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Running an online store in today’s times is rife with challenges. As an ecommerce entrepreneur you have to be on your toes all the time to ensure that your site is generating profits the year round and remains a favorite with discerning online shoppers. The following 33 tips will place you on the path to becoming a preferred ecommerce brand.
- Whether building your online store from scratch or buying a ready-to-use product, ensure that it is built on HTTPS, which offers greater data security and also supports SEO.
- Build a visually appealing website with a decluttered and aesthetically pleasing look.
- Ensure that your store is optimized for mobile phones and tablets as more and more customers are now purchasing via these devices.
- Use images to boost SEO. Add relevant ALT tags to every image on your site.
- Focus on loading speed. Lower page load time means lower bounce rate and vice versa.
- Invest in a quality backlinking service to build a network of credible backlinks that point to your site.
- Make sure that all category and subcategory pages are optimized with relevant keywords.
- Your URLs should be clear, concise and user-friendly. This greatly impacts your search engine ranking.
- Pay special attention to ease of navigation. Can your users move through categories without having to go back to the home page?
- Rewrite your title tags to make them crisp, attention-grabbing and optimized with the right keyword(s).
- Add social media share buttons on each product page to allow visitors to share products. This is a great way to boost traffic organically.
- Offer live customer support to help resolve queries and doubts in real time.
- Build internal links to increase the time users spend on your site. When a user selects a product, show similar or related products to widen their choices. This feature enhances user experience and drives organic sales.
- Avoid using phrases such as “click here” and “go here” to lead readers of offsite content to your site. Use specific keywords such as “baby food,” “gifts for dad,” and so forth.
- Keep changing your calls to action according to time of year (holiday season), special offers, sale times and other limited-period promotions.
- Be sure to have an FAQ page that provides answers to common queries in clear and easy-to-understand language.
- Reduce bounce rate by showing trending products on the home page itself.
- Personalize home page content based on the visitor’s buying/search history—this is a great way to hold your visitor’s interest and have them browse further.
- Create flash sales and show users on the product page how much time they have left to buy the product. Use countdowns to drive immediate sales.
- Be sure to have high-quality content on each product and category page. Don’t stuff the content with keywords. Two to three keywords are sufficient for 1000-word content.
- Generate original and engaging content on your blog to bring more people to your site.
- Publish posts relevant to time of the year. For instance, publish gifting guides during the festive season, publish a skincare guide at the onset of winter, and so on.
- Get social influencers and popular bloggers in your niche to feature your products on their social media and blogs.
- Make it a priority to find out how to convert the highest percentage of visitors coming to your store.
- Increase your visibility by creating brand pages on multiple social media platforms.
- Offer free shipping and express delivery to get more customers and win customer loyalty.
- Treat reducing your cart abandonment rate as topmost priority. Find out why customers are leaving your site without making a purchase and fix those issues asap.
- Ask customers for feedback to get a bird’s eye view of how your site is doing from their perspective.
- Create upsell offers for every product to increase organic sales.
- Ensure that your ecommerce store is in top shape before launch. First impression is the last impression for most users when it comes to online shopping.
- Share customer photos, testimonials and reviews on your social media pages and also on product/category pages. Involve your returning customers in promotions and events.
- Build a brand that’s known for quality and fairness. Source your products from select suppliers and indulge in fair trade practices.
- Lastly, establish yourself as an environment-conscious business. This is sure to vow the modern-day online shopper.
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