Retail and e-commerce sites are possibly the most in need of efficient SEO. These kinds of sites face a lot more problems than non-commerce sites, and their search engine optimisation usually takes a fair amount of work. Retail site owners also need to stay on the lookout for future problems, as the impact on the business can be far swifter than for non-commerce.

The results of a recent study show exactly how true this is. The study, which examined the behaviour of internet users who were making purchases on the net, revealed some startling information about how site problems impact on profits.

The study showed that internet users have absolutely no qualms about abandoning their shopping carts if a site gives them any hassle. This information is likely to come as a surprise to e-commerce site owners, as the main struggle is usually imagined to be encouraging users toward a conversion. Of users who left the site before making a purchase, a massive 65 per cent left in the middle of the checkout process. This means more than six in ten users who leave the site leave it very late in the process. Considering how much effort goes into getting users to the checkout on most e-commerce sites, this reveals that a lot more attention needs to be paid to the checkout itself.

It is thought that the abandonment of shopping carts so late in the process comes from user frustration with issues on the site. It’s well known that internet users are increasingly impatient of slow-moving sites. In the study, 47 per cent of users reported that they expected web pages to load in less than two seconds. Any longer, and their frustration increased, to the point of leaving the site. Two seconds may seem like a long time to an internet user, but to a site with lots of page attributes to get into place, it’s not very long at all.

The study also found that a slow load experience can seriously affect what a user thinks of the business overall. Over half of the internet users studied reported that their loyalty to a site was intricately linked with the site’s performance. If the site failed to perform, their loyalty failed as well. More than three-quarters of the users studied would never visit the site again, and almost half would send on negative word-of-mouth. This shows that slow page loads can have an immense roll-on effect on a site’s reputation.

What this information brings home is the importance of a slick functioning site. Many businesses try to thin down their pages when they discover that page load times are a problem, but it can be hard to do this without help. The advice of an SEO expert can be advantageous, and you can talk to us at SEO Consult.

The effects of poor site performance go far beyond the individual user. If your e-commerce functions aren’t working properly, you can drive users away who have never been on your site. It’s worth thinking about.

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