Whether you run a global ecommerce store a newly founded start-up, it’s important to know how you’re doing. Keeping track of your progress is essential if you want to be successful, know why you’re successful, and continue doing so.
But how can you monitor your business performance in ecommerce? It’s not as hard as it sounds. There are a few KPIs that can give you a good idea of how your ecommerce business is doing. Read on for 3 essential metrics to monitor and how to improve them.
1. Website Traffic
First things first, you need to check how many people are visiting your website. If your site isn’t attracting enough visitors then it’s falling at the first hurdle. To increase traffic, you have a range of options:
- Search engine optimisation – this is a variety of methods which aim to boost your website on Google’s rankings. Original content, keywords and inbound links can help.
- Advertising – An instant way to shoot to the top of search results is by simply paying for it. Sponsored search adverts appear above organic results and are charged per click.
- Social media – Sites like Facebook and Twitter are a good way to direct people to your website. Increasing your following on these social networks can have a significant impact.
2. Conversion rate
Once people are on your site, it’s useful to check how many of them are making purchases. Dividing the number of purchasing visitors by the total number of visitors and you have your conversion rate. The average is only around 3%. To improve your conversion rate, consider why visitors aren’t making purchases:
- Ensure your site’s text is compelling and interesting
- Use appealing product images
- Improve the checkout process with simpler forms, guest checkout and more payment options
- You could also add a range of shipping options. The top deciding factor for most consumers and number 1 reason for abandoning orders is poor shipping selections. Have you considered options like same day, set delivery times or click & collect?
3. Average Order Value
Ok, so you’ve got the traffic and you’re getting the orders. But how much are your orders worth? If your customers are all making small purchases, you might have a problem. Divide the value of all orders by the total number of orders and you have your average order value.
Only you will know if the average order value is enough. If you want to increase it, you can try suggesting other items to customers based on their activity. Recommend items similar to their purchase, those they have recently viewed, or those also bought by other customers who made the same purchase.
For Further Reading: 4 Signs Your Ecommerce Advertising Strategy Isn’t Good Enough
Improving your metrics
While there are ways to improve your traffic, conversion rate and order value, it’s not easy on your own. Bing Digital, our ecommerce agency based in UK, is a team of specialist web designers, expert digital marketers and branding geniuses. Whether it’s SEO, pay-per-click advertising, web design or just ecommerce support, we can give you the advice, support and expertise necessary to keep your business thriving. For more information, get in touch today.