Starting an e-commerce store can be an exciting experience and a stepping stone to venturing into the business world. However, the path is never a straightforward one, and there are several pitfalls you need to watch out for to ensure success.
There’s so much to learn and do to deliver the right experience and ensure your store’s pages rank well on search engines. While at it, here are four common mistakes to avoid.
1. Ignoring SEO
Setting up a great online store doesn’t stop at having a stunning website or front page. You must invest in digital marketing strategies like search engine optimisation (SEO) to drive web traffic and attract customers.
SEO basically involves using target keywords to optimise your website and product pages for better SERP rankings. You’ll also need to build links to authoritative sites to demonstrate to search engines that your store offers value.
2. Poor Web Design
The design of your store impacts the user experience (UX). Potential customers will quickly abandon your store if it has design issues like poor navigational structure, browser incompatibility, outdated design, overused visuals, non-scannable text, etc.
Take the time to understand the fundamentals of web design and ensure your website is responsive and user-friendly. Your design should be clean, attractive, and accessible. Ensure you’re not using too many colours or different font styles and sizes.
3. Lack of a Target Audience
Before launching your website, you must understand your product and define your target audience. Identify the key features and pair them with the benefits or value they offer to customers.
Create at least four customer avatars of your target customers. This is crucial in defining their demographics, preferred platforms, interests, hobbies, purchasing decisions, jobs, and locations. The more you learn about your customers, the easier it will be to offer personalised experiences and recommendations, hence improving conversion rates.
4. Detailed Checkout Process
Customers prefer simple processes or steps that allow them to complete tasks quickly. For example, requiring customers to sign up for an account before making purchases isn’t advisable. So, make it simple for customers to place orders and make payments.
Also, the checkout process should request as minimal customer details as possible. Customers are usually put off by businesses requesting too much information from them. The process should be precise, with only one or two steps and various payment options to cater to different customers.
Fix Your eCommerce Mistakes
Running a successful ecommerce store is more than just having a website and product listings. If you want to attract customers and ensure optimal retention and conversion rates, there are several mistakes you must avoid when setting up or managing your store.
While this will not guarantee success, it’s vital to building rapport with customers, ensuring seamless experiences and saving time for them. Review your website and strategies and fix any errors to put your store on a path to success.
