We are all consumers. And who can deny that the biggest opportunity for business to play a huge role in our lives, is e-commerce? The consumer journey across the digital platforms and network is increasing significantly from one to three times faster.
The main reason behind this is that people prefer using the internet for various things like shopping, comparing prices, booking travel tickets, booking accommodations, etc. eCommerce makes a business more efficient, affordable, and much more convenient. This provides an astounding opportunity in today’s business world for organizations to grab this huge cash cow of online sales and thereby enrich their business model. According to the e-commerce industry website, sales are estimated to be $16.68 trillion per year by 2021. It’s growing by 35% per year. This number clearly shows that E-commerce is impacting our lives, and how we spend and live, in ways we never imagined.
So, what are the financial benefits of E-commerce?
Companies are introducing AI in their operations. This is by using internal AI models to improve communication and ramp up operational tasks without the need for huge investments.
They are also using AI in product solutions, and they’re setting up e-commerce solutions. But there are tremendous disparities between what these brands are doing currently compared to what is planned, by investing in AI solutions.
They are focusing on smaller businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as the lucrative opportunities for brand growth will always be on a smaller scale.
Here are the things companies are shortchanging themselves for:
E-commerce businesses are missing the opportunity to break the old adage, “If you want it, you have to pay for it”.
E-commerce services cost and the ROI of investing in e-commerce can be very high.
Every 1% spent in e-commerce brings over $11 in value to the customer.
But this can be differentiated very easily.
e-commerce ecosystems that strategically match/decomposition help businesses achieve the highest revenues and profitability.
So, why haven’t companies taken advantage of these opportunities yet?
Perhaps it’s a fear of massive user migration to new digital platforms from Facebook and Amazon or it might be an unwillingness to offer new products and services.
Despite all this, E-commerce is much more than just content sharing on your Facebook feed. In the research we do, we talk to thousands of top marketers and entrepreneurs, they demonstrate that 85% of consumers agree that there is room for more innovative offerings.
To succeed, businesses will need to rethink their approach to online platforms.
They need to quickly innovate in their offerings and monetization to match the consumer trajectory.
Since we believe this is the future, we are going to continue to look for more technical research opportunities to better understand what this might look like.
The coronavirus is affecting all businesses and industries in unprecedented ways. Overnight, many startups have seen all of their clients become “at risk.” With less disposable income, their business operations may slow, along with sales. Preparation is key in circumstances such as this one. You must recession-proof your business and prepare to recover your business from the effects of COVID-19.
Here are some tips, that could help your business recover from the pandemic.
Prepare for Increased Demand
Many businesses are suffering from a lack of customers due to lockdowns and quarantines across the country. As a result, sales are declining and revenue is dropping fast. Many companies are choosing to decrease their production and supply levels in order to prevent further financial loss. While cutting back will help to alleviate some of the financial stress, be sure not to cut back too far.
It is necessary to prepare now in order to best benefit in the future.
Create New Sales Channels
One thing that many businesses are learning due to the massive shutdowns caused by coronavirus is the ultimate need to have multiple sales channels. Non-essential businesses that have only one sales channel, such as customers coming in-store to a brick and mortar location are struggling. With quarantines and lockdowns in effect for weeks and now months in some places across the country, those businesses with few sales channels have very little if no revenue.
This is why flexibility is important for any business.
The easiest way to create a new sales channel is to market your business online or create an e-store. Your shoppers may be confined to their homes, but some of them are still are making purchases, just online.
The restaurant industry has truly embraced this idea. With channels such as Zomato & Swiggy among others - restaurants are earning a profit, even with empty dining rooms. Restaurants have combined these food delivery platforms with call-in orders, drive-thru, and takeout, making all types of customers able to continue making purchases.
Once you do create new sales channels, don’t forget to broadcast and market it. Using the restaurant example again, you’ve most likely seen a ton of “We’re Open” or “Take-Out and Delivery Only” in front of the local restaurants in your neighborhood. These businesses have adapted to the current situation and are letting their customers know.
Continue Working on Leads
With so much uncertainty and caution due to the virus, it may seem reasonable to abandon and leads you were working on prior to the pandemic. This may be necessary for some industries, but not necessarily if you work in business to business sales.
While individuals are canceling vacations and airline companies are canceling flights, businesses are still maintaining their typical services for now.
If you have large leads in the pipeline, continue to nurture them. Address the current situation, and put even more energy into capturing these leads. By letting them know how your company is handling the current situation, you prove the adaptability and value of your business.
Key Points
While we may not know how the economy will recover from the effects of the current epidemic, we do know how businesses can recover:
Prepare now for a probable increased demand
Remain flexible as a business by creating multiple sales channels
Consider how the needs of your customers have changes, and provide for them
Continue working on leads, especially if you work in B2B sales
Looking for eCommerce ? We can help. Get in touch with us.
When considering SEO for eCommerce, most experts assume we'll focus on blogging. SEO is all about infusing keywords in content, right ?
After all, your blog is where all your content is.
Sorry - That's not entirely correct.
When going through tips on eCommerce for beginners, you hear the same thing over and over again - product pages matter. So does the brand's presence on other websites. So does the entire site's structure.
SEO is a serious, multi-layered concept that eCommerce owners often misunderstand.
Allow us to coach you on the basics. We'll list 5 important SEO tips for beginners. When you get these things right, it will be easy to build on that foundation.
However, let us first understand eCommerce SEO property.
What is SEO for eCommerce ?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Its the process of making your websites attractive to Google and other search engines, so they would feature it in their results after the users query.
Google is a business on its own. Its goal is to provide an efficient service to the user's request. Information is the service. If your site provides the best information possible, it will deserve the top ranking in the search result.
When someone uses Google to search for the exact type of product that you're selling, you want your page to appear in the results that are immediately visible. How will the search engine know?. You'll use hints to inform the bots that you offer relevant resources, You'll optimize your pages, so the search engine will recognize their value.
How exactly will you optimize your pages ?
That's the tricky part.
Well never know the exact ranking factors that lead Google to the results that it features.
Here's some of the factors we are well-known to:
The Domain's reputation matters.
Meta Tags make a difference.
Links from authoritative websites are important.
Customer engagement at our site matters.
The quality (and specially speed) of your site is crucial.
The relevance of your resources are something you mustn't ignore.
Yes, KEYWORDS still fit into the picture. We use them to inform Google's bots what the pages are about. But the way we fit them into the content makes a big difference.
Now - coming to the basic SEO Tips.
Essential Elements of SEO for Ecommerce
Make the Product Descriptions Perfect.
When online sellers develop product pages, they tend to feature the same product description that the supplier has on their website. Its the good-old copy-paste technique that's fast and easy - but DOES NOT work.
Do you know that Google hates more than bad content? Duplicate bad content.
Even if it has all the right keywords and its highly relevant to a users quest, such content wont reach the first page of results. The original might, but the duplicates wont get there. Google may even penalize such content, since according to its rules, it raises copyright issues.
Here are a few basic SEO tips for your product pages:
Make the content absolutely original.
So, what if you're selling the same white t-shirt that many other websites sell ? The product description can make it look like the most unique garment on the web.
Just take a look at product description at AJIO and other popular eCommerce sites. The content makes those items look so original that you want to buy them right away.
That's the effect you're after.
Trigger your creativity. What does the product remind you of? What's the perfect occasion for it? How will it help the user solve some of their issues? How will their lifestyle improve after they buy this product ?
DO NOT copy the same things from other websites. Do not paraphrase sentences. Rewriting is not unique content.
Use the right keywords.
The keywords show Google's bots what the product is. If its a white t-shirt, make sure to clarify that its a white t-shirt. Use the right words for the right items. You still have plenty of space to show your creativity in the content.
Make the content descriptive.
What are the features of the item you're selling?
If the white t-shirt has sequins, ribbons, hidden pockets, or tubular design, make sure to mention it.
When someone looks at this content, they should understand exactly what the product looks like. List all the features !
To get inspired, look at the product pages on Amazon. Most of them come with highly descriptive details.
The IMAGES are part of your SEO Strategy, too
Your potential buyers will rely on images before they make the final decision.
Sure, they will read the product description. But if they don't see a nice image will all the needed details, they will assume your website is a scam.
Your images have to be professional looking.
They are content, and the same rule for uniqueness is still valid. Google will recognize duplicates with images, too.
Its best to invest in a professional photo session, which will help you feature the products in the nicest way possible.
And that's not all.
The file name gives your space for keywords.
We're talking about SEO, so remember that your images have potential for optimization, too. When someone uses Google to find a product they would like to buy, they enter keywords, hit search, and head off to the image results. Those eCommerce sites that have relevant image descriptions will appear in these results.
Use keywords, so you'll give hints to Google's bots as to what the image are about. Use hyphens to separate the individual terms in the file name, and try not to include special characters.
The images must not slow down the site.
When bots crawl your website, they will estimate the loading speed.
Speed is major ranking factor, and its one of the few ones that Google clarifies as such.
You still need high-quality images, but you need to optimize their size. Use JPG or PNG, as those are the recommended formats for images. GIF is okay, too.
Fill in the ALT tag.
The ALT Tag is the text displayed when the site doesn't load the image due to a slow internet connection or server issues. For users with affected sight, its the text they see when they want to understand what the image is about.
Its a small piece of text that many eCommerce sites ignore. Don't ignore it, its Important.
The IMAGES are part of your SEO Strategy, too
We already emphasized the fact that original content is one of the most important SEO tips for beginners.
The product pages give you space for it. However, its not enough. Your eCommerce site needs a blog section, where you'll get space for high-quality content that would attract traffic from Google results.
You need to develop a regular posting schedule, so you'll deliver fresh content on a daily or weekly basis.
The problem is - what will you write about ? What if you aren't a good writer ?
There are solutions to everything.
Research on topics around your niche.
If you're selling car accessories, you'll write about cars.
If you're selling bean bags, you'll write about beanbags.
If you're selling beauty products, you'll write about beauty.
You get the picture. The Site's blog has to be relevant to your niche. It gives you space to use industry-specific keywords.
Start with general topics that every influential website in your industry covers. But add your own twist. Remember: Uniqueness is the main rule to follow.
Go beyond the narrow limits of your industry.
You're not writing for the search engine alone. You're writing for your target audience. That's why you should focus on their interests.
If people love your website because of the clothes you sell, ask yourself. What else does this specific target audience like ? If you're selling fashion items that relate to rock music, write about rock music! If you're selling car accessories that cost a lot of money, write about ways to earn money and live a luxury lifestyle.
When you go out of topics to write, it's time to hire professional writers or expanding your existing team of writers. You need people who will add new perspectives to your sites content.
Build Your Authority
If you have the best-looking website with awesome products and great content, will it matter if no one knows about it ?
Its a rhetorical question.
The quality of your site is a crucial SEO factor. However, you have to establish its authority through other sources, which recommend it as a good place for people to buy products.
Yes, we are talking about backlinks.
Get backlinks by posting awesome content.
If you follow the tops for creating high-quality and unique content, it will get noticed.
Bloggers will start linking to it as an authoritative resource.
But you have to make it outstanding if you want genuine links and recommendations.
Collaborate with bloggers !
You can offer guest blog spots on authoritative websites. If the bloggers agree to feature a link to your site, you'll boost your brands authority.
You can also send them products, so they will mention the brand and offer their honest review - that brings us to the next tip:
Collaborate with influencers !
Influencers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & YouTube have huge base of followers. If they mention your brand's name, people will notice it. They will come to your pages and if they see good content, they will follow. If you capture their interest enough, they will visit your website. If your content is convincing, they will make a purchase.
But wit, does this actually relate to SEO ?
Influencers help you make your brand more authoritative. Through their recommendations, you broaden your reach. Google will take the brand's popularity into consideration while listing its results.
Structure the Website
Structure matters a lot. Its not the most obvious aspect of SEO, but its an important one.
For Google to drive organic traffic to your site, its structure has to work to its advantage.
Think of it this way: The search engine wants to deliver efficient results. When a user clicks on a link, they want to find relevant solutions in a single space. So if you feature multiple products in the same category, you have an advantage. Its more likely for the user to find what they are looking for. But the site has to be organized if you want.
Google to send its users your way.
Here are a few tips on how to organize an eCommerce site:
The most important content has a priority.
When a user lands at your website, they want to see the most important information first.
If were talking about product pages, the most important details are the photos and product descriptions. The price should also be visible above the fold.
How-to-use info, other product recommendations and additional details will flow below those priorities.
Mind the categories.
If your sell multiple products, categorize them in clear sections.
You should do the same with the posts on your blog.
Connect the pages.
When you link to your own pages, Google's bots see how they are connected and they figure out how your site is structured.
Don't overdo it with the links, though. Use them only when they are relevant and add more value to your content.
Those are the Basics.
We're nowhere near covering all basis of eCommerce for beginners.
But with the five essential tips above, you're headed off to a good start.
Lets summarize the main points of a successful SEO strategy for eCommerce websites:
You have to write brilliant product descriptions. Even if you're selling the same products as many other sellers, the descriptions can make them more appealing. Google wants to see original content, otherwise, it won't feature your site in its results.
The images have to be great not only for the website users but for the search engine as well. Mind the alt tags, they give your space for keywords.
Your blog gives you tons of space for outstanding content, Use it well!
Organize the website in categories, so the connections between products and content will be clarified.
Build the brand's authority by collaborating with bloggers and influencers.
