In this Webinar, presented with 8Seconds, a real-time content testing and optimization solution provider and Silverpop partner, we’ll look at how real-time content testing works, approaches to testing strategies, case study examples and testing best practices. Additionally, we’ll explore how you can use real-time content testing to begin optimising your emails perpetually, no longer thinking of testing as only an occasional activity.
On-site search is a very important part of any ecommerce store, as search users convert 2-3 times more than non search users. Plus more than 40% of website visitors visiting ecommerce stores use it to find the products.
We will discuss the 9 basic principles of effective on-site search that can help you increase your website conversion.
Basic 1: Search Box Prominence
It seems obvious but there are plenty of stores where trying to find a search box is a tedious task especially at the lower end of the market where these stores are designed without proper preparation including wire framing and proper knowledge.
Basic 2: Search Box Text
In some cases a search box sometimes competes with other elements on a page like for example newsletter sign up form. So adding extra text like “product search” in the box could help.
Basic 3: High-Quality Thumbnails in Search Results
This goes without saying and the majority of well know stores are providing very good thumbnails. However, in some industries like skiing for example, some websites do a really terrible job.
Basic 4: Auto Suggestion and Spell Correction
I found this personally very helpful when I receive automatically suggested products as I am typing.
Basic 5: Fuzzy Matching
Ability to return searches that aren’t 100% correct.
Basic 6: Grid vs. List View List view – good for websites selling electronics, ink cartridges etc where visitors require more information before they click to learn more about the product.
Grid view – is visually more orientated, where visitors select products by their look e.g. shoes, apparel, jewelry, watches, toys, flowers.
I recommend you to read grid vs. list view post, where both views are compared, and their effectiveness.
Basic 7: Quick View
It allows visitors to preview the product without leaving the search page. Many well known apparel and electronics stores offer it. My view is you need to use A/B testing to tell if “quick view” increases your conversion rates or not.
I rather like this feature because I think it looks more professional, however I don’t use it often as personally I prefer to see the whole product. What I like is that most well known stores are using this “quick view” feature, thus it lifts the perception of the brand/website if used on less well known websites.
Basic 8: Search Refinements
After not providing relevant search results this is definitely a killer of website conversion. After studying several well known websites I found search refinement to be the worst on Target.com. Target.com has got a great looking website but their search refinement is terrible. I’ll give you 2 examples:
Example 1: Search keyword “digital camera”:
If you are looking to buy camera with certain mega-pixels, then at target.com you won’t be able to do so.
Example 2: Search keyword “laptop”:
Try to refine laptop by a screen size. This feature doesn’t even exist! I think enough said about how conversion rate of your website is also closely linked to good search refinement on your site.
Should you have search refinement in the left navigation vs. on top or on both, as in the example below? Luckily the answer in this case is very simple. Do A/B testing and you will find out.
Basic 9: Reviews and Rating Displayed in Search Result
Definitely must have if you have reviews and ratings on your website.
For this article I used as a source webinar recording from practicalecommerce.com.In this webinar presented by Nextopia you will learn the best practices for on-site search to increase your search visitors conversions.
In this webinar by Seewhy and Tim Ash, you will discover a few secret techniques used by Tim Ash when optimizing an ecommerce store home page, search page and a product page.
1. Home Page best practices
The primary purpose of the home page is to get your visitors closer to your products, i.e. to get them off the home page
No commercial or individual products should be featured on your home page
Give your visitors small and clear set of choice
2. Search Page best practices
Have clear page titles that echo the search
Don’t show too many items on one page
Use clear and professional images
Use wizards for complex searches
Don’t show “buy now” buttons as it’s too early
3. Product page best practices
Use clear call to action block
Include popularity and social proof – reviews
Use quality images
Give detailed information
Use cross sells, up-sells
Product pages before and after:
Heatmaps of the same product pages as above
4. Cart best practices
Use a pop up to keep them shopping. Don’t redirect your visitors directly to your shopping cart.
Use persistent/permanent shopping cart and store your visitors items for at least 30 days. Many shoppers (74%) are recently using shopping carts as their wish list and will get disappointed if they won’t find items in the cart they selected a few days ago. NOTE: a possible reasons why shoppers are using carts instead of wish lists to store their shopping or liked items is because most wish lists require them to register prior doing so. Another reason is that shoppers are also interested to know the delivery cost, which wish lists rarely provide.
This example below is from cafepress.co.uk, which allows you to send the content of your basket to yourself:
5. Checkout best practices
Keep it really simple and clean
Capture the email address at an early stage, so you can use it for re-marketing
Use email address as the account ID
Strong call to action
Reassure with seals, warranties, awards, testimonials, etc
6. Remarketing to abandoners
After just 1 hour, 90% of ecommerce leads go cold.
In this post about Multivariate vs. A/B testing, you will find out when to use A/B and multivariate testing & the pros and cons of each method.
1. A/B Split Testing
Overview: A/B testing compares the performance of two or more alternatives of a single page element, page or funnel.
When to use:
To test radically different ideas, e.g. layouts, different conversion paths (checkout, sign up & lead generation process) etc.
NOTE: when doing a test on a site you always start with A/B testing first, then after you find the winning page, you move on to multivariate testing to tune up the page (buttons, messages, hero shot).
2. Multivariate Testing MVT
Overview:
With multivariate testing MVT you test different content simultaneously determining the most effective combination. Democratic as your site visitors “vote” through their actions.
When to use:
For more sophisticated comparisons of multiple elements and to develop broader/deeper insight.
NOTE: Google Website Optimizer is using full factorial method, i.e. tests all combinations.
There are testing tools which provide fractional factorial method, however I recommend to make yourself aware of potential downsides of using fractional factorial method by reading this white paper by Tim Ash, an author of the book “Always be Testing”.
Watch the full webinar
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Two top thought leaders join forces to deliver essential tips for optimizing your ecommerce shopping cart process to boost conversion. In this interactive discussion, we’ll show you how to optimize:
Home pages
On-site search
Product detail page
Add to cart
Checkout process
Abandoned shopping carts
When: on Tuesday, July 13th, 12:00 PM ET in this Conversion Academy webcast led by best-selling authors:
Tim Ash – Landing page optimization guru and CEO of SiteTuners.com & Charles Nicholls – Web conversion expert and SeeWhy founder.
They’ll show you how you can use email, landing pages, Twitter, and Facebook to drive customers to your website to purchase, again, and again, and again.
Tel: (020) 7617-7848
or 
In this Webinar, presented with 8Seconds, a real-time content testing and optimization solution provider and Silverpop partner, we’ll look at how real-time content testing works, approaches to testing strategies, case study examples and testing best practices. Additionally, we’ll explore how you can use real-time content testing to begin optimising your emails perpetually, no longer thinking of testing as only an occasional activity.
