So you say you want to drive traffic to your site? And you want to make the most of visitors once they arrive? Then figure out where they came from.
That’s what Amy Africa, president of Eight By Eight, told attendees during a session at the Direct Marketing Association’s Catalog on the Road Day conference in Cambridge, MA on Tuesday.
“Who came in direct? Who came in from other sources?” said Africa. “They will respond differently, so you need to address them differently.”
Once people are on your site, you need to help them find what they want and fast.. Successful transactions happen in 10 to 12 minutes, she said. Beyond that, you’re going to lose that business.
Show at least three items people can buy above the “fold” of your home page, she recommended. After all, you want people to buy from your site, not just browse.
Africa also recommended burying text search on your site. “It stinks,” she said. “People are not good at searching—85% of the products they want you have, but they just can’t find them. You don’t want people to abandon your site.”
And don’t slow down potential buyers by asking for extra information when they get to your shopping cart. “You need to choose between getting orders and getting source codes,” she said. “You can’t have both.”
If it is appropriate for your site, give users a one page checkout. “The faster you get them out of checkout, the higher your conversions will be,” she said.
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