E-Commerce: The Secret to Success

We all love to shop online and many people make a good living selling stuff on the Internet, which isn’t surprising when you realize that millions of consumers across the US order products from shopping cart websites. If you are thinking about setting up an e-store, success certainly isn’t a given and to help you find a winning formula, we offer a few key strategies and some useful advice.

What are you selling?

Choosing a product line is the most important decision of all; do some serious market research and make sure there is sufficient demand for the product. Check out the competition and you really do have to be price conscious; the online consumer can use Google to compare products and prices. Good sectors include healthcare products (100% natural), hand-made items and eco-friendly products, which is a growing trend.

Web design

Your e-store is your shop window to the world and that should be reflected in the design; search functions should include price, type, colour and size, which helps the user find what they are looking for. You need super-fast page loading for an e-store, people will leave if pages load slow, never to return. Much like a bricks-and-mortar store, your digital shopping platform should have a concept; talk to a leading web designer, who can design, build and manage your e-store.

IT Needs

Finding the best managed IT services in Tampa is not an issue with Google search; they can protect your data and set up a secure cloud network; e-stores must have top-notch cyber-security to protect their customer financial data, which is stored on remote servers. SSL security certificates are required and your IT support company can handle every aspect of your IT requirements. Site security is paramount and with 24/7 monitoring, your web traffic is secure, giving your customers peace of mind.

SEO

Search engine optimization is the art of boosting a website’s rankings within Google searches; SEO drives organic traffic to your platform and for an e-commerce business, this is not something you can afford to ignore. The whole world has gone digital and optimizing your e-store for Google searches is a key strategy for long-term success and the SEO work needs to be ongoing; create an SEO monthly budget and you can be sure to retain that high ranking. Of course, with Google Ads, you can have your link right next to the top search results, which is a great way to attract buyers. Click here for great web solutions for today’s business.

Logistics

Once a user becomes a customer and clicks on ‘buy now’, the clock is ticking and you have to move Heaven and Earth to get the package to their door. You might be able to handle 5 orders a day, but what about 500? Use a third-party logistics (3PL) company who has a Tampa warehouse and they can handle picking, packing and delivery. Using a good 3PL company solves all your order fulfilment issues in a single move; they are incredibly flexible and all you do is forward the orders. As long as they have a stock of your products and packaging, they can handle any volume of orders and what’s more, they guarantee rapid delivery.