The Best Tools for Tracking and Improving Ecommerce Conversion Rates

An ecommerce enthusiast and veteran marketer, I have always been in awe of the intricacies of what makes sales happen online. Something that caught my interest over these past years is the art and science involved in optimizing ecommerce conversion rates. I’ve tried so many tools over the years, and I’m excited to share some insights with you on the best ones to use today when tracking and improving your ecommerce conversion rates.

Understanding Ecommerce Conversion Rates

Before getting into the tools, let’s take a moment to understand ecommerce conversion rates. Simply put, your ecommerce conversion rate is just the percentage of the visitors to your site who finish a desired action, like making a purchase. This metric becomes very critical since it directly impacts your revenue. For example, if you have a website that sees 10,000 visitors monthly and you maintain a 2% conversion rate, you’re netting 200 sales per month. Bump that up to a 4% conversion rate now, and you’re netting 400 sales per month—without sending any more traffic its way.

Google Analytics: The Foundation Tool

If anyone were to think of any tool for tracking ecommerce conversion rates, that would have to be Google Analytics. After all, it’s a powerhouse that gives you minute details of your website performance. With Google Analytics, you can monitor the sources of your traffic, the most popular among your pages, and how users interact with your site.

Key Features:

• Audience Insights: Get to know your visitors’ demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Behavior Flow: This shows how users move through your website, helping identify drop-off points.
• Goal Tracking: A system for setting up and tracking specific actions like purchases or sign-ups.

For instance, I once worked with a client whose ecommerce conversion rate had flatlined at 1.5%. Using Google Analytics to understand customer journeys, we found that the check-out page had a really high dropout rate. We streamlined this process, and a month later, their conversion rate had increased to 3%.

Hotjar: Uncovering User Behavior

Another handy tool for ecommerce conversion optimization is Hotjar. Heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback polls will give insight into visitor behavior on the site. This type of data is important in answering the ‘why’ behind actions.

Key Features:

• Heatmaps: graphic representations of where users click, move, and scroll on your pages.
• Session Recordings: This provides real-time playback of visitor sessions, allowing you to see how they really explore your site.
• Feedback polls: Get real feedback from users to understand the pain points.

I recall running some ecommerce conversion optimization on product pages for an online site. Using Hotjar heatmaps, we figured out users weren’t scrolling below the first product image. We added multiple images of the product and put in a compelling description above the fold, increasing conversions by 20%.

Optimizely: A/B Testing for Success

A/B testing is the linchpin of ecommerce conversion optimization, and Optimizely is one of the best tools for the job. It enables testing different versions of your web pages against each other to determine which performs better and takes the guesswork out of optimization.

Key Features:

• Visual Editor: Very easily create and put A/B tests to work, without needing to code.
• Audience Targeting: Ensure that experiences are delivered to the right user segments.
• Real-time Results: Be able to run and track the performance of your tests in real time.

For instance, I ran an ecommerce conversion optimization test of two variations of a client’s homepage: one was an original homepage with a carousel of featured products, and the other was a test version containing a static hero image and a clear call-to-action. The results gave that the static hero image raised the conversion rate by 15%.

Crazy Egg: Get a Visual of Clicks and Scrolls

Crazy Egg provides an additional level of insight through click and scroll maps compared to Hotjar, albeit with a couple of unique features. It also has A/B testing and user recordings, which really makes it complete when seeking out user behavior for the maximization of ecommerce conversion rates.

Key Features:

• Click Maps: Visualize what users are clicking most on your site.
• Scroll Maps: How far down your pages people scroll.
• Confetti Reports: Segment clicks by referral source, search term, etc.
• Crazy Egg: A client questioned why their blog posts were not converting visitors to paying customers. Scroll maps showed that visitors needed to be scrolling down farther to see the call to action at the bottom. Moving the CTA higher increased conversions by 25%.

SEMrush: Competitive Analysis and SEO Insights

SEMrush has become a powerful tool for Search Engine Optimization, Competitive Analysis, and Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization. This tool gives you an idea of how your site compares to competitors and provides actionable insights on improving performance.

Key Features:

• Site Audit: This detects and fixes technical issues holding back conversions.
• Keyword Research: Find out the best keywords that attract relevant traffic.
• Competitor Analysis: Get an idea of what works for competitors and use that for your own.

I leveraged SEMrush to find high-traffic, low-competition keywords for which my client’s competitors were ranking. We optimized the content around these keywords and saw a 30% increase in organic traffic and an increased ecommerce conversion rate.

Mixpanel: Advanced Analytics and User Engagement

Mixpanel’s approach to analytics is more advanced. Its primary focus is on engagement and user retention. This is particularly useful for e-commerce businesses that strive to understand user interaction with their products and the point at which users fall off the conversion funnel.

Key Features:

• Funnel Analysis: Trace and analyze a user’s journey through your conversion funnel.
• Cohort Analysis: Trace user behavior over time concerning different groups.
• Retention Reports: Factors affecting user retention and engagement.

In one case, the client had very low repeat purchase rates. Using Mixpanel for cohort analysis, we were able to show that users who used one of the features tended to return. Making this feature much more front-and-center increased repeat purchases by 20%.

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