February 22, 2023
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Whilst you're still full of new year optimism, let's get right down to some ecommerce best practice tips that will see your business improve this year.
This advice concerns improvements you can make on your website to increase sales. Let's get started with our first tip.
I chose to make this article about things you can do on your website, so marketing and search engine marketing such as SEO and PPC are beyond the scope. However, within your site there are a number of improvements you can make that will increase your search engine visibility, making it easier for people to find you.
People are searching all the time for advice related to buying occasions. Dust and Things sell wedding decorations and gifts. To try to reach their target audience they attempt to answer some of the millions of questions that come out of planning a wedding. They create original and useful blog posts that answer the potential questions related to planning an alternative wedding.
Don’t ever use the manufacturer's product description. It's usually not as interesting as what you could write and you'll also miss out on an opportunity to differentiate yourself from other people stocking the same item and using the manufacturer's description.
Unique, informative and interesting product descriptions help towards SEO and keeping people on your site longer. Here are some tips:
Whilst we're on the topic of descriptions, make sure that you give information on size if you're selling something where size is important, such as furniture or clothing. A good idea for fashion stores it to say what size the model is and what they're wearing.
Product page URLs should be short and descriptive. Your website should give you control over what URLs should be and the best systems will create SEO-friendly URLs for you.
Try to keep URLs:
You can see an example Search Engine Result Page (SERP) below that has returned our client Julia Davey's website at the top, note how Google has bolded the search terms that appear in the URL, as I mentioned above.
The other elements to a creating a search engine result with a high Click Through Rate (CTR) are:
You should keep the product pages online for items that you no longer sell or are out of stock, otherwise you could be missing on traffic. Set up your pages so that they clearly show that the item is 'Sold' or unavailable, like below.
Show product recommendations beneath so that the visitor is able to find items related to their search and perhaps you'll get the sale.
If you really want don't want to keep old products online, make sure you redirect old product pages to a new relevant page. To tell Google that a URL has changed to another you should use a '301 redirect', which most CMS systems will do by default. In the example above, if WatchXchange were to take down the IWC Portuguese Chronograph product page they should redirect the URL to go to their IWC collection page, which lists all available IWC watches.
This is especially important if you have 'deep links' to your product pages, for example if you've done a good job of your PR or are using an affiliate scheme and have a lot of bloggers linking directly to your product pages.
Image 'alt' text is used by screen readers for visually impaired users, but alt text also allows Google to index your images so they can be searched.
People often use Google image search when looking for an item where the look is important or when they think they can identify what they want visually, so putting the work in to set up your descriptions could earn you a sale if you come up top in Google Image search. Alt text will also rub off on your general page SEO.
Increasing your site speed will help your rankings because Google wants the end user experience of searching the internet to be as quick as possible. Without getting too technical, here are some areas of improvement you can look at:
Now you have a new visitor, how do you make the right first impression?
This goes for all copy, but especially home page text:
A bounce is when somebody visits your page then presses the back button. A bounce is an indication that the page has not met their needs. Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a page that bounce right back off it.
Pages with a high bounce rate are a problem because a) you are losing visitors and b) Google will move pages with high bounce rates down the rankings. This is because clearly people aren't finding what they were looking for when they land on the page.
View pages with a high bounce rate in Google Analytics by going to Behaviour > Site content > Landing pages then ordering by Bounce Rate. I'm using data from our site below so I can show you a real example.
Here are some ways to fix a page with high bounce rate:
This is a big one in. It was a big one in 2014 too, so if you're site still doesn't work well on mobile, you need to make a change! Look below - now more than 50% of ecommerce traffic is mobile.
Conversion rates on phones are still low, usually less than 1% and below 3% on tablets, though this depends massively on what you sell. Either way, people research on mobile devices more than desktop, so you still need to make sure your website works well on both tablets and phones.
So what makes a site mobile friendly?
Do it right and you'll earn yourself a 'mobile-friendly' marker next to the Google search results for mobile visitors! This will boost click through and suggests that Google is probably biasing mobile friendly websites with better rankings.
It's the future – don't be left behind.
If you can, offer a guarantee like our client Onske. It shows confidence in your product and is a tremendous way to reduce the reservations a potential customer may have about your product, especially if they are buying it online and will only see it on delivery.
The increased sales from having a guarantee and generous returns policy should outweigh the cost. The best way to see is to test it out and measure the difference in your like-for-like sales.
Smaller businesses stand to gain the most from a good About page, usually they can also be more honest and transparent than corporate brands. To get the most benefit from your about page:
It's also worth including an FAQ and sometimes even a 'Why shop with us' section.
In general, it's best to include an 'About' link in your footer, reserving the top navigation for your main product categories. However, sometimes it's worth including an about page in the main navigation.
An example from Dust and Things is below.
With all the increased business you'll be getting from these changes, it makes sense to begin capturing customer reviews for your products!
Customer reviews are one of the most persuasive ways to demonstrate the quality of your product. Future buyers will find it useful to see the feedback of others and you can also use the information provided in reviews to help build your FAQ section.
Yotpo is a good option for hosting your reviews as it's easy to integrate and will automatically follow up with customers via email, asking for a review after each order. You can see an example of Yotpo in use on the Shopify store for our client Organic Surge. If you're looking for a free solution, there's also the more basic Product Reviews app.
Another approach to building this type of social proof is to add a 'praise' page to your website where you list recent testimonials provided by customers.
We recently did some work for the impressive hair extension experts Luxy Hair. They've built a huge following on social media, including Facebook, where they have nearly a quarter of a million 'likes'.
Showing that you have a following on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram is a good way to build credibility with your audience.
In most cases, your main navigation should be dedicated to your top level product categories. Try including:
In general, sort products by popularity.
You can use information from your site searches to see what people are coming to your site for. Consider rearranging your categories to make it easier to find these items. You may find a new opportunity if you notice searches for items or product ranges that you don't stock.
This may sound obvious, but you should actually try to search for those popular terms and see what is returned. Is it what you were expecting? Some systems will let you configure which products should appear higher in search results.
Adding suggestive search is a good way to make the search process faster for customers, have a look at this example on Lifestyle Labs.
Directed Edge and Nosto both have apps for Shopify that can automatically suggest related items whilst a customer is shopping. Helping the visitor discover your range by displaying relevant products makes for a better, faster shopping experience. Adding upsell items on the cart page is also a good way to increase order values.
If a customer is shopping for a gift for a loved one and has found a brand they think they'll love, they may run up against the problem of which item to choose, especially if the partner is picky or the item is a tricky one to pick... that's where gift cards can make for a thoughtful purchase. Offer gift cards if you sell items that are often used as gifts.
Gift cards work particularly well for underwear stores.
Photography is to e-commerce what music is to film. Without it, you can't convey the drama or power of your items. Photographs of your product are the first time a customer can begin to get a feel for what you sell, so it's important to have photography that does your range justice.
Photographs should be well composed, well lit, inspiring and consistent. This applies to both hero images and individual product images.
Now your customer has added to cart, but how do we make sure they don't abandon their order?
I am saying this all the time, but the most common reason for people not finishing a purchase is that unexpected costs appear after they have made the decision to buy.
If you do have to charge for shipping or just want to ensure your prices are understood, include a box near the 'buy' button that explains your pricing. If you offer any type of free shipping, show this in the site header. If you offer international shipping this should appear there too.
This brings me on to the subject of shipping. If you can't offer free domestic shipping for all orders, a good way to increase sales is to offer free shipping over a certain cart value, like £50 in the example below.
If you have a bricks-and-mortar store, like Snowden Flood, why not offer a 'click and collect' option? This could tip the sale, especially in a situation where the buyer is willing to travel to you to get the product quicker, such as in a last minute gift situation.
Shopify offers cart recovery emails on all plans except Basic. Nosto also provides cart recovery emails that will include personalised recommendations unique to each potential customer. Cart recovery emails have a very high conversion rate so are worth setting up.
A good trick is to include a voucher code in your remarketing emails, which will make the sale even more likely.
If you don't want to pay for an automatic solution, in Shopify there is a way to do this manually. Go to the Customers menu item and then choose the 'Prospects' tab. This is the list of customers that started a purchase and didn't complete. Email each asking why they didn't complete and you will gather valuable feedback and perhaps even get the sale.
In Google Analytics you can also view which pages have the highest exit rate. This means that the page was the last a visitor viewed before leaving your site. If the page is the end of the process, such as your checkout completion page, this isn't a problem, but in all other cases it is. For quick wins, look for pages that have a high exit rate and make improvements to the design and content.
Not for the faint hearted, but if you have the capacity to answer questions on online chat you may find this a good way to stop customers that would otherwise leave and to gain feedback on what information your website is missing. Olark is a good option.
There are plenty of Shopify apps that will let customers leave their email address on your out of stock items and be automatically notified when they're back. What an effortless way to gain extra sales. Here is an example on Organic Surge.
Make sure it doesn't take too long to check out on your site. Adding an item to cart should take max 3 clicks from anywhere on the site. Ideally your checkout should also be max 3 steps.
Here is the typical flow from home page...
... to collection page...
... to product page...
... to cart...
Keep the checkout neat and easy to get through too...
Repeat customer are the easiest to sell to. Here are some ways to do it.
This may sound obvious but this is where your customer service levels really pay off. If you can make the delivery of items quick and the items themselves beyond expectation, not only will you encourage repeat business but you will also gain word of mouth promotion.
Just look at the reviews on Lifestyle Labs, where customers are actually stating that they will buy from them again due to the positive experience first time round.
Before we go any further let me say that email still rules when it comes to conversion rates.
Offer emails are still by far the most effective emails in ecommerce, but you should also let your customers know about new product ranges.
Nosto can send automatic personalised remarketing emails such as the two examples below. These emails display product suggestions that are unique to each customer and personalised to their taste based on their previous browsing and purchase habits. The email below is sent automatically 3 months after a customers last visit.
LoyaltyLion entered the Shopify app store this year. It helps you create a loyalty scheme that will increase repeat purchases and referrals. Here are some of the features:
Prices start from £249/month.
If you're on a budget, here's a good way to make a DIY loyalty scheme that rewards your best customers.
If you're using Shopify, go to 'Customers' on the sidebar sort by 'amount spent' or total number of orders.
Then choose 'Export' from the top right and download the CSV. Open it up in Excel and copy the email column. Email this list of customers with a thank you message and include a treat such as a voucher code or exclusive access to a limited edition product.
That tip brings this post to an end.
Get in touch if you want some help with your ecommerce.
If you saw me speak on this topic, thanks for coming! Tweet me to let me know!
