In recent years, online commerce has not stopped gaining popularity, and more and more entrepreneurs have decided to set up their online stores.
Since the pandemic outbreak, this business model has broken turnover records every quarter, exceeding 14,000 million euros in just three months at the end of 2020. Looking ahead to 2022, far from stopping this trend, experts predict that e-commerce will grow between 30% and 50%.
In just a few years, online stores have become a stable source of income for many freelancers and entrepreneurs from almost all sectors who choose to use the Internet to sell their products. As in any activity, for the business to work, it is essential to attract the public and stand out from the competition.
One of the advantages of selling through the internet is that you can reach the whole world, but, logically, that means that the rest can too.
For this reason, the self-employed person has to make sure that their website stands out from the rest. Below, digital marketing experts offer eight tips, both digitally and physically, to increase the visibility of an online store.
Not only through good positioning but also with packaging that includes, for example, personalized paper adhesive tape or innovative customer service.
Tips to Increase the Visibility and Sales of an Online Store
Create a Powerful Brand
The first thing a freelancer has to do to make their store stand out on the Internet is define their identity and create a brand that invites people to buy. And for this, it is not enough to design a logo with some free internet tool; but it is necessary to create a whole corporate image that goes from how your brand speaks on social networks to what colors are used in the package.
To create a brand that ‘hooks’ the customer, it is necessary to think about what will be offered and how this product is intended to reach the public.
Depending on the business philosophy, some freelancers, for example, accompany the product with darker colors to communicate with a more serious tone and give an image of sobriety. Or on the contrary, it could be convenient to use more cheerful and striking colors and communicate with a closer tone to provide a casual image.
Choosing one or another approach will depend on the product, the customer segment it is aimed at, and also the sector in which the store is located.
Work With a Good Website
Although sometimes it can be tempting for many entrepreneurs, especially when they start their project, to skimp on the expense of the website, in the long run, this can be a big mistake since web hosting is the backbone of the company. Online store and, if it malfunctions, sales could suffer.
If something cannot fail in e-commerce, it is precisely the online store. Choosing a good hosting provider that offers specialized services for the website is imperative. In addition, web hosting should be close to the main markets where potential customers will be, especially to achieve faster loading speeds and improve the user experience.
Facilitate the Customer Experience
Although it covers much more, this point is related to the previous one. It is essential for any e-commerce that the customer feels comfortable on the web, that it is easy to use, that it is intuitive when they want to search for something, or adapts to the size of the device they are using. On the other hand, if the customer encounters difficulties, they will most likely leave the page and not buy.
It would also be very important, for example, to offer secure payment methods and with a particular variety -card, direct debit, payment by Pay Pal…-so that the user can choose the one he prefers. When the client is unclear about payment security or there are too many steps to carry it out, the sale is in danger.
SEO is the Key
Most people in the world use Google to search for what they will buy. And if the freelancer and his online store are not there, it will be tough to make himself known. The most important thing for e-commerce to work is that it is found in Google, which means being but appearing among the first search results in the niche’s keywords in which the e-commerce is located. For example, a plus-size clothing store should ensure that it always appears on the first page of results when the words ‘plus size’ are entered into the search engine.
To move up in Google, it would be preferable to have the advice of an expert in the field. If this is not possible, the freelancer should publish as much quality content as possible, always considering their category pages – that is, that the product families of their store, such as ‘jewelry’ or ‘lingerie,’ are written clearly with the appropriate keywords.
It is also essential to make a card for each of the products sold where it is explained exactly what is offered and why the client should buy it.
It would also be essential to create exciting content in a blog to generate visits and thus increase positioning.
Take Advantage of Social Networks
Social networks are a perfect channel for an online store, but you have to know how to maximize its full potential. Of course, it is an ideal tool to see the followers’ opinion, but the likes, as such, are not used to sell. What does work in directing the followers gained on each social network to the website? And, if possible, to a place where the customer can easily purchase a product.
Use Different Marketing Strategies
SEO will help you to be better known. Still, other techniques such as cross-selling (offering a complementary product to what the customer has already chosen so that they buy more things) or up-selling (making great offers so that the customer enters the store and buys other products) can generate a lot of profit.
Of course, email marketing is still a fundamental strategy to increase the visibility of the store and its sales. This consists of sending mass emails to the list of contacts that the business has obtained.
Usually, in these emails, a news bulletin -or newsletter- is sent with relevant information about the store or its sector, campaigns offering some products at reduced prices in certain seasons such as Christmas, or special days such as Mother’s Day.
Customize Your Packaging
Packaging is also part of the marketing strategy that accompanies a product and is the design given to the packaging. Having good packaging will help the store have a clear and attractive brand and make its customers remember it. Still, it could also induce them to upload photos with the product to social networks, which would increase the store’s visibility.
Take Care of The Quality of Your Products
Although Internet marketing is fundamental, in the end, regardless of the medium, the important thing ends up being the quality of the product. It is useless to have the best marketing strategy if the customer is not dissatisfied.
