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### Brand integrity: the new frontier for marketing

[Get the report here](/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/brand-integrity-the-new-frontier-for-marketing?cta=banner)

Get more out of your customer reviews with our case studies, webinars and videos. Find the latest trends to promote your company in search and manage your online reputation.

Turn Browsers into Buyers - Trustpilot Blog

Reviews - Turn Browsers into Buyers

boosting your conversions in difficult times

If your conversion rate isn't budging, or worse, dropping, these 7 eCommerce tips might help you get through these difficult times.

Online shopping may have taken over completely in the last couple of weeks, but many industries still remain in the dark. Growing your bottom line during this crisis means you’ll need to focus on increasing and optimising your conversion rate, which is far from simple in times like these.

Like most eCommerce businesses, you might be looking to optimise your conversion rates without spending too much money, and without looking desperate, because desperation kills conversions. You might be getting enough traffic right now, but boosting conversions doesn’t end at increasing traffic. If your conversion rate isn’t moving, or worse even, is dropping, these 7 tips will help you try new ways to boost your overall performance as shopping behaviours continue to change.

## 7 Tips to optimise your eCommerce conversion rate

### 1. Offer free shipping

Did you know that shipping cost is the number one reason for cart abandonment ([25%](https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/))? [9 out of 10](http://marketingland.com/e-commerce-report-9-10-consumers-say-free-shipping-no-1-incentive-shop-online-180280) consumers admit that free shipping is their biggest incentive to continue shopping online. If you’re charging for shipping in these difficult times, chances are you're losing some of your sales to your competitors. With shops being closed for the foreseeable future, we recommend offering free shipping to all customers, with no minimum order amount.

This doesn’t have to be forever, but whilst times are so uncertain and all shops are closed, offering free shipping is a good way to boost your sales.

H&M free delivery and free returns covid-19

### 2. Create a discount

Now more than ever, consumers have taken a hit financially. With so much job uncertainty right now, shoppers are more likely to buy from stores which offer discounts and promotional offers to their customers.

Discounts are perceived by consumers as a way to get a product of higher value and better quality at a lower price. Indeed, the feeling of getting a bargain or a good deal is likely to make consumers buy a product they wouldn’t necessarily have bought at full price. 

This is because of the fear of missing out (FOMO). Most of the time, consumers don’t know how long the promotional offer or discount will last for. This creates urgency and will push people to make a buying decision quicker than usual. In other cases, retailers determine a certain amount of time for which the discount will be valid for (e.g. 20% for 48 hours). This also creates urgency, and pushes consumers to buy from your website before the deal ends.

Given the current situation, setting up discounts regularly or for extended periods of time, is likely to help you see a real change in your conversion rate.


Reiss discount

### 3. Donate to charity

Times of hardship can bring out the best in human nature. Communities are coming together and people are going out of their way to donate money to those affected by the crisis or in real need of support.
Many businesses have recently been donating some of their products or offering their time and services to help out the community. 

If you’re looking for a way to help, why not give a small percentage of each sale to charity? Customers are more likely to shop if they know their online shopping is helping support key workers, patients, or people in need. Being a more human brand is a trait every company should embrace, and this could make a real difference right now.

James Allen donations covid-19

### 4. Address uncertainty with additional information

In these difficult times, it’s important to address any possible uncertainty with as much information as possible. We highly recommend creating a COVID-19 FAQ page, with new information about shipping, delivery, extended returns, and more.

Marks and Spencer covid-19 information

Providing additional information will give buyers enough confidence to trust that you are the right brand for them right now. Product description is also extremely important. Make sure your product copy is clear and reflects your brand image. Your customer should have no questions left once they’ve read the product description. Don’t forget to add visuals on there too. The more visuals you include, the more chances you have of converting consumers. 

Companies that use custom imagery actually have [7 times more conversions](http://bandwagoncreative.com/infographic/) than companies who don’t. And they don’t have to stop at photos. Why not add product demonstration videos, product reviews or customer testimonials directly on your product pages? This will help answer any questions your potential customer might have at this point of the journey, reducing the chances of them continuing their research elsewhere.

### 5. Optimise your checkout process

Did you know that having to create a new user account is the second biggest reason for cart abandonment ([22%](https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/))? If you don’t offer guest checkout yet, this might be the right time to consider it. It can help keep all consumers stay engaged, whether they’re repeat shoppers or first-time consumers. Adding the additional step of account creation can create friction for the user, as they probably won’t want to create a new account every time they order from a new website - which is likely to be often right now.

Single-step checkouts are also one of the easiest ways for existing customers to finalise their purchase. Amazon or Shopify are two of the best platforms to use this system. Existing customers save their payment and personal details and can buy anything they’d either by clicking on the ‘Buy Now’ button, or entering a one-time passcode sent to their mobile. This saves them from having to fill in a lot of forms at checkout.

Do you offer any of these? Why not give them a try!


Burga express checkout

### 6. Accept multiple payment options

Did you know that [24%](http://www.iqpc.com/media/1003982/39442.pdf) of consumers abandon their transactions at checkout because the retailer doesn’t offer their preferred payment choices?

Getting more traffic means your business needs to please different types of customers, with different needs and different expectations. Having multiple payment options ensures your larger audience is taken care of and that their expectations are met. 

These uncertain times are affecting everyone, especially financially.

That’s why we recommend to offer your customers other payment solutions such as Klarna, a Swedish bank which provides customers with an easy way to pay in 3 times, or pay 30 days after their purchase, without affecting their credit score. 


Multiple payment options

### 7. Leverage reviews

Lack of trust in advertising is seriously affecting the customer journey and the decision-making process. According to [Trustpilot research](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/4-things-every-business-owner-should-know-about-the-state-of-reviews), in 2019, we saw an 11% decline in trust globally, with only 71% of people admitting they trust consumer brands.

Today, it’s getting easier for consumers to compare businesses by price, shipping cost, quality, and customer experience, which makes it harder for eCommerce sites to stand out, and therefore convert consumers, especially in times like these. Trust is one of those differentiators that can really help a company stand out.

Word of mouth is one of the most popular methods of recommendations today, and with 80% of people trusting reviews as much as personal recommendations, it’s safe to say that reputation and third-party validation are big difference-makers. A Trustpilot study found that 89% of global consumers check online reviews as part of their online buying journey, and 49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top 3 purchase influences.

Leveraging trust and transparency through online reviews is key to increase eCommerce conversions. That’s why using customer reviews at key points of the shopping journey can encourage visitors to engage with you (now or later), rather than leave your website and keep looking elsewhere.

Luca Tagliaferro, Analytics Advisor, SEO Consultant, Lecturer & Speaker at [Future Fit](https://www.futurefit.co.uk/), explains:

"Future Fit recently ran an A/B test with Trustpilot's review carousel and saw a massive increase in conversions from leveraging reviews. The page with reviews converted at 22%, whereas the page without reviews converted at 14%. After seeing such results, we decided to implement Trustpilot widgets across the whole website. With results like these, adding reviews to the journey was just a no-brainer to boost our overall conversions." 

Reviews on product pages

Don’t be afraid of being transparent, and embrace both negative and positive reviews to build credibility with your consumers. Indeed, 64% of global consumers would prefer to buy from a responsive company over one that appears perfect.

Collecting reviews from an open platform, managing your customers’ feedback and leveraging it as social proof in the consumer journeys are great ways to build trust and increase conversions, even in uncertain times.

Even though these times are difficult for every business, try to keep your customer journey as frictionless as possible, offer free shipping and discounts to your customers, and most of all, don’t be afraid to be transparent: share more information and provide your customers with testimonials. We guarantee you’ll see a difference. 

If you’d like to learn more about reviews and how they can benefit your business in difficult times, give our guide to reviews a read!


 7 Ways to boost your conversion rate right now

Social Proof for High Ticket Conversions and Luxury Brands

It almost goes without saying that life online plays a crucial role in the way luxury shoppers choose brands and products. Here's why social proof builds confidence in online shoppers and reduces cart abandonment.

According to luxury retail experts McKinsey, online sales of personal luxury goods like watches, jewelry, apparel, beauty, and perfume are on track to more than triple by 2025. At that rate, it won’t be long before nearly one fifth of high ticket luxury purchases take place entirely online. 

It almost goes without saying that life online plays a crucial role in the way luxury shoppers choose brands and products — whether it’s through Instagram feeds, influencers, articles in fashion magazines, or simply seeking the tried and true wisdom of their fellow online shoppers.

Per the same [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/luxury-in-the-age-of-digital-darwinism) insights, close to 80% of luxury sales are digitally influenced, presenting quite an opportunity for anyone selling high value items online to craft a trustworthy reputation across the many digital channels customers use to [research purchases](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/6-ways-to-make-trust-your-essential-brand-differentiator). 

Wondering how to remove any lingering online barriers to high-ticket purchases? Read on for some high impact conversion optimization strategies, and a look at how our friends at [Laguna Pearl](https://www.lagunapearl.com/) used social proof to generate a 38% lift in their own high-ticket conversions.

## Here are four strategies for igniting more high value conversions

### 1. Use social proof to build confidence in your future customers — and reduce cart abandonment  

No matter how much online shopping your audience does, it’s safe to say that the more your products cost, the more trust you’ll need to instill in your site visitors before they’re ready to buy. And while we’d argue that your cross-channel marketing messaging should always instill trust, never forget that the [most trusted messaging](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/can-online-reviews-revive-consumer-trust-in-advertising) of all comes from fellow shoppers. 

According to luxury retail experts at McKinsey, “Digital luxury is increasingly a customer-to-customer (C2C) economy. The consumer is central to the shopping journey, from advocacy to sales. Luxury consumers, highly engaged on social media, are evolving from paying observers of the show into actors on the stage. They are becoming, in effect, another marketing channel.”

We can confirm that today, more and more online shoppers rely on the experiences of other shoppers to make their buying decisions, with recent Trustpilot research uncovering that a whopping [82% of shoppers](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/why-and-how-social-proof-influences-consumers) are more likely to purchase after reading ratings and reviews. 

[Laguna Pearl](https://www.lagunapearl.com/), an online luxury retailer selling high-end pearl jewelry, knows this firsthand. They partnered with Trustpilot back in 2013 to give customers a public forum to share their experiences with and opinions of their brand. Once they built up a critical mass of reviews, they made sure to display them across their website and on key shopping pages to help [overcome customer hesitation](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/4-ways-to-overcome-customer-hesitation) in the moment of truth leading up to a high value purchase. 

Laguna Pearl Features Reviews on Website

Within just 30 days of implementing Trustpilot reviews, Laguna Pearl saw a __38% increase in click-through rates to their site and a 9.5% decrease in cart abandonment.__ They also saw positive effects from including Trustpilot ratings in their paid advertising campaigns: earning [Google Seller Ratings](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/why-wont-my-google-seller-ratings-show-up-and-4-other-gsr-questions) on their Google Ads increased their CTR by 8%, and including Trustpilot ratings in their Facebook ads increased their CTR by 9%. 

Perhaps most impressively, __of those that clicked-through, 5% went on to purchase at some point in the next 30 days__ — clearing the [3.3% benchmark](https://www.growcode.com/blog/ecommerce-conversion-rate/) for eCommerce sessions with completed transactions. 

Leon Rbibo, President of Laguna Pearl (and sister company [The Pearl Source](https://www.thepearlsource.com/)), also cites their [business profile pages](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.thepearlsource.com) on Trustpilot as a source of their success since Google searches for reviews of luxury brands and products have become so common. Thankfully, Trustpilot profile pages are likely to show up at the [top of organic search results](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/why-does-google-care-if-your-business-has-online-reviews-in-2019). 

According to Rbibo, “with Trustpilot, we are already proving to potential customers that we are legitimate before they even land on our website. Companies can try to fill up their websites with as much content and information as possible, but at the end of the day, there will still be customers that require a certain amount of trust before they can finally make a purchase — especially with high value purchases like jewelry.”

## 2. Optimize the online shopping experience for luxury product conversions

On top of building more trust at the very top of the luxury shopping journey, there are a number of conversion-boosting levers to pull on your website itself. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes: spending large sums of money can be exciting but stressful for even the most experienced online luxury shoppers, so it’s important to consider [UX principles](https://uxplanet.org/essential-ux-design-principles-and-strategies-for-ecommerce-aa55557931bb) that make it easy to convert. 

One way to do this is to constrain their choices. Think about it this way — once an online shopper arrives at your product page, they’ve already made a complex series of decisions. Now is the time to reduce any further complexity on the path to conversion, and you can do this by providing clear and simple choices. 


Luxury Brand Product Page Design

Consider page layouts that [showcase product details](https://uxdesign.cc/designing-better-product-pages-b377c035581) at a large scale, or that remove the need to click through a carousel to get a sense of the product from all angles. 

__You can even use customer feedback from reviews to identify what matters to your customers and ensure it’s reflected in your UX__. But how can you keep tabs on everything mentioned in your reviews? 

[Review tagging](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/review-tagging) is a great way to keep tabs on trends within customer sentiments collected through Trustpilot. For example, if you sell jewelry online, customers might mention certain occasions or holidays where your products made great gifts. You might consider tagging those reviews by occasion, and eventually create a new section or landing page in your store highlighting that use case for trending occasions like our friends at Laguna Pearl:

Laguna Pearl TrustScore on Homepage

### 3. Soften the blow of spending

[Psychologically speaking](https://sitetuners.com/blog/leveraging-psychology-to-remove-barriers-to-high-ticket-conversions/) and perhaps unsurprisingly, our brains equate the act of spending to losing valuable resources — and this can have an even more pronounced effect when online shoppers aren’t able to closely inspect their purchase in real life. 

Fortunately, you can soften the blow of spending by reframing the way you present prices. Simply removing the currency symbol or the remaining decimal pages from any prices listed on your product pages can be a huge help. You can also consider payment services that allow customers to “buy now, pay later”, or other options for customers to [incrementally pay off](https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2017/02/06/case-study-how-payment-installments-boosts-sales-tradesy/) their luxury purchase.

As it turns out, dividing up a large expense into smaller amounts minimizes the perceived loss customers experience when they shell out everything at once. In fact, empowering them to pay little by little can pay off for luxury online retailers with an astronomical effect on average order value.

### 4. Use reviews to offer personalized content across the shopping journey and enable customer participation

Getting closer to your customers through online channels reviews can create a virtuous cycle of not only operational improvements, but delightful experiences and a sense of what McKinsey calls [“customer intimacy”](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/luxury-in-the-age-of-digital-darwinism). 

While it might seem counterintuitive to use artificial intelligence tools like Trustpilot’s [Review Insights](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/review-insights) to develop a deeper human connection with customers, online luxury brands can strike gold by using [consumer insights technology](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/introducing-trustpilots-new-machine-learning-tool-review-insights) to get as close to their customers as they were in the days of strictly brick and mortar transactions.

Just as Louis Vuitton famously hand-wrote personalized product suggestions to customers in the early days of luxury retail, brands today can approximate that level of insight and closeness by monitoring their review insights and actioning the feedback through both their product offerings and their marketing materials, even using trends in their review insights for advanced customer segmentation.

As far as customer intimacy goes, front runners in online luxury retail are also looking to customers for opportunities to co-create. According to customer engagement experts at [Deloitte](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/chief-marketing-officer/articles/future-of-marketing-global-marketing-trends-internal.html?page=5), “many brands and marketers need to evolve their approach and create a dynamic two-way engagement across all stages of the consumer journey and the product lifecycle. Those doing it best are often seeing willing customer participants become brand ambassadors, influencers, advocates, collaborators, and even innovators.”


Customer participation across the spectrum

Customer Participation

As far as we’re concerned, creating a feedback loop with your customers is the first step towards zeroing in on the type of valuable consumer insights that have the potential to evolve into co-creation. 

Simply by collecting reviews, online luxury retailers can harness customer recommendations to offer the most resonant luxury products, roll out [personalized customer experiences](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/why-a-personalized-consumer-experience-matters-in-the-ecommerce-world), and even unlock opportunities for customers to participate in brand-building.

### Start using social proof to sell more luxury products online


Find out how to stand out on social media, effortlessly

According to McKinsey, the answer to whether today’s luxury brands are adapting fast enough to the highly digital customer journey is mixed. While a good number of luxury retailers have increased their spend on digital activities, the majority are incrementally dabbling in these kinds of activities and struggling to keep pace with online luxury shoppers’ expectations. 

Though more and more luxury retailers are starting to meet their customers where they are — online — you can still get ahead of the curve by opening a dialogue with your customers through online reviews. 

To sum it all up, collecting reviews about your luxury brand and products can help you build more trust at the top of the shopping journey, reduce cart abandonment, improve your online shopping experience, and even improve the overall experience that customers have with your brand. Taken together, these factors can quickly move the needle for high value conversions. 

Want to learn more about the many ways luxury brands can benefit from collecting reviews? Get your free copy of The Complete Guide to Customer Reviews below.  


Download our complete guide to reviews

How luxury brands can use social proof to ignite high value conversions 

5 easy ways to increase your website's traffic

In this article, we go through 5 of the best ways to increase your website's traffic, who's doing it well, and how you can implement them starting today.

That goes without saying. If you have no traffic, no one is finding your business, let alone giving you money. That’s why it’s important to utilise multiple strategies to bring new visitors to your site while keeping old visitors engaged and more likely to return. 

As hard as this may sound for small businesses, there are ways to attract more potential customers to your website. In this article, we’ll be going through 5 of the best ways to increase your traffic, who's doing it well, and how you can implement them starting today.

## 1. Create new content and optimise old content

Content marketing is one of today’s most popular marketing tools, and we can see how big it has become since marketers rated it the most important technique for driving sales in 2017.

But what is [content marketing](https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/content_marketing) exactly? According to the Oxford dictionary, “a type of marketing that involves the creation of online material and content that does not promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products.”

It’s important to note that content marketing is not the same as advertising - you’re not promoting your brand, you’re providing value to your audience.

__In 2016, [90%](https://www.smartinsights.com/content-management/content-marketing-strategy/essential-2017-content-marketing-statistics/) of companies used content marketing as part of their overall strategy.__

The most popular forms of content marketing are in the form of social media content, case studies, blogs, reviews, and newsletters. Competing with Facebook posts, blog articles, and content published every second is difficult, but as long as you're providing valuable content, your traffic is likely to increase.

Reviews are a great form of content that is consistently updated, is authentic, and provides value to potential customers by giving them insight into what they can expect from your business.

You can also increase the number of pages on your website that can rank for some of your most important keywords. Consider adding new category pages, new blog posts, new visuals, infographics, or videos that will help your website maintain its ranking and continue attracting new browsers.

Once you’re optimising your content for keyword terms and tracking them using tools such as SEMRush, you can optimise old content and help those pages rank better by updating the content regularly. Remember, Google prefers fresh content to old one.

Ranking high will always bring you more organic traffic, so keep an eye on your old content too.

__Who’s doing it right?__

download (4)

Etsy blog

Etsy’s blog is a great example of providing content that’s fit for their audience. To attract and retain people who are interested in their service, they discuss the latest trends in handcrafting, gift ideas, and news. All through great content and beautiful imagery.

__Trustpilot’s tips__

Every piece of content should have some of these traits in order to be valuable content:

- Unexpected
- Emotional
- Inspiring
- Educational
- Relevant
- Practical
- Unique
- Credible
- Trustworthy

## 2. Consider Social Advertising to drive website traffic

Social advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms is still relatively cheap compared to Google Ads and many of the platforms allow you to segment the audience you’re targeting with specific keywords or demographics. 

But you might wonder, is advertising on social media really worth it?

The cost of a Facebook ad varies on a number of factors, but the average cost per click of Facebook ads in 2016 was 27.35 cents. Meanwhile, paid search ads offer keyword targeting as high as $25 per click for highly competitive keywords.

__Social media has a real advantage over PPC - it lets you target the exact customer you’re trying to reach.__

Social media advertising also allows you to have a larger window of time to work with. With an average amount of time of 40 minutes spent a day on Facebook, users are now more concerned with browsing, reading, clicking, liking, and connecting. And this makes it easier for you to connect and interact with your audience.

__Who’s doing it right?__

download (5)

social ad

Why is this Bustle Facebook ad so efficient?  

Well, first of all, it’s visual. Many brands will utilise a standard Amazon Prime logo, but Bustle wins with its neon lights variant.

The copy is just as good. Using “brilliant” in the title is a strong word to describe products, stimulating curiosity and making people want to click while also being consistent with its neon sign image.

Finally, it’s got a very clear CTA (call to action). The ad mentions brilliant and odd products that everyone loves, and that can be delivered to you in just two days.

What’s not to love?

__Trustpilot’s tips__

Get specific. You can target users by:

- Location
- Age
- Languages
- Relationship status
- Education level
- Field of study
- Schools attended
- Employers
- Job titles
- Income
- Purchase behavior
- Mobile device type, and much more...

### 3. Speed up your website to increase traffic

Think the speed of your website doesn’t matter?

Think again.

A 1-second page delay in page load time can lead to 11% fewer page views and a 7% loss in conversions. When considering conversions that directly affect revenue, 7% starts to look like a very big number.

A study by Akamai found that 47% of people expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% say they will abandon a page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

A faster site will not only help you convert better, but also get more organic traffic. Websites are rewarded when the search engines are able to crawl websites quicker, and find more relevant content on them.

__Speeding up your website is essential - for search visibility, better user experience, and ultimately, more revenue.__

__Who’s doing it right?__

download (6)

Apple example

Apple’s website scored 89/100 during their website speed test. Apple has optimised their image and feature-heavy website to deliver a beautiful user experience without leaving revenue on the table by having a slow-loading website. It’s a great example of how an eCommerce site can make you feel like you’re having an experience.

Assess your site using free tools like Pingdom or GTmetrix to get your website’s score.

__Trustpilot’s tips__

Speed up your website with these 10 tips:

- Minimise HTTP requests
- Reduce server response time
- Enable compression
- Use browser caching
- Minify resources
- Optimise images: check their size, format and Src attribute
- Optimise CSS delivery
- Prioritise top of the page content
- Reduce your plugins
- Reduce redirects

## 4. Optimise your website for mobile and voice search  

This year will see Google implementing their Mobile-first index. But what does this mean for your business’s website?

__If your site isn’t optimised for mobile devices, your ranking positions are likely to suffer.__

With Google saying that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing, websites no longer have the luxury to ignore their mobile users. We covered how critical it is to have fast-loading pages in the section above and Google has made it easier to both speed up your website while catering to mobile users.

To speed up load times for mobile users, Google recently released its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project. AMP is an online publishing format that is similar to HTML and was created to help speed up web page load times.

AMP provides higher performance and engagement as web pages and ads load instantly, giving users a smooth experience both on desktop and mobile and also improves SEO performance.

__Who’s doing it right?__

BuzzFeed’s AMP site still feels like a BuzzFeed site, with image-heavy pages that rely on large text and titles. However, it has a much more minimal layout and hides its categories within other pages, decreasing load time and optimising the user experience.

__Trustpilot’s tips__

To optimise your website for mobile, you have to pick a configuration. Here’s a little recap to help you choose. 

All 3 configurations are Google-friendly, but the search engine recommends responsive design first:

- Responsive web designing is the simplest and most-recommended form of optimisation, and it’s extremely easy to implement. It delivers the same HTML on the same URL and the page adapts to the size of the screen.
- Dynamic serving is another form of mobile optimisation. The URL remains the same, but serves different HTML content when accessed from a mobile device.
- Separate URLs means you have to keep 2 distinct URLs: one for mobile and one for desktop.

Once you’ve implemented one of the configurations, inform Google and other search engines in order to help them understand your page so that it can rank your site properly.

With the growing popularity of virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, the internet is taking a new turn. Today, people looking for information online are [more likely to use voice search](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/get-seen-in-search/the-new-face-of-seo-answer-engine-optimization) and plain language than they were over the last several years.

In the keynote for Google I/O 2016, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told the audience that 20% of mobile search queries are voice queries.

And this number is only expected to grow as voice recognition software becomes more advanced by the hour. Your SEO should be optimised for voice searches, and you should research potential conversational queries that are applicable to your site as well.

If you haven’t updated your search strategy to account for voice search, you are missing out on the chance to reach potential customers that could convert.

__Trustpilot’s tips__

These are some ways businesses can make their content voice search-friendly:

- __Optimise long-tail keywords and phrases__: voice searches make use of natural language. The way we talk is different than the way we type. The phrases and keywords that we use while speaking to digital assistants are different than the ones we’d use when typing in a search engine.
- __Focus on your FAQs__: your frequently asked questions pages are the perfect place to include long-tail keywords. A clear answer to a commonly asked question has a better chance of appearing in Google Answers.
- __Local SEO is your friend__: voice search is 3 times more likely to be local. Keeping your contact information, opening hours, location and content up to date is necessary. If anyone asks “Where can I find a coffee shop in London?”, being optimised for local SEO means you are more likely to appear in the first set of results.

*In our fifth and last section, we asked our friends at [HawkSEM](https://hawksem.com/), a digital marketing agency in Los Angeles, to share their best tips to ensure the traffic you're drawing to your site doesn't sacrifice quality for quantity.*

## 5. While focused on quantity, don't forget quality

Sure, a high volume of site traffic is great — but you also want to be getting the right kind of traffic. That means figuring out how to strategically attract your target audience to turn qualified leads into conversions, while continuing to grow your reach. 

Once you define what “qualified” traffic looks like at your particular company, the best way to go about getting it is often through a mix of paid and organic efforts.

emeals example

landing page example

As far as paid efforts go, the more specific you make your paid search, display, and retargeting ads, the higher your chances will be of attracting people who are interested in the products or services you offer. That means your ads and landing pages should:

- Be consistent in their language — your ads should match your landing pages, and both should match what your audience is searching
- Be specific about who exactly you’re targeting (i.e. “first-time homebuyers in San Diego” instead of just “homebuyers”)
- Use audience segmentation options when available

It’s also wise to focus on lifetime value (LTV) rather than simple cost per acquisition (CPA), cost per click (CPC), or click-through rate (CTR). LTV is about the overall impact one sale can have on your business throughout your company’s relationship with the customer. Once you determine what's driving the best long-term quality leads, you can allocate more of your budget there — from specific keywords, devices, and times to campaigns, audience segments, and more. This is easier to do when you filter all of your cross-channel ad data into your CRM, giving you full visibility into what’s working and what’s not. 

When it comes to organic traffic efforts that lead to conversion rate optimization (CRO), you’ve still got plenty of options at your disposal. One of the best ways to attract the right traffic is through [quality content creation](https://hawksem.com/blog/how-to-create-quality-content-marketing/). Work on having a bank of thorough, educational content that speaks directly to the problems and pain points of your audience, while providing them with solutions. 

This is a much more beneficial option than “keyword stuffing,” which not only comes off as inauthentic, but Google may penalize you for it as well. Sticking to natural language is also a must, thanks to Google’s recent BERT algorithm update that helps the search engine better understand context when it comes to wording and phrases.

“Before writing your ad copy or blog, you want to fully put yourself in your target audience’s shoes,” says Sam Yadegar, CEO of HawkSEM. “Ask yourself: How is what I'm writing about helping make their lives better? How will this piece of information help them achieve their goals?” Along with this, he adds that researching and doing a thorough analysis of your target personas can help inform the way you speak to them. 

Whether you’re trying to attract your first customer or you 10,000th customer, generating more traffic to your online store is a crucial part of growing your business, and these 5 proven tactics should help you drive more traffic in the long run.

If you'd like to find out what kind of impact Trustpilot can have on your advertising, download a free copy of our newest whitepaper below!

5 Easy ways to increase traffic to your site

planning email strategies to unlock black friday sales volume

With just a few weeks left until the busiest time of year, we’ve looked into why consumer behaviour is changing, and what email strategies you can employ to unlock Black Friday sales volumes throughout the year.

Once again, Black Friday wins the “biggest shopping event of the year” award, and this year will be no exception. However, in the past few years, Black Friday has become more than just a full day of big discounts. It’s become a month-long sale, pushing consumers to buy all of their holiday gifts, and more expensive items such as electronics or furniture, in November.

So with just a few weeks left until the busiest time of year, we’ve looked into why consumer behaviour is changing, and what email strategies you can employ to adapt to new spending habits.

## Why Black Friday shopping behaviour is changing

Both experience and research demonstrate that almost everyone loves getting a bargain. 

Let’s face it, if you want something and know that it will be reduced in price in November, you’re more likely to wait and buy it at a discounted price than buy it immediately, full price. Of course, this might not apply to everyone, but research shows a shift in shopping behaviour and spending habits as people now wait to buy bigger items such as furniture, toys, TVs, phones, tablets and other holiday gifts at Black Friday due to discounts being much bigger than during the rest of the year.

You’ll find toys and electronics at the top of ‘Black Friday’s most popular items’ list. [According to IMRG](https://www.imrg.org/), in the last couple of months, the electronics industry has seen back-to-back declining growth (-17.7% on average). In fact, interestingly, the last positive growth was seen in November 2018 — notably Black Friday month. 

Consumer behaviour is slowly starting to change, and experts are starting to wonder if the sector is now so disrupted by the big discount event that shoppers withhold the purchase of large ticket items to just one month of the year. 

As many industries are starting to face this issue, it seems like the problem is getting bigger every year. This could affect many retail sectors if not addressed, so to guarantee all-year-round conversions,__ we asked Hawke Media to help us compile a set of strategies, tips and tactics to help you combat slow growth after Black Friday and the holidays.__

## How to make the most out of email marketing, all year long

[Hawke Media](https://hawkemedia.com/) places a heavy emphasis on [Black Friday and Cyber Monday](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/09/26/the-time-is-now-preparing-for-holiday-e-commerce-season/#26b286f17d98) for their clients, but they also don’t want them to only thrive [one month](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/24/black-friday-pulled-in-a-record-6point22-billion-in-online-sales-adobe.html) and falter all of the other months of the year. That’s why Hawke Media marketing gurus implement strategies that will increase success on campaigns — and therefore profit margins as well — throughout the year, not just during the busiest time of year. Email marketing plays a huge role in year-round brand success — here’s how you can use it to climb to the top of your revenue goals, as best demonstrated by Hawke Media client ACME Electronics.

ACME Electronics is an electronics brand, best known for its high-end audio systems and speakers that are so affordably priced they’ve never had to run a sale. The company manufactures all of its own products in the U.S. and puts a particular emphasis on customer service. These are just a few of the reasons why they’ve built a robust and loyal following among consumers, despite being a lesser-known company in an industry of big-name competitors. 

There was one missing piece to the puzzle: ACME Electronics wasn’t seeing the revenue growth one might expect with such a strong customer base. With Hawke Media’s help, the brand developed and executed a plan to solve the puzzle. The email marketing strategy they built is a great email model for any company looking to grow their revenue after Black Friday’s sales growth.

The email marketing campaign’s aim was to help them develop a brand voice. Hawke Media found out what made them unique and who their [target demographic](https://blog.benchmarkemail.com/finding-target-audience/) was to improve messaging around value props to expand that demographic and acquire new customers.

First and foremost, it was essential to start by activating and growing a previously unused email list with an automated nurture and retention email series. Next, ACME Electronics created weekly email campaigns with rich, informative, and entertaining [content](https://hawkemedia.com/blog/email-best-practices). If your brand doesn’t have an email list, it’s extremely valuable to create one in order to utilise weekly email campaigns and nurture strategies. 

ACME Electronics’ email list was sizeable prior to engaging with Hawke Media, but they had never taken advantage of it. In conjunction with the email plan, they worked on their [Facebook advertising](https://www.facebook.com/business/news/email-and-facebook-ads), which increased web traffic to the email list. Having an advertising strategy can be very beneficial for growing your email list quickly, and [showcasing reviews in your advertising can help you build trust](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/why-87-of-consumers-find-ads-more-trustworthy-with-trustpilot) earlier in the funnel. 

In terms of advertising strategy, ACME Electronics ran Facebook advertising campaigns that incorporated [new messaging](https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/facebook-ads-best-practices/), in order to better demonstrate the value that customers get for such a high-quality product at their price point. In doing so, they gave some value beyond their typical customer demographic, which is one way to expand on your current demographic reach. 

In addition, Hawke Media’s Facebook advertising experts developed a unique series of 30, 60, and 90-day [retargeting](https://hawkemedia.com/blog/facebook-prospecting-vs-retargeting) campaigns, testing different value props. Three months in, ACME Electronics was earning a whopping 621 percent return on advertising spend, with cost per acquisition steadily decreasing 83 percent in two months. 

As ACME Electronics activated the list, it grew rapidly. They then ran automated nurture and retention campaigns, and developed juicy weekly emails that really engaged the audience, open rates and click-through rates shot up roughly three times the industry standard. Within three months, the email sends were consistently generating a return on investment of approximately 500 percent.
ACME Electronics’ email marketing plan ensured sales growth all-year-round, and not just during the holiday season.

### To sum up…

These are the 4 easy steps you can take to rock your email marketing plan to boost your sales in the months of declining growth post Black Friday:

1. Start by building strong email lists
2. Activate those email lists
3. Don’t forget to grow the email list via Facebook advertising, which means: 
- Creating a variety of messaging that communicates your customer value to expand your reach beyond your typical demographic
- Developing a series of varied-length retargeting campaigns that test different value props 
4. Finally, developing email content that will not only inform but also entertain your audience and showcase social proof to boost credibility and reduce consumer doubt.


If you’d like to learn more about Hawke Media, check out [their website](https://hawkemedia.com/). Alternatively, if you’d like to find out more about the power of social proof and learn how online reviews can have a positive impact on your bottom line all-year-round, download a free copy of our newest consumer research below.

trust signal report

4 Email marketing strategies to unlock Black Friday sales volume throughout the year

15 tips to improve conversions by Trustpilot 2019

In today’s competitive eCommerce landscape, it's harder to convertt customers. We all know conversions lead to sales, so here are 15 tips to drastically increase your eCommerce conversion rate.

But is it really that simple?

In a world where [84%](https://www.clickz.com/84-percent-of-millennials-dont-trust-traditional-advertising/27030/) of people do not trust advertisements anymore, converting visitors into customers has become a real mission impossible. Like most eCommerce businesses, you’re looking to optimise your conversion rates without spending too much, or without looking desperate, because desperation kills conversions...

You might be getting enough traffic, but boosting conversions doesn’t end at increasing traffic. If your conversion rate isn’t budging (or worse, if it’s dropping), you need to shift tactics.

If you’re asking yourself ‘how can I increase my eCommerce conversion rate’?, start by reading this article. We’ll give you 15 easy ways to improve your customer experience and boost your conversion rate.

## 15 Tips to optimise your eCommerce conversion rate today

### 1. Offer free shipping###

According to Barilliance, shipping cost is the number one reason for cart abandonment [(25%)](https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/) and [9 out of 10 consumers](http://marketingland.com/e-commerce-report-9-10-consumers-say-free-shipping-no-1-incentive-shop-online-180280) say free shipping is their biggest incentive to continue shopping online. If you’re charging for shipping, chances are you're losing some of your sales to your competitors.

Some may offer shipping for free regardless of what’s purchased and some offer free shipping tied to conditions, like a minimum spend requirement. Whatever you opt for, consider adding the option at checkout or promote it across key landing pages.

Here are 3 ways you can offer free shipping on your website:

* On orders over a specific amount.
* By having a minimum requirement of items purchased.
* Offering free shipping during a specific time frame - usually during slow periods.


### 2. Say goodbye to cart abandonment ###

Did you know the global average cart abandonment rate was over [77%](https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/) in 2016? Cart abandonment may be a very common phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean you should let it affect your business.

Sending email reminders can help you reduce cart abandonment. Why? People tend to forget or might want to check out on a different device. Abandoned cart emails are a great way for consumers to come back to your site and complete their order.

But when is best to send an email?

* After 24 hours for full priced items.
* After just couple of hours for items on sale.
* If you’re looking to go the extra mile, why not give your customers the option to save their basket and come back to it later like ASOS does?

ASOS allows visitors to save items to their ‘bag’ and come back to it later

Asos - blog

Letting your customers save their items for a certain period will considerably reduce cart abandonment as saved items are easy to find again and stay saved for a longer amount of time, increasing the chance of a purchase.

### 3. Match your landing page copy with your PPC ad’s copy ###

It’s not uncommon to click a PPC ad and be redirected to a landing page with completely different message. Don’t overlook this, make sure your PPC ad and landing page copy match or the inconsistency will hurt your conversion rates.

If you’re advertising a 20% discount, free shipping, or a special offer on your ad, consumers will expect to be taken to a page with the same offer. If your landing page doesn’t mention the same offer as your ad, consumers are left with their expectations unfulfilled. They’ll leave your site and click on another PPC ad.

Here’s how to make sure message matching across your ads and landing pages:

- Double check you’re using the right link in your PPC ad.
- Avoid using false advertising in your ad’s headline. There’s no point using the words “free” or “discount” just to get traffic if you’re not going to actually offer those benefits. That’ll send conversion rates plummeting.
- Triple-checking the copy’s accurate. Are you describing everything consistently? Are you offering the right product or service? You’d be surprised how often companies will mess this up.

### 4. Content marketing will help you ###

In order to convert more consumers, it’s important to attract the right people in the first place. If you’re selling sportswear for example, you’ll want to attract traffic, but not from an audience who’s uninterested in sports and exercise. To get quality visitors, content marketing is essential.  

Continuing the sportswear example, writing about fitness and nutrition is more likely to help you attract the right audience and convert your readers because the content will be relevant for them.

This is how you can convert more with content marketing:

Make your blog easy to access from your website.
* Optimise your articles for SEO.
* Write about things that your audience likes and occasionally promote your own products.
* Fabletics have found the perfect balance by sharing some fitness and lifestyle-inspired content as well as some promotional content.


Fabletics offers lifestyle content suited to their audience

Fabletics - blog

Here’s why Fabletics’s blog works well:

* Their articles help them engage with their audience. If your consumers feel connected to your brand, they are more likely to make a purchase.
* Their blog boosts customer loyalty - customers are likely to come back regularly to read new articles and check out new products.
* Their promotional posts push indecisive consumers to finalise their checkout (e.g. “Fabletics swimwear guide: best swimsuits by body type”). Fabletics can do this without looking pushy because they've earned their audience's trust.



How can Trustpilot help increase your conversion rate?

### 5. Improve website speed ###

A study by Akamai found that 47% of people expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% say they will abandon a page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. It’s easy to see how loading speed can impact conversion rates. Simply making your website faster will drastically improve your customer experience, and therefore help you convert more. Otherwise, visitors will be quick to leave and look for a faster site.

Speeding up your website - made easy:

* Use tools like Pingdom and GTmetrix to get your score and find out what could be improved.
* Reduce redirects and plugins.
* Use browser caching.
* Be aware of your image sizes and optimise them for the web. Large image files could slow load speeds, especially on mobile devices.
* Get started today


### 6. Personalise the landing & home page with recommendations

According to a recent report from Accenture, [75%](https://www.accenture.com/us-en/interactive-index) of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognises them by name, recommends options based on their past purchases, or knows their purchase history.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Gartner also found that by 2020, smart personalisation engines used to recognise customer intent will enable digital businesses to increase their profits by up to [15%](https://www.instagram.com/p/BJlFMxMBjSR/).

Using personalisation to show related products on landing pages or directly on your homepage based on a user’s intention will considerably boost your conversion rates because you’re offering options related to they're already looking to purchase.

Amazon personalisation

On my last two visits to Amazon, I searched for hair stylers and holiday books. When I returned, my “Recommended for you” section was full of products that could be of interest to me.

Here’s how you can get it right too:

Make sure you’re tracking the right data points - search history, order history, location, and more to determine what products they’d like to see. Consider including this section directly on the product page with an 'add to cart' option, this way, your customers won’t have to wait until their next order to discover the products they could be interested in.

### 7. Address uncertainty with additional information

It’s very unlikely for a consumer not to hesitate or compare products or options during their buying journey. Additional information gives buyers enough confidence to trust that you are the right brand for them. Product description is extremely important. Make sure your product copy is clear and reflects your brand image. Your customer should have no questions left once they’ve read the product description.

Add visuals! The more visuals you include, the more chances you have of converting consumers. Companies that use custom imagery actually have [7 times more conversions](http://bandwagoncreative.com/infographic/). And they don’t have to stop at photos. That’s why we recommend adding product demonstration videos or customer testimonials directly on the product page to answer any questions your potential customer might have.

Your guide to great product copy:

- Always double check your copy. Is it clear? Informative? Persuasive?
- Images are a must and videos are recommended!
- Customer testimonial videos will give consumers extra confidence because you’re offering a trusted third-party evaluation.

### 8. Improve your customer service

If your visitor hasn’t found what they’re looking for on your product page, or if they’re confused during the buying journey, it’s important for your eCommerce business to offer help as soon as possible. The faster, the better.

Real-time help works wonders, and more often, website visitors choose live chats over other contact channels. [Live Chat 100](https://www.livechat100.com/resources/live-chat-benchmark-report-2017) explains: “When looking at the data in 2016, we found that the chat-to-visit ratio improved by 4.94% at the most compared to 2015. That is to say, a higher percentage of website visitors chose to chat with agents for help.”

On-site live chats are a great way to engage with new or existing customers on any of your pages, reducing the likelihood that they’ll navigate away from a key page, or worse, leave your site altogether. Better still, these live expert chats can increase the chances of your visitor converting once their issue is sorted, or their question is answered.

How to build a great customer service:

- Make your contact details easily accessible so a potential customer can reach you at any time.
- Offer real-time help directly on site.
- Turn negative experiences into positive ones. [95%](https://www.vendasta.com/blog/50-stats-you-need-to-know-about-online-reviews) of unhappy customers are more likely to return to your website if you have resolved their issue quickly and efficiently.

To learn more about about improving customer service, check out our articles [here](http://blog.trustpilot.com/blog/5-ways-to-improve-your-customer-service-on-your-ecommerce-site) and [here](http://blog.trustpilot.com/blog/6-types-of-online-customer-service-you-can-implement-today).

### 9. Make the checkout process as easy as possible

Did you know having to create a new user account is the second biggest reason for cart abandonment ([22%](https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/))?

If you don’t offer guest checkout yet, it’s time to try it out! This will help keep all consumers stay engaged whether they’re repeat shoppers or first-time consumers. Adding the additional step of account creating creates friction for the user as they probably won’t want to create a new account every time they order from a new website.

Single-step checkouts are one of the easiest ways for existing customers to finalise their purchase.



Amazon checkout

Amazon’s Kindle store is one of the best platforms to use this system. Existing customers save their payment and personal details and can buy a Kindle book by clicking on the ‘Buy Now’ button without having to add it to their basket first.

Pretty amazing, right?

Here’s how you can be the king of checkout:

- Give your customers the choice! Let them check out the way they want to: as a guest, with their account, or with a 1-step checkout system using saved information.
- If they’re checking out as a guest, give them the option to create an account after their purchase, on the thank you or confirmation page or even as part of a post-purchase email.
- Offer to remember your customer’s payment details for future checkouts to encourage repeat shopping.

### 10. Multiple payment options

A [Paypal study](http://www.iqpc.com/media/1003982/39442.pdf) revealed that 24% of consumers abandoned their transactions at checkout because the retailer didn't offer the customers’ preferred payment choices.

Getting more traffic means your business needs to please different types of customers, with different needs and different expectations. Having multiple payment options ensures your larger audience is taken care of and that their expectations are met. After all, what good are customers who can’t pay you?

So how do multiple payment options help optimise conversion rate?

- It’s more convenient for the customer.
- It targets a global and wider audience.
- It encourages customer retention (remember our last point of saving checkout details?).

### 11. Invest in a good search bar

A good search bar will considerably improve your customer experience. Econsultancy found that, on eCommerce websites, [30% of visitors](https://econsultancy.com/blog/10407-site-search-for-e-commerce-13-best-practice-tips#i.e6bb0iahterern) end up using the site search bar. These are users that interested in purchasing a product and use the search box to exactly find what they're looking for.

Visitors can come on your site through a variety of reasons and they may have very specific intentions as they come on your site. A search bar allows them to skip past the customer journey to directly arrive at a product page, and eventually, the checkout page.

Internal search means better site usability, but also better product visibility. Customers find what they need faster, improving their overall experience and satisfaction, increasing the likelihood that they make a purchase from you.

Overall, search boxes can help you:

- Optimise conversion rates
- Improve customer retention and loyalty
- Improve on-site experience

Net-A-Porter’s robust search bar shows users how relevant a term is across product categories.

net a porter-screenshot-trustpilot

Net-A-Porter’s search bar ticks all the right boxes:

- It’s well-positioned, easy to find and is visible across the entire site.
- There is a drop-down system, which means that the search bar anticipates what you’re looking for as you type your keyword.

### 12. Filters, filters, filters!

The more choices your give to your customers, the harder it gets for them to choose what they want or need, or find what they’re looking for. Decision paralysis can be a big problem for your audience and is the reason we also encourage having one CTA on landing pages and marketing emails to ensure your audience is focused on clicking the most important button.

For optimising your conversion rates, you need to ensure your visitors have the capability of making a decision quickly without second-guessing themselves. That’s when filters come in. The more filters you give to your customers, the easier it gets to find the most suitable product(s) for them.

But what kind of filters are we talking about? You can filter by...

- Size
- Price
- Colour
- Style
- Range
- Type
- Length
- Brand ...

ASOS has some of the best filters we’ve ever seen. You can go from 2,000 dresses to 120 by picking your size, the colours you prefer, the price range, and much more.

ASOS’s filter function allows shoppers to quickly dwindle possibilities

asos filters-screenshot-trustpilot

ASOS' filters are particularly effective for the following reasons:

- They’re easy to use. Visitors can tick or untick the boxes and the page updates dynamically.
- There are a lot of filters, which means visitors can find what they need in no time.
- The filters take up minimal space so the focus is maintained on products.

### 13. A clear call-to-action is essential

Not all CTAs are created equal. Hubspot found that anchor text CTAs increased conversion rates by [121%](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/blog-anchor-text-call-to-action-study?__hstc=98516096.d43bdaaa13c0881ec864823c3ca4a2b8.1552486635047.1564561255740.1565165075671.160&__hssc=98516096.2.1565165075671&__hsfp=874348251) compared to banner CTAs at the end of pages.

Your call-to-action is can be your best closer in eCommerce but it’s easy to go wrong with small missteps. Your CTAs need to be clear, visible, clickable, and focused. The more CTAs a page has, the less likely your customers are to click each one, affecting how successful each CTA is.

Be mindful of how and where you’re placing your CTAs. Each page should have its own goals, and therefore its own CTA. These can vary from adding a product to a basket, check out, or even logging in.

These are different ways to use CTAs to optimise your business’s conversion rate:

- Being clear about what the CTA is.
- Place the CTA above the fold. If visitors need to scroll down to find it, your CTA won’t get much traction.
- Test them often! There are a lot of variations to play with, including size, placement, colour, and copy.
- Make sure the CTA stands out! You’d be surprised how often CTAs blend into the background.
- Keep the copy short and to the point.

Netflix’s CTA is short and clear. It stands out and concisely informs users on what they can expect if they click it.



Netflix’s CTA is brief, simple, and easily stands out.

netflix-screenshot-trustpilot

### 14. Product out of stock? No problem!

Ever heard of back-in-stock notifications? They’re a game changer.

If one of your products is out of stock, offer to inform customers as soon as the product comes back in stock. This is especially important when it comes to apparel, where size matters. Simply ask them to either add the item to their wish list, or to enter their email address so you could tie the notification to their account. This also incentivises users to sign up for an account.

Once again, Net-A-Porter’s website wins our praise with their ‘wish list’ function.

“Size sold out. Add it to your Wish List and we will notify you if stock becomes available.”

net a porter sold out-screenshot-trustpilot

But how can this optimise your conversion rate?

- According to eConsultancy, back-in-stock emails emails can achieve a [25%](https://econsultancy.com/blog/64363-how-to-improve-customer-experience-when-products-are-out-of-stock) increase in conversion rate.
- [71%](https://econsultancy.com/blog/64363-how-to-improve-customer-experience-when-products-are-out-of-stock) of consumers appreciate receiving notifications when the item they wanted is back in stock.
- Even If the customer is no longer interested in an item, your reminder is still an opportunity to get them to visit your website. And if you’ve been leveraging our other tips, you’ve already taken the steps to increase onsite conversions.

### 15. Use the voice of the customer

Lack of trust in advertising is seriously affecting the customer journey and the decision-making process. [Only 52%](https://hbr.org/2017/01/survey-peoples-trust-has-declined-in-business-media-government-and-ngos) of respondents from a major survey say they trust businesses to do what is right, and the credibility in CEOs has fallen 12% to 37% just this year. Conversely, 60% of respondents trust a person like themselves, the same amount compared to an academic or a technical expert.

It’s getting easier for consumers to compare businesses by price, shipping cost, quality, and customer experience, which makes it harder for eCommerce companies to stand out, and therefore convert consumers. Trust is one of those differentiators that can really help a company stand out.

[Word of mouth](https://www.vendasta.com/blog/50-stats-you-need-to-know-about-online-reviews) is still one of the most popular method of recommendations today, and with [80% of people](https://www.vendasta.com/blog/50-stats-you-need-to-know-about-online-reviews) trusting reviews as much as personal recommendations, it’s safe to say that reputation and third-party validation are big difference-makers.

The key to increasing eCommerce conversions is to include as much trust as possible throughout the whole customer journey. Using customer reviews or testimonials at key points in the decision-making process can encourage visitors to continue their journey with you (now or later), rather than quit your website and keep looking elsewhere.

Sugru's review integration on their product page utilises reviews as social proof.

Sugru-screenshot-trustpilot

Sugru highlights reviews on their product pages so consumers know other shoppers have used the product and had great things to say about it. Online reviews help consumers make smart and better choices.

Here’s how to use your customer’s voice properly:

- Be transparent, [don’t remove negative feedback](http://blog.trustpilot.com/blog/5-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-remove-negative-feedback).
- Include customer reviews at key product and landing pages.
- To be more credible, use a trustworthy third-party review platform.


Our conversion tips for this article are focused on a singular theme: improving the customer experience to boost conversions. Visitors become consumers when you encourage the process and make it easy. 

By keeping the customer journey as frictionless as possible, consumers can visit your site, make a purchase in a flash, and remember that when it comes to shopping, your company makes it easy. By making small improvements to your site and your customer journey, you’ll increase conversions and likely see an increase in repeat shoppers as well.

Want to improve conversions on key product and landing pages? Try adding reviews to your site and watch your conversions skyrocket. To learn more about collecting and using reviews, request a demo below!

15 eCommerce tips to drastically increase your conversion rate

How great sites convert visitors into customers

How great sites convert visitors to customers

## Better self

To create a vision of a better self, you have to create a story that makes the customer believe it. Simply saying our product will make you thinner, happier and wealthier doesn’t quite cut it. How does it do that? What gives your product the unique ability to make me a better person while other products don’t?

The good news - this isn’t a new concept. Psychologists have been [researching this](https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/529/HIGGINSADVANCES_1998REG_FOC_.pdf) for over 20 years. Marketers have come across [common copywriting formulas that work](https://copyhackers.com/2015/10/copywriting-formula/). Problem, agitation, solution (PAS). Qualify, understand, educate, stimulate, transition (QUEST).

These copywriting formulas essentially provide an outline for a story about how your product is going to create a better life for the customer. One of the best A/B tests you can run are multiple landing pages, each with a new copywriting formula or framework. Experiment with the way you tell this story and you’ll find the narrative that resonates most with your target consumer.

While copywriting drives the story, the accompanying visuals of [exceptional photography](https://ripen.com/photography) and video are what immerse the consumer in the narrative.

The luggage brand [Away Travel](https://www.awaytravel.com/) consistently uses lifestyle images of luxurious, chic travelers to make their buyers imagine themselves in this lifestyle.

Away Travel Product Photography

[Peloton](https://www.onepeloton.com/) also excels at creating this image of a better you. You’ll notice most of their visuals focus on the person and their home. Their photography, video, and copy all say “You can be a more fit version of yourself. You’d spin all the time if you could just do classes at home. Imagine what life would be like then.”



Peloton Product Photography

## Make them believe

Seeing isn't always believing.

Seeing the copy and images that reflect a potential customer’s better self is helpful. In online shopping, where the options are plenty and the customer does not have the ability to directly experience the product, how can we establish trust and make customers believe the story of the better self on the landing page?

This is where social proof comes in. [Social proof is a psychological phenomenon](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/a-beginner-guide-to-building-brand-loyalty-with-user-generated-content) where people conform to the actions and behaviors of a group. It is incredibly influential when it comes to driving conversions. On a landing page, social proof can take the form of ratings, reviews, testimonials and trust icons. Here are a few examples:

Birchbox Social Proof

Hello Fresh Social proof

Social proof helps customers feel confident in their choice and can significantly influence their decision towards purchasing.

Beyond your reviews, the narrative itself must be believable. You have to answer these questions for the customer: “Why this company? Why can they solve this problem when other brands have failed?”

At their core, most direct-to-consumer eCommerce startup successes have the same story. They find that people are frustrated with buying products from brands and retailers they don’t trust, who charge way too much, in a retail experience that does not value customer experience.

Think about what it was like to buy a mattress, a razor, a pair of pants, vitamins, or even glasses. That’s what the founders of Away, Bonobos, Casper, Harry’s, Ritual, and Warby Parker did.

Their solution, which in turn served as their brand story:

1. We make only one thing; we're the industry experts.
2. We make it affordable and transparent; bye, bye middlemen — you can trust us.
3. We make it easy to find, buy and return; shop online — whenever and wherever you are, free delivery right to your door, easy returns.

You don’t need to follow the digitally native brand template, but you do need a compelling reason why your brand is the solution and other brands aren’t.

## Reduce Friction

Beyond the basics of building a responsive and fast-loading site, reducing friction is about designing an end-to-end brand experience with the customer in mind. There are a few main ways to do this.

### 1. Reduce friction.

__Minimize complexity.__ A landing page is built to clear the path to purchase and give visitors the final nudge to convert into customers. The following tactics can help lower distractions and make it easier for visitors to buy.

__Minimize internal and external links on the path to purchase.__ While a navigation menu makes sense on the home page and product page, on a landing page, the customer should have a single decision to make — to buy or not to buy. It often makes sense to suppress the navigation on landing pages for this reason.

__Clear calls to action.__ Never make the customer guess how to continue down the path to purchase. Make a clear call to action and point it to a place that reduces decisions and streamlines that path to purchase.

__Promote a single offer.__ Some sites will run a coupon in a pop up window, another one in the cart, another available via a sitewide stripe at the top of the page. Beyond just simply devaluing your site, you’re also creating confusion on the offer(s) available as well as motivation for the user to look elsewhere to be sure they’re getting the best possible offer.

__A sense of urgency.__ Some brands use their likelihood to sell out of inventory, limited time runs of a style, or just short duration offers. Creating some form of urgency to make the consumer act now rather than push the decision off can be a powerful conversion driver.

__Investigate and eliminate errors.__ Whenever your site has to prompt the user with an error message, that’s a hint that something is not as intuitive as it should be. Maybe it’s being forced to enter a quantity on a product detail page, maybe it’s not seeing a required field in checkout. But, frequent error messages are friction and you want to eliminate them.

### 2. Make answers easily findable.

Once a visitor has made it all the way to your website, their purchase intent is high. If a visitor is looking for something, this is an opportunity to help them find it. The closer we get the audience to what they want, the higher the chance of conversion. Making answers accessible isn’t limited to a search bar. There are multiple ways to guide customers to what they want. For instance, some DTC brands, like Allbirds, include a live chat on the site to alleviate any concerns or answer any questions.


Allbirds Live Chat

This touchpoint is a high value opportunity to quickly solve a problem and move your visitors towards a conversion.

### 3. Create friendly return policies.

While Zappos introduced the initial no-questions-asked return policy, digitally native DTC brands quickly followed suit. Traditional companies often charge for returns or don’t offer them at all. Almost every single digitally native brand today offers a hassle-free return policy, whether it’s a mattress, a razor, or even vitamins. 

Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club both have trial boxes with risk-free cancellation if the product doesn’t suit the customer’s needs. While Casper offers a 100-night trial, the DTC mattress-in-a-box competitors that have followed often offer a 365-night trial. Ritual, the monthly vitamin subscription, offers refunds — no questions asked. 

Offering easy returns and free trials minimizes risk for the customers and makes them more comfortable with the idea of buying from a new brand.

Nectar Mattress Friendly Return Policies

## Final thoughts

The most important takeaway from this article is that conversion rate optimization is not just about moving the furniture around, it's about making fundamental changes to the way you communicate the benefits of your product to your customers, proving that your claims are true, and then removing barriers to purchase. Once you change this mindset, the possibilities for significantly improving your conversion rate begin to open up.

Can't get enough of this stuff? 

To find out more about how a review strategy can help you build social proof and improve your conversion rates, get your free copy of our Complete Guide to Reviews below. 


Download the complete guide to customer reviews

Picture of a smiling woman inviting to download the guide to customer reviews

__Author Bio:__ David Rekuc is the Marketing Director at [Ripen](https://ripen.com/), a full-service Ecommerce agency in Princeton, NJ that specializes in delivering custom eCommerce solutions.



leaf-wall-office-space 4460x4460

Office space with leaves on the wall

### Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGS)

When setting up a [Google Ads](https://klientboost.com/ppc/google-ads/) account most people will wonder what’s the best way to build the foundation. Most people will want to group together a batch of common-themed keywords into multiple ad groups.

Makes sense — why wouldn’t you keep all the similar keywords under the same umbrella? 

However, what might seem like an initial good idea can actually be more detrimental to the performance of the overall account. This can cause what we call the [Iceberg Effect](https://klientboost.com/ppc/adwords-strategy/). This refers to the discrepancy you see from the surface of your Google Ad’s account when compared to under the surface. 

In simplest terms, the ratio of [controlled keywords and uncontrolled search terms](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2011/05/25/keywords-vs-search-queries) is too big. 

Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) can help you gain more control of the very aspect that we can’t control...search terms.

__The Proof__

[LemonStand](https://lemonstand.com/) was able to [increase their ads click through Rate (CTR) 259%](https://klientboost.com/case-studies/lemonstand/) with the implementation of SKAGs in their Google Ads account.



KlientBoost LemonStand

If you're wondering how the CTR increased so dramatically with SKAGs, don't fret. We'll explain.

__How it Works__

SKAGs are setup exactly how they sound: one keyword per ad group. Designating one keyword for one ad group can help make sure that the keywords you’re paying for are only triggering for relevant search terms.

Here's a basic lowdown of how SKAGs are structured.

SKAGs KlientBoost

Grouping keywords under one large ad group umbrella will bring traffic in from so many various search terms that it will be very difficult to create relevant ads, let alone identify the converting search terms that are actually generating you revenue.

The aspect of [message matching](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://unbounce.com/ppc/doing-adwords-wrong-make-it-right/&sa=D&ust=1553877045933000) is compromised when you don’t have dedicated ads. The messaging of the ad can’t be directed at one specific search intent when you can’t figure out what search term brought the conversion.

With more control of keywords and search terms, you can tailor ad copy to have a more 1:1 ratio, also helping increase [quality score](https://klientboost.com/ppc/quality-score/).

With a more relevant ad, click through rates are likely to increase as a result of ad copy that matches visitor’s search terms.

Overall, SKAGs help you gain control while adding granularity to your campaign structure and hyper-relevance to your ads.

### Google Seller Ratings

While we’re on the topic of ads, another tactic worth mentioning is the addition of Google Seller Rating extensions. These extensions showcase a business’s highest ratings in Google’s Search Network ads as well as Google Shopping ads.



You'll see the star rating under the URL of the ad. 

GSRs KlientBoost

Google gathers these ratings from reputable sources that bundle together business reviews and showcases them on an ad.

Keep in mind, however, that your business has to have at least [100 verified site reviews](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/why-wont-my-google-seller-ratings-show-up-and-4-other-gsr-questions) per country from the past year with a composite rating of at least a 3.5 in order to showcase this extension. So if you’re a mom-and-pop shop looking to boost online traffic with these reviews, you’ll have to wait.

__The Proof__

[Cykelpartner](https://www.cykelpartner.dk/), a Trustpilot customer, saw a [35% increase in conversion rate](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/how-to-calculate-google-seller-ratings-effect-on-adwords) with the implementation of the Google Seller Rating extension. They also saw a 20.51% decrease in CPA.

Although CTR decreased 4.45%, what matters is the conversion rate and the CPA.

Although CTR decreased 4.45, what matters is conversion rate and the CPA.

GSRs - KB

Don't worry, we'll explain how this contributes to an increase in revenue. 

__ How it Works__

These ratings offer social proof that, to visitors, help build trust, and show a higher level of expertise. Knowing that others are rating a reputable service or product highly can only bring about positive opinions; even before converting.

Making an impression on a viewers takes only a couple seconds, so gaining this trust immediately can be a make it or break it kind of moment.

What you’ll also find is that these converters are usually of a higher quality. Because they’ve been influenced by the ad’s seller extension, they’ve already been semi-convinced in following through to the wanted conversion action.

### The Breadcrumb Technique

This [CRO](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/what-is-conversion-rate-optimisation) technique involves having multi-step form pages to obtain a conversion action on a [landing page](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/5-landing-page-best-practices). There’s a common misconception that a one-step form is favorable amongst visitors because of the simple one-time form fill-out process.

In reality, it’s quite the opposite. One-step form pages tend to deter people away as they come off very upfront about wanting specific personal information.

Instead of taking the aggressive one-step approach, The Breadcrumb Technique allows for trust to be formed with less forward questions being asked first. These questions will nudge visitors down the decisions making process until the desired conversion is made.

__The Proof__

Here are two separate examples of increased conversion rates as a result of the added CRO test.

ZipLending ran a test where they implemented The Breadcrumb Technique with a two-step form.

Here are the first form's qualifying questions

Ziplending 

And here is the page where you'd gather all the important visitor information. 

Ziplending screenshot of their quote form page

Ziplending 2

This obtained 35 more conversions in a three-month span than they obtained in the previous three months.  

Here’s a second example.

Advanced Grassed also implemented The Breadcrumb Technique which contributed to a [214% increase in conversions](https://www.acquisio.com/blog/agency/mastering-user-psychology-breadcrumb-technique-boosts-conversions/).

Advanced Grass asked some pretty insightful qualifying questions. 

KlientBoost7

They also asked the most important questions on the second step. 

KB AG2

__How It Works__

As mentioned before, the one-step page can be seen as pretty aggressive to a first time visitor. You can even say that it comes off as straight “salesy.”

Just imagine you’re shopping to purchase a brand new car and a car salesman opens up his greeting with, “So you ready to purchase?” You’d most likely pass up on making a purchase from a such a forward question. Trust hasn’t been established.

The same thing goes for the landing page conversion process.

In order to gain that trust, we refer to something called the [yes ladder](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-scientifically-proven-method-for-getting-people-to-say-yes-2011-7) where small requests will increase your chances of getting a ‘yes’ to a bigger request later on. Qualifying questions help visitors feel as if they’re getting a customized solution to their needs. So the added questions help in obtaining that end conversion action.

[User psychology](https://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/3-landing-page-best-practices-debunked-01408936) also plays a role in The Breadcrumb Technique. Once someone makes a choice or decision to take an action, they ’ll continue down the path that validated their original choice. In other words. they’ll most likely follow through to the end.

As Johnathan Dane, founder and CEO of KlientBoost says:

*“Once we’ve made a choice, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment.”*

### The Goldpan Technique 

When it comes to Google Shopping Ads the problem always lies in trying to funnel the most relevant search queries to match your [e-Com](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/how-to-increase-conversions-for-your-ecommerce-business) products. Irrelevant search queries decrease the likelihood that you’ll get a sale.  The Gold Pan Technique makes it easier for you to distinguish the best intent searches meant for your products thus increasing your ROAS.

__The Proof__

A KlientBoost client was able to [increase conversions 360%, obtaining an 80% higher ROAS](https://klientboost.com/ppc/gold-pan-technique/).

KB 9

__How It Works__

Because you’re segmenting traffic into three different categories: generic, branded, and product-specific searches.  This adds the aspect of granularity and control for shopping campaigns just as SKAGs does for search network campaigns.

With ad groups that also match the campaign group structure, you should consistently see positive results.

This allows you to create sales funnel based around good quality high intent searches that are most likely to convert.

### Conclusion

These four tactics can help boost your business’s revenue to new heights. You may want to keep in mind that each method holds up differently within each industry. Nothing a little testing can’t figure out.

What you can count on is the fact that these tactics can help build a steady foundation for you to be able to optimize on for the rest of your digital marketing efforts.

SKAGs and The Goldpan Technique help establish structure and relevance while The Breadcrumb Technique and Google seller ratings help institute trust with viewers and visitors. All of which can only benefit your overall Google Ads performance and ultimate profits.

Find out how Trustpilot could help you boost revenue too, download a free copy of our Complete Guide to Reviews below.


__About the Author__

Johnathan Dane is the Founder and CEO of [KlientBoost](https://klientboost.com/conversion-rate-optimization/), a PPC agency focusing on CRO and aggressive testing to boost ROI for its clients. If you liked what you read in this post feel free to get a proposal to learn more.

4 Paid digital marketing tactics proven to generate results and revenue 

Holiday Playbook - 5 ways to win over wary holiday shoppers

It’s safe to say that online shoppers will be on the lookout for trustworthy brands to buy from this holiday season. Here are 5 strategies to inspire customer confidence in even the most scrupulous buyers.  

To name just a few scams likely to be at the top of consumers’ minds while shopping for holiday gifts this year:

- [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkam/2018/12/16/how-to-avoid-amazon-scammers-this-holiday-season/#7927e18f3faa) examined phony tracking numbers among other inventive delivery scams targeting Amazon shoppers over the winter holiday shopping rush.
- Speaking of the eCommerce giant, [9.1% of Amazon's 250 million reviews](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolenguyen/amazon-fake-review-problem) are estimated to be fake, fraudulent, or "unnatural" in a direct attempt to fool online shoppers.
- The [AARP](https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2018/protection-from-holiday-scammers.html) reports fake shopping sites and apps every holiday season.
- And perhaps most interestingly, no age group is exempt from holiday shopping fraud: Despite being one of the most logged on generations, [millennials are 25% more likely](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/data-spotlight/2019/10/not-what-you-think-millennials-fraud) to report losing money to online shopping fraud than other demographics.

From knock off electronics (including [fake Apple products](https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/2/16966216/chinese-apple-counterfeiter-pleads-guilty-selling-iphone-ipad-fakes)) and bait-and-switch [Facebook advertising](https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/12/facebook-ecommerce-scams/) to cheaply made Chinese clothing ([$4 bikini](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/wish-china-cheap-stuff/560861/), anyone?), to fraudulent product reviews, all coming to light in the last few years — __it’s safe to say that online shoppers will be on the lookout for trustworthy brands to buy from this holiday season.__

Ready to put your most trustworthy foot forward for the eCommerce holiday goldrush? 

## Here are five strategies to inspire customer confidence in even the most scrupulous holiday shoppers.  


### 1. Have a presence on third-party review platforms 

As the first place consumers go to shout about great shopping experiences, and sometimes [cry foul](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/why-do-people-write-reviews-what-our-research-revealed), review platforms are a goldmine of consumer wisdom. The beauty of it is, that wisdom is readily accessible to fellow shoppers everywhere.

With more than 300,000+ reviewed companies, and 13,650,000+ organic reviews written on the Trustpilot platform, it stands to reason that reviews left on Trustpilot company profile pages are a great way for smart shoppers to suss out the integrity of a business they’re considering buying from.

And historical Trustpilot platform data shows that online shoppers try to do just that around the holidays — in past years, search volumes for reviews on Trustpilot surged around November and December, with nearly 480,000 review searches leading up to holiday purchases.

More than likely, during this period of increased review activity shoppers are on the lookout for warnings about products arriving [not as advertised](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/03/some-online-deals-charge-dont-deliver), or poor delivery experiences.

But consumers won’t find too many reviews on Trustpilot that mention these common scams outright. We’re proud to say that __only 1.5% of all reviews and 3.5% of all negative reviews mention scams__, according to a recent deep dive into Trustpilot’s review data.

That’s peanuts in the grand scheme of things.

Said differently, online shoppers look to platforms like Trustpilot as a key resource for finding credible companies to do business with, especially around the high stakes shopping months of the winter holiday season. Putting your company right where customers are looking is a great way to get discovered around the holidays.

And perhaps just as importantly for retailers doing business online, your future customers are likely to come across your profile on third-party review platforms at the very [top of organic search results](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/why-does-google-care-if-your-business-has-online-reviews-in-2019). So if you want to be sure holiday shoppers can easily find reviews of your business, grow your reputation where it matters.

### 2. Improve your online reputation to catch more holiday shoppers at the very top of the funnel

It’s no secret that in this day and age, even unscrupulous shoppers do a ton of research online before making a purchase. But what are they looking for?

If online shoppers don’t have a go-to provider for their particular needs, they’re almost always looking for trustworthy brands with an authentic online presence. This helps them figure out pretty quickly whether they’re willing to buy from an unfamiliar retailer.

In fact, [recent consumer research](https://marketing.trustpilot.com/the-value-of-a-trustworthy-brand-rep-demandgen-us) confirms that online reputation is the number one way to improve trust with customers, with 90% of online shoppers ready to walk away from a brand that has a poor online reputation.

And we’d hazard an educated guess that shoppers are even less likely to take a chance on unreputable brands around the holidays than they would be ordinarily.

From The Value of a Trustworthy Brand Reputation (Trustpilot 2019)

Top Factors That Decrease Brand Trust

On top of that, __[93% of online shoppers](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/6-ways-to-make-trust-your-essential-brand-differentiator) say they read reviews before buying online__, and as mentioned above, this behavior only increases around prime shopping dates. With so many options to choose from, it’s unlikely that online shoppers will opt to support a brand with a questionable reputation, or with no customer reviews to validate the product or service.

Top Factors that Increase Brand Trust


So, what are some easy ways you can make sure your online reputation is bulletproof?

- __Proactively collect customer reviews.__ Per our research, 94% of customers are more likely to trust companies with positive reviews, and 80% will still trust companies with a high volume of reviews.
- __Never delete unfavorable reviews.__ 95% of online shoppers say they lose trust in companies that obviously curate their online reviews.
- __Keep the information and style of your website up to date.__ 77% of shoppers lose trust in brands and retailers with websites with an outdated look and feel.
- __Make sure your website has a secure web connection.__ 88% of shoppers are unlikely to convert on unsecured websites.

Do these things, and it’s unlikely that your future customers will suspect your business of any scammy practices.

### 3. Put trust signals front and center throughout the online shopping journey

Today’s online shoppers already have an unprecedented amount of choice. Despite marketers’ best efforts, the steady stream of holiday offers on every channel from September to December only [adds to the noise](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/can-online-reviews-revive-consumer-trust-in-advertising).

As a result, your future customers need more third-party validation (and [social proof](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/what-is-social-proof-and-why-is-it-important-for-marketing)) than ever when looking for the perfect holiday gifts online.

For the uninitiated, social proof — like reviews, social likes, online mentions, and testimonials for products, services, or brands — has a powerful psychological effect on shoppers. Because this kind of public support comes from other shoppers rather than from the business itself, the positive messaging surrounding the product or service comes off as more authentic and trustworthy.

Trust signals are a logical extension of this concept — think: visual representations of social proof like badges, ratings and scores, and even logos endorsing a product or service. And they should be front and center across the online shopping journey because they also elicit a strong influence on shopping behavior.

Per another [recent consumer research report](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/why-and-how-social-proof-influences-consumers), almost all consumers (98%) could identify at least one type of trust signal that increased their likelihood to make a purchase.

We also uncovered that 82% of shoppers feel more comfortable making a purchase when they come across positive star ratings about the product or service in their shopping journey, and this percentage only goes up when they encounter ratings displayed on key pages like the homepage or product pages.

From The Psychology Behind Trust Signals (Trustpilot 2019)

Trust signal placement

Here are some things you should definitely keep in mind if you plan to use trust signals to cash in on even [more holiday shopping conversions](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/how-great-sites-convert-visitors-to-customers).

- __Trust signals work differently at each stage of the purchasing funnel.__ 
- Per our consumer research, when online shoppers are in the preliminary research phase of a purchase, they want to see that your product or service has been mentioned on blogs or in the media.
- If they’re comparing several retailers, online reviews and customer testimonials are the first place shoppers look for support making their decision.
- And finally, if they’re ready to check out, trust signals that communicate authenticity (think: Authorized Seller Badges) are what it takes to prevent an abandoned cart.

So, if you want to turn skeptical browsers into buyers this holiday season, make sure you’re placing trust signals thoughtfully throughout your online shopping journey.

### 4. Stay up to date on known red flags — and avoid them.

Today’s customers have seen it all, and they have access to plenty of information about [trending scams](https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/holiday.html) and how to avoid them. For so many reasons, it’s wise to make sure you steer clear of any black hat marketing or site experience maneuvers that could inadvertently communicate to today’s educated consumers that your business is in any way dishonest.

Here’s a shortlist of holiday vibes you definitely [don’t want to give off](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/16/online-shopping-scams-how-to-identify-fake-sites.html) with your marketing offers or onsite experience this year:

- __Don’t send customers on a wild goose chase to redeem your offer.__ Customers today are hyper aware of scam tropes. Emails asking the recipient to click a link or download an app to access an offer are a known red flag, so keep marketing offers simple this holiday season.
- __Avoid offering suspiciously deep discounts.__ This is especially important if you’re selling trending gift items, which tend to make shoppers suspect that your offer is too good to be true.
- __Double, triple, quadruple check your spelling and grammar.__ In the eyes of savvy shoppers, poor spelling and grammar on your website, marketing materials, and emails are can indicate a careless or dishonest retailer.
- __Make your contact info and business details readily available.__ Whether you’re an eCommerce store, a service provider, or a travel business, websites that don’t provide their street number or address might stop online shoppers in their tracks.
- __Customers care about your return and refund policy.__ In fact, they care about all of your policies. Make sure that your terms of service, shipping and returns policy, and of course your privacy policy, are all discoverable onsite.

At the end of the day, we’re all consumers. So before you push out that marketing offer or website update, put yourself in your future customers’ shoes to make sure it doesn’t carry any tenets of a holiday scam.

### 5. Level up your customer experience ahead of the holidays to show shoppers they’re more than just revenue

We’ve covered what customers do not want to see in their online shopping journey. But the other side of that coin is what you can do to make sure you move shoppers to the final stage of your eCommerce funnel.

[Customer experience](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/5-reasons-why-customer-experience-is-the-pulse-of-every-business) is a hot topic year round because it drives loyalty and retention, helping you sustainably grow your bottom line. In fact, businesses at the frontlines of customer centricity deliver compound annual revenue growth rates of 17%, compared to just 3% for businesses falling behind in this critical area.

To make sure your customer experience is the best it can be this holiday season, consider taking some of the steps outlined below:

- __Start collecting customer reviews before the holidays.__ If you don’t have a review strategy in place already, look into popular third-party review sites. It’s important to proactively find out what your customers want and need to increase overall customer satisfaction.
- __Showcase your reviews and testimonials throughout the customer journey.__ The online shopping journey bombards shoppers with choice, and empowers them to research their options every step of the way. Counteract purchasing hesitation by placing trust signals at key moments of the customer journey.
- __Optimize your website for mobile searches.__ Today, more than half of all internet traffic comes from mobile phones, and 82% of internet users have used their mobile devices to shop online. If your site isn’t optimized for a mobile shopping experience, you could lose customers to mobile-friendly competitors.
- __Site speed is mission critical to the online shopping experience__, so check that your website is fast enough. [40% of online shoppers](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281986) will abandon a page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, so make sure your images are compressed and web-friendly before the holiday rush kicks off.
- __Delivering personalized content works wonders.__ Taking the time to personalize your brand’s customer experience with relevant pieces of information helps create brand affinity and loyalty,
- __Ensure your checkout process is seamless and secure.__ Don’t lose shoppers who have made it this far! Make sure you’re up to date on best practices, like offering guest checkout options or the ability to log in through social media profiles. Make the number of steps in the checkout process abundantly apparent, and consider offering chat and phone support — at least during the holidays.

### Winning the holiday shopping rush with a trustworthy brand reputation

Sure, we’d argue that trustworthiness and good business ethics are essential all year round — but they certainly come into even sharper focus when customers are on high scam alert for the holiday shopping rush.

According to [retail experts](https://www.inc.com/anna-meyer/retail-holiday-sales-season-growth-2019-christmas.html) at Deloitte, “We’ve seen retailers continue to improve customer experience, and invest in the fundamentals… Convenience is the new retail currency; retailers who offer seamless experiences, have products available, and can deliver items more quickly than ever are most likely to win the holiday season.”

And while we couldn’t agree more about the importance of customer experience around the holidays, we do have one thing to add: 

The companies that will come out on top this holiday season are the ones actively working to lead with their online reputation and build trust with shoppers through thoughtful uses of social proof to show — not tell — online shoppers that they can buy with confidence.

Ready to take the plunge and create your own review strategy in time for the holidays? Get your free copy of The Complete Guide to Reviews below. 



Holiday Playbook: 5 Ways to win over wary holiday shoppers

Bird landing on a hand in the mountains

## The latest landing page best practices

__1. Split test landing pages __

Only 56% of businesses who are leveraging landing pages actually test and optimize them. But why invest the time and resources to create landing pages and send paid traffic if the pages aren’t performing optimally? Without knowing what’s working to convert traffic, you’re leaving money on the table.

__2. Message match__

This is probably the most crucial way to reduce bounce rate and increase landing page conversions. Make sure the offer in your ad is precisely the same as the page it leads traffic to, otherwise there’s slim chance anyone will stay on your site, much less convert.

ClassPass' Ad and landing page, both sporting a solid message match: "5 Classes for $19" Limited Trial. Sources: Google.com, ClassPass.com 

download (7)

__3. Create urgency__

When someone arrives on your landing page, you don’t have their attention for very long. It's important that your page is compelling, relevant, and urges the visitor to take action. How can you do this?

Imply scarcity, using phrases like: “limited supply” or “time is running out”. You can also go the extra mile by including live countdown until the offer expires, or by adding a pop up with the deadline, like Rush49 does below:

Rush49 PPC landing page. Source: rush49.com 

download (8)

__4. Use your customer's language__
 
Your offer isn’t compelling if your customer doesn’t understand it. Connect with your target market by using their language in your copy. One effective way of identifying your customer language is by mining customer comments and reviews to see the way your customers describe your company and product. Then adopt their language.

Dashlane landing page, customer review of Dashlane. Sources: Dashlane.com, Trustpilot.com 

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__5. Convey trust with testimonials or reviews__

The more someone trusts you, the more likely they are to convert. Customers will trust the testimonials of their peers over the claims of the business, every time. So why not test how incorporating reviews on your landing page? You could see a 33% increase in conversion rates, like CitizenShipper did below:

CitizenShipper landing page. Source: Trustpilot blog

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How are your landing pages performing? Leave a comment and let us know any tips we've missed, or best practices for your landing pages.

P.S. Some stats and suggestions came from these blog posts from Impact and eConsultancy.

Also check out our [Dashlane case study] to learn how one of partners improved landing page performance with tips 4 and 5.

5 Landing page best practices

how vertical leap, Google, Bing and Trustpilot approach travel marketing and conversions

How vertical leap, Google, Bing and Trustpilot approach travel marketing and conversions

Here are the major takeaways and key stats of the event.

## An intro to travel marketing and the travel industry

The travel and tourism industry is one of the world’s largest industries. Google’s ‎Agency Development Manager, Joe McEntee, gave us an overview of the market in hard numbers.  

__Brexit And Travel__

In 2017, 44% of holidaymakers are planning to take a beach holiday, whilst 52% are planning to take a city break.

26% of holidaymakers are very likely to visit a country they’ve never been to before, up from 18% last year and slightly more, 29%, will go on holiday to a new resort or city, up from 23% last year.

But with 26% of people planning to go on holiday abroad this year, can it be said that Brexit has negatively impacted British travelers? Well, 18% of the total holidaymaker population say the ‘leave’ result in the EU referendum has temporarily put them off booking a holiday and 20% are waiting for the Pound to regain its value before booking their next getaway.

Despite Brexit's impact, in 2017, both short and long hauls experienced year over year growth; by 6% and 10% respectively.  

*Leaving the EU seems like a big challenge but also a big opportunity for travel marketers. Staycations are becoming extremely popular and travel marketers should adapt accordingly.*

__Mobile And Video Are Taking Over__

Travelers are now embracing mobile more and more.

How many of you have started a search on their mobile and finished it on another device? We’ve all done it. And Google knows it. Their research found that some of the biggest travel companies have, on average, 75% of their traffic coming from mobile.

With mobile searches growing significantly year over year, video is quickly becoming one of the best tools travel marketers can use. Did you know that the UK’s second largest search engine is Youtube? 69% of online data traffic this so far, was video traffic.

According to Google, people watch videos to be entertained (45%) and to relax (27%).

*If you’re looking to engage with travelers, you need to make sure your video content falls under one of these three categories: Educate, Entertain, Inspire.*

__The Search User Journey__

There are [5 different stages](https://powerdigitalmarketing.com/blog/how-to-deliver-value-at-every-stage-of-the-customer-journey/) to the user journey: the first stage, the beginning, the consideration (upper funnel), the examination (lower funnel), and finally, the conversion. But how long does it take the average consumer to get from stage 1 to stage 5, and does it differ from one type of purchase or booking to the other?

Sarah Essa from Bing provided some very powerful insights that all travel marketers can use.

The average consumer looking at flights will spend about 20 days comparing prices and times, and will make 3 searches during that time. When it comes to hotels, people will make, on average, 11 searches over 26 days to find the perfect place for their holiday!

Car rental has a much shorter funnel, with the average consumer making 8 searches over 12 days.

*Bing’s study proves how different audience behaviors can be depending on the type of research consumers are making, and what they are looking to book. Adapt your campaigns to your customers accordingly.*

## Travel marketing: Increasing Conversions With Search Marketing

__Paid Search__

The travel customer journey is long.

At the end of the journey, most people narrow their research down to 3 or 4 different options. So how do you stand out from other travel sites with your PPC ads?

Duncan Sills from Vertical Leap offered two ways to make the difference:

1. Having search campaigns with high intent keywords
2. Remarketing (explained below)

The issue is, we all have a limited PPC budget.

To spend it wisely, Duncan recommends listing and targeting your top converting search terms in your current search campaigns, and bidding mainly on these terms.  

Adjust your bid according to your existing Google Analytics data. Look at the time of the day, the time of the week, the location, and the consumer’s on-site behavior. These are the most important considerations when it comes to PPC ads.

Don’t forget to take weather into consideration! Data shows that travel customers are more likely to purchase when it’s raining, but have you taken this into account when setting up your PPC campaigns?

Set up geo-targeting in the relevant campaigns and create a Google spreadsheet with your rules and bid adjustments.  You can also use machine learning to make these adjustments more efficiently and precisely to be one step ahead of the competition.

*These tips will help your ads stand out and increase conversions.*

__Remarketing__

If you’re looking for other ways to get more traffic, remarketing is what you need.

A remarketing strategy (also known as retargeting, when specific to ads) is built on the fact that if have a pre-engaged audience, they’re more likely to purchase from you. They know more about you, and you know more about them. Pretty ideal, really.

To implement this into your current strategy, relevancy is key. You have to identify the different types of users: users looking at specific locations, users with specific availabilities, users who’ve already been in touch, and users who’ve started the booking process but haven’t finished it.

Understanding your audiences and their expectations will help you personalise your content and create different messages. These different categories can then be added to Google Analytics for future reports.

Don’t be afraid to use Youtube, as well as Twitter and trending hashtags! These are perfect platforms to create extra content that will then attract more traffic to your travel site.

Dynamic banners are always a great solution too. Once you’ve categorised your audience, personalise the banner content to target specific consumers depending on their needs: location (Paris, London, Rome), budget (£100), or availability (15-17 June).

*Implementing a remarketing strategy will considerably [increase your click-through and conversion rates](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/browsers-to-buyers/15-ecommerce-tips-to-drastically-increase-your-conversion-rate)!*

__Organic Search__

With travel, there is no easy way to make sure visitors turn into customers. Conversions can take as little as 5 clicks or as many as 35.

According to SEO expert Chris Pitt from Vertical Leap, over 50% of all conversions within the travel industry included organic search, but that SEO was responsible for only 7% of last click conversions.  Chris emphasized the point that within the travel industry at least, SEO was the most effective top of funnel activity for increasing conversions from all other sources - especially paid search - and that you need that organic interaction in order to later remarket to your visitors.

Chris Pitt recommended increasing Paid Search efforts and making sure your brand is SEO optimised for the following types of searches, because they’re more likely to transform your traffic into conversions:

“What to do in…”

“Where to eat in…”

“Last minute trip to…”, etc.

__Too much data, too many places__

There is an issue in marketing (especially SEO) -- there is too much data, in too many places, resulting in inefficient processes and overwhelmed marketing teams. The answer to these inefficiencies, according to Chris Pitt, is to implement machine learning and intelligent systems that are able to automate the repetitive processes that have to be completed, freeing marketers up to do the actual marketing work that will get results.

icelolly showcases trustpilot reviews to increase conversions

Online reviews are essential for brand reputation and customer confidence.

Ash Rama from Trustpilot explains: “Building trust throughout the funnel makes the difference. Reviews increase CTR, lower cart abandonment and significantly boost conversion rate.”

Pretty cool.

Did you know [92%](https://www.vendasta.com/blog/50-stats-you-need-to-know-about-online-reviews) of people now consult online reviews?

That's because 85% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 25% of them use technology to find suggestions from previous travelers.

So, are you ready to take over the Travel Industry?

How Vertical Leap, Google, Bing & Trustpilot approach travel marketing to increase conversions

Channel by channel guide to improving CTR

According to Marketing Terms, click-through rate is a digital metric that measures the ratio of total clicks in paid and organic search, advertising, emails, and other mediums. So it's measuring how interested an audience is in whatever you're offering. Unfortunately, it seems like audiences aren't too keen on clicking.

In 2017, the overall display ad CTR is just 0.05%.

While CTR might not be an indicator of success, a higher CTR helps businesses reduce cost-per-click, boost organic rankings and increase both traffic and conversions.

Fortunately, for you, we've compiled some actionable tips you can take to increase your CTR, differentiated by channel.

## PPC Ads

You might think getting more clicks on your Google Ads adverts is easy, but the truth is it’s now getting harder and harder to stand out from the competition. New brands and new websites pop up every day, trying to compete in the same space you are.

So how do you get more clicks and reduce your ads’ cost-per-click?

__1. Write great headlines!__

According to Copy Blogger, 80% of readers never make it past the headline. Titles are the first thing consumers read when searching online. Make sure yours is attractive and catchy enough to have a dramatic impact on the CTR.

Include a special offer or promotion, or write extended headlines by adding a full stop at the end of your first description line. By doing so, the first line will automatically be added to your headline, making it more attractive to users.

Your headline must also match the page you’re linking to in order to fully optimise your ad. Chances are most users who clicked on your ad did it because of the title, but when they arrive at the destination, they’re likely to be disappointed if the promise in your headline isn’t advertised on your landing page. If you’re offering 40% off, make sure your landing page mentions the sale as well. Otherwise, they’ll leave.

Seasonal titles are also recommended as they make your ad look relevant and recently updated. The more relevant your keyword is, the more users are likely to click. 54% of consumers click on relevant ads.

Example of extended headline with special offer

Example of extended and seasonal headline with special offer

__2. Replace Prices With Discounts__

Including a price in your headline or description can be a dangerous tactic as you might not always be the cheapest ad on the page.

Adding a good deal instead of the price will help your new ad outperform the old ones. 74% of new generations are influenced by discount offers.

Example of headline with discount VS headline with price

__3. Use An Ad Extension__

Ad extensions are easy to install and will help you create longer, more attractive adverts. You’ll be able to write additional content and therefore show more information to shoppers.


Example of an ad extension featuring a deal

__4. Edit Your URL__

The URL displayed on your ad is not the same as your actual URL. That’s why it’s recommended to consider your display URL as another opportunity to add relevant copy.

With a maximum capacity of 35 characters, there’s no space for extra information. Go straight to the point, add a product or category name, or anything else that could make people want to click.

Simplicity is key.

Example of a short and relevant display URL

__5. Freebies, Freebie, Freebies!__

Everyone likes a freebie!

The Journal of Marketing found that word of mouth was more efficient when people got freebies. Indeed, people who got a product for free talked about it 20% more than people who received a discount or voucher.

Mention it in your ad, and I guarantee you’ll get more clicks! It can be anything, from a free guide, to a free lesson or a gift…

Example of an ad mentioning a free day pass

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__6. Google Seller Ratings__

Google Seller Ratings is an automated Google Ads extension that demonstrates to consumers that customers trust your business and have had a positive experience with you.

It’s a star rating system that displays under the display URL on your ads. Google Seller Ratings increases CTR by 10% on average.

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So, how can you get them?

According to Google, GSRs show when a business has collected 150 unique reviews in the last 12 months, as well as a minimum overall rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Want to know more? [Read our guide](http://blog.trustpilot.com/blog/your-five-biggest-questions-about-google-seller-ratings-answered?rq=google%20seller%20ratings)!

## Organic Listings

__1. Aim For Page 1__

SEO experts know how much of a difference your ranking can make! Ranking in position 1 or 2 will not bring you the same traffic as ranking in position 11 or 12.

According to Protofuse, organic listings on page 1 receive 90% of clicks, and less than 10% of users actually move on to page 2.

Based on this research, it’s necessary for your business to invest in SEO and start trying to rank on page 1 of SERPs (search engine page results).

__2. Great Title Tags and Meta Descriptions__

Titles matter for organic listings too.

Make them catchy, as that’s what your audience will read first but also note that they should be optimised for search engines.

Title tags should include your main keyword, be 45 characters long, and create curiosity.

Example of catchy title tag in organic listings

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Meta Descriptions are another way to attract users by giving them relevant information.

They should be under 160 characters, and as different as possible from the other ordinary ones. Meta descriptions can be compared to trailers. They’re a great way to give users just enough material for them to want to see more!

Example of meta description with lack of a unique voice

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Example of meta description “that might do the trick!”

Turn Browsers Into Buyers