30 quick-fire tips to enhance the eCommerce experience
Article topics
- Speed up your website
- Understand your target audience
- Start a blog
- Test the checkout process
- Try new things
- Review your title tags and meta descriptions
- Create landing pages
- Add a chatbot to your website
- Ensure your site is mobile friendly
- Ask for customer feedback
- Nurture your most loyal customers
- Use retargeting ads
- Investigate influencer marketing
- Show your human side as a business
- Create a sense of urgency
- Check your metrics
- Build an email mailing list
- Write a case study
- Consider local SEO
- Create a video
- Create a style guide
- Show off your trust signals
- Implement cross-selling and upselling
- Refresh your product images
- Make it easy for customers to find what they want
- Add your products to Google’s Merchant Center
- Use social media to build a community
- Track your competitors
- Take advantage of user-generated content
- Think about the post-sales process
- Not got time to look after your digital marketing? Xigen can help
Short on time? We completely understand where you’re coming from.
We’ve put together 30 short (but very sweet) tips to help you enhance the eCommerce experience.
1. Speed up your website
One of the easiest ways to boost your search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts and improve the user experience is by improving your page load speed.
Even optimising large images and getting rid of extensions and plugins you no longer use can significantly lower your page load time.
Why page load speed matters and how to fix it
2. Understand your target audience
Before you start selling your products, you must understand who you want to sell to.
Knowing your target audience will define the marketing channels you use, the products you promote, and your branding. By defining the key characteristics of the customers most likely to buy from your store, you’re better equipped to appeal to them.
According to HubSpot, only 42% of marketers know basic demographic information about their target audience, so getting this right gives you a big advantage!
3. Start a blog
A blog can be a great way to increase your search engine visibility, establish yourself as a thought leader and showcase your favourite products.
In fact, 56% of people have bought something from a company after reading a blog post!
The easiest way to get started with blogging is to create a content calendar. That way, you can identify what you want to post about, when you will post, and who will be responsible for creating the article.
4. Test the checkout process
If you have lots of interest in your products but low sales, it’s worth reviewing your checkout process.
A complicated checkout process or one that asks for unnecessary information can drive customers away – potentially to a competitor’s site.
Even small changes like implementing guest checkout, can make a world of difference.
5. Try new things
From going to new holiday destinations to trying unusual foods, it pays to have an inquisitive mind!
Experimenting on your eCommerce website can also lead to hidden benefits. Even small changes like altering a page header or changing the colour of a call-to-action button can result in increased conversions.
The best way to see what changes lead to the best results is through A/B testing. Create two identical versions of a web page with one key difference, drive half of your customers to each, and see which gets the most clicks!
6. Review your title tags and meta descriptions
While title tags and meta descriptions don’t directly affect your search engine rankings, they can entice people to visit your site and check out your pages.
You can use a web crawler like Screaming Frog to view all your page title tags and meta descriptions in one place. Then, it’s just a case of optimising them for the search engines and making sure each page has a unique title and description.
How to create product page titles and meta descriptions
7. Create landing pages
When you have different marketing campaigns with different goals, it pays to create targeted pages for people to land on.
A landing page makes it easy to promote a specific message and encourage customers to convert.
8. Add a chatbot to your website
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has become a major part of our lives. The great thing about it from an eCommerce perspective is that you can use it to carry out the smaller, more repetitive tasks, meaning you can focus on the bigger picture.
An AI chatbot on your website is a great way to answer customer questions and signpost them towards the information they need.
9. Ensure your site is mobile friendly
Mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor in Google. This means that if your site is easy to use on a mobile device, you’re more likely to rank higher in the search results.
Test your website on a range of different mobile devices to see what the user experience is like. Google Search Console also offers a core web vitals report that identifies which pages need some extra tweaking.
10. Ask for customer feedback
Asking for customer feedback and displaying reviews on your website can drastically improve your sales. Not only does it make it easier for potential customers to make a decision, but it shows that your business is trustworthy and transparent.
The easiest way to get feedback… just ask! Most customers will be more than happy to share their experiences.
Customer feedback – how to use it to grow your business
11. Nurture your most loyal customers
If customers regularly buy from your business, it’s essential to treat them well. Even just a 5% increase in customer retention can result in up to a 95% increase in company revenue.
Not only this, but these customers are more likely to advocate and promote your eCommerce store to family and friends.
Engage with these customers in a way that makes them feel special – this can be anything from offering free products to letting them access your sales early.
12. Use retargeting ads
If you’re new to PPC advertising, retargeting ads can be an easy way to encourage customers to return to your site.
These image-led ads target customers who have visited a specific page of your website but haven’t taken action. This doesn’t just boost your brand awareness but can entice them to come back and convert.
A solid retargeting campaign can increase conversion rates by up to 150%!
13. Investigate influencer marketing
More and more eCommerce stores are taking advantage of influencer marketing. And the great thing is, you don’t need to pay celebrities millions of pounds to promote your brand; you just need to find influencers with a loyal and engaged audience.
Influencer marketing: how you can use it to grow your eCommerce business
14. Show your human side as a business
Showing your human and authentic side has a wide range of benefits. Not only does it show customers how relatable and transparent you are, but it can also help your brand stand out from the crowd.
It can also help boost staff morale – highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable!
Ways you can show off your human side include staff profiles on your website and social media, behind-the-scenes videos, and social media takeovers.
15. Create a sense of urgency
Ever heard of FOMO, the fear of missing out? Creating a sense of urgency can encourage visitors to act as quickly as possible.
You can create a sense of urgency by setting a time limit on prices, launching flash sales, and showing available stock on product pages – once it’s gone, it’s gone!
16. Check your metrics
As the saying goes, you can’t improve what you don’t measure!
By identifying a handful of metrics you want to measure and determining how you want them to grow, you’ll be in a great position to understand how to drive your business forward.
Which metrics should you track? It’s up to you. It’s better to identify one or two metrics that you’re keen to improve rather than lots of metrics that you’ll track and not do anything with.
Five eCommerce KPIs to give your store the advantage
17. Build an email mailing list
A solid email marketing list can do so much for your business. You can use it to send highly targeted and personalised messages, encourage customers to complete a purchase, and, best of all, the data you hold is entirely your own!
When building an email list, it’s important to do it right. It’s vital to adhere to data protection regulations in the countries you operate in, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the UK and Europe.
Seven types of engaging emails to send your customers
18. Write a case study
A case study can be a valuable way to show potential customers how you can solve their problems.
Half the battle is finding the right subject to create a case study about!
How to create the perfect case study for your business
19. Consider local SEO
If you sell to a targeted area, local SEO could quickly become your number-one marketing channel. With local SEO, you’re focusing on a specific city, town, or region, making it easier to claim that all-important top spot in the search engine results.
A great starting point for local SEO is to create a free Google Business Profile. This gives customers an easy way to get in touch if they search for your business and provides Google with more context about what you do. This means more chance of appearing on the first page for relevant search queries.
20. Create a video
Twenty years ago, videos were hard to make. You had to invest in a large, clunky video camera and spend thousands of pounds on editing software. Now, you can quickly create, edit, and upload videos on a mobile device!
Videos are perfect for engaging with customers and can be used everywhere, from your website landing pages to your social media profiles. Why not try creating one today?
Video marketing: how to use it on your website
21. Create a style guide
Consistency is everything when you run an eCommerce business, especially if you work with several external organisations. A style guide makes sure that everyone uses the same brand assets and tone of voice.
A style guide can be as simple or as extravagant as you need it to be – from a two-page Word document to a 50-page brand bible!
Why you need a style guide for your business
22. Show off your trust signals
A trust signal is a piece of content that shows customers that your website is trustworthy and credible.
As well as reviews and case studies, which we talked about earlier, other examples of trust signals include testimonials, awards and accreditations, and logos of companies you work with.
Two out of three shoppers say they’re more likely to buy from a site if trust signals are in place.
23. Implement cross-selling and upselling
Want to increase sales? Cross-selling (when you suggest complementary products) and upselling (when you suggest upgraded products) are fantastic ways to encourage shoppers to spend more.
The trick is to use your existing data to understand your customers. When you know what products they buy from you, you’re more likely to suggest items they want to snap up.
24. Refresh your product images
Are you using the same product photos you got from the manufacturer or supplier? It might be that your competitors are using the same images too!
Creating your own product images is a fantastic way to showcase your brand and make potential customers remember you when they’re doing their research. Plus, you can use them on social media, in your PPC ads, and even clip them together to make a video!
How to create stunning product images for your store
25. Make it easy for customers to find what they want
There’s nothing more frustrating than a hard-to-use website. If your bounce rate is high and conversions are low, your navigation might be to blame.
If you don’t have one, a search bar is a great starting point, with 43% of people making it their first point of call.
Categories and filters can also improve the search process, but it’s critical to make sure everything appears in the right group. According to the Baymard Institute, 83% of websites incorrectly implement ‘sales’ and ‘deals’ based categories.
26. Add your products to Google’s Merchant Center
Even if you don’t plan to run ads on Google Shopping, it’s well worth adding your product data to Google’s Merchant Center. This means your product information will appear in the Google Shopping tab for free.
If you use a platform like Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce, you can automate the process, meaning your product information is always up to date in the search engine results.
27. Use social media to build a community
A strong social media presence is no longer just a ‘nice to have’ for businesses – it’s vital for brand awareness, engaging with customers, and fostering loyalty.
Social media has other uses too. An ever-growing number of businesses are using it to sell directly to customers, with Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok all offering social commerce to stores.
While it can be tempting to have a presence on all social media platforms, it’s important to choose your battles. Pick one or two platforms your target audience uses, and focus on them.
28. Track your competitors
Apple vs Microsoft, Aldi vs Marks and Spencer, Netflix vs Disney Plus… there’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition in business!
Keeping an eye on your competitors makes it easier to predict their moves and beat them in the search engine rankings. There are plenty of data sources to take advantage of!
Seven easy ways to keep an eye on your eCommerce competitors
29. Take advantage of user-generated content
User-generated content, or UGC, is organic content that your customers create. Think customers wearing your clothes on Instagram, cooking with your ingredients on YouTube, and blogging about the holidays you offer on their websites.
UGC is so valuable as it’s authentic and builds trust with potential shoppers. Four out of five customers say it highly impacts their purchasing decisions.
30. Think about the post-sales process
It’s great when you get a potential customer to convert on your site. The next step? Getting them to do it all over again.
You need to consider the delivery and returns process. For example, how long does it take for a customer to receive their product? How can they return it if it’s not what they wanted? If they want to ask a question, how can they get in touch?
Four out of five customers say they will look to do business with a competitor if they have more than one bad experience, so it’s vital to get things right.
Not got time to look after your digital marketing? Xigen can help
There are a lot of digital marketing channels you need to look after when running an eCommerce store!
If this post has inspired you, but you don’t have the time or resources to put the ideas into place, we’re here to help. Our digital marketing experts will create and implement a marketing strategy that leads to more clicks, conversions, and, most importantly, sales.
Get in touch today and take the first step towards transforming how you do digital marketing.
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