eCommerce is a dynamic industry. Much like the digital world where it operates, it’s subject to fickle trends, advances in technology, shifting rules, and ever-changing systems. This means in order to maintain relevance, you have to keep up with all of it.

Still, despite the industry’s constantly evolving nature, there are a few timeless tips that you can follow.

1. First impressions last—make it a good one

Remember this, you only have one shot of making a great impression on your customers. Not only that, you only have a very brief window to capture their attention and engage them. How well you are able to do this will define the kind of impression your business makes on the audience.

A lot of this boils down to the following:

• Design – The design of your site lends itself to how credible and trustworthy your site is.
• Usability – Your site’s structure should be able to deliver a seamless and comfortable experience to old and new users alike.
• Relevance – Your offerings and content should be written well and should address your customer’s needs.

2. Make your audience the priority

Just because your business operates online doesn’t mean it’s OK to overlook the importance of putting customers first. Keep in mind that running ecommerce store already means customers are at a disadvantage—because they don’t have actual access to a product or service, as they would if they were purchasing from a brick-and-mortar shop.

This, unfortunately, is a fact that ecommerce businesses have yet to find an actual solution for. Your best approach is to make up for this through other aspects of the business.

• Provide perks such as free shipping and discounts.
• Make the purchase process as simple and short as possible.
• Offer value added content related to their purchases.

3. Do not neglect mobile

Another aspect of ecommerce that often goes overlooked. The importance of optimizing for mobile. Numerous studies point out the rising importance of mobile devices as a way to access ecommerce sites—engagement and consumer spending is continuously rising. That said:

• If you’re just starting with your ecommerce business, keep mobile in mind to ensure longevity.
• Ensure transactions and content are just as easy to access whether you’re on a desktop or smartphone or tablet.
• Keep content manageable and easily digestible to make whatever you have to say easy to consume, regardless of platform.

4. Do not underestimate social media

As an ecommerce site, you probably already have online presence via your website. But social media gives you a unique opportunity to communicate and engage with your users, the way a website can’t.

• Choose social media websites that are relevant to your product or service.
• Post regularly and consistently.
• Remember to drive your social media followers back to your website.

5. Pay more attention to your visuals

It’s hard to capture the attention of an online audience, much less hold it. That said, the best way to do so is to create a good balance between engaging text with visually relevant and appealing images.

More pictures on your site equate to better engagement and higher interest from users.

• For product-centric ecommerce sites, be sure to add a lot of product images to your product pages.
• Choose your images carefully and ensure that they are relevant to your business.
• Optimize images so that they don’t slow down your website or affect its overall performance.

6. Do not neglect SEO

The ecommerce industry is one of the fastest growing industries today. Regardless of what you are selling or providing online, it’s likely that you will face some competition. A good way to stand out from the rest is by making sure that your SEO is up to par.

• The goal is to maintain leadership in search engines—remember that a lot of users will only click through the top search results.
• Remember to optimize your titles, URLs, descriptions and tags.
• Focus on providing good, clear, well-written and relevant content.

Here’s the bottom-line—

eCommerce businesses do not have the advantage of being able to physically connect with their customers—you only have the option to provide a functional, seamless experience through your online site. Think of that now as your primary way to elevate their online experience with your brand and service.

Give these tips a try and see how well it can improve your conversions. And if you have other tips you want to share, go ahead and tell us about them in the comment section below.

If you need help converting traffic into leads and sales, get in touch with us today.