We are making less than a 2% conversion rate... Thank you for taking the time to give me your opinions- This is a 'storesonline' site and I did it to help out a family member start her business. Before this all I did was check my email, so don't laugh please :)
www.GiftBasketsGaloreOnline.com

The site looks good and seems to function well. Where does your traffic come from? If they are looking to send flowers locally and finding your site, or if searching for laundry baskets it would be understandable that they aren't buying. Doing keyword ads to get the right kind of traffic might be good.

I sell harry potter products via an affiliate program and experience similar conversion (under 2%) from people who actually click from my site to the store.

I would think that if they're interested enough to click on the ad, they would be interested enough to buy more often, but my conversion has stayed relatively constant (except right before a book comes out) for 7 years.

I think it's a great site. I clicked around a bit and everything seems to work fine. If I were shopping for a gift basket I would have no problem at all finding the one I wanted with the navigation on your site.

Your graphics are very good and I like the layout. It is very consistent. Perhaps you need some feedback from others who have similar type sites to see if your conversion rate is "normal". If it is that could put your mind at ease. If it isn't maybe some of these other folks could give you a few hints.

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The Weedy Lady at
http://www.happydaycards.com
Free E Cards for holidays and all occasions, fun pages and great recipes.

Thanks so much for checking! Most of our traffic comes from search engines and the keywords being very descriptive, such as spa gift basket, or get well gift basket, etc.. That is why I was at a loss as to what to try changing first.

According to research carried out by shop.org, the average sales conversion rate is 1.8% while rates tend to vary from 0.5% to 5%.

I agree with the above about looking at traffic source and the industry standard cvr. You might want to look at repeat v new visitor conversion rate as well. You should expect repeat to be 2-3 times higher than your new visitor conversion rate. If this is not the case, you might have site/nav issues.

Overall, I like your site and your products are great. One note though, your right hand navigation is a little dated, given that most internet shoppers expect the main navigation to be on the far left or on the top. I found myself clicking first on some of your specials (since my shopping eyes are trained to the left)...then when I clicked your top banner to get back to the homepage...it didn't work. I was momentarily lost...then my attention shifted to your main left hand nav and finally to the "home" option.

In my experience not all users are as forgiving. They usually click off (or go back to Goggle) when they get confused. Maybe shifting some of your best categories over to the left nav may lead to better conversion. Use average pageviews as a good barameter here.

I have to agree with the right side navigation bar issue. People have come to expect it on he left side. Also, I found that finding the information about your company was a bit difficult. I tend to look at the top for a company's information, and it does help influence my descision to buy or not. Making it more accessible wouldn't hurt. Overall it looks like a geat place to get gift baskets.

You should tell prospects what is special about your baskets. Do you offer exclusive products, are your prices the cheapest or ??

I don't see a reason why I should buy from you vs. the other basket people on the web.

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Cool Places to Go all over world! Travel, Adventure, Romance, Sports, Shopping, Hotels, Restaurants, Nightclubs & More!

So, you are making less than 2% conversion rate?! My site is getting less than 1%!

I would thinkg 1-2% is the industry average. I should be the one complaining, not you! To me, your site is doing fantastic!

BTW, I am also a SOL merchant.

Please visit my site: May's House of Beauty

Nice site. I would have a phone number and/or email near the top of the page to inspire confidence.

I also agree with navigaion on the left. I'd suggest putting the specials on the light blue background down the right. This would make them stand out a bit more.

Make the logo at the top (or even the picture in the top left) a link to home. You don't want the user to have to think and I had to actively look for the home button. First instinct- top corner, second instinct - top left hand navigation. After that I had to think.

2% sounds pretty good, although I guess that does depend on the number of visitors you get. 2% of 50 visitors isn't much. 2% of 100,000 is good.

Have you done some keyword research to get some ideas of other keywords you can target? Sounds like you are getting some good niche keywords. Look for more.

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Jane Noel
http://www.InWestmoreland.com
Westmoreland County PA's Business Directory

I also like the functionality and look of the site. The images are clear and the writing descriptive. I would definitely move the navigation over to the left and move the search function to the top. Get rid of the drop down list and make it a part of the navigation. I would also add navigation across the top using the most important information, i.e. contact, cart, home, etc. Add your phone number and address somewhere up top. I believe it simply adds trust when people know they can call and see you have a location (whether it be a PO Box or physical address). Last, it seems your best navagation is on the home page. Make sure to create a link back to it if it has the most functionality.

Also compare your pricing to other competitors. Are they offering free shipping, better prices, or coupons?

Thank you all for looking and for taking the time to respond! Your advice is the best I have had since beginning work on this site (a year ago!). I will be making the changes asap! Tamra

Hi,

I,m not an expert, but I have some suggestions to you:

#1. Change your navigation to 'text links' , for SEO and speed reasons. Images are very bad idea for navigational links and it slows down the site.

#2. ALL links should be the standard blue color.

#3. Remove the Amber Alert Ticker from the home page.

#4. Make your 3 "satisfacion and security" seals clickable so people can verify your site. It creates more trust.

#5. Remove the Webring links. You want people to stay on your YOUR site, don't you?

#6. Don't underline text unless it's a link.

#7. Phone number and contact info should be as close to the top as possible.

Here are some very good reading:

www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html
www.useit.com/alertbox/20031110.html


What are some changes you can implement to improve your conversion rate? (24 proven techniques)

1. Accommodate as many payment types as possible. As we saw in the first micro-test above, adding just one additional payment type increased conversion by 8.5%. At a minimum, you should be able to accept all major credit cards, online checks, and other payment options considered vital to your industry or niche.

Many companies will also benefit by being able to accept orders via phone or fax. Make sure all of these payment options are clearly visible on your site.

2. KEY POINT: A/B split micro-tests are the key technique to optimize your conversion rate. But during your testing, be careful not to change too many elements of your website all at once. In order to optimize each element on your site, you should test them individually. While this can be a tedious process, it creates the most potential for improvement.

There is one caveat, however: Some site elements will only work well in combination with others. Use your best judgment to determine what elements should be tested together against a control group.


3. Site copy is of prime importance. Sometimes changing a single word or phrase can positively impact conversion rate. Again, micro-testing is key; what works for one company may not work for another.

4. Reduce the number of steps in your order process and remove any extraneous elements. Also, tell users how long it will take to complete their orders. For most retail sites, the order process should be simple enough that the average order takes less than two minutes.

Order Process.
5. Minimize the number of required fields. The order form should not only be short and easy, it should "feel" short and easy.

6. Do not ask customers to provide information that can be automatically collected. This includes dates and other data that can be propagated from other fields.

7. Collect essential contact information (email address and perhaps also phone number) in the first step of your order process. This will allow you to contact users who abandon their orders. The approach and tone used should be that of customer service: you will contact these potential customers to assist them to complete their orders.

Shopping Cart Recovery Tested
8. Reserve key page locations for the most important information for new customers. Use white space and strategic placement of graphical elements to guide the prospect.

9. Guide the customer's eye-path through the order form. There are at least 5 ways to do this:
* Numbered Steps
* Size
* Shape
* Position
* Color
10. For retail sites, position the link to the cart in a consistent and easy-to-find location on every page.

11. Enable the customer to change the item details in the shopping cart. Make certain that the cart automatically recalculates tax, shipping, etc.

12. Remember the customer's contact information so that subsequent orders require less manual entry.

13. Optimize your page weight. Reducing the load time of pages and graphics can significantly boost conversion rate, especially for particularly meaty sites.

Page Weight.
14. Optimize your offer pricing. Test a variety of price points to maximize conversion rate and (more importantly) total profit. It's generally better to start high and reduce your price in subsequent testing to find the level that maximizes profit. However, we've also found cases where increasing price can actually increase conversion by changing the perceived value of the product.

Offer Pricing.
15. Consider experimenting with free-trial offers if your site is service- or subscription-based. For certain products, a well-conceived free-trial offer can yield dramatic increases in conversion rate. Products that are new or unfamiliar are good candidates, as are most newsletters.


Free Trial Offers.
16. Be aware of how seasonal trends might affect your conversion rate. Many market sectors experience fluctuations in traffic and sales during the holidays and other key seasons. Each sector is different and you will come to recognize your own seasonal fluctuations over time.

There is a twofold benefit to studying your seasonal variations. First, you will be able to distinguish seasonal fluctuations from optimization-driven changes. Second, you will be able to leverage key seasons with special promotions and other techniques to have an even greater positive impact on your conversion rate.


17. State any order limitations early in the process. If you are unable to ship overseas, for example, say so up front.

18. Help your customers anticipate total delivered cost. Do not surprise them with hidden or excessive charges, which are a leading contributor to cart abandonment.

19. Pre-qualify your site visitors as much as possible. Don't bid on search terms that aren't relevant for your offer. Optimizing the ROI of your PPC campaigns will automatically increase your overall conversion rate.

However, this is where it is important to understand that conversion rate is not the sole measure of marketing effectiveness. Free sources of traffic should not be forsaken simply because they don't convert as well as other sources. Thoughtful design of metrics and site tracking can permit utilizing sources of less qualified traffic without sacrificing the accuracy of your most qualified traffic.

20. Whenever a form field is sensitive to formatting (credit card expiration date, for example), provide a drop-down menu to minimize errors.

21. Place extra notes and instructions near "problem" areas on your order form.

22. Provide a clear privacy policy that makes your potential customers feel safe shopping with you. Use credibility indicators such as customer testimonials or a high Yahoo! Store customer-satisfaction rating for the same reason.

23. Place your toll-free support number on every page of the order process.

24. Consider using incentives to encourage users to continue or to come back and complete an abandoned order.

Hope this will help you.

WebboT