- Conversion is all about “the click.” We all understand the macro-level conversion, which is the business’s site objective. But it is important to realize that conversion also takes place at the micro-level — every single relevant click pulls the user deeper into the buying decision process. It’s imperative for sites to persuade prospects with each and every click.

- If conversion is fundamentally about completing your linear scenarios, and people rarely go about accomplishing their goals in a linear fashion – how are you designing to address the buying process behavior of the majority of these non-linear prospects?

- Persuasion is about meeting the buying needs of your audience. It’s a non-linear, multi-branched, integral part of your selling process – you present relevant information for your buyers in a way that suits you as the seller and hopefully allows you to make the case for buying from you.

* Archiving email newsletters online and posting links to them on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn can extend the reach of that communication
* Including links from blog posts or YouTube videos in an email newsletter can encourage subscribers to explore new social media efforts
* There are easy ways to add newsletter subscription links to social sites through blog badges, Facebook applications, or HTML

The businesses indexed are limited to niche brands, generally selling online, via catalogues and stores, whose online sales range between £50k & £10m per annum and average order values average £71. The e-commerce platforms ran on either Microsoft Commerce Server or Magento.

The main findings are:

• Conversion rates ranged from 1.3% to 4.7% in the quarter with an average of 2.6%
• Search is the biggest source of traffic (54%), followed by direct URL entry (18%) and email (13%)
• Email represents the best & most cost-effective converter at 3.6%
• Onsite search remains a small factor (used by only 7%)
• Revenue per visit averages just under £2, ranging from £1.20 to £3.05 per visit
• Returning visitors convert nearly twice as well as new visitors at 3.71%
• Time on site averaged over 4 minutes, with 8 pages viewed and average bounce rates 28%.

Within search traffic, the percentage of “generic” – i.e. non brand-related – was 28%. This figure reflects the effectiveness of SEO activities for brands, as the brand-related traffic is high overall. The “know us” traffic (direct URL entry and brand-related searches), which represents the bedrock of a niche retailer’s online business is 42%.

The impact of retailers’ email marketing campaigns on site traffic and sales is clear: email activity accounted for 13% on average of all traffic, and was the best converting source of visitors at 3.6% (one third higher than average conversions).

Screen Pages also looked at the use of the onsite search box. About 7% of all visitors use these search boxes and it converts at 3.2% on average – that’s about 25% better than normal site usage.

The data, compiled from over 25 e-tail websites over a six month period using Google Analytics, studies where visitors land on websites and what actions they take.

As a Google Authorised Analytics Consultant, Screen Pages has invested in Google Analytics to provide the tracking technology for e-commerce websites. The company provides a range of value-added services to help retailers get up to speed with Google Analytics, including standard and advanced/bespoke training, quarterly e-commerce benchmarking and individual website audits.

I hope the same is true of all our clients. (I love CEO speak).

Another metric is average time spent on the site, a key metric for user engagement on social networks. Facebook has a very high average session time (almost half an hour)

The new website’s capabilities (at http://www.shore.co.uk)include:

- Strong, bold design
- Large, life-style photography (with zooms) from Shore’s catalogue
- Filtered search (by size, price etc) and multi-layered navigation
- Ratings and reviews, blog and social media integration
- Single page checkout with online card authorisation via Cybersource
- Implemented on popular Magento platform
- Full content management via Magento Administration Panel
- Integration with Elucid back office for stock availability and order processing

Simon Crawford, owner of Shore, said: “Our online sales have been growing significantly, so we needed more flexibility and depth in our website. Magento is the ideal e-commerce platform for a business our size and Screen Pages has emerged as one of the most experienced e-commerce companies and Magento specialists with the kind of back-up that we needed.”

Roger Willcocks, director of Screen Pages, said: “We’re really excited to be working with Shore. It’s a great brand operating in a strong niche and its web team have shown themselves to be technically competent and commercially astute.”

The new website’s capabilities include:

- Strong, attractive, fun design
- Large, life-style photography (with zooms) from the print brochure
- Filtered search
- Single page checkout with online card authorisation via Sagepay
- Implemented on the popular Magento e-commerce platform
- Full content management via Magento Administration Panel

Donna Barron, founder of Little Shrimp, said: “Little Shrimp is enjoying a fantastic uptake through the growing number of Independent and Online boutiques, but its own website was in need of updating and needed the infrastructure and capabilities for growth in the long term. The new website reflects the quality of its products, with a service and style equivalent to a boutique experience. The Screen Page’s team is enthusiastic, knowledgeable with a good business orientation and provides the back-up of a professional organisation with all the relevant experience.”

Sarah Willcocks, director of Screen Pages, said: “Little Shrimp’s organic clothing has wonderful designs and colours, as well as a great quality. The demand for Little Shrimp products are increasing and the management is committed to its expansion. It’s a privilege to work with Little Shrimp to establish a greater online presence and increase its sales.”

Research by e-consultancy. Relevant examples included Abercrombie & Fitch, Oxfam & Tiffany.

Interesting times.

Screen Pages' clients use (in order of numerical popularity): Sagepay (formerly Protx, acquired by Sage), Commidea, Cybersource and Datacash. We also have a partnership with Secure Trading.

Men may buy less than women, but they spend more. Affluent men, those with income levels in the top 20% of U.S. households, spent an average of $3,970 on Internet purchases during the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with $1,958 for women.

Despite this, the report indicated that more could be done by firms to improve their email marketing strategy, as 50 per cent of consumers said emails were devalued by irrelevant information and a similar proportion claimed messages hold no value because they did not have a special advantage by receiving them.

1. Focus on your core message.
2. Love and honor your winning headline.
3. Real words, please
4. Test significant contrasts in ads initially, not trivial ones.
5. Use sensible date ranges when analyzing performance.
6. Create “evergreen” ads and record winning principles.
7. Look at search-only CTR data.