Starting an eCommerce store seems to be the trend nowadays.
Everyone is getting on the hype train, but starting an eCommerce store is one thing and generating dollar bills from it is another. There are a lot of places on the internet that teach you how to begin, but only a few tell you how to make money from it. The roadmap to a
#1. Use a User-Friendly Design
When visiting your e-commerce store, people should know very clearly what the site is about and what it is that you’re selling. The busier your design is, the more difficult it will be for shoppers to understand the purpose of your site and make the purchase. As a result, they’ll just hit the back button and abandon your site.
Make sure your site has a clean and appealing design that doesn’t repel buyers. Also, make your navigation as easy to understand as you can. This will make it easier for potential customers to use your site and as a result, you’ll get more people viewing your product listings.
#2. Address Pain Points
Nothing triggers a sale more than pushing the right hot buttons. Every customer has a burning pain or desire, and your product’s goal is to eradicate their pain or fulfill their desire. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to address their pain points in your website copy. You can do this by simply painting a picture of their pain points and then giving them the solution. Or, you can instead give them a glimpse of what their life will look like after the desire is fulfilled. Put simply, your copy should tell people how their life will become easier after using your product.
This also holds true for any objections or concerns your customers might have regarding your products. Your customer’s objections are also counted as pain points because they’re the hurdles stopping them from making a smooth and comfortable purchase.
So, make sure you address all such pain points and mitigate any points of friction.
#3. Clearly Display Your Prices, Shipping Policy and Discounts
A common mistake e-commerce website owners make is not mentioning their prices and shipping policy clearly in the product description. Have a discount going on? Mention it clearly. Offer free shipping? Let the customers know.
A good idea is to strategically put these options on the homepage, so that more people get attracted to your products.
#4. Include Testimonials and Reviews
Social proof, as famous psychologist Robert Cialdini likes to call it, plays a big role in bringing in new customers. It’s human nature to get interested in things that are already liked by others. So, when your product/ service gets positive testimonials, you’ll be more likely to pull in new customers.
Put positive testimonials about your product listings under the listings as this will help convince other customers about the quality of your product or service.
Another great way is to include influencers are the key people in an industry who have the power to decide the fate of a product. The reason behind this is that there are hundreds of thousands of people who have strong loyalty to a single influencer. So, if an influencer recommends one of your products, that will bring a major share of those loyal fans to you. Therefore, always try your best to put your products in front of as many influencers as you can, and once you become successful in getting a positive review, include it with your listings at a place where people can see it clearly.
#5. Offer Free Shipping
Offering free shipping is another great way to increase sales. By offering free shipping, you’re taking a lot of risk off the shoulders of your customers. Even if your products are a bit pricey, the free shipping option will compel them to make the purchase.
#6. Use Videos
Videos are great for showing people how to actually use a product and what kind of results they can expect from it. For example, if one of your products needs assembling at home, you can put a video with it showing how to put different pieces together and use the product. This will help greatly in turning interested prospects into customers.
#7. Increase Urgency
Urgency is another great way of persuading customers for the sale. When people know that a product or service is available for a limited time, they’re automatically convinced to make the purchase before it’s too late. Have limited stock on a product? Mention it in the description. Not only will it help in attracting customers, but also, it’s your duty as a seller to let potential customers know how much of a product you have available.
It’s important though to never fake urgency. Today’s customers are quite intelligent and can spot lies from far far away.
#8. Get Your Social On
Social media is one of the best tools for reaching new customers nowadays. Be it Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, most people have their accounts created on at least one major social media channel. And if you want to connect with your ideal customers, there is no better place than social media.
If you don’t already have business profiles or pages created on popular social media channels, do that now. And once you’ve done that, put social media buttons on your site to let people know about your channels.
#9. Retarget Those Who Haven’t Purchased
This is the tip I learned from Neil Patel. People who leave your site without making a purchase are 70% more likely to turn into customers when they’re retargeted. There are several ways to retarget potential buyers. Facebook ads and emails are among the most effective ones. Hire an expert to set up your retargeting campaign and you’ll attracting red-hot buyers on autopilot.
#10. Perform an SEO Audit
93% of people start their online experience with a search engine. What that means is that most of your potential customers turn to search engines like Google when looking for a product or service similar to yours. And in order to bring these people to your site, you must be highly visible to major search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of boosting your search engine visibility, and it plays a vital role in boosting your ecommerce site’s sales. No matter how well optimized your site is for conversions, unless you’re attracting the right traffic to it, you’ll not make any sales.
Make sure your site is well-optimized for Google and other important search engines. If you already have your
Get to Work
These were 10 of the most effective ways of optimizing your ecommerce site’s conversions. Now your job is to put these tips into actions so you can see positive results as soon as possible. And once that happens, come back to this post and share your results in the comments.
