Article Contributed by John Burns
The internet has given us the tools, opportunities, impetus and means to make a success of ourselves in ways we could only have dreamed of a few years ago.
In the early 1990s you might have had a natty t-shirt range that you were itching to sell, but lacked the capital behind you to set up the shop and marketing campaign required to get it off the ground; nowadays a Twitter account and a Big Cartel site will do this for you.
But of course the problem with such a suddenly levelled playing field is that – while it’s undoubtedly easier for you – it’s easier for everyone else as well. Because of this, there is much more competition out there and consequently it is difficult to get your voice heard.
Here are a few tips to streamlining your approach and selling your products online.
Remove the Links from the Chain
Studies have shown that consumers online get bored very easily. As a result, any site which requires them to click through page after page of content on the way to finding the item they require, only to have them click through a load more pages to get to the check out afterwards, is going to suffer.
Unless your product is literally life changing, the browsing public is going to get bored and wander off to find what they need elsewhere. Streamlining your site can combat this.
By all means, include an insightful blog on your page, but keep the links to these articles out of the way of the items on your landing page. Your landing page should be devoted to information about your products, nice looking pictures of your products and “Buy Now” or “Add to Bag” buttons.
The point is to make the process as quick and painless as possible and to minimise the number of clicks required for customers to make a purchase. This is key to a streamlined and effective online shop.
Understand the Blog
However, this is not to say that the blog does not play an important role on the site. The vital thing here is to understand exactly what that role is. A blog is there to carry out its own duties; namely, to raise the SEO profile of your site. It should contain the sorts of keywords, links and content that make it attractive to the algorithms Google use to order their search lists.
This acts as a sort of virtual shop window for your company; raising your profile and advertising your wares to the numerous denizens of the web.
The blog also provides useful content to browsers who are unwilling to have sales pitches crammed down their throat. Linking these articles to Twitter, Facebook or other social media site enables users to access this information when they perhaps had previously not even heard of your site. This allows you to expand your customer base.
Your blog articles should also include handy links that enable browsers to navigate to parts of the site where you can convert them to sales. Discreet pictures of special offers, with clickable links, are ideal for this and will help you to rapidly grow your list of customers. Also, Google loves sites which are arranged in cyclically clickable networks, so links like these will not only streamline your site but will also raise your SEO profile.
So, as you can see, the blog is vitally important, but it should never get in the way of those all important sales.
About the Author
This article was written by John Burns on behalf of Simplify digital. Simplify digital are Ofcom accredited and provide independent advice to consumers looking for the right broadband, TV and home phone packages. www.simplifydigital.co.uk