Ecommerce provides consumers with the convenient option to shop for products (and even services) anywhere and anytime as long as they have an internet connection, and with millions of people having access to the internet, the number of e-commerce businesses has grown exponentially. However, this unprecedented growth also means that competition is fierce. So, with the hundreds of e-commerce businesses out there, you’ll want to have as much advantage over your competition as you can.
As such, we’ll be taking a look at various tips to improve your e-commerce business so that you won’t only catch up with your competition, but stay ahead in the game.
Watch and Learn
One of the best ways to improve your e-commerce business’ competitiveness is to learn from your leading competitors. Try to take a look at their website, take a look at what they’re doing right while also reflecting on what’s lacking in your website. Do your research and take note of as many great ideas as you can from your competition and have them implemented in you website just make sure you don’t copy them completely as it can have legal repercussions (i.e. plagiarism). If possible, improve upon their ideas or even create better ones. And speaking of watching, you may also want to consider getting a competitor monitoring software so you can easily keep track of your competitor’s prices and other important data that you can use for your advantage.
Go Multi-platform
One of the most important upgrades you can make is ensuring that your e-commerce website is compatible in a wide range of devices. You have to remember that a lot of your customers are browsing products online through their mobile phones and tablets, and not just their desktops or laptops. So ensure that your website can be accessed in almost any mobile device and can adjust to their screen’s resolution. Failing to do so would greatly limit your visibility (as search engines are more likely to rank non-mobile-friendly websites lower in search results), and can drive away potential customers who accessed your website on their smartphones.
Easy Navigation and Checkout
If your e-commerce website is hard to navigate or makes it difficult for the customer to find the product(s) they wish to buy, they’re more likely to do business with your competitors instead. So when it comes to e-commerce website design and flow, you have to put yourself in the shoes of your customer and test your website to see whether or not it’s fast and convenient. More importantly, you should also try to make the checkout process as fast and as easy as possible, and provide as much payment options as you can. After all, the main reason why e-commerce businesses are booming is because of the convenience they offer.
Make Use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is a digital marketing practice that aims to make your website more visible and rank higher in search engine results when customers type in certain keywords. Even if you have an easy-to-navigate and well-designed e-commerce website, if it isn’t optimized for search engines, you’re less likely to be ‘seen’ by customers who search for the products that you (and your competition) sells online.
Allow Reviews
Customers are more likely to purchase products with reviews compared to products that don’t. A product with a moderate review and a relatively higher price has a bigger chance of getting picked compared to a similar product that doesn’t have any reviews and is sold at a lower price. So make sure to implement a product review function in your e-commerce website that also allows you to provide feedback or response in case of a negative review (this would let customers know that you genuinely care about quality and customer satisfaction).
The Takeaway
When it comes to online selling of goods (and services), it’s hard to keep up with hundreds of competitors, and it’s much more challenging to stay ahead of them, but with these tips, you’ll be one step closer to crushing your competition.
