Back in the days when search engines were a sparkly new Internet feature, much was made of “vanity searches,” or typing in your name to see how important you really were. Remember the thrill of discovering information in the public domain, which back then was largely positive?
That was then; this is now. For businesses, or anyone with branding needs, searching for information on yourself is a necessity —not only to validate your good reputation, but to patch things up if it’s not so hot. Google, the granddaddy of All Things Internet, offers its own tracking function through “Google Alerts,” a feature many use on a daily basis. It’s free, and it’s simple. It can detect mentions of you and your brand merely by entering your business name. And while it’s a decent tool, it may not be sufficient. If you’re serious about monitoring your reputation, brand awareness, or anything related to your operation, consider these alternatives that come highly recommended:
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A message to ecommerce merchants: your diligent efforts to run a thriving business and gain satisfied customers may pay off in a way you’d never imagined, by just putting one strategy to use.
By now, collecting and publishing customer reviews is a household concept. Studies show that consumers making a first-time purchase decision often divert their eyes automatically to the review score, even if they do it subconsciously. This might not be a fair measure of a product or service, but get used to it. It’s here to stay. But there’s something you haven’t considered, and it is a big deal. Customer reviews posted on your site will improve your SEO (search engine optimization) rankings. Algorithms in Google alone show how advantageous that can be. When customers offer detailed reviews of a product, they may include a specific word string of the function or features of their purchase. Example: “I was searching for a good wireless mouse that would pair with my keyboard for smooth operation” just happens to be a keyword string that registers. The phrase “good wireless mouse” reflects a common search phrase that potential buyers enter into a search engine. Boom. You’re there. Want some motivation to give this a try? Here are stats collected by Brightlocal.com:
How to hook buyers with a high-converting websitE Far from the days when advertising was limited to an alphabetical listing in the Yellow Pages, or a pricey newspaper display ad, the modern era of internet-based commerce opens up untold opportunities to harness technologies and reach customers without emptying the bank account. Strategic coding formulations now digitally link sellers to buyers who may be poking around cyberspace to find just the right purchase.
But with a sea of competition, bringing your business to the attention of consumers whom you know you can satisfy is not enough. You need engagement. That requires turning a look into a sale. It’s called a conversion. When you convert searches and page views into a proactive behavior, you begin the process of earning a customer. The critical part is learning how to use your web page to convert as many customers as possible. And here’s how to do that. Hot tips for maximizing your sales and profitsA unique trait to e-commerce is certainly the need to embrace and adapt to changing technologies. Gone are the days when simple marketing and advertising efforts, or public interface at local events, can improve visibility and sales. We’re in a New Frontier, and it’s mind-numbing.
Learning to increase the odds that your online site is viewed by more potential customers is not a one-step process. There are multiple moving parts, and each can be critical in a different way. But adopting basics is a great start, and expanding into creative territories that intrigue you, or are pertinent to your product niche, will steer you in the proper direction. By now you are intimately familiar with SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. It’s the honey driving bees to your store. It’s the strategy to zero in on consumer specifics, helping them locate what they need in a short amount of time. And while it’s not super simple, it’s not above your learning curve. In what analysts and experts call “SEO growth hacking,” there are several ways to organize content and text on your site to gain new visitors. Improving your search rankings and increasing conversation rates are objectives for everyone, but the successful will follow best-practice guidelines. By way of example, a well-optimized site will generate conversion rates up to 15 times greater than conventional direct mailing. Be all in. Do your customers trust you? Do they feel comfortable purchasing from your site?
In the world of eCommerce, a trustworthy website is everything, and the gateway to this type of trust is excellent digital security. In the wake of recent data breech scandals such as Facebook's Cambridge Analytica debacle and Marriott's passport hack, customers are protective of their data more than ever before. Here are some steps to implement into your own data security strategy in order to earn and keep your customers' trust. Secure Your Site For an ECommerce business, a secure website is the equivalent of a safe brick and mortar store. Customers demand safety for their data. Here's how you can ensure your customers' safety on your site: · Implement SSL security throughout your site. · Comply with PCI standards. · Require two-factor authentication for the purchasing process. · Ask customers to create strong passwords. Those four steps alone can increase your site's security by more than 50 percent. SSL Certificate Obtaining a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate for your website is a straightforward yet crucial step. SSL grants your customers encrypted access to your site, ensuring that your site is trustworthy and not easy to hack. To obtain your SSL certificate, you just have to fill out a simple form about your business and website. Once your certificate is authenticated, it will display on your site. Your URL will become an "https:" address, and a green padlock icon will appear next to the address to mark your authentication. Not only is an SSL certificate the most reputable level of digital security, but it also makes you compliant with PCI DSS standards. this puts you on-par with financial transaction sites like PayPal. Strong Passwords A recent survey shows that people who do business online have an overwhelming tendency to use simple passwords. ECommerce shoppers are no exception. A simple password like "123" or "qwerty1" is effortless fodder for hackers. Encourage your customers to choose passcodes that feature numbers, symbols, and letters. Do this by installing password parameters into your signup process, or simply display it as a reminder on your sign-in page. Two-Factor Authentication Demanding strong passwords isn't always enough to keep your customers' data safe. Unless strict guidelines are put in place, customers create easy passwords for their own convenience. Add an extra layer of protection to each account by implementing two-factor authentication. This will force your customer to supply a subset of data aside from their password. This extra layer of verification might be a security question, a code verification via text, or even a fingerprint ID. Initially, your visitors might find a two-factor authentication process to be excessive, but they'll get used to it. They'll be grateful that your business cares about their security. Balance Automation With The Human Touch How much of your customer experience is automated? It's great to lower costs and favor a smooth process by offering customer service in the form of chat bots and self-checkout functions. However, research shows that customers like a balance of automation and human contact. Also, more automation means a greater risk for security loopholes. Offer your customers a balanced approach. Automate your checkout and payment process, but let actual humans resolve customer issues. If you would rather not hire in-house customer service staff, you can always employ a small remote team to keep overhead at a minimum. Don't Hoard Customer Data As an eCommerce business, you have access to a lot of details about each customer. It's up to you whether to collect and archive this data, or to get rid of it until next time. Though it's your prerogative how much info you have on file for your customers, don't get greedy with the data. Collect only what you need to complete the transaction, and consider storing as little of that data as possible. Every piece of data you store expands your risk and responsibility in the event of a security breach. If possible, opt against storing credit card or other payment info. You can bypass a lot of the responsibility by offering secure checkout via PayPal or a similar transaction site. If you do have to store sensitive info, don't leave it archived on your server. Data stored online is the easiest for hackers to obtain. Archive your data offline instead. You can even choose paper archives over digital storage. But in that case, make sure to follow all appropriate confidentiality and data storage guidelines. Whether your business is just a small eCommerce operation or a large corporate organization, a nightmarish data breach is more than a remote possibility. As long as you keep your customers' information safe by implementing the above tips, you will minimize the amount of damage a breach can create for your company. It is important to go into every year with a better understanding of your business. Every business wants to increase their profits. When you ask a vendor for their advice on what you can do to improve in this area, the most common suggestions are to focus more on increasing sales and your profit margin. Unfortunately, while the answer is simple, the methods used to achieve these goals aren’t so cut and dry. To help you accomplishing your 2019 sales goals, here are some helpful tips on other ways to increase your profitability.
Cutting the Fat It is always important to look over you expenses to see what you can reduce or even cut out completely. Advertising, for example, can fluctuate depending on your business. A vendor should 10% of your current advertising budget for last minute opportunities rather than spending on costly annual commitments. Utilities are also expenses that need to be reviewed often to see if you can lower you overhead based on your usage. Repairs and maintenance can also incur heavy costs. Instead of committing to a contract, it may be your best interest to pay for repairs needed It is critical to set time in you calendar to do routine review of your policies and expenses to make sure you are not paying over. This also includes things such as insurance. Remember to ask your representative to review your policy and ask where can you save money. You also want to make sure you are not paying for anything that doesn’t apply to you. For example, if you are renting a space, do not pay for coverage because that is the landlord’s responsibility. Wage Control Reducing expenses isn’t the only way to improve sales in a business. Wages are often the expensive cost in any vendor’s operation can incur. It is crucial to review your sales history and analyze the flow of traffic. What are the highest peaks of activity during a normal week? This will be helpful when you have to revise your employees’ scheduling to see where you can reduce hours during slow periods. Pick the Right Banking Institution Leveraging your banking institution also plays a critical factor in optimizing profits. Look for a bank that gives you the most for your dollar. Ask your advisor where can you save money by banking with their company. Just like your shoppers take time to compare prices from competitors, don’t be afraid to do the same with banks. Recently, we were talking to a colleague and everything was about driving traffic to their site. And all I could think as we had this conversation was that traffic isn't everything. It's great, don't get me wrong, but if traffic doesn't lead to sales, is it really worthwhile? Nope. Not really. And it got me thinking about how to turn traffic into conversions. And as I was trying to put together a post about exactly that, I came across an article on Search Engine Watch that is precisely what I was looking to convey. So instead of rewriting, I'm going to send you all to their site to read more about the small things we can do to turn traffic into sales. How to Increase Conversions: Ideas, Tools, Examples I think there's a lot here that we can put into use almost right away to create an uptick in conversions -- which is really the whole point, right? There are always those sad stories. You know the ones: they involve nefarious intent aimed at ripping off a business. As an ecommerce vendor, you’ve employed best practices with respect to having your ducks in a row and have taken steps to avoid fraudulent chargebacks, return scams, and everything you’ve learned about in Online Selling 101.
But there’s another danger in the loop, and it’s a bit more stealth. It’s called “click fraud,” and though it’s been around since the advent of internet advertising, it’s becoming more pernicious. It’s not cheap, either —a click-fraud monitoring site estimates that the seedy practice did more than $7 billion in damage over a recent two-year period. Vendors who advertise on third-party websites have discovered a diamond in the rough; a way to gain visibility, and hopefully new customers, at a very reasonable cost. Predicated on the concept that interested viewers will click on your link to learn more about you, publishing hosts will charge you only on a per-click basis. Great deal. Here’s the problem. Not all clicks are equal. Someone mousing around that link may be one of several untenable parties, from a sector competitor who drives up click rates to cost you more money, to an ally of a web page host trying to rake in more ad revenues for his buddy. It can be a competitor of the published page who’d like to set that page up as a shady self-clicker. It can also be unrelated to profit or competition, but rather a political protest statement, or even someone with a personal vendetta. We’re not talking bankruptcy here. It’s rarely disabling. But it’s a host of other adjectives, including annoying, frustrating, and ultimately perhaps viral. As brick-and-mortar stores continue to collapse into bankruptcy, leaving blighted, empty buildings, there is a lesson to be learned from each.
Their customers trusted them. Big-time retailers Kmart and Sears, now jointly owned, still has loyal fans who are eagerly following the roller coaster ride of their dismal-yet-uncertain fate. If you are an ecommerce vendor, it’s imperative that you study and reflect on the way these conventional stores captured trust and converted it into continuing revenues. Mirroring their marketing tactics, which usually include special sales, coupons, and notable customer service policies, can set you up to become an internet fave – if you play your cards right. In the ecommerce universe, that means generating “micro-conversions,” or turning initial signs of interest into an established consumer relationship. Focus first on these obvious, easily implemented strategies: Beginning next week, we’re rolling out a multi-part series focusing on accessibility in social media and ecommerce.
Before we dive into some platform-specific issues and ideas, let’s talk a little bit about what is legally required. On social media? There really isn’t a requirement that your content be accessible. (Though we think it ought to be.) But there are some requirements and guidelines for your website. According to the ADA and subsequent court findings, your website is required to be accessible to those with disabilities. And it makes good business sense – the easier your site is to use, the more likely you are to make a sale. While there are no comprehensive federal regulations in terms of website accessibility, there is a great guideline – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 – and we think it's where you should start. Chances are high that if the federal government does come out with legislation or regulation, it's going to look like this. |
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