By Karon Thackston © 2008, All Rights Reserved
In part 1 of this 4-part series, we opened the door to the idea that – just because conversions or rankings have declined – the copy is not automatically to blame. Let’s continue by looking at two other would-be problems that might detract from sales.
Shopping Carts
Even as a seasoned online shopper, I can’t tell you how many shopping carts I’ve come across that just simply befuddled me.You’d think by now every type of shopping cart software would be usercentric, but I can honestly say that many still lack common sense.
For instance, how about a product description page for ladies’ sandals that has no – I repeat no – “add to cart” button? I kid you not. After staring at the page for about two minutes, I decided to check and see if they had my size. They did. Lo and behold, once I chose a size, THEN I could add the sandals to my shopping cart. Most people wouldn’t stick around for the two minutes. They’d look, see no obvious “add to cart” button and leave.
Your shopping cart has to be fluid. By that I mean it can’t hinder the flow of the transaction. People are very robotic about such things. They look for “add to cart” or “add to bag” buttons because they are familiar. They glance over the page for the “keep shopping” link or they expect to be automatically taken back to the product page they were on once the item has been deposited in their cart. When the expected doesn’t happen, people freeze.
If your shopping cart doesn’t follow the standard course of events (“add to cart” buttons, “keep shopping” and “continue to checkout” links, flawless transition to the online payment gateway, etc.), that could easily cripple your conversion rate.
Solution: Make sure you choose shopping cart software that an 80-year-old grandmother could quickly surf through. Just as with the navigation… test it! If people of all ages have trouble using your shopping cart, that could be the reason for low sales. If everyone passes through the process with flying colors, then go back and look at your copy.
Checkout Protocols
In real estate, the three magic words are “location, location, location.”In online payment gateways, the three magic words are “security, security, security.”Not only does your online payment software have to be seamless – working without any glitches or quirks – but it must also scream, “I am safe, secure and trustworthy.”
Solution: Do you have confidence builders such as VeriSign logos, Better Business Bureau icons and encryption seals within plain sight? If not, add them today. Lack of fluidity in the checkout process or lack of trust from your visitors can put a halt to an otherwise easy sale. If you have all these elements in place, your copy might need a rework.
Keep in mind that all elements of your site work together. You might have more than one problem. And the problem could be something other than the two items I’ve covered here. That’s why it’s so important to microtest.
So, what if your issue is a reduction in search engine rankings? I’ll look into that in the next installment of this series.
Karon Thackston is author of 3 popular ebooks. The Step-by-Step Copywriting Course , Writing With Keywords and How to Write Successful PPC Ads at http://www.writeppcads.com.
