Posted by Matthew Elshaw

If you’re running an e-commerce website, improving the conversion of your product pages can have a dramatic effect on your bottom line. While many site owners focus the majority of their time on managing various advertising sources, focusing some time on optimizing your website for conversions can often yield even stronger gains.

With Google recently releasing some tips for product page conversion, I thought I’d share the most useful advice with our readers below.

Product Images

• Use a minimum of 3-4 images for each product so visitors can see it from different angles and being used in different ways.
• Add the functionality for visitors to zoom in and get a closer look at the product.
• Make sure to use professional, high quality images.
• It’s common practise to place images on the right hand side of pages, but make sure to test alternative placements within your layout.

Product Descriptions

• Benefits vs Features – Customers want to buy the benefits of your product, not its features. Tell customers that the grill they are buying will cook tasty and healthy food and save them money rather than having low emissions and four individual burners.
• Test writing alternative sales copy instead of using the existing description provided by the manufacturer. This is one way to set you apart from competitors.

Delivery and Stock

• Include current stock levels on your page. If your product is running low, tell the customer to order today.
• Set expectations around delivery times and be as accurate as possible.
• Run free shipping promotions – this can be a great way to boost conversions during major sale periods.

Other Important Elements

• Reviews can be a great way to increase conversions, but make sure to only use legitimate reviews.
• Give your page a single clear call to action or add to cart button.
• Test including cross sells on your pages and see what impact it has on overall conversion/revenue.

If you’re looking for additional conversion advice, download our free conversion whitepaper today.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: Matt is a marketing professional at ineedhits.com, an international search marketing firm. Matt's passion for online marketing began at university and has proved invaluable in steering product development and marketing initiatives at the company. Matt is a regular contributor to the ineedhits search marketing blog.