Score Your e-Commerce Website

1. Deep Analysis

Like any project your e-Commerce website needs analysis and planning. We're talking more than just a quick competitor Google or a scribble on a napkin - we are talking about some hard core thinking!

You need to understand the type of visitors your store will attract and what type of messages you need to send to these visitors in order to convert them into customers and even better, returning  and regular customers ? What time of the day do these customers typically engage with your store and what medium will they be using to connect at that time?

Information like this is vital. It is important that you deliver the right message to the right person at the right time on the right device and all these questions need to be answered prior to commencing your website build.

2. Good Design

Your e-Commerce website should not only look great, but it should be built on an easy to use Content Management System (CMS) that allows you to not only react quickly to content changes and manage products, but also track customers, sales, marketing campaigns, conversions and provide personal experiences based on your customer activities.

A good product will always include features like Marketing Automation, Segmentation and Personalisation to give you that competitive edge. If you’re unaware of these technologies you’re in need of a quick technology refresher.

3. SEO

Needless to say your e-Commerce website must be visible to the Search Engines - both free and Pay Per Click (PPC) entries. Your CMS should allow you to easily manage all the typical components of a good SEO plan like content, metadata and URLs, as well as  provide features like automatic Google sitemap creation, automatic description and keyword generators.

The ultimate e-Commerce website should provide content based on customer searches and show up in personalised Google search results.

4. Social Media Integration

Social media cannot be ignored and needs to be viewed holistically as part of a campaign. Ensure you send the same message through social media that you're sending to your customers on your website and avoid posts that have no “Call to Action” or strategy. A good Customer Experience Management system (CXM – The big brother of a CMS) has tools that automatically post updates to your social networks that are part of a global campaign.

If you’re shooting from the hip with your social posts then a refresher in Digital Marketing to avoid posting “Noise” might be a good idea. 

Whilst social media can be classed as and “Inbound” type of marketing we cannot forget the “Outbound” types like Email and SMS. Your CMS/CXM should have an integrated solution for outbound marketing to ensure we can react to events that happen in these campaigns.

5. Reliable Search Engines

Your products not only need to be found from the outside but also internally. Your internal search engine should allow your customers to find what they are looking for easily and fast.

Internal searches allow you to segment your customers, record their previous searches and provide them with product suggestions in order to efficiently upsell or side sell based on their previous purchases. Your e-Commerce website should also automatically remind customers if they have abandoned carts or if they have a product subscription that’s due for renewal. Customers appreciate these functions!

6. Mobile Version

I think we have all experienced a website that is impossible to use on a mobile device. These days your site must respond to all types of devices and deliver content in a way that will engage the customer where ever they are.

Mobile devices offer many fantastic marketing inputs like SMS, location and metadata that you can use to personalise your customer experiences and increase their chances of engagement.

7. Security

Security is paramount. You should avoid open source systems that are insecure and have been known to get hacked regularly. Your CMS or CXM should be kept updated (or hot fixed if required) using the latest version on the market as this reduces your chance of being compromised.

Your customer’s details should never be shared with 3^rd parties unless you have their permission. When emailing your users, give them the option to opt out of any SMS, email or notification marketing.

So let’s see how you scored? Choose Yes or No in the column on the right if you think you have mastered each of the below questions / e-commerce considerations.

Now tally your answers. How did you score? If you answered YES to a majority of questions your doing well! If you’re not sure what some of these terms even mean or need a bit of a refresher download this whitepaper that will explain the key concepts.

If you’re a little on the low NO side then book a free consultation and one of our team will show you how we can help with your e-Commerce website.

Click here to book a free consultation