4 E-Commerce Strategies to Increase Online Sales
How to Boost Conversion From Visitors to Buyers
Jul 28, 2009
Make the most of every advertising dollar spent by converting lookers to buyers, upselling throughout the website, and driving traffic seamlessly to the shopping cart checkout.
Increase Conversion by Offering Less
Slate magazine Senior Editor Michael Agger's column Lazy Eyes: How we read online (June 13, 2008; accessed July 27, 2009) offers valuable insight into the way people digest information on the internet. His advice includes using short paragraphs, bulleted lists, occasional bolding and other formatting techniques to keep the visitor's attention.
Aggar also stresses the importance of keeping text short. On an e-commerce website, this means carefully choosing which products to offer on the homepage. Each item does not have to be listed on the front page of the site. In fact, a thorough description of just one or two popular items, with links to other categories, shows the reader what the company has to offer and gives a good idea of the types of products they carry.
Focus on Content Optimization in Product Descriptions and Storefront
Enlist the assistance of an SEO expert to help optimize product descriptions, photos and other images, metatags and title tags. Search engines are constantly evolving to stay ahead of blackhat SEO tactics, so keyword density is no longer the most important consideration. Instead, search engines look for well-written, relevant, fresh content.
Find the most current SEO tips and tricks by following the big three in online advertising (Google, Microsoft adCenter, and Yahoo! Search Marketing) in their blogs and social media accounts. Remember to test product descriptions, titles, and images to see which produce the best results.
Cross-sell, Upsell... Sell, Sell, Sell!
Try cross-selling items by suggesting complementary products with each item's description. This is a great way to introduce new or less popular items. For example, include a selection of kitchen utensils on the page featuring a popular pots and pans set.
Upselling is the practice of suggesting a higher priced item when the buyer is considering their purchase. Be careful not to annoy the potential buyer with pop-up ads or a link that takes them away from the original item. Instead, highlight the more expensive item as an option of better value and higher quality.
Corporate trainer Stephan Schiffman's Upselling Techniques (That Really Work!) (Adams Media, 2005) is a good starting point for entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on upselling opportunities.
Keep Visitors Clicking to the Shopping Cart Checkout
Make it easy for visitors to complete purchases. User-friendly website design, the option to check out immediately or continue shopping, and simple navigation help buyers seamlessly move through the site to the shopping cart checkout. Click here for more information on optimal e-commerce web design.
At the shopping cart checkout, avoid asking for unnecessary information that slows down the checkout process and makes it more difficult for the buyer to complete the sale. For example, if a credit card number, phone number and address are all that is required for shipping, don't ask for a middle name, cell phone number, and work address.
Test front and back-end e-commerce systems and strategies to see which produce the best results. Boosting conversion is a great way to increase sales without spending an extra dime in marketing or advertising.
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