Have you been watching, listening, reading, and following the seemingly massive success of e-commerce over the past decade? Have you made the decision that now is the time to get in on the action and start your e-commerce website? While it would be wonderful if you could be guaranteed success, things are never that cut and dry. Instead, there are some practices and steps an e-commerce startup can take that will help to increase the odds of success and, at the very least, increase exposure. Here are four invaluable tips to use when starting an e-commerce website.
Get Acquainted with Ecommerce SEO Practices
While much of your focus may be on the products you are offering on your e-commerce site, you need to also give thought to creating a successful ecommerce SEO strategy even with WordPress hosting. All search engine optimization (SEO) practices are based on a strategy that focuses on careful planning and tailored measures. The goal is to have your site appear as high on the search engine rankings page as possible to maximize the company’s exposure. When you’re dealing with an e-commerce site the strategy you use needs to be much more specific since it needs to relate to sales of individual items.
For startups, it can make good business sense to hire a company that will create an SEO strategy for your business and implements the measures that will garner results.
Identify Who Your Target Customer Is
Before you rush ahead with your business venture it’s important to identify who your target customer will be. Why is this so important? The answer to that question will help to shape your product inventory, pricing, advertising, branding, how you present your products online, and even the customer experience. If you don’t know who your products appeal to and who you’re trying to reach then you are essentially flying blind.
Taking the time to do some customer research in the early stages of the development of your e-commerce business will serve you well.
Make Sure Products are Presented in an Accurate and Eye-Catching Manner
Because all your sales depend on a digital experience you need to showcase the products in the best way possible. This means that each product listing should include multiple photos from different angles, the ability to zoom in on photos, videos of the product in action, and if possible, 360-degree photos.
The product description also needs to be detailed with all the facts and specifics listed. You don’t want customers left with questions, as this will impact the odds of making a sale.
The Checkout Experience Must Be Perfect
Aiming for perfection is incredibly daunting but there is no other way about it. The checkout experience for all customers must be perfect from start to finish. What does perfect look like? It needs to be fast, easy, reliable, safe, and secure. And even once you are convinced you’ve created the perfect checkout experience, some customers may still have issues. This means you need to have an easy-to-access customer support option available to them.
Setting the Business Up for Success
By using all of these tips, you’ll be setting your new e-commerce business up for success.