In e-commerce, traffic alone won’t pay the bills. If people visit your site but don’t take action, you’re leaving serious money on the table.
Conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter or adding a product to cart. It’s one of the most critical metrics to track in your funnel.
The average conversion rate across all industries typically sits between 1% and 3%. But don’t settle for average. With the right conversion rate optimisation strategies, you can dramatically increase your conversion rates and drive more revenue without spending more on ads.
Key Topics
What Is Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)?
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is the process of improving your website to get more users to complete a specific action. It’s about turning clicks into customers, not just boosting vanity metrics.
CRO focuses on:
- Streamlining the checkout process
- Improving landing pages and product pages
- Enhancing user experience (UX) and site navigation
- Crafting compelling calls to action (CTAs) that prompt action
- Using social proof like authentic customer reviews
- Reducing bounce rate and friction in your conversion funnel
In short, CRO helps you optimise every touchpoint to make it more likely that visitors will convert. Tools like Google Analytics 4, Hotjar or Crazy Egg can help you spot bottlenecks and track conversion goals effectively.
Best Practices to Increase Ecommerce Conversion Rates
Let’s dive into the CRO best practices that actually work in 2026.
Understand your audience
Before you can optimise anything, you need to know your users. Use data from analytics tools to understand:
- Where visitors come from
- Which pages have high bounce rates
- What paths lead to making a purchase
Understanding behaviour across your funnel will help you pinpoint the best ways to increase your conversion rate.
Simplify navigation
If people can’t find what they need, they won’t convert. Clean up your site’s homepage, streamline your menus, and make sure your products and services are easy to browse.
Speed up load times
Slow sites kill conversions. A one-second delay in load time can cause a massive drop in ecommerce conversion rate. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to test performance.
Optimise key pages
Focus your optimisation efforts on high-impact areas:
- Landing pages: Clear headlines, relevant content, and a strong CTA button
- Product pages: Detailed product descriptions, benefits, and highlight customer reviews
- Checkout: Fewer steps, transparent pricing, and trust signals to reduce cart abandonment rate
Test everything
Split testing (or A/B testing) is one of the best ways to increase your conversion rate. Try testing:
- Different CTA text or colours
- Short vs long product descriptions
- Layouts, headlines, and even images
Consistent testing will reveal what’s most effective for boosting conversion.
Landing Page Tweaks to Boost Conversion Rates
Your landing page is often the first real test of whether a visitor is likely to convert. If it doesn’t hit the mark, they bounce, and fast.
To increase conversion rates, your landing pages should:
Be laser-focused on one goal
Every landing page should support a single desired action. No clutter, no distractions. Want sign-ups? Sell one product? Make the CTA obvious and relevant.
Use strong CTAs and visual hierarchy
Your CTA button should stand out. Use action-driven language like “Get My Discount” or “Start Free Trial” and place it above the fold. Break up content visually so the eye is drawn to what matters most.
Build trust instantly
Trust is key to conversion optimisation. Add trust signals like guarantees, secure checkout icons, and authentic customer reviews near your CTA.
Optimise for mobile
Over 60% of ecommerce traffic is mobile. So if your landing page isn’t slick on smartphones, you’re throwing away conversions. Test everything on mobile and reduce load time.
This is one of the simplest ways to boost your ecommerce conversion rate fast.
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Product Page Optimisation Strategies for Higher Conversion
Your product page is where a potential customer decides to buy, or bail. This is a critical spot to apply conversion rate optimisation strategies that increase the percentage of people taking action.
Use high-quality images and video
Shoppers can’t touch your product, so let visuals do the work. Include multiple images, zoom functionality, and video demos if possible. It’s a proven way to improve engagement and boost conversion.
Write persuasive product descriptions
Don’t just list features, highlight benefits. Speak to your customer’s problems and how your product solves them. This human connection leads to higher conversion rates.
Display real customer reviews
Social proof is powerful. Highlight authentic customer reviews and star ratings prominently. It’s one of the easiest conversion rate optimisation tips that builds trust instantly.
Create a sense of urgency
Limited stock alerts or “Only 3 left in stock” messages can create urgency. FOMO (fear of missing out) is a great way to increase action-taking and improve your ecommerce performance.
Checkout Fixes to Increase Your Conversion Rates
The checkout page is where high intent meets high friction. Streamlining this stage is key to lowering cart abandonment and improving the conversion rate.
Cut down the steps
A lengthy checkout process kills momentum. Use progress indicators and allow guest checkout. Auto-fill fields and reduce clicks wherever possible.
Be transparent
Hidden fees at checkout? Say goodbye to that sale. Be upfront about costs, shipping, and return policies. Transparency boosts trust and reduces drop-offs.
Offer multiple payment options
Support the payment methods your audience prefers, from credit cards to PayPal or Apple Pay. More payment choices = higher conversion rate.
Recover abandoned carts
Use email reminders, retargeting ads, or even SMS to bring shoppers back. It’s a solid conversion rate optimisation strategy to increase the number of completed purchases.
Quick Wins to Increase Your Conversion Rates Fast
Sometimes you don’t need a full website overhaul to see an increase in conversion. Small, strategic tweaks can lead to a much higher conversion rate, especially when they remove friction from the funnel.
Here are a few fast, proven ways to increase your conversion:
Add live chat or chatbots
Real-time support builds confidence. If visitors have a question about delivery or sizing, a chatbot can answer instantly, keeping them on the path to take a desired action.
Use exit-intent popups
Catch abandoning visitors with a compelling offer. A discount code or free shipping reminder can be the conversion rate optimisation nudge they need to stay.
Personalise the experience
Dynamic content based on browsing behaviour or location helps users feel seen, and more likely to convert. Personalised product recommendations are a great way to improve conversions on product or landing pages.
Offer guarantees and free returns
These are trust boosters. They remove hesitation and reduce the perceived risk of making a purchase, which improves the ecommerce conversion rate.
Use scarcity and social proof together
“Only 2 left in stock” + “Last bought 5 mins ago” = powerful. This pairing triggers FOMO and taps into proven conversion rate optimisation strategies to encourage faster decision-making.
Advanced Conversion Rate Optimisation Tips for E-commerce Growth
Once you’ve nailed the best practices, it’s time to level up with more advanced conversion optimisation tactics. These are perfect for brands that want to squeeze every bit of value out of their marketing and sales efforts.
Dive deep into analytics
Use Google Analytics 4 to get granular data on where conversions drop off. By tracking your conversion rate at every stage of the funnel, you’ll spot exactly where to focus your ecommerce optimisation work.
Want to improve your ecommerce revenue? Start by identifying the friction points in your conversion funnel.
Segment your audiences
Different audiences behave differently. New vs returning visitors. Desktop vs mobile. Segmenting traffic lets you compare the conversion rates across each group and run more targeted CRO tests.
Run multivariate testing
While split testing compares one element at a time, multivariate testing lets you test combinations of changes, like headlines, images, and CTAs, to find the mix that delivers the highest conversion.
Optimise based on purchase intent
Tailor your website conversion experience to match where someone is in their journey. First-time visitors might need education. Warm leads might just need a nudge. This kind of personalisation is a smart way to improve both engagement and revenue.
Invest in post-purchase CRO
Conversion rate optimisation isn’t just about the first sale. Use thank-you pages, email follow-ups and loyalty offers to increase your revenue and turn one-time buyers into loyal customers.
Common Mistakes That Kill Conversion Rates
Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to fall into traps that hurt your ecommerce conversion rate. Here are some common errors that undermine your marketing efforts and reduce the chances of a good conversion:
Ignoring mobile experience
A clunky mobile site can destroy conversions. If your site isn’t fast, responsive, and easy to use on mobile, you’re losing a huge portion of the number of visitors before they even consider a purchase.
Overloading pages with information
Too many options or dense content causes analysis paralysis. Keep your product pages and landing pages clean, with one clear call to action per page.
Slow site speed
Load times still matter. A slow checkout or homepage can lead to lower conversion rates and frustrated users. Page speed is a crucial piece of ecommerce optimisation.
Skipping testing and analytics
Guesswork isn’t a strategy. Not using conversion rate optimisation tools, or failing to regularly analyse performance, means you’re missing chances to make conversions increase and improve your funnel.
Failing to build trust
Lack of clear returns info, reviews, or secure checkout symbols = drop-offs. Building trust is one of the fastest ways to increase your conversion.
Avoiding these missteps will bring you closer to a high conversion experience and help you reach a good ecommerce conversion rate across your site.
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Want to Improve Your E-commerce Conversion Rate?
If you’re serious about growing revenue, conversion rate optimisation should be a top priority. Improving your ecommerce conversion rate doesn’t always mean major changes. Often, it’s about smart, strategic tweaks that encourage more visitors to take action.
From improving your funnel to reducing friction at checkout, there are countless ways to increase your conversion, and we’re here to help you find the right mix for your brand.
Need help improving your conversion rates? Whether you’re struggling with a low average ecommerce conversion rate or want to push past “good enough,” we’ll help you optimise every step of the journey. From landing page audits to CRO strategy and testing, we’ve got your back.
Let’s boost your conversion rates and turn more visitors into loyal customers. Get in touch with us today!
