Online Marketing Tips For Ecommerce

A well-designed eCommerce website is one of your business’s most valuable online marketing tools. By providing users with exceptional online shopping experiences, you position your brand ahead of the competition and increase revenue. Talk to Smart WSI Marketing today to learn how investing in a visually appealing, easy-to-navigate eCommerce site can consistently win you new customers. We’re an Edmonton-based internet marketing company specializing in building SEO-optimized eCommerce websites that drive leads and improve overall business productivity.

How a Global Crisis is Shaping the eCommerce Experience

In 2019, only 15% of retail commerce was done online. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a permanent shift to the way consumers shop. Retailers who want to compete for their dollars need to develop new eCommerce frameworks. Here’s a three-step process a digital marketing agency can use to help you do just that.

1. Help Customers Discover Who You Are

Customers want to feel comfortable about the companies and brands they do business with. Make it easy for them to learn about your business by using your Home, About, and Why Choose Us pages to:

• Provide practical insight into your mission.
• Share testimonials from satisfied customers.
• Build your reputation as a helpful expert.

Your phone number should be built into your website’s header, as more than half of consumers say they trust a company that makes it easy for them to reach a live person. Build more legitimacy by including security protocols, certifications, professional partnerships, and social media links in your site’s footer.

2. Simplify the Shopping Process

Walk into nearly any physical retail location and you’ll find like items displayed near each other. People like their shopping experiences to be familiar and easy to navigate. Meeting that need shouldn’t change just because they’re now buying from you online. Along with a dynamic search option, make the experience simple for people by:

• Helping them compare two or more possible choices.
• Ensuring your site’s content answers likely questions the user might have about a product or service.
• Using high-quality images.

From navigation to checkout, ease of use will draw more people to your site and help convert them to loyal customers.

3. Avoid Cart Abandonment Syndrome

Experts estimate 7 in 10 online shopping carts are abandoned before the purchase is completed. A good eCommerce internet marketing strategy includes a buying process that:

• Removing all possible distractions.
• Has a one-page checkout process.
• Offers multiple payment options.

Shipping transparency is a significant motivator for buyers. Online customers want fast delivery, flexible shipping options, and no surprises once they go to check out. To increase conversions, make sure shoppers understand upfront any taxes, fees, return policies, and other general shipping practices.

Digital Marketing Tools for eCommerce

There’s a wealth of eCommerce tools you can use to gain a competitive advantage, including:

Facebook Shops. First introduced in May 2020, Facebook Shops is a free and simple tool a brand can use to easily create enjoyable mobile shopping experiences for its audience, including on Instagram. It’s an excellent introduction to eCommerce and social media marketing for businesses new to these options.

Live chat. A great tool for improving conversions and customer service, live chat gives customers what they love about traditional brick-and-mortar stores: someone is always there to help. Customers simply click on the chat window whenever they need assistance, and a live chat agent can instantly provide answers and guidance, making it more likely they’ll complete a purchase. Plus, a single agent can often talk with several customers at one time.

Email and social media marketing. People may think of email as old-fashioned and social media as cutting-edge, but together these two marketing tools increase your marketing power in incredible ways. Email drives traffic to your website, while social media helps you engage with your audience better. Combined, they extend your reach on both channels and help grow your mailing list. And by using multiple touchpoints, you get more opportunities to connect with and convert potential buyers.

SEO tools. It’s challenging to make your eCommerce store stand out from the crowd, particularly when you’re battling it out with far more than your local competitors. SEO tools include everything from content marketing to link building and keyword research. They help drive organic traffic, provide insight into which online marketing strategies are working (or not), and make it easy to see how your site measures up to the competition.

You don’t need to try all these tools at once or at all. You just need to figure out which ones work best for your goals. Whichever ones you choose, they should scale with your business and elevate your online market efforts. An agency can help you find the most effective combination for your business.

Website Design as an Internet Marketing Strategy

With the assistance of an Edmonton digital marketing agency like Smart WSI Marketing, you can create or tweak your eCommerce web design to build a customer-centric website that converts. Talk to us today to learn how.

Lynne Motkoski, Marketing Strategist

Specialty: Online Marketing Strategies
Education: MA Communications & Technology, BComm [U Alberta]
Author: The Online Marketing Handbook for Busy Entrepreneurs (coming soon)

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Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education, keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.

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