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Don’t lose them here…

The following question goes out to eCommerce businesses or any company that ships products to customers. Is your shipping optimized?

We’re not talking about supply chain management. Instead, we’re referencing product shipping information on your website. One of the leading causes of website visitor drop-off near the point-of-purchase is poor communications regarding shipping practices. If there is any doubt, they won’t check out. Here’s how to keep that from happening.

3 Practical Digital Marketing Tips to Optimizing the Shipping Information and Content on Your Website

Create a Shipping FAQ Page

We said it before in our recent article about online marketing for eCommerce sites and we’ll say it again here:

“Nothing frustrates the online shopper experience like confusion around shipping. Very few customers want to wait until they get to their shopping cart check-out to see what shipping will cost, or to find that the service may not be available to their locale. Uncertainty is the mother of point of purchase failure in the eCommerce environment. To keep visitors on your site, create a dedicated shipping page that is accessible to “window shoppers” and search engines alike. The page should be easy to find in the primary and/or footer menu of the website, and should include general shipping estimates (expected cost and delivery) by region and method. In addition, provide clear information about restrictions such as not being able to ship to international destinations.” (Online Marketing for eCommerce)

Create a robust Shipping FAQ page to answer all questions and dispel concerns. While all relevant information should also be found at check-out, not everyone will make it as far as the check-out URL when they have uncertainty. This FAQ should include information about the following:

  • Regional (international, etc.) shipping viability or restrictions
  • Flat rate shipping costs and/or calculator (as applicable)
  • Shipping insurance (as applicable)
  • Shipping packaging
  • Shipping tracking
  • Shipping promotions (more on this below)

Search engine optimize the FAQ page so that it gets picked up on Google search. There is significant search volume for high-converting expressions such as “(product type/name) free shipping” and so forth.

Increase Shipping Promotions

Consumers hate paying for shipping and are constantly on the hunt for ways to cut corners on this cost. If it means that they are required to add another item to their cart to qualify for FREE or reduced charges they will do it. It has a positive impact upon consumer psyche as they are getting something tangible for their extra dollar – in lieu of a delivery charge.

For this reason you must treat shipping as you would your products, and market promotions accordingly. Most businesses offer discounts on multiple item purchases or when purchases exceed an established dollar amount, but promotions can also be wrapped around other actions. For instance, you can include a ticker-timer on a product page, letting visitors know that if they complete their purchase in the next 10-minutes (for example) they will qualify for a shipping discount.

Simply put, have your marketing team be as creative with shipping promotions as they are with general sales promotions. This will give consumers something else to get excited about and will increase conversions accordingly. This leads us to our next point.

Promote Shipping Promotions on Social, Email, and PPC

Given that shipping options and promotions can be a major competitive advantage you’ll want to extend your promotions (regarding shipping) beyond your website. This includes social media, email, and PPC.

Create posts and run paid campaigns on Facebook and Instagram to advertise shipping discounts, offers, and related promotions. The same goes for email marketing, communicating those same benefits to your current subscriber base. Lastly, creating landing pages about key shipping benefits can drive clicks from extremely qualified visitors (those at the end of the purchase decision funnel)  where you can immediately turn them into buyers.


Whether you read this in the thick of shopping season or another time of the year there is no better time to optimize your shipping content than right now. Need help? Contact Strategis Consulting Group today.