It’s every business owner’s dream to say “Business is booming” at least once in their life. “It’s going well” or “We’ve been growing” are nice things to say, but they don’t have the same effect as “booming”.
It’s exploding, uncontrollable, growth is out the window, we’re swimming in gold!
Saying that your business is booming is much easier than making sure you’re business is actually booming. Reaching that wonderful threshold takes time, effort, dedication, and sometimes a little bit of good fortune.
For those that run businesses online or are thinking about opening up an online store, making your business boom can be a bit tricky. There’s plenty of competition, both locally and nationally, to compete with.
There are plenty of tips on how to effectively market your e-commerce business and we’ve gathered some of the most important ones here.
Have an Effective Website
The first step into having a successful e-commerce business is making sure you have an effective website. While your mind may be drifting to design and logos, you first need to come up with a domain name.
Your domain name is important because it’s going to be how people remember your website. Having one that is overly long or complicated isn’t doing anyone any favors. Make it simple and business-centric. Your website is going to be the first impression people have about your business and we all know that first impressions are always important.
Once you have your website set up, make sure it’s easy to use and simple to navigate. This will not only help your user experience but will also help build up your SEO. Having an easy to navigate website means no dead links or reroutes, which ultimately lower your ranking.
Once you have your website setup and populated with useful information, the next step is to look at outreach to promote your site. Link outreach is the process of getting other sites to link back to your new site, helping users and Google find it sooner. If you are not familar with link building, services like Stellar SEO can help you get guest posts and other types of links for your new website.
Make it Mobile
In 2018, roughly 40% of all online purchases were done from a smartphone. 80% of smartphone users purchased something with their phone. That’s a lot of purchases all being done from our small little wonder machines.
As an e-commerce business, you need to optimize your website to make it mobile-friendlyNo one has ever enjoyed zooming in and out on links to try and find what they want and frankly, no one is going to start enjoying it either.
Make it navigable, functional, and simple to use.
Build Up Your SEO
Having your website buried to the second page of Google is essentially sentencing it to internet death. You want your website to rank high, being one of the first businesses that catch people’s eyes.
Just like an effective marketing strategy, you’re going to need an effective SEO strategy as well. One of the best strategies to take is ensuring your website loads quickly. A spinning wheel is a way to lower your rankings and have consumers exit out of your website before they’re even on the homepage.
Next, you’ll want to make sure you’re building your website’s description with effective keywords. Keywords are exactly like they sound; words that are key to your business and make it relevant to people’s searches.
One great tool to use is Google Keyword Planner, which will help rank the most effective words to use for your business. Creating effective descriptions goes a long way in making sure your business is noticed and found by others.
Be Up Front About Costs
No customer wants to feel like they’ve been bamboozled when making a purchase, so that’s why your website needs to be upfront about costs and one of the top things you should be marketing.
Surprise shipping fees or extra taxes are a surefire way to have someone abandon their cart and have them heading elsewhere.
Be sure to mention these details in any email campaigns or advertisements throughout your website.
Embrace Reviews
Reviews can be scary. You need them, but at the same time, what happens if they’re negative? Those 2-3 line posts from internet strangers can ruin your business before it even gets off the ground.
When it comes to reviews, you should be encouraging people to review everything, from your business as a whole to certain products. The more reviews you have, the more legitimate your website looks and the more likely people are to use your services and purchase your items.
In addition, you can respond to any negative reviews to help them solve the situation or thank people for their positive ones. It’s always nice to be able to interact with customers and clients.
Social Media
It’s no secret that social media is king for many. It’s where people do everything from messaging their friends, saving photos, and making plans. But social media can be much more than that. It’s also where plenty of people are shopping, looking up businesses, looking for jobs, and even creating businesses.
Since your business is on the internet, you need to be advertising on the internet as well. Make a social media page so people can find you easily. Publish regular content, like promotions or deals on your page.
One of the most effective marketing strategies is partnering with an influencer. It’s a win all around. The influencer gets paid, you put your product in front of thousands of new consumers, and the consumers get a small discount for going through the influencer’s post.
There are lots of creative ways social media can help grow your ecommerce business, and it’s quite cost-effective to make sure you’re investigating or brainstorming your way to social media marketing success.
