E-commerce has been one of the major success stories of the last decade. It has quickly grown to become an important part of the overall business landscape and is now a significant contributor to GDP in many developed countries. Today, the global e-commerce sector is estimated to be worth around $6.3 trillion, and economists forecast that the market will continue to grow year-on-year. A key factor in the success of this vital part of modern business is the convenience it offers consumers when making purchases. E-commerce has changed the face of shopping. Consumers need little more than a smartphone and reliable internet access to browse millions of products and place orders in a matter of minutes. However, e-commerce is becoming an increasingly crowded online marketplace due to the success of the industry. If you run an e-commerce business, you will likely be searching for strategies that will secure your long-term financial success. This article aims to assist in this respect, by exploring some top tips that can cultivate long-term success in this sector.
Offer reliable delivery channels
One of the key drivers in any successful e-commerce firm is being able to offer customers reliable delivery channels when they make a purchase. Recent evidence suggests that 16% of online customers will leave their products in the basket at checkout if they decide that delivery is too long. High shipping costs can also dissuade potential customers from completing their purchases. All e-commerce firms should ensure that they can deliver swiftly, offer a range of delivery options, and keep their shipping costs low. Smaller e-commerce firms should build strong relationships with reliable courier firms to ship their goods when orders are made. They should book a courier once the order has been placed and ensure that it can be delivered to pre-agreed timescales. Finding a professional courier service is key to cultivating repeat business for your firm. Ideally, the courier will add your orders to existing delivery routes so that the costs can be kept low, and an acceptable shipping price can be provided to the customer.
Use SEO to drive traffic to your site
In the increasingly crowded world of e-commerce, being visible online is key to your long-term success. When potential customers search online for products, you will want your site to feature highly on search engine results pages. The ultimate aim is for your site to feature as the first search result, as research indicates that this will give your firm an average click-through rate of 28.5%. However, reaching the first page of search engine results is a challenging process that often involves you competing with larger, more established e-commerce firms. The key way to boost your rankings when organic searches are done is by obeying the best practices of search engine optimization (SEO). This concept encompasses a wide range of techniques that help your site to be ranked more highly. For example, you can boost your site’s SEO by ensuring that all webpages load quickly (ideally in less than a second), the site is easy to navigate (especially on the smaller screens of smartphones), and that all content is authoritative and well produced. These are just a few of the SEO strategies that you will need to adopt if you seek to drive more organic traffic to your site. It can be wise to hire an SEO expert for your e-commerce firm or consider outsourcing this work to a specialist external team.
