With unprecedented and unforeseen growth over the last year, the ecommerce sector is booming and is not showing any signs of slowing down. With lockdowns the new normal and more and more people purchasing goods and services online, it’s never been more important to have a website that stands out from the crowd.
Digital Elder is a leading Melbourne-based digital marketing agency specialising in providing web design, Google AdWords, remarketing and SEO services to business across Australia. We understand that no matter how amazing your digital marketing and advertising is, the best way to turn website visitors into customers is with great web design, optimised for sales.
Here are a few tips that will help your ecommerce website generate more sales and encourage return customers.
Have a Simplistic Design
If your site is cluttered, confusing and hard to navigate, it’s almost guaranteed you will lose customers. Ecommerce should be fast, so your website design must allow for a smooth and seamless transaction. A simple, minimal layout with consistent branding, fonts and colours across all pages will make your site attractive and professional in appearance. Don’t clog your product pages with massive blocks of text, consumers don’t want to read this when they are trying to make a purchase. That’s not to say that information about your brand should not be available, just make sure it doesn’t distract from your products. Also remove any pop-ups, links, images, or videos that are likely to cause annoyance or detract from your products.
Optimise for Mobile
Recent statistics show that mobile devices generate over 50% of all website traffic, and over 75% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last 6 months. These percentages are only set to increase in the coming years so it is absolutely crucial that your website functions well when accessed via a mobile device. Additionally, Google is now prioritizing mobile sites that provide better results for mobile devices so if your site is not mobile -friendly, your SEO is going to suffer.
Make Searching Easy and Allow Filtering
We all know how frustrating it can be to have to scroll through hundreds of products to find what you’re looking for, or select what you want from the search results only to find your size is out of stock. A search bar allows consumers to find what they want, fast. If they can’t, it’s likely they will go elsewhere. Your search bar should stand out and be located at top of your website, making it quick to find. You also must allow users to filter products based on factors such as size, style, colour or price – this ensures they see results that are as specific as possible to what they are looking to buy.
Use High-Quality Images
Online shopping does not allow customers the luxury of looking at, touching or trying on a physical product. So, it makes sense that clear, high-quality images from multiple angles are required to give consumers the confidence they need to purchase.
Make Contact Information Easy to Find
Online shopping lacks the personalised customer service experience that bricks and mortar stores provide. There’s no friendly face standing there waiting to point customers in the right direction or answer their questions and help with advice. Consumers often require information before they make a purchase, so ensure your contact information is easy to find, and make it as easy as possible to contact you. This can be in the way of contact forms that allow customers to send an email directly to you or a widget that allows them to send a Facebook message straight from your website. Another great investment is Chatbots. These pre-programmed ‘assistants’ help customers with instant replies to basic questions and problems. Being able to give immediate responses without the need to wait for an email is sure-fire way to encourage customers to buy from your store.
Checkout Must Be Fast and Simple
A complicated checkout process is almost guaranteed to lead to a high rate of cart abandonment. And it’s likely you will lose the customer for good, as once they have had a negative experience it’s exceptionally hard to entice them to return. So how can you simplify the checkout process?
Allow users to check out as a guest – many people either don’t have the time to create an account or don’t want to give out loads of information to make a purchase.
Clearly state your payment options – whether you accept credit card, PayPal, bank transfer or any other payment methods, be clear from the start.
Consider buy now, pay later platforms such as Afterpay and Klarna – knowing that they can make a purchase today and pay it off in the coming weeks or months is a perfect way to encourage shoppers to buy now.
If you have done all of the above and your abandonment rates are still high, keep in mind that many consumers don’t make a purchase on their first visit. Here’s where retargeting comes in. Retargeting is a very effective tool that subtly reminds consumers of your brand or product after they have left your site, triggering them to return to finish their purchase. It can give you the extra 15 – 30% lead conversion you seek!
Have Social Media Links
With hundreds of millions of people active on social platforms around the world every day, it’s now vital to include buttons that link out to your social media accounts form your website. Social media links encourage serious site visitors to follow your social media pages. This gives them fast and easy access to information and updates relating to your brand, products or services and it gives you an increased following and therefore the potential of meeting new buyers for your goods or services. Including social media links is also a great way to boost your search engine ranking.
For your ecommerce website to succeed, it must be well-designed, easy-to-use and designed for the customer to enjoy a fast and enjoyable shopping experience.
If you are looking for an experienced team to help you get the most out of your website and implement effective digital marketing strategies to boost your sales and grow your business, get in touch with Digital Elder today. There’s a reason we are the SEO agency Melbourne businesses trust for great results and high quality service. Enquire online or call us today on 1300 635 905.
