Have you asked yourself if your eCommerce shop is optimised? Whether it is a blogshop or a side hustle, is it actually doing the best it can do?
It is unlikely. Being an entrepreneur is challenging and often we get stuck in the day-to-day work. This just isn’t good enough and often we miss out on opportunities, when there are fast and simple ways to fix the issues.
We compressed it all into 5 simple steps that every entrepreneur can solve to upsize their eCommerce capabilities.
Do not ignore abandoned carts
When we researched issues with eCommerce stores and blog shops, one of the main issues people highlighted was the high rate of cart abandonment. Which simply means shoppers put items in their digital shopping cart and then change their mind or close the window without making that purchase.
These are motivated shoppers who for some reason did not purchase your item. The reasons can vary, but what we know is that they are the most likely to buy your product.
The mistake that we see some entrepreneurs making is chalking that up to bad luck and ignoring the opportunity. Abandoned carts aren’t a failure, they’re an opportunity. Seize it with both hands. Build a simple automated email that triggers after 24 to 48 hours that re-engages that shopper who abandoned their cart. These are the lowest of low-hanging fruit, so you need to jump on it.
Invest in great pictures
If you’re using pictures taken with your iPhone 6 to sell your items online, you might be doing something wrong.
The visuals that you use are often the most influential factor when it comes to making a purchase. For some reason, most eCommerce websites tend to have too few images (say 1 generic image) or a few really bad quality images that seem to be screen-grabbed and cropped from somewhere else.
High quality images show professionalism, build trust and makes your online store look legit. This help improve your conversion rate. Also, make sure you resize your images to maximise the loading time – nothing irritates a shopper more than having to wait for over-sized pictures to load on a slow mobile connection.
So invest in a good camera and some photography and photo editing courses to become a pro. Alternatively, hire someone who actually knows what they are doing to help you out.
Most of your traffic is coming from mobile
I bet you’re reading this on mobile. Regardless of where you are in Southeast Asia, chances are that the majority of your traffic is coming from mobile users.
Now ask yourself this – is your eCommerce site mobile-optimised and user friendly for someone using an iPhone 6? Probably not and that’s a problem. Mobile optimised sites get 50% more engagement that your static boring ones. Lack of engagement can kill an eCommerce business.
Updating your website can be a big task, but it is something that you need to do and a smart designer and developer can get it done for you quite fast. Count on it helping your conversion rates and growing your business.
Sort out your SEO folks
This should not be a difficult thing to fix and can honestly be focused on two key areas:
- Product pages
- Product descriptions
If you have related products, keep them on a single page instead of making a separate page for every model or color. This allows you to focus your SEO efforts on a single page and makes it easier to drive users. Using filters or menus to help you separate the different SKUs, but make sure it falls under the same page.
Also, put some effort into writing those product descriptions. Do not make the rookie mistake of duplicating the copy you got straight from the manufacturer if you’re a reseller. Take the time and write your own. Often the copy is badly written and you might be competing with other resellers that you use the same copy. Make your brand standout and also ensure Google recognises you as a different brand.