat and other contact options
Knowing that customers can get timely help from your business can make a big difference for your business. Show them this by being available via a live chat and chatbots. Also, consider email, social media, and phone support.
Add an FAQ page
This CRO checklist point is also about being helpful with answering questions about your products and services. An FAQ page needs to contain detailed answers to common questions and links to helpful resources.
Consider organizing your FAQ section into categories to make it easy to find answers like OddBalls did here:
Use heatmaps to understand visitor behavior
Heatmaps visualize where visitors click, scroll and move their cursor on your website. They help you understand how visitors interact with your pages so that you can make data-driven tweaks to improve interactions, engagement, and conversions.
Find a heatmap app in this list of ecommerce tools.
A/B test your pages and forms
CRO A/B testing can help you understand which version of a page or form performs better. This is essential when trying to make improvements that directly affect conversions, as it allows you to make data-driven decisions instead of relying on assumptions.
Learn more: guide to A/B testing popups
See how an online business improved CTR of forms by 10%: Asphalte case study
Summary
By implementing these tactics, you can improve your website's performance and ultimately increase your conversions. With continuous effort and experimentation, you can continuously improve and boost your online business's success.
Learn more about CRO:
Oleksii Kovalenko
Oleksii Kovalenko is a digital marketing expert and a writer with a degree in international marketing. He has seven years of experience helping ecommerce store owners promote their businesses by writing detailed, in-depth guides.
Education:
Master's in International Marketing, Academy of Municipal Administration
Related articles
11/21/2024
Want to know how to collect emails? Read these best ways to collect emails on websites, backed up by examples and tips.
11/21/2024
Ecommerce personalization: why it's important and why you should consider it. Includes examples and strategies.