Starting an online store can be a great way to make money. With that said, there is more to it than building an eCommerce site and listing your products. You are competing in an ocean of other online sellers. Online stores need customers to find their sites amongst all the competition. After that, you need to get site visitors to buy from you.
Even if you have seen a little success with your online store, you might wonder what you can do to take it to the next level. Maybe you think there could be ways to attract more traffic, or you might think there are some things you could do to convert more visitors. With this post, we will look at some of the things you can do to improve your online store.
Function First
The most important thing about your online store is that it functions well. Having an attractive design and cool features can help, but the site should deliver a good shopping experience. If it doesn’t, you will lose sales to competitors simply because customers like using their sites more.
One of the top tips is to aim for a design that is simple and easy to follow. Navigating from one page to the next should be intuitive. Along with that, the site should be fast and free of glitches. Do everything you can to improve site speed. You should also make sure to update the various software tools and plugins you use on your site.
Get Mobile
You don’t need an app to sell to people on mobile devices. You just need to have a site that performs well in mobile browsers. This is becoming more important as more shoppers use their phones. There are many things you could do to make sure your site performs well on mobile. Going with responsive web design will ensure the site adapts to the screen size of the device. You will also need to consider text size and make buttons bigger so they are easier to tap.
Work on Your SEO
The chances are that you have already done a little SEO on your eCommerce website. However, there are probably many SEO elements you could use to improve your performance in search engines. Maybe you have already done some keyword research and used the keywords in page content, but now is the time to expand your strategy.
For example, you could develop a more consistent content strategy. Start writing blogs on your website to keep it more active. It can also be a way to use more keywords. Beyond that, you could also consider deploying strategies for internal and external linking.
Retail Merchandising
Many who are new to running eCommerce sites fail to recognize the value of retail merchandising. Maybe you have pictures and descriptions of products, but that is as far as your strategy has gone. If you want to take your store to the next level, you will need to do more. Think about how your products are organized and grouped on your website. Consider the types of pictures you have and how well they present the items. You can even use various software tools that make merchandising easier.
Social Media Marketing
If your business isn’t already on social media, it should be. Most of your customers are, and it can be a great way to reach and engage with them. Find your ideal customers and figure out which platforms they use. From there, open accounts on those platforms.
Once you have your accounts set up, you need to use them. Create posts that will be interesting to your customers. Consider engaging in the conversations they have. You might even want to consider using paid ads on social media. They can be great for reaching new customers and steering traffic to your site.
Simplify Checkout
One of the worst things for an eCommerce business is to lose customers during the checkout process. You already had them interested in some of your products, but they didn’t make it all the way to a completed sale. If you see this happening, you need to evaluate the checkout process.
One of the first things you need to consider is simplification. If customers need to go through several steps every time they buy a product, they will not be satisfied with the experience. Evaluate every step and consider whether it is necessary or if it could be made easier. If you have forms that need to be filled out for purchases, make them simple as well. You could also consider auto-filling any of the fields for return customers.
There is a lot that goes into running a successful eCommerce business. In fact, it is a continuous process. You can never believe that it is perfect and that you can just sit back and collect your profits. You need to stay on top of marketing your brand and refining the experience. If you don’t, you will start to see your numbers slip.
