Have you just launched an e-commerce site? Your online store is not generating enough sales after several months of hard work? You will find in this article 15 essential tips for boosting your e-commerce sales, through 3 levers: designing a site that focuses on the customer experience and the buying journey, implementing an SEO content strategy to generate traffic and improve your credibility, and finally use some e-commerce hacks to develop your online business. So here are these techniques that will finally allow you to take off your income.
A site designed to turn prospects into customers
1. Smooth navigation
You only have 7 seconds to convince. Start by hunting down heavy animations and illustrations to reduce the load time per page to no more than 3 seconds. Your online sales site must be at least Mobile Responsive, or even better: Mobile First, that is to say created for mobile browsing. Also, your visitor must be able to access the information or the product sought in 3 clicks.
2. An opt-in module to retrieve visitors’ email addresses
The e-mail address is the Grail of any web-entrepreneur, because it is the privileged point of contact between you and your client. Installing a module, which appears in the form of a pop-up, allows you to encourage your visitors to leave their email address. To increase your chances, offer a bonus to the Internet user (advice sheets or a reduction for his first purchase, for example).
3. A limited product offering
When you want to launch an online store, especially in drop shipping (via Shopify, among others), you tend to want to sell a lot of very different things there. However, faced with too many choices, the potential buyer would waste a lot of time thinking about it, ending up leaving your site. So, choose a niche and rigorously select your products and their derivatives.
4. Both positive and negative customer reviews
By encouraging customers to write reviews on a product or on your e-commerce site, the Wikipedia page generator establishes a relationship of trust with them. Take the time to thank the people who leave you positive reviews. Above all, do not ignore negative or mixed reviews, and systematically respond to them by offering a solution. By being transparent, you show that you are listening to your buyers and have a chance of keeping your customers unhappy.
5. Strategically Placed CTAs
CTAs (or Call-To-Action) are simply the buttons guiding the user throughout their customer experience and encouraging them to make a purchase. We can mention “Add to cart” or “I want to discover the product”, among others. On your product sheets, it is advisable to use the add to cart button at least twice, at the top of the page as well as at the end. This will increase your conversion rate.
6. Sponsorship, a triple winning strategy
Nothing like a referral program to retain your customers and acquire new ones. This is to offer a reduction to buyers as well as sponsored. Your client will be delighted to receive financial compensation in exchange for his participation, he will address so-called “qualified” prospects and you will win new buyers.
SEM: an optimized content strategy to develop your online business
7. An SEO-oriented blog to gain credibility and generate traffic
A real marketing tool, an optimized blog adjacent to your e-commerce site is a powerful traffic acquisition lever on which you absolutely must bet on the long term. Regularly fed with articles on the news of your products, advice and purchase assistance, your blog will not only be the showcase of your site, but also an access point to your e-shop, thus generating additional turnover.
8. Neat product sheets and optimized fixed pages
Your product sheets must finish convincing your potential customers. The description must include all the product characteristics and above all boast the benefits for the buyer. You must also provide beautiful illustrations of your articles, from several angles (outlined on a white background ideally) and in situation. Photos from your suppliers may be sufficient, but it will always be better to take your own photos. Also remember to optimize your category descriptions with quality content: this will allow you to position your fixed pages on search engines.
9. SMO to create social ties
Bet on social networks. By uniting your customers around a community, you strengthen their sense of belonging. It is therefore strongly recommended to be active on at least 2 networks depending on your target (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.). To do this, you can regularly broadcast your news, create viral posts or even organize contests.
10. SEA in addition to SEO to develop business
SEA (for Search Engine Advertising) is a paid but targeted referencing technique. Google Ads, for example, allows you to buy keywords to attract Internet users to your site. Via Facebook Ads, you can launch advertising campaigns on an ultra-specific audience, based on demographic criteria (age, region, etc.) and interests (liked or followed pages). If the result is punctual (as long as you pay), unlike SEO which is long-term, the 2 strategies can be complementary.
Growth Hacking techniques to boost e-commerce sales
11. The Power of Free
When it comes to selling online, there’s nothing more powerful than the word “free”. Slip a small gift beyond a certain purchase amount, offer an item with shipping costs covered, send exclusive content, etc. The interest of the approach is to trigger the act of purchase, and especially to recover the e-mail address of the prospect. Also set delivery costs at 0 € beyond a certain purchase amount and display the count on your online store, this will encourage customers to add one or more items and will in fact increase the amount of the average basket.
12. The basket raise to convert the test
Sometimes irritating, but extremely effective, this technique aims to redirect the attention of a buyer who has abandoned his cart. It can be a pop-up on the site, a follow-up by SMS or e-mail, if you have his contact details. For even more efficiency, personalize your message with the surfer’s first name, allow him to access his shopping cart in a single click and possibly offer him a time-limited reduction to trigger his purchase.
13. Upselling, to increase the average basket
Upselling, literally “moving upmarket”, consists in offering more expensive alternatives to your buyer than those initially envisaged. You can play on quality (difference in brand or product attributes) or on size (a 72-bottle vs. 48-bottle wine cellar, for example). The best solution is to include a “You may also like…” or “Our customers also searched for…” section below the product page, with a selection of similar products but at different price points.
14. Cross-selling, to encourage people to buy more
The principle of cross-selling is additional selling. It is a question of proposing small articles, complementary to the product that the Internet user is looking at or has already put in his basket. In addition, these are generally products that pay better and are economically more interesting for you. For example, you can offer batteries for an electronic product, a shell for a phone or a wallet for a handbag. A “Have you thought about…” type section will do the trick.
15. Targeted and time-limited reductions
Once your database is established, play on the frequency of purchase of your customers. To do this, communicate regularly about new products and take advantage of the different times of the year to offer discounts to your buyers (Christmas, Black Friday, etc.). You can also send a discount code for their birthday. Whether by email or on your site, make sure that the validity limit of the offer is clearly visible: creating urgency radically increases the conversion rate in e-commerce.
So, ready to boost your turnover and develop your online business sustainably? Our team of qualified SEO web writers can take care of creating and feeding your content (blog articles, product sheets, “About” pages, among others). Contact us here!