Welcome to October! As we start the last quarter of the year, the last 90 days or so, I am once again embarking on the Ulitmate Blog Challenge! This month, I am committing to blogging 31 times (approximately 1 time a day, every day!).
Although I am not a negative kind of person, I want to start off this week with a few pointers on several of the mistakes that I see people do with this online presence. I guess you can think of this as a mini-series of things to look at and examine to ensure your site is functioning properly, and your business is fine-tuned, and you are working your social media correctly, etc.
With that said, I am going to talk about your website. You need to make sure your site is up to snuff especially if you are running a business online via your website. If you are blogging to share information with friends and family (and not necessarily having an online business), these 5 items are still important for you!
Regardless of the “box you fit in,” you should avoid these mistakes.
#1 Not Going Organic
Whether you like it or not, SEO is going to be a big part of your store’s success online. Learn the ins-and-outs of tagging your images correctly, coming up with descriptive titles, using keywords, and so on. It will make a huge difference in the growth and success of your store.
#2 Being A Silent Storekeeper
When a person visits your online store, they should instantly see two things: a phone number they can call if they have questions and an email they can message when they ultimately decide they don’t want to speak on the phone! Having your customer service department easy to reach will add credibility to your store and help keep people on the site when they otherwise would have left. Don’t be a silent storekeeper.
#3 Poor Organization
Whether you have a big catalog or a small catalog, you need to make sure products are displayed with big, high-quality images and that they are organized appropriately. Small shops might start with a one-page layout but, no matter what, you have to feature products on the front page if you want to optimize your website for conversions.
#4 Slow Design
No one is going to stick around and browse on a site that takes forever to load, but that’s often the case with eCommerce stores. You will be uploading a lot large, high-quality images for the products you put on display, so you need to use the appropriate image crunching and hosting service to keep your site speedy.
A website-wide cache will also help keep things loading quickly so that your customers aren’t waiting around for your products to show up on their screen. Be careful, however, when selling online or using a membership site, you can’t simply turn on a website cache utility as you may experience ‘unpredicted’ results (results like non-members getting access to protected content).
#5 Mobile Unfriendly
Did you know that 70% of mobile searches convert within an hour? That means, if a mobile user comes to your website and your site isn’t ready for mobile users, they are simply going to leave and try a competitor’s website instead. Don’t think they’re going to go through the trouble of getting onto a desktop that might work with your site. You have to be ready when your customers are, and that takes having a mobile-friendly website to help increase conversions.
Make sure to test your website on all sorts of devices to help stop bounces resulting from a poor website design.
I hope this info helps you – which item did you find the most helpful? Leave a comment below!
Thanks for sharing these quick tips for a digital store. I am not there yet but will keep this in mind. Is there a digital store service you prefer over others?
It depends on what you are looking to sell and how many products. In some cases, simple PayPal buttons may be the best solution.
I especially want to underscore your #5 – mobile friendly! I travel often and need to research businesses in different cities. My phone is my first option, and many times my only option. If a business’ site is not mobile friendly, I don’t even bother looking, I just go onto the next option. It’s a case of making good use of my time.
I like to think that everyone has a responsive website these days… but I know that is not true! Too many sites are still not responsive!
These are great tips Paul!
Thanks, Jyll! I hope they help you out.
I’ve been looking forward to this challenge since the July one ended!! I also enjoy your helpful blogs and the great pointers you share. I’m ready to get this challenge going!
Welcome Back, Martha! Glad you are here!
These are golden rules that every business online should know Thanks for hosting the challenge. Happy to join.
You are welcome, Dr. Amrita! Glad to have you part of the https://UltimateBlogChallenge.com
love that silent storekeeper tip.. well, actually, like all of them but this one caught my eye first..
Glad you enjoyed it, Vidya!
Hi Paul,
I am happy to report that I have most of those elements, even the mobile friendly one! The point that stood out to me was the phone number. I have to check and see but I don’t think I have that, though I do have an email. I am kind of a silent seller (I get very little traffic that converts to sales) so I’m trying to figure out what else I can do to encourage ecommerce on my site.
Thanks so much!
Amy
If you work from home and don’t want to give out your phone number, you can always get a virtual number that will ring to your cell phone. You can always get a Google Phone # (I think they are still around)!