Karen Lozada, sales director at MacRAE's Marketing, presents the possible reasons why your customers are not converting

Whether you just launched a new website or you have an existing website, if it seems as though your visitors are not converting, you may wonder why those orders are not rolling in. A number of factors can go into converting business sales leads, ranging from a market that's too small to technical problems with your website. Taking some time to identify potential elements that could be preventing your visitors from taking that final step to conversion can certainly be well worth the effort.

Before delving into an analysis of your e-commerce site, it's first important to understand what you should expect in terms of an e-commerce conversion rate. While every ecommerce site is different, most websites have a conversion rate somewhere between 1 per cent and 2 per cent. It should be kept in mind that conversion rates will also usually fluctuate to some degree, based on the time of the year, your market's season, and the source of traffic, so it could take a few months to determine what your average conversion rate should be.

Possible ecommerce website conversion problems

Poor layout

Among the most common reasons that many e-commerce websites experience poor conversion rates are poor layout and typography. It only stands to reason that if your website has a poor layout, unorganized information, or blurry images, then visitors will have a difficult time making a purchase and will likely even leave.

Slow loading time

A slow loading time is another common reason for poor conversion. Attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. In an age of instant gratification, you cannot afford to have slow load times on your website. Even a small delay can cause visitors to become impatient. Your webpages should never take more than a second to load. Anything more and you run the risk of losing visitors. You can check these great tips to speed up your website.

Unclear value propositions

Unclear value propositions can also be a common problem. This is perhaps one of the most common elements affecting your conversion rate because it is what sets you apart from the competition. If your value proposition is not clear, visitors may have a hard time deciding why they should buy from you.

Bad customer service

How easy is it for your customers to reach you? Customer service is vital to your conversion rate. If your visitors have questions before making a purchase, but they are not able to reach you, the sale could be lost. Incorporating as many ways as possible for your visitors to contact you, including phone, live chat, and social media, can help resolve this problem and increase your sales.

Customer data security

The security of your website is also critical. Given the number of security risks online today, it is little wonder that visitors might be hesitant to enter their credit card information if they are not absolutely certain your website is secure. A lack of security assurance, such as an SSL certificate, can be one of the fastest killers for any ecommerce website.

Online lead generation can be challenging and becomes even more so as the space becomes more crowded. However, ecommerce lead generation services can help you sort through potential problems with your website and identify effective solutions.