The process of starting an online business has become increasingly easy. Nevertheless, it is easy to miss some vital steps that can put you ahead of a competition. In this brief write-up, we are going to tell the secret ingredients that help a lot when starting an online business. Let’s dive straight into what you need to turn your online business into a blockbuster success. When you cover that you would have checked off almost every must-do to create a successful online business.
#1. CREATE GENUINE PRODUCT CONTENT
Having a well-designed eCommerce website but not enriching with genuine product content is a grave mistake. It is like sketching a great design but ignoring to paint it. Genuine product content including high-res product images from multiple angles, manufacturer information, video tutorials, etc.can boost your conversion rate significantly. Moreover, genuine product content can help boost search engine rankings too. The user-generated content like product reviews and questions will have an adequate keyword density that will be crawled by search engines. Which brings us to the next must-do for your online store; setting up a robust user review and rating system.
#2. SET UP USER REVIEWS & RATINGS
84% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations
~ BrightLocal
Year by year, since 2011 and even in its latest 2016 Local Consumer Review Survey, BrightLocal has found that customers rely largely on user reviews & ratings before deciding to work with a business. They trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from near and dear ones. Takeaway point: Set up a transparent system of user reviews and ratings. Encourage customers to provide user reviews and ratings for products and also the store’s service. It’s a direct way of winning new customers.
#3. OPTIMIZE FOR SEARCH ENGINE FRIENDLINESS
Without SEO your website will not get on the radar of online shoppers. SEO is the magnet that attracts FREE organic traffic to your store. Follow these search engine optimization techniques for your online store.
- Use plagiarism free original content for product descriptions with adequate density for targeted keywords
- Optimize the product images with Alt Tags
- Set up meta description for each page
- Optimize anchor text, headings and subheadings with relevant headings
- Try to include a separate landing page for each product optimize for search engine friendliness with above steps
#4. : EARN CREDIBILITY BY DISPLAYING TRUST SEALS
There are more than a Million online stores today. To turn visitors into customers you have to convince them you are more safe to trade than with any other online store in the market. Trust seals or badges go a long way in helping that. They are a sure way of shouting out to the world that you are reliable, trustworthy and are secured by website security providers trusted by the world. More than 30% of customers will not deal with your online store if they don’t feel the website is trustworthy. So it is inevitable that you display your trust seals/badges prominently in the website.
#5. HTTPS ENCRYPTION You can try to ignore buying an SSL certificate for the time being, but Google will definitely catch up on you. HTTPS encryption is here to stay as Google itself has admitted that website security will be included as a ranking signal sooner. SSL certificates can bestow a wide range of other benefits on your online store too:
- They inspire confidence in customers
- They help prevent loss of sensitive information
- Ensure that data is exchanged only between trusted sources
For an online store, trust is the biggest asset that can help sell better. Without trust no amount of great products, offers or service will help get along. In fact, eCommerce giants like Amazon, Zappos have climbed the ladder of success because they are trusted by customers. HTTPS encryption with SSL certificates helps to earn that trust. Like we said before, displaying trust seals also complement the process of winning customer trust.
#6. SIMPLIFY THE PAYMENT PROCESS
Numbers that hint why carts are abandoned:
- 56% are caused when unexpected costs are presented
- 18% are caused due to lengthier payment process
- 11% are caused due to payment declines
In other words, a simplified and transparent payment process goes a long way in preventing more than half of your store’s cart abandonment. Here is how Kissmetrics blog suggest you can simplify your payment process:
- Provide as many as payment modes as possible (credit/debit card, net banking, digital wallet, cash on delivery, gift vouchers, etc.)
- Provide guest checkout facility, just the way Apple let’s first-time users check out their purchase
- Set up on step or one-page payment checkout
- Make it easy to fix common errors like editing card number, name, cv, etc.
- Ask less to finish the transaction
- Display trust symbols close to the payment CTA
#7. BE SOCIALLY APPROACHABLE
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. are gold mines for eCommerce store owners. They are virtual hubs to create a connection with customers. In fact, Twitter has been trending high on providing instant responses from brands like Tesco, Dominos, etc. Establish your social identity and your customers will feel more welcome to approach and seek your services without trouble.
#8. DON’T FORGET RESPONSIVE DESIGN
More than 50% of online traffic is originating from mobile devices. It makes total sense to make your online store mobile responsive. Responsive design will fit on your store website snugly onto the user screen giving them a refreshing way to navigate the store. In fact, the mobile responsive design is the first thing to go if a dedicated mobile app for your store is not economically feasible immediately.
#9. CTA OPTIMIZATION
CTA (Call-To-Actions) are tiny buttons that play a big role in making customers do what you want them to do. Like, Sign Up, Place order, Pay Now, Add to Cart, etc. Proper CTA optimization can spike conversion rates to great heights by creating a sense of urgency in the minds of customers. Make sure your store has adequate action-oriented CTA buttons that can be easily seen and are clickable. To make your CTA’s work, don’t forget to use timing words, to use strikingly contrast colors with an obvious action that customer cannot help but do.
Conclusion:
With the mushrooming growth of online stores, you cannot help but take some mandatory actions that will put your store ahead of a competition. What we have compiled above, is a gist of some plausible actions that will throw open the floodgates of conversions for your online store. Follow them and reap the profits. Good Luck!
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