We hear so much about the big names in online shopping. Because of this, many people suffer from a kind of tunnel vision when it comes to the online shopping world. We know that it won’t be that easy to stand out from the crowd. But we also think that the crowd isn’t really that big, so it also might not be quite as hard as some people make it out to be. But the fact is that there are thousands of online stores out there. Hundreds launch every month. And hundreds close each month.
If you want your online store to give your career a real boost, then make sure you’re not making these common mistakes that lead to the downfall of many ecommerce sites.
A half-functioning search engine
It seems like such an easy thing to get right! Surely you just install a search engine and away you go? Isn’t all of this supposed to have been sorted out by the people who developed the plug-in search engine? Do not fall into the trap of thinking this step is mostly automatic. You have to spend hours testing your search engine, refining it, adding the options you need. Make sure users can filter results by popularity, price, ratings.
No marketing
“Build it and they will come”, right? Wrong. The right search engine marketing campaign is crucial to ensuring that people find their way to your store. Google can search specifically through online stores for products; if you’re not developing your SEO strategy correctly, then you’re going to be missing out on a bunch of potential customers.
No customer reviews
People will often make a purchase based on the reviews from other customers. A lot of business owners assume that their own reviews will suffice. But users don’t trust reviews from the online store – of course you gave this product a good review, you want them to purchase it! Make sure the process for writing reviews and giving star ratings is as smooth as possible.
Poor website design
Don’t try to be ahead of the curve by focussing on solely on function and not beauty. You mustn’t forget that the style of your website directly contributes to usability. It needs to be simple but sleek. Look at Amazon; the design is clear and modern. You only need to look at it for about three seconds to understand how it works. That is style and substance at work. Consider using a web design agency that has an extensive history with online stores.
Not enough text
The text of your website is primarily what’s going to get you hits. So make sure there’s enough copy on each product. The product title needs to be as accurate as possible. The product descriptions need to be complete for each item on your website. Many owners make the mistake of assuming users will know enough about the product from an image. But you need to make sure the user stays on your website! Don’t make them do any more work than they have to. Make sure you have plenty of concise text on your website.
