Regardless of which online shopping cart software you are using for your website whether it Wix, Shopify, or Woo Commerce just to name a few, having an online presence is essential in today’s business environment. For almost two decades, I posted products when I owned a brick and motor store that had a click and mortar component. I took the skills that I learned and combined them with the best practices that were part of my Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce certification. Combining my real world knowledge and my classwork, I complied a list of the 11 best practices to boost your online sales and help grow your business.

Best practice list:

Webpage best practices

-1- Navigation: Helping visitors find what they need when they need it. Using layered navigation with categories like price and color. Adding an on-site search feature can also be a useful tool for the end user.

-2- Photography: Show off your products at their best with high resolution images. Adding an interactive zoom or a 360-degree view can be useful. Additionally, having photos that demonstrate the product in use is very helpful, and even better is showing demonstration videos.

-3- ALT Text:  A brief, description of an image.  Search engines look for the tags on images, which are designed to assist individuals who are visually impaired.

-4- Product comparisons: Offering users the ability to compare and contrast products is also very helpful and improves the
user experience.

-5- Words Matter: Give detailed description that include size, color, weight when relevant. Structured data, like tables with headings, makes it easier for both visitors and web crawlers to find your product.

-6- Call-to-action buttons: Make your “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” button irresistible.

-7- Easy Checkout: Keep it simple! Customers tend to abandon their shopping cart if the checkout process is too long or complicated. Consider letting customers complete a transaction without creating an account and try to reduce the data points required to collect data, for example have a checkbox if billing and shipping address are the same.

-8- Trust is a Must: Build trust with honest reviews, and endorsements from reputable organizations. Be sure that your SSL certificate is up to date.

Digital Marketing Best Practices

-9- Everyone loves a deal: Create excitement with time-limited promotions. “Offer ends tomorrow” or “Only two in stock” can help a potential sale turn into a sale.

-10- Re-marketing emails: Don’t let abandoned carts go unnoticed if you already have a customer’s email, reach out and try to complete the process. A promotional offer could be useful at this time.

-11- Analytics Magic: Use tools like Google Analytics (e.g., Site Kit) to uncover and fix any points of customer drop off.

Ideally a business would implement all of the above best practices, but if you have a website with hundreds of SKU’s the process of updating the site can be daunting. A few suggestions to make the process less stressful are:

• Start implementing best practices to all new items going forward.
• Update your best-selling items first to incorporate the best practices. 
• Pick a category a week to make changes to update.

As the Gatorade ad said. “There is a moment in every race. A moment where you can either quit, fold, or say to yourself, I can do this.'”  The same goes for your business and your website, yes you can do it and I would be happy to help you do it.

How I am Your Virtual Professional can help your business

By taking advantage of online sales to grow your business, you can open or expand a virtual location that does not have the same overhead as a brick and motor location does.  That being said, it takes time to manage. 

Most shopping cart programs do not require computer coding skills, but rather having a good understanding of how to work with a software package. One of the services that I offer to my clients at I Am Your Virtual Professional is content management, the addition of products, the removal of products as well as applying the best practices for SEO.

I am certified with a Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce certificate. But more importantly, when I work with a client I take their success personally. I treat their business with the same passion and commitment as I treat my business. I understand your needs and I take this into account when we work together. I know and understand the challenges that solopreneurs and entrepreneurs encounter every day because I was a small business owner. For almost two decades, I methodically transformed the local candy store into a national brand.

I am Your Virtual Professional who can help you and your organization grow by being a virtual member of your team who provides solutions for your businesses.
Nobody can have the same passion for your business as you do but I can guarantee that while I am working with you I will have your back with the goal of creating raving fans and completing projects or tasks on time.

I look forward to the opportunity of talking with you, to discuss how I can be your virtual professional and take maintaining your shopping cart off your to-do list and putting it on mine.

Regardless if I can help you, or you are a DIYer  — Happy selling!