Creating Conversion Funnels to Boost Sales

A conversion funnel is the path your visitors take from arriving at your store through to finalizing their purchases.

Conversion Funnel’s is also a leaky bucket, and you need to keep an eye on it if you have even modest sales goals.

With every step in a conversion funnel, there is an opportunity for water (visitors) to escape the bucket (funnel) thanks to those pesky, pesky holes. Still, do you start running from the well in a bid to save more water, or should you take the time to repair the leaky bucket once and for all?

There are a host of methods to conduct both quantitative and qualitative research on your bucket, so we’ve named a few below.

At the end of the day, no one knows your bucket like you do, so experiment with what works best for your store.

Heatmaps

Heatmaps are visual representations of data, where values are represented by color. When used to assess conversion rate optimization, they can be very revealing. For example, Clickmaps identify places on your site that visitors think are links. If they are non-linked elements, consider turning them into links to deliver a better user experience.

Similarly, Scrollmaps help you prioritize your messaging- especially on category and product pages. If your Scrollmap shows that users are abruptly leaving a site without scrolling down, you might want to consider adding an arrow, or some other guide, to keep them on the page.

Analytics

Tools like Google Analytics can be incredibly useful to the business owner who knows what they are doing. Once you’re sure that things are tracking correctly, the data world is your oyster. Analyze your low volume, high conversion pages, fix broken links, and dive into the goldmine that is your internal search engine.

On-site surveys

Chances are, if you’ve ever shopped online, you’re likely already familiar with on-site surveys. They are sure to pop as you browse different websites, and invite users to give feedback. You might consider asking them some pointed questions, like “what was the purpose of your visit to our site,” “were you able to complete your task?” or “is there anything holding you back?”

If you ask a yes/no question, be sure to provide an avenue for explanation or elaborate after they have answered it.

Session replays

Session replays are similar to user testing, but you end up dealing with real people with real money who have a real intent to buy your products. Observe them as they navigate your site: what do you they have trouble finding?

Where do they frequently pause? Where do they get frustrated? Where do they give up, and leave?

It’s important to recognize that your bucket will also have holes; sometimes, it may feel as if you have plugged one only to discover two more. But the more effectively you plug them each time, the more optimized each trip to the well will be.