Genius Ways to Improve Your eCommerce Business
By Andrew Patricio
July 05, 2017
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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If you’re in the business of selling goods, you likely have an eCommerce sales channel. But let’s be honest; it can be better. It always can. So let’s look at a few genius ways you can improve your eCommerce business.
SEO Bumps and Jumps
If other sites sell the same products you do, make sure your product pages go live and are indexed first. This way, Google thinks of your website as the original owner of the content and bumps you up in the search results.
Your website indexing does little for your business if no one clicks on the results. One sure-fire way to increase your click-through rate (CTR) is to use Google’s Data Highlighter. Tagging your products with information like customer ratings (see below), price and other relevant information, will make your CTRs jump.
High Converting eCommerce Sites
Now, how do you convert all this new traffic?
You’re Not Done Yet
To improve your eCommerce business, you must convert abandoned carts. How? If you already have their email, automate an email immediately after an abandoned cart event. Use messaging like, “We’re holding your order” or “Get your order by this weekend”. Include pictures of what they selected and how many are left in stock to try to create a sense of urgency.
If you don’t have their email, use remarketing to push images of the products to the searcher along with an offer, like free shipping, that will spark action.
How do you get repurchases? Since new customers are more expensive than old customers, you should have a strong customer retention strategy. Loyalty programs and creative emails that drip or are triggered and yes, remarketing, will help. Depending on your business, you’ll want to find ways to re-engage for repurchase.
From capturing more traffic to your ecommerce website, to getting them to buy when they are there, to converting after they leave, there’s always room to improve your eCommerce business.
SEO Bumps and Jumps
If other sites sell the same products you do, make sure your product pages go live and are indexed first. This way, Google thinks of your website as the original owner of the content and bumps you up in the search results.
Your website indexing does little for your business if no one clicks on the results. One sure-fire way to increase your click-through rate (CTR) is to use Google’s Data Highlighter. Tagging your products with information like customer ratings (see below), price and other relevant information, will make your CTRs jump.
High Converting eCommerce Sites
Now, how do you convert all this new traffic?
- Customer Reviews: 72% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations so include them on your site and watch conversions grow.
- Facebook Messenger: Let customers ask questions using Facebook Messenger instead of email for a more personal, real-time experience.
- Checkout: There are many ways to make checkout easier, but one of the most effective is to integrate with PayPal and Google Wallet. No digging up a credit card, plus it reduces the risk some might associate with purchasing from a small site.
You’re Not Done Yet
To improve your eCommerce business, you must convert abandoned carts. How? If you already have their email, automate an email immediately after an abandoned cart event. Use messaging like, “We’re holding your order” or “Get your order by this weekend”. Include pictures of what they selected and how many are left in stock to try to create a sense of urgency.
If you don’t have their email, use remarketing to push images of the products to the searcher along with an offer, like free shipping, that will spark action.
How do you get repurchases? Since new customers are more expensive than old customers, you should have a strong customer retention strategy. Loyalty programs and creative emails that drip or are triggered and yes, remarketing, will help. Depending on your business, you’ll want to find ways to re-engage for repurchase.
From capturing more traffic to your ecommerce website, to getting them to buy when they are there, to converting after they leave, there’s always room to improve your eCommerce business.