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e-Commerce Optimisation

e-Commerce Optimisation

The approach adopted to website optimisation, whether it’s a B2C e-Commerce transactional website, or a B2B lead generation will follow much the same methodology at a high level. However, beyond the methodology, the techniques and measures deployed will vary quite significantly.

Methodology

The overall methodology has a number of key phases:
  • Define KPIs
  • Define Goals
  • Define Funnels
  • Review Tools
  • Benchmark
  • Prioritise
  • Deploy
  • Measure & Review
Let’s look at each of these in turn.
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Define KPIs

Depending upon the maturity of an organisation, and digital in particular, KPIs may already have been defined. If this is the case, it’s prudent to review what they are defined to measure, as well as validating the figures that are currently being reported.

Define Goals

Every website will have one or goals – being the outcome(s) that you wish visitors to complete while on your website. This may be to purchase a product, download a resource, fill out an online form, or contact your call centre. It’s unusual to have a website with no goals, though it is a possibility.

Define Funnels

Other than in truly exceptional circumstances, all websites will have funnels, being the defined paths that website visitors take in order to complete one of your Goals. This may be one or two steps, or a more complex journey.

Review Tools

The range of tools that are currently implemented and configured should be evaluated in terms of their fitness for purpose, configuration and the way in which they are currently used.

Benchmark

Having taken stock of all of the above, it is prudent to benchmark all of the available KPIs and Metrics, providing a baseline against which to measure improvement, as well as helping to prioritise.

Prioritise

In broad terms, areas for development and improvement should be based on the value that changes can be made, however it is rarely if ever that simple. The following points are all key in determining the sequence of work:
  • Effort
  • Risk
  • Confidence
  • Reward
  • Dependencies
  • Politics
From this process you will have a series of changes in priority order, each with an effort/ cost attached to it, with the anticipated up-side (improvement in business performance).

Deploy

Now comes the exciting bit – putting your proposed changes into practice.

Measure & Review

If you’re using automated tools such as Optimisely (and there are many others) you should be able to pull reports of “before and after”, highlighting the differences made.