The Internet opens up the prospect of increased website sales for many small businesses. Small businesses with well-designed, well-managed websites can compete effectively with businesses that traditionally outsell, outspend and outperform small competitors. But can your website itself actually produce increasing website sales? Here are a few tips to help your website rise to the top.
Increasing website sales can drive your business
Have a plan. Nothing succeeds like success, and knowing how you plan to get there is half of the battle. Most websites, regardless of how big or small they are, can’t do everything. Choosing what to focus on leads to increasing website sales. For example, you may notice that many visitors come to your website, but abandon their shopping carts before the sales transaction is complete. Finding out why your shoppers leave empty-handed is key to increasing website sales.
Or you may notice that your successful sales are a steady percentage of your visitors. Simply increasing the number of visitors will mean increasing website sales. In this case, you’ll want to make sure your website is visible to as many new (and returning) customers as possible, so SEO may figure prominently into your website sales planning.
Give your plan (and your website) what it needs to succeed. The best plan in the world won’t work if you don’t have all the right tools and resources in place. Having a website design that incorporates and supports your goals is key. Bringing the website to life may include professional website design support, project planning, testing and analysis. If things go well, you should see the results in the form of increasing website sales.
Design is only half of the equation, though. Make sure your website has the right technical and physical resources to provide an excellent customer experience. Maybe your customers abandon their shopping cart because the website is too slow. Or maybe your site doesn’t work well on mobile devices. In either case, your website’s connection to the Internet or its ability to relate to mobile devices can either boost or bust your website sales.
Navigation, above just about everything else. Website navigation is exceptionally important to increasing website sales. More than anything else, excellent navigation will direct your visitors to the products and services they’re interested in. Poor navigation will misdirect, confuse or distract your visitors. While they may spend a lot of time on your site, they will be less inclined to close the deal. Make it easy for your shoppers to find, evaluate and decide to buy your products, and you’ll see increasing website sales.
Content is still king. The content on your website, more than anything else, will drive website sales. Good content that reflects your products and services well can drive sales like nothing else. High quality, impactful video is often more compelling than plain text, so consider giving your visitors a reason to visit your site and keep their eyeballs on your products. Use clear, colorful images in product catalogs. Produce short, how-to videos that show your visitors how to get the most from your products or services, and give the visitor reasons to return over and over.
If you would like more information about how your website strategy can drive increasing website sales, please contact our Creative Director, Dave Ramsell or give Dave a call at (330) 243-0651 to set up a consultation.
Photo Credit: rore_d, via FreeImages.com
