Owning an online store has it’s challenges and with stock management, answering customer questions, and developing new products taking up all of your time, it’s easy to overlook your digital strategy. However, that time investment is one of the best things you can do to keep your online store ticking along and, more importantly, keeping your customers engaged when they are browsing.
Add these simple steps to your to-do list to improve search engine optimisation and make the customer journey as seamless as possible:
1. Evolve with the seasons
Your website content needs to continuously evolve as your customer needs change. Winter coming up? Showcase your thermal activewear collection or that dreamy heavy-duty moisturiser on your homepage. Create a new swimwear banner just past the middle of spring, along with a tempting offer that can’t be resisted. Don’t forget to add in call to actions (a fancy way of saying a button) so that your customer can add it straight to their cart. Think seasonal!
2. Make your website navigation a walk in the park
The great thing about supermarkets is that we know where to find everything. How many times have you ducked into a supermarket and could grab some apples, bread and milk within a minute or two? That’s because they know what works. It’s the same with websites; we know what works!
So, don’t make it hard. Make sure your navigation is easily found, easy to read and can take your customer straight to the product that they’re looking for. Then, take it a step further – anticipate what your customer wants. Is Mother’s Day on the horizon? Create a product category called “Gifts for Mum” and place it smack bang in your website menu. Your customer (and their mum) will thank you for it.
3. Your product name is your best friend
Your other best friend is Google. How can Google understand what product you are selling so they can serve it to customers when they are searching online? That’s right, by making your product name descriptive and super easy for search engines to understand.
Let’s say that you sell eyelash extensions, and there are many different lengths to choose from. You can call them something obscure like “The Esme” and “The Freya”. It sounds pretty, sure, but Google has no idea what your product is. A better product name is “The Freya eyelash pack – 10mm”. See the difference? This is so important for getting your products ranked in Google search results.
Your job: go through your current products and make sure all of your product names are search engine friendly. If you do change the name and url of a product, don’t forget to redirect the old url to the new url.
4. Product descriptions – your most valuable piece of real estate
Once you’ve done a stellar job of guiding a customer right to your product page, this is your last chance to convert them. Yes, your product photography should be awesome, and your description should be great also.
Here’s where you need to accurately explain your product and how easy it will be for the customer to order it. Describe your product and include all relevant specs. Add in your keywords for search engine optimisation.
Throw in the shipping info too – yes, I know it’s already addressed in your shipping info page or in your FAQs but if customer leaves the product page to look for that information, will they come back? Maybe they won’t so don’t take that chance – pop that info right there in the product description.
5. Be inspired
Take a look at some big box retail websites who have a thriving online store and explore their website. Note down how they set up their navigation and product pages, and apply their strategies to your own online store. These companies have more than likely spent a ton of time and money researching the user experience for an optimal shopping journey so use their knowledge to your advantage. It all helps.
These are some tried-and-true strategies, and non-negotiable musts for online stores. Converting a visitor to a customer can seem daunting but once they are on your website, you’ve won half the battle. Remember, it takes a combination of things to create a killer customer experience that’ll have your customers clicking that “Buy Now” button. Guide them to where they need to go and, fingers crossed, you’ll make your sale. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to online store success!
