The Internet has become an important part of the customer’s journey for shopping. The main indicators of e-commerce markets are growing steadily from year to year. If the success of your online store is low - buyers are in no hurry to come to your website for shopping, and the available traffic is poorly converted into revenue - time to change the development strategy. There is no universal recipe for success here, but there are always working rules that will help make online business more profitable.
1. Make your website faster
Page load time is one of the key factors determining store revenue. Google advises reducing the download speed to 2 seconds, but the real picture is significantly different: today’s average is 6.7 seconds. According to a study by Promodo digital agency, in 2018, stores whose pages loaded for longer than 6.7 seconds sold an average 9 times less than others. Check the loading speed of your site using special tools, find critical pages that need optimization, and take action.
2. Walk the shopper’s path
No matter how perfect the website may seem, it needs constant testing. Follow the user’s path: from clicking on the search link to placing an order for a specific product. Evaluate the usability of the site: the convenience of the basket and the payment mechanism, the information content of the trademark - the quality of its text content, photo, and visual design. Identify the nuances that need to be optimized. Successful sales are impossible without systematic testing of the website, we repeat, no matter how flawless it may seem to you.
3. Reach new customers through effective channels
Decide which traffic channels are a priority for you and stake on them when planning your budget. In 2018, contextual advertising generated the most traffic in the online sales segment (29%), overtaking by 1% the traditional favorite - organic search results from search engines (28%).
Today, the leaders are contextual advertising, search results, referrals from partners, direct traffic. In matters of attracting a new audience, it is appropriate to focus on them first. At the same time, this does not mean that you need to write off supporting channels - email marketing, development of social networks, etc.
4. Do not forget about the value of a loyal audience
In the pursuit of new customers, do not forget about retaining your existing audience - their role in eCommerce is invaluable. Repeated customers bring 4 times more income, it is easier to sell to them due to the generated trust, and you spend less budgetary resources. How to motivate the user to return to your site? Organize a loyalty program, make discounts and pleasant bonuses for repeat purchases. Use the potential of email marketing, for example, send a card signed by you with gratitude or remind your customers after some time by letter with a discount offer. Pleasant little things - a quick and easy way to win your existing customers.
5. Do not neglect mobile traffic
It is impossible to build a serious strategy in eCommerce without optimizing the site for mobile devices. Today, mobile traffic is ahead of desktop traffic. At the same time, purchases are still two times more likely to be made from a computer. But even in this case, the resources spent on mobile website optimization will pay off fully. Think about the integration of payment services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc. The acquisition of goods in one click is a competitive option in the era of mobile devices.
6. Show that your website is safe
Publish your privacy policy and place the SSL certificate badge on your site. If you still haven’t switched to the secure HTTPS protocol, don’t put it on hold. Google has long been marking HTTP sites as unsafe, and in the near future is going to block them in search results. There is a chance for sometimes to lose some of the traffic when switching to a new protocol, but these risks are not comparable with the reputation damage that your site will receive as “Not Protected” notification.
7. Do not underestimate the text
From a conversion point of view, quality text is no less valuable than photo or video content. Make product descriptions attractive and compelling. In matters of
quality content, today the Info style rules - concise, information-rich and honest texts. Do not forget that comparisons, advantages and real reviews of products are always more interesting than a dry list of their characteristics.
Start making not only product descriptions, but also write thematic publications. This is not only a plus to your reputation as a professional in your field, but also a factor in optimizing the site. Articles increase the loyalty of search engines, allow you to put cross-links to products in the catalogue, give organic traffic - the most promising from the point of view of eCommerce.
8. Use reviews and be responsive
Real consumer opinions and recommendations are a powerful motivating factor for the rest of the audience. The more real positive reviews - the better for any website. Try to interest your visitors in writing small opinions about the purchased product. It will not be superfluous to register on external platforms collecting company reviews.
In the pursuit of reviews, do not forget about your own responsiveness. Pay attention to both positive opinions and criticism. Do not leave customer questions unanswered; if their flow is too large, consider creating a chat bot
9. Make life easier for customers
Do not require registration without good reason. Also, you should not put sticks in the wheels of buyers who want to return the purchased goods - the return process should be as simple as the purchase. In this case, even an unsuccessful purchase will leave a positive impression about the store.
10. Be honest and transparent
No hidden information about additional costs - shipping costs and other costs should not be an unpleasant surprise at the end of ordering. If you are introducing conditionally free delivery, whose price is included in the price of the goods, do not forget to report this on the website.
