E-commerce conversion rates are dependent on design and SEO - true/false?

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for most stakeholders of websites is their conversion rates. It is also their weakness when it comes to listening to pitches from SEO/digital marketing firms who come calling. Because most websites convert in the single digits, it’s easy to fall prey to digital marketing strategies that predict higher conversions, bigger sales numbers, and better ranks.

Looking over the initial comments from a July 20th, 2010 Charles Nicholls‘ article, “Debunking Myths from the Top 10 Converting Websites,” we see that most of the highest converting websites are supported by formidable catalog/direct mail campaigns (and large national advertising budgets!). I know from my own experience that Lands End does a great job of referring to the website during each and every phone conversation; supporting and fostering the customer’s use and understanding of the “place” of the website in the sales process and in future transactions. Relying only on the e-commerce pipeline seems to leave customers on an island; making it difficult for them to navigate from old direct mail models to newer e-commerce sales processes.

Look at each of these websites. They all take a very different tack when it comes to overall design, user experience, and shopping carts. The site Womanwithin has big, bold targets that promote sales and discounts, while a site like Office Depot highlights weekly specials in the rotating banner area supported by other navigation menus and dense silos of links below the fold.

So it seems that the e-commerce/conversion success formula has less to do with user experience, interactive design, and keyword bundles and, in the end, has more to do with brand-building, penetrating markets, consistency of message across channels, and having a keen understanding of what their customers want. In the end, this is exactly what marketers and advertising agencies have been saying for 50 years, while SEO and content strategists have been saying for ten years that providing content that engages the visitor and clearly communicates a point of view will yield positive results. This is the formula for e-commerce/conversion success.