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As the owner of an eCommerce site, one of your main obligations is to keep people on your pages for as long as possible. The chances of someone buying a product will increase for every minute they’re on your site. Why? Because the longer they’re on there, the more research and looking around they can do. Eventually, they may find a product they like, and decide to purchase it. 

Essentially, your task is to stop people from leaving your website. Clearly, some people are going to leave as you can never retain 100% of your audience. However, there are tactics to try that will keep people on your pages for as long as possible, nurturing leads and boosting the chances for a sale.

Good landing pages

It starts with some good landing pages to greet visitors. People need to land on your site and be greeted with something that encourages them to stay. This is most apparent when people click on links or adverts pointing to your site for a specific reason. As an example, you have an ad for a 50% off sale – the landing page people see should be this 50% off sale page. 

All of your landing pages should provide the user with information that they’re after. They should keep them intrigued, ensuring they stick around to find out more. 

Personalization

Reducing your bounce rate is much easier when users are presented with things that relate to their interests. This is where the concept of eCommerce personalization comes in. You’ve definitely encountered this before, but you may have been unaware of what it is. Effectively, it’s the use of cookies to learn about user behavior and present information based on that. 

For example, someone has been on your eCommerce site looking for new sneakers. You can access their cookies to find browser history and see what types of sneakers they’ve been looking at. Then, on the page, you present recommended items or pre-loaded search times that relate to that user. It’s a more personalized shopping experience, encouraging them to hang around for longer as they’re being given everything on a platter. 

Discount Codes

Having a few ongoing discount codes is such a clever idea. One approach that’s seen a lot is the idea of a discount for first-time buyers. When someone lands on your site, you can hit them with a pop-up that presents a discount code for, say, 15% off their first order. You can also have other codes placed on the screen for people to use, rotating between a few throughout the year. 

By seeing these codes, users know they can get money off and snag a deal. It immediately makes them more inclined to hang around and see what you have to offer. As mentioned, displaying a pop-up as soon as they enter your site is highly effective, but don’t overdo it. Don’t keep flashing popups on the screen while they’re on your site, or it will annoy them enough to leave.

Remember, you will never see sales from 100% of the people visiting your website. However, you should still focus on keeping as many people on your pages for as long as possible. The more people you have on your site for long periods, the more sales you are likely to generate. 

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