March 01, 2010
By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Content Team
It’s the time of year where online merchants notice some drag in sales and traffic. This is a result of the end of year rush for deals finally waning, mixed with spring setting in across the country, and a need for many consumers to start saving to prep for their upcoming vacations and 3-day weekends. Now is the perfect time to reassess your tactics and identify what’s working and what’s not. Run through the list below to ensure that your ecommerce site is up to snuff.
1. Too Slow…
Do you know that people can’t stand when ecommerce sites are slow? Not only do people bounce off of your site because of it, but Google also dings your site for it by not giving your ecommerce site as much love if it is slow. The online shopping experience is so popular because it is such a fast and efficient way to browse and compare products. If you do not ensure that you have a strong web host and easy to use shopping cart, then you will lose out on traffic and sales.
2. Lack of Security When it’s Important
If a visitor to your ecommerce site does not feel that the purchase they make will be secure, then they will not check out of the shopping cart. Fortunately the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA DSS) is being pushed forward by the credit card associations. This is ultimately a good thing as it will ensure that consumers’ credit card information is more secure. One of the best ways to tackle this is to use PCI compliant ecommerce software suites like Pinnacle Cart, CoreCommerce, or Miva Merchant.
3. Where is the Shipping, Tax, and Payment Info?
Online shoppers want to know three very important things when they come to your ecommerce site: “How much is shipping, do I pay sales tax, and what are my payment options?” You need to make it clear what credit cards people can use and if PayPal or Google Checkout are accepted. Shipping and sales tax information needs to also be clearly presented so the consumers can factor that into the purchase price.
4. Poor Navigation
Ecommerce stores often carry different sizes or colors of certain products, which means that the navigation of the website needs to be well designed so online shoppers can browse through all that your site has to offer. If someone gets stuck trying to find out where to go next in your navigation, they will probably just go to another site to find the product they want.
5. Not Upselling
Not only is upselling a great way to increase sales and revenue per visitor, but it is also something that consumers have come to expect. When reviewing an HDTV on a product page, online shoppers want to see all of the other related products that they might want or need. HDTV’s need to be paired with audio receivers, surround sound speakers, hdmi cables, and blu-ray players. Choosing not to upsell on your ecommerce site is almost like refusing to take money from your customers.
6. Ugly Design
Having an ecommerce site which looks like it has not been updated since 2003 is not a great way to make customers feel like your still in business. If you do not have a fresh and clean look, then online shoppers will be suspect of the website and probably choose not to make a purchase. Most of the new ecommerce software solutions offer customizable CSS so that you can make sure your site matches your brand with a current look and feel.
7. Where is the contact info?
When someone goes into a brick and mortar retail store, they know where to go if they have a problem or issue with the product. Online shopping is different in that you deal with a business which you cannot walk into if you have a question or concern. Make customers feel comfortable by clearly presenting your contact information so they feel good about making a purchase on your ecommerce site. If you do not make it easy to find, or do not have any contact information, you can be sure that you will be missing some sales.
8. Weak Search/Browse
Great navigation is one thing, but if you do not have a strong search and browse tool to go with it, then online shoppers will not be too happy with the experience. If a visitor has to search multiple times to get your ecommerce store search engine to give them proper results, then you will most likely lose that potential customer. This scenerio will frustrate online shoppers and increase site abandonment rates.
9. Show me the product!
Since an online shopper cannot walk into your ecommerce store, they need to be able to see the product in as many ways as possible. This means that you need multiple pictures, the option to zoom in on the product, and ideally a video component. Now video not might be right for all products, but it is worth trying for your top sellers to see if it will increase conversion rates.
10. SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the difference between making $10 a day and making $10,000 a day! Having an online storefront isn’t like having a brick and mortar store; You don’t get to benefit from foot traffic. Instead, you need to be found online in major search engines like Google. To do this, you need to ensure you have a shopping cart solution that takes SEO into account. BigCommerce, for instance, is a top seller because it is backed by SEO expert, Aaron Wall. Review your ecommerce storefront today to ensure that it has optimized Title & Meta tags, URLs, image attributes, internal & external links, and keyword rich content. This will start you on the right track toward search success!
Nick was born and raised in California, but has been working the dot com scene in Seattle for many years. He co-founded ZippyCart back in 2009, and now works here full-time. Nick wears many hats at ZippyCart, including producing content for our Ecommerce News blog. Nick loves photography and the outdoors, so when not working on ZippyCart you can find him out and about in Seattle.
I’m really loving the blog, and hope this, as well as the excellent article some other people have written, will help somebody