When it comes to eCommerce, it’s easy to make mistakes. There are so many factors that contribute to the potential success of online stores, and figuring out how to prioritise your time can be difficult. Here are five things that you should never do in eCommerce, if you want your store to be successful.
Failing to consider Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Optimising your website for search engines is a much bigger deal than you may realise. If you choose to ignore this process, you are setting up your store for failure. When it comes to online shopping, the most cost-efficient and potentially effective way to drive traffic is through natural rankings on Google.
Think about it this way: if you are selling Australian Dog Food (by way of example), do you want potential customers to find your competitors when they search for “Australian Dog Food” on Google? Absolutely not.
According to research from think tank Chitika. 33% of organic clicks on Google go to the number one position. Using smart SEO to boost your store to the top for important long tail keywords can secure you an incredible one third of the market. It doesn’t matter how good your website is setup for conversion, if there is no actual traffic.
If you need to, consult an SEO agency for help with this. It’s not a simple process and requires knowledge of keyword research, content creation and link building. Search Engine Optimisation is a constant and detailed process, but something you can not afford to ignore if you want your store to succeed.
Ignore mobile optimisation
It can be easy to forget about mobile optimisation, given you generally build and work on your eCommerce store on a desktop computer or laptop. Do not make this mistake! Mobile shopping is become more and more popular every year, increasing at an incredibly rapid rate.
According to a recent study by comScore, 55% of shoppers spend more time using their mobile devices than desktop computers. This means that the majority of your market may actually access your store from their mobile, and never see the desktop website you’ve worked so hard on building. It’s imperative that you ensure your website is mobile responsive and just as well designed for converting viewers. Think about where key headers, calls to action and images may be when viewed on mobile.
Not offering returns
A lot of people are hesitant when it comes to offering returns, but failing to provide such a policy can be disastrous for your store. Even if potential consumers have no intention to make use of your returns policy, they will not trust your store without it. Trust is extremely important when it comes eCommerce, as there is no face-to-face contact with customers. Offering returns will give them confidence to buy from your store, despite the risk associated with not physically seeing the product.
A recent CNBC article noted that after offering free returns, numerous big online stores have seen their sales increase by a staggering 357%. While you may end up losing money on faulty products, you should be able to increase profits by more than enough to compensate. Furthermore, by allowing your customers to return their product without hassle, you can nullify potential bad publicity and angry reviews.
Lack of social media presence
Maintaining a social media presence can be time consuming, and therefore an unattractive digital marketing strategy in comparison to PPC ads. Don’t be lazy or negligent when it comes to the importance of social media.
Social media is an incredible eCommerce marketing tool for a wide range of reasons. It allows you to promote your products through to real people in their personal channels. It allows you to encourage conversation around your brand. It provides a channel for communication and questions from potential customers, helping to address their pain points. It allows for potential virality, which can be amazing free publicity for your store. Finally, it also provides a sense of personality, legitimacy and thereby trust around your brand.
You would be crazy to ignore all of these important benefits. It may be a lot of work, but you should never be lacking in social media presence.
When it comes to the complicated world of eCommerce, there are some things you should just never do. Don’t ignore SEO, mobile optimisation and social media. Make sure you provide a returns policy. These will all help build trust and revenue for your store.