If you operate an e-commerce store that’s getting so-so results, have you ever wondered what you might be doing wrong? Likewise, are you in search of some strategies that work well for most sellers? If so, consider reviewing a short list of do’s and don’ts for e-commerce merchants.
Don’t Assume Clients Will Appear Out of Nowhere
For whatever reason, far too many new website owners who sell goods online assume that customers will find them. Unfortunately, putting up a website and opening a brick-and-mortar store are completely different endeavors. If you operate a coffee shop in a busy midtown location, you can count on a decent number of walk-in customers. With online businesses, that’s not the case. Unless you take specific actions to get your name and brand in front of people’s eyeballs, you will most likely have zero customers. To run a successful e-business takes patience, advertising, using social media, and making sure you know how to show up high in search engine results.
Do Use an SEO Consultant
One of the best investments a new e-owner can make is to hire a professional SEO consultant. Often, this person either works for an advertising agency or operates as an independent digital marketing professional, most commonly as a freelancer. To learn the basics of what good SEO is all about, review an online guide that explains all the details about search engine optimization (SEO), explains what these experts do, and how you can use their talents to your advantage.
Don’t Force Visitors to Click Themselves Silly
If someone visits your main page and sees a product they’re mildly interested in, they’ll often click the image to see a more detailed description. When they make a decision to buy, remember to simplify the process. You don’t want to force them to click three or more times just to get to the shopping cart. Design your main product pages so that if someone thinks this is what they’re looking for and wondering how to do buy it, they won’t have to meander all over your pages hunting for the click to buy button.
Don’t Let Site Content Become Outdated
Have you ever viewed a favorite commercial site and noticed that nothing had changed from the last time you checked in? Shoppers, especially online ones, enjoy seeing fresh content when they return after making an initial purchase. If they constantly see the same old blog articles, the exact same ad copy, no new products, and simply a static page, they will lose interest in your company immediately. Instead, refresh featured products every day, add new blog content at least several times per week, and consider adding new products on a regular basis.
Do Use Real Reviews
Be careful when placing customer reviews on your main pages. Buyers are highly suspicious, as they should be, of reviews you have chosen. They’ll often assume that you either made them up or cherry-picked them from elsewhere. A better approach is to direct visitors to third-party review sites so they can see for themselves that former buyers value your company and its products. This can ultimately help you lower operating costs because you will be able to see from your target market which efforts are, and are not, being well received. This gives you an opportunity to stop wasting money on strategies that your target market does not care about.
