Selling Online: Are You Doing It Right?
There are myriad elements of your online selling strategy that could make or break your business.
Everyone is now selling online, we’re sure you know that by now. The digital age is well and truly upon us and there is seemingly no end to the onslaught of digital business failings: unfortunately according to Forbes just one out of 10 startups makes it to year three. While the odds are definitely stacked against new businesses, hundreds of thousands of new ventures pop up every year, and it’s those who invest their time and effort in their online presence who go the distance.
Selling online couldn’t be easier, right? You simply set up shop and wait for the reported three billion global internet users to make their way to your website and part with their hard-earned electronic money. Unfortunately this isn’t the case, unless your idea is so innovative and life changing that customers will flock to you regardless of your web presence. The reality for many small-and medium-sized businesses is that setting out online is difficult. There’s your website design to consider, the customer journey, your brand’s online persona and several consumer facing channels to manage simultaneously. All this before you consider the web hosting behind your site!
So let’s look at your website.
The intricacies of just what makes a pleasing website are much disputed among academics and internet users alike; there appears to be no exact science behind what makes a website attractive, due to the tricky human nature element. Each of your site visitors will appreciate different elements of your website, so how do you please everyone? The answer is you can’t. If you spend some time getting to know your site visitors – who they are, their gender, their online habits and their favourite colours could all contribute to your web design plans – you’ll find yourself with a better idea of what your site should look like. Take it from us though: clunky Flash plugins and garish colour schemes are likely to send most of your visitors running for the hills. Make sure your site looks nothing like this one!
Our Online Shop Builder gives you everything you need to create stunning websites that look great across all devices. Find out more here.
Your website may be the most beautiful site on the planet, but if your site visitors can’t find it then it won’t be a success. There are various factors which affect the availability of your site, one of which is search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO is the practice of understanding what will please Google and other search engines, (and therefore display your site prominently in response to a search), as most of your website visitors will reach your site through an online search tool. Your website should be mobile friendly – optimised for mobile, tablet and desktop use – and contain useful, relevant content which will inform and assist your site visitors. Google’s algorithm is so intelligent that there’s little chance of your site being able to trick it.
You can scan your existing website to view its SEO performance completely free over on our website.
The way your customers can interact with your site is central to your success; if the checkout process is too complex or involves too many steps potential customers are likely to abandon their purchase and look elsewhere. In such a congested market, your business can’t afford to lose these customers to your competitors, as once they’ve had a bad experience with your site they’re unlikely to recommend you to a friend or return to the site themselves. Ensure that each point of purchase is clearly highlighted with a call to action (CTA) button such as “Buy Now” or “Add To Shopping Cart” and make sure the journey to make a payment is as seamless as possible; you’ll be thankful when your site conversion rates skyrocket.
While online business is valuable to any corporation, it carries a lack of personability. Creating a strong brand personality is therefore an integral part of your web presence; your brand DNA should be consistent across all channels. Thanks to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter your business can communicate on a personal level with its customers, but be sure to monitor these channels properly and consistently, speaking with the voice of the company at all times. All website content should also be composed through this personality, creating a brand DNA that your customers can trust.
Your online presence needs a powerful back end to make sure it’s available around the clock; there’s no closing hours on the ‘net. A dedicated server hosting solution from UK2 could be the answer for you business once your website starts to gain traction. With dedicated storage, memory and bandwidth resources a dedicated server puts you in full control of your online presence, making sure your site is up and running at all times.
To find out more about dedicated server hosting please visit this blog post. To get started with your very own dedicated server you can visit our website by clicking here.