Tips and Tricks for eCommerce

eCommerce is a dynamic industry and what may have worked for you 6 months ago may no longer work for you today. So your best bet? Review your website regularly and stay on top of key trends. A few tried and test thoughts have been listed below that are vital for a strong base.

• Your database is vital, and knowing your database is even more important. The more information you collect via visitor registration and/or personalized content opt-in the more targeted your communications, and therefore more relevant. The more relevant you are the greater the level of engagement, and the better the opportunity for conversion.



• Create a newsletter to stay top of mind and push special offers and promotions. Include a send to a friend function (and integrate with social media where possible) to improve your "share value."



• Allow for buying with and without registering. It's great to be able to personalize the experience, so make sure you're adding value through the registered option (eg. storage of previous purchases, storage of purchase information). In the same token be sure to allow people to get in and get out without sacrificing personal information should they prefer not to. Privacy is always going to be a heated topic on the internet.



• Set up your products by category as well as in bundles (up sell!) and provide specials and discounts - people are looking for value for money online. Volume discounts and add on sales items also work well.



• Utilize your best sellers and most popular products - these essentially work as recommendations. While you're at it, offer your own recommendations - people are often looking for guidance and seeking help.



• Show great quality pictures - you'll be surprised the difference it makes. Quality is very much subjective and based on perception.



• Use user friendly names - not your internal codes. Industry jargon often becomes commonplace around the office, but remember, not everybody knows the ins and outs of your business!



• Show your customers you are a real business - pictures are great, particularly when they include staff. This "personal" touch can go a long way.



• Understand search engines and how people find you. A Help or FAQ section can do wonders for your SEO. The more useful, keyword rich content on your website that changes regularly the better. Search engines love relevance and continuous change.



• Include links to your privacy, shipping, returns & exchange policies for added credibility and stellar customer service. To step things up a notch, allow for order tracking and one touch reorder so it is easy to buy again.



• Consider social media. Some business use this very effectively to help sell online and gain valuable customer insights. Generate conversation, keep followers and friends updated, and most importantly, provide real value - whether it be informative or dollar driven. To go the extra mile, consider an s-commerce shopfront on Facebook using an application like Payvement.



• Always invite feedback, using polls, surveys or even the humble feedback or contact us links. Allow for product reviews to bolster credibility (engagement metrics are the next big thing to hit analytics and search), and use others to sell your product via testimonials, affiliate marketing, and referral programs that offer percentage discounts.



• Invest in tools to track your progress (if you can't measure it, you can't manage it). Google Analytics has seriously lifted its game in the last few months, and the features now available to track and measure website performance are pretty nifty. If you haven't tested the waters in Analytics yet, Google is the way to go because it is 100% FREE. If you're ready to take the next step up, I highly recommend Omniture Site Catalyst. We use it across all of our websites and the level of sophistication is astounding. Think social media, mobile devices, demographics, and the list goes on.



• Engage an expert to raise the bar. The great thing about the web is that it's changing every day, and this can provide serious competitive advantage for those who can keep up.

If you loved these tips and are hungry for more, follow Campbell Wilson, the General Manager at bwired, a web design services company based in Melbourne, Australia. Campbell blogs regularly about various web related topics and will keep you updated on the latest web trends.