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After you spend time writing ad copy and creating marketing campaigns in addition to investing money in paid marketing, you sit and wait for results. While most eCommerce business owners link results to sales, one very important positive result for marketing campaigns is a high click-through rate. Clicking on a link or an ad is a step right before conversion. It is a step ahead in the consumer funnel and shouldn't be ignored. In this article, we will help you understand what a click-through rate is and how to improve it.
What is Click-through rate (CTR)?
Click-through rate is a metric that measures the ratio of clickers compared to viewers. In other words, it gauges how many people clicked a link and landed on a destination page. The source for this click can be any form of marketing campaign; search results, email marketing, social media ads, Google ads, or banners/elements on your website.
Click-through rate (CTR) formula
Click-Through Rate = Ad Clicks ÷ Ad Impressions x 100%
Divide the total number of clicks by the total number of impressions/views and multiply by 100 to get the click-through rate.
For example, if an ad received 10,000 impressions and 1000 clicks, the Click-Through Rate (CTR) will be 10000 ÷ 1000 x 100% = 10%
13 Tactics to improve click-through rate (CTR) for eCommerce
As an eCommerce store, your marketing ads and campaigns must generate sufficient click-throughs to maximize your sales through the Internet. If your click-through rate is low, however, it might be time to consider a few strategies to improve your CTR that will boost your sales:
1- Target the right audience
Spend time learning your brand persona and understanding your audience's language, interests, and demographics. The right audience targeting means you will write a copy that speaks directly to them and solves their problems. On the other hand, bad audience targeting or targeting a very wide audience means a lot of impressions put poor CTR.
2- Use Emotion-Driven Marketing
The goal of all marketing campaigns is to sell products. However, many marketers make the mistake of assuming that their customers are rational beings who always make rational decisions. In reality, however, people are emotional creatures who often act on impulse rather than logic.
For this reason, it’s important for eCommerce marketers to use emotion-driven marketing tactics that will maximize conversions and increase clickthrough rates. Emotion-driven marketing uses emotional triggers, such as humor and storytelling, to attract more attention from potential customers.
For example, if you’re selling a product for people who are going through a difficult time, such as divorce or job loss, it’s important to show them that you understand their pain and suffering. This can be done by using words and images in your marketing materials that convey compassion and empathy.
3- Consider the positioning of the ad
The positioning of the ad and even the button/link really matter. Depending on each marketing channel, you want to find out the best spots to place your ad. For example, if the ad is a website element always place it above the fold. In emails, place the button in a visible place with a contrasting color and a standout font. With social media ads, the ad settings offer many positioning options, and you can select all of them or only a couple based on the campaign objective and audience.
4- Show the value and selling points clearly
In your ad copy, you always want to try to persuade viewers to click. Think of this as making a sale. Write a copy that clearly manifests the value and selling points of your product, offer, or service. If they are convinced they will click. If you don't want to go hard with this, at least create enough interest for viewers to click "learn more" at least.
5- Use powerful words and enticing phrases
Focus on the usage of words that entice viewers to click. Exclusive, limited time, limited amounts, discounts, free, lifetime, gifts, etc. Attempt the user to click. On the opposite, the last thing you want to do is use generic and lifeless words that create zero urgency or curiosity.
6- Use Relevant Keywords and SEO practices
Using keywords that are related to your business and the products and services you offer is extremely important. This helps ensure that you’re showing up in search engine results pages (SERPs) for searches of those terms.
If a potential customer is searching for brown leather shoes, and your ad is showing up for a search on brown leather wallets, then it’s unlikely that they will click on it. Use relevant keywords that are related to your business and the products and services you offer. The more relevant the keywords you use, the better your clickthrough rate will be.
It’s also important to take SEO practices into account when creating eCommerce marketing ads. Some eCommerce SEO practices that will increase your clickthrough rate include:
- Using your brand name as a keyword
- Using long tail keywords that are relevant to your brand and products
- Including the URL in your ad copy
- Adding an image that matches the theme of your ad-Using specific search terms in the ad copy to match your product or service
- Creating ads based on what you know about your customer and their needs
- Using target keywords from your customer’s search history to create a relevant ad
- Making sure that there is a high relevance between the user query and your brand
This will help increase the clickthrough rate for eCommerce marketing campaigns.
7- Use Specific and Descriptive Headlines
Headlines are one of the most important aspects of your marketing ad. It’s what draws people in and makes them want to click through to your website.
Use specific and descriptive headlines that clearly state the main benefit of clicking on that ad. The more specific you can be, the better it will be for your click-through rate. Some examples of specific headlines for ecommerce are:
- “Save 20% on your next order”
- “Get a free bottle of our new body wash when you sign up for our newsletter.”
- “Free Shipping on Orders Over $50”
- “$10 Off Your Next Purchase”
It’s also important to test different variations of your ad headline to find out which ones perform best in terms of clickthrough rate. Try using different keywords, writing compelling headlines, and describing benefits rather than features.
8- Optimize Landing Page Design
The landing page is the first page that visitors see when they click a link in your ad campaign. It’s important to optimize this page for conversions, meaning that it must get visitors to perform specific actions such as filling out a form or making an online purchase.
Make sure that the website is not cluttered with too many images, videos, or text. Instead, focus on creating a clean, simple and engaging page that will appeal to your target audience.
In addition, make sure that your landing page and website generally is mobile-friendly. Mobile traffic has been steadily increasing in recent years and will continue to grow as more people use their smartphones to browse the internet. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, it can lower your clickthrough rate by as much as 40%.
9- Add catchy images
Images are really powerful. They catch attention and say more than text does. You want to invest time in finding high-quality images that catch attention and deliver a message to nudge the viewers to click. If you can afford a graphic designer to create a professional design for the ad with great font, colors, and images, definitely go for it!
10- Optimize Call to Action (CTA) Copy
The goal of every eCommerce marketing ad is to generate a click. That’s why you should always optimize the CTA copy for each campaign.
The CTA is the button that people click on to take them to your landing page. It should be clear, concise, and easy for your audience to understand. It should also reflect the theme of your ad and the specific products that you are targeting with your campaign. It also needs to be actionable so that visitors know exactly what they need to do when they arrive at your site.
Finally, the CTA should be a specific call to action, not just a vague statement. For example, instead of “Buy Now” or “Learn More,” you could use something like: “Get Your Discounted Tickets Here.”
11- Use Video Content in your marketing campaign
In today’s highly competitive market, video content is one of the most effective ways to stand out from the crowd. In fact, research shows that people who watch videos are more likely to click through an ad than those who don’t.
Video content is more engaging than text, and it can help you stand out from the crowd. If your eCommerce store sells products that are difficult to explain in words, video is a great tool for you.
A short video explaining how your product works or why it’s better than similar ones on the market might be just what you need to boost your click-through rate.
12- Use Social proof and Create Urgency
When you use social proof in your marketing ads, you’re showing potential customers that other people have already purchased your products. This can help reduce any hesitation they might have about making a purchase and increase the likelihood of them clicking through to your website.
For example, if you sell beauty products, you might use a testimonial from a customer who was happy with the results they got from using your product. You could also include social proof in your ad copy by saying something like, “More than 50,000 people have already purchased this item!”
Creating urgency is another way to improve your clickthrough rate by offering discounts or other incentives for those who act quickly.
13- Optimize and Test Different Ads
While you may be focused on optimizing the performance of your website and landing pages, you should also take some time to optimize and test different ads.
The more data points you have, the easier it will be for you to pinpoint what works best in terms of content, images, and text. test different messaging, calls to action, and formats.
Try running a few variations of your ads and see which ones perform best by tracking the click-through rate for each one. Then use that information to optimize your ad campaign based on what works best for your audience.
