Make your eCommerce store stand out to shoppers with these seven tips! The great news is taking your business online means you have unlimited potential to reach new customers by taking advantage of many free or inexpensive marketing opportunities. The challenge is, with so much online competition, it's becoming increasingly important to give customers a VIP experience to attract new consumers to your site.
Greet Consumers With a Welcoming Site
Using marketing strategies to drive traffic to your site will not help if it is challenging to navigate on different screen sizes or cluttered with ads, pop-ups, and too much text. Therefore, plan to spend the bulk of your marketing budget on a custom and intuitive website that will have stunning imagery, be SEO-friendly for better Google rankings, boast an SSL certification, and make it easy to browse your menu and catalog. Remember to test the page load times and browsing features on a mobile device, tablet, and desktop or laptop.
Hold Their Attention
Now that the website has been set up, it is time to add the eye-catching images, how-to videos, and informative content for your products. After all, would you rather buy from a basic site that has a snapshot of a packaged toy in a warehouse with few details about the product or a professional-looking photo of a child playing with the toy at home that is accompanied by an informative and compelling description? Plus, many shoppers may have never heard of your products except what is shown in the image and what has been written about the product on your page. They will need a list of reasons in the description to add the item to their cart.
Content is key for search engines too. If you want a high ranking in search returns for related keywords, those words should be naturally placed throughout your site in a way that tells the consumers more about what your products offer them and why they should buy the products from your eCommerce store. This way, when a consumer searches for "Goo Jit Zu Heroes", your site will have a better chance of being recognized by Google's bots as a helpful link to return to the user.
Add the Fun!
Selling toys is the best business around! Showcase the fun side of your products with interactive games for kids to play or videos to watch. Examples include a quiz to see which toy is most likely the shopper's favorite or a cartoon based on a toy series. The longer your consumers stay on your page, the better you chances of making more sales and getting noticed online.
Write Newsworthy Articles
Another way to engage your audience and tell Google your site has informative content for users is to write a blog. New toys or items that are top-sellers would be perfect candidates for an article. Also, search for trending topics for your industry that may help consumers feel safe and comfortable about buying from your store or buying the products you sell. Articles should contain at least 750 words, so this is your chance to show off what you love about each item you sell.
Clear Call to Action (CTA)
At this point, your site is nearly ready for a flood of new visitors! There are just two more elements you need to check for optimum sales results. First, look over each page to see if your CTA jumps out at the visitors or is hidden and hard to find. Many eCommerce store owners are unaware of how essential it is to make it easy to see how to "Add to Cart" or "Enter the Quantity" as well as other actions such as "Continue Shopping" or "Contact Us". By posting clear CTAs on each page where appropriate, site visitors are better able to understand how to find the information they need on products as well as how to purchase the items.
Safe and Simple Purchasing Process
The second component you should check out before launching your site is the purchasing process. Consumers who are unfamiliar with your store may already be hesitant to buy from your site. To put new visitors at ease, in addition to a professional site appearance, it is important to offer a simple and secure purchasing and delivery process.
The Final Touches
Lastly, once your site is up and running, stand out from other stores by giving your site a personal touch. Quick-response customer service, multiple methods of contacting your team, and a thank you note with each sale are a few ways to make a big impression. Of course, in the thank you note or after a customer service phone call, it also helps to ask for a 5-star review if the individual is pleased with the received item.
In short, no matter which colors you choose or how many products you list in your catalog, the way to encourage more sales on your site is to give visitors a reason to stick around and enjoy the shopping process. Use these tips to make each shopper feel like a VIP when they shop in your store. With careful planning plus strategic marketing, your store has an excellent chance to be the talk of the Internet in no time!