A Guide to Strong Search Engine Optimization in eCommerce

AlexMay 13, 2019

How to Optimize Your Site’s Content

As an online seller, search engine optimization (SEO) should be one of your top priorities. You need to optimize your content so specific pages have a better chance of ranking higher on search engines like Google. A higher rank nets you better visibility, which will make it easier for potential customers to find your site instead of your competitors’ sites.
By improving the quality of your content, you will open the door for backlinks as well. Use this guide to optimize the content on your site so you can improve your search engine ranking.

Finding Good Keywords

A key aspect of SEO is including specific, high-ranking terms, or keywords, into your content. People looking to buy things online typically type in specific words or phrases into the search engine so they can find exactly what they need. Including these terms in your content is the key to making it easier for people to find your website.

Your job is to search for terms that not only rank high, but also refer to the products on your site specifically. Using popular, but irrelevant keywords may draw in users that have no interest in buying your products. Tools such as Google’s Keyword Finder can help you find high ranking terms for the products and services you offer online.

Try to search for terms that have a low amount of competition, since you will not have to fight against other companies for top-billing. Logicblock’s 7cart system is great for keyword design, thanks to its easily customizable URL structure.

Writing Content, Titles, Meta Descriptions

After selecting your keywords, you need to incorporate them into the content on your landing pages and product pages. Fit relevant keywords into the copy you are writing so they fit in with the content for each individual page on your site. Make sure your content is concise, because if your content drags you will have trouble converting any of the people your optimizations bring in.

You also need to incorporate these words in the title tags and meta descriptions for each page to further boost your search engine ranks. This content also needs to be concise, because pieces could get cut off in the search engine if you write too much text. A rule of thumb is to stay under 70 characters for titles, and under 160 characters for meta descriptions.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

To piggyback off the previous point, it is important that you do not fill your copy with too many keywords. Since keywords help improve your rank online, fledgling copy writers come to the conclusion that stuffing their work with lots of different keywords can boost a site’s rank dramatically. This could not be further from the truth.

Keywords are built from a combination of specific words, so using them too often can make your content sound unnatural to the average reader. Your rank also suffers, because when you try too hard to tune your content to a search engine’s algorithm the content comes across as nothing more than spam. Use your keywords efficiently, and only incorporate them in places where it makes sense in the context of what you are writing.

Perform a Site Audit & Fix Errors

After you have everything squared away with your content and keywords, you should perform a site audit to look for major errors. Things such as broken links and duplicate pages break the flow of your website, and will harm its search engine rank. Test all the pages on your site to make sure all the URLs work, and check for repeat pages that you can delete.

You also want your URLs to be nice and readable, so if some of them look a bit messy try to rewrite them so they are easier to understand. Be sure to keep a report of any adjustments you make so everyone in your company is aware of the changes you make to the site. Refining your website in this way can help it gain much more visibility online.

Check Out the Competition

Every type of seller knows that it is important to keep tabs on what the competition is up to. One of the best ways to improve your own SEO strategy is to see how your competitors are handing their own optimizations. Go to their sites, and get a feel for the content they write and the keywords they use.

If their content is performing well on Google, this will help you see where you can make necessary improvements. This also helps you determine where your competitors are faltering, which will give you the opportunity to set up an SEO plan that can fight back. Be sure to pay special attention to the homepage, since this is one page that most companies spend a lot of time optimizing.

Keep in mind that you should not use the same exact keywords that the competitors are using. Use their keywords as a guide, and search for similar keywords that are not as competitive.

Performing search engine optimizations is a critical part of improving your online marketing. Want to know more about the importance having strong marketing?

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Instagram Tools You Can Use to Advertise Your Business

AlexApril 16, 2019

Using Instagram for Marketing

Social media platforms can be used to improve brand awareness, and to market your online business to a wider audience. At the moment, one of the most popular social media platforms is Instagram. Online sellers have found success here, primarily because the idea of sharing images online complements the process of selling products online. To enhance the platform, developers have built additional tools for sellers to use in conjunction with Instagram to reach larger audiences.

Take some time to learn about how these tools can help your business.

Enlight Photofox

The key to successful marketing on a platform like Instagram is to showcase your products in the best light possible. Even if you are a master photographer, there is more you can do to enhance your photos before you upload them to your account. One tool you can use to do this is the Enlight Photofox app from Lightricks Ltd.

By uploading photos to the app, you can edit them right on your phone. Make photos more artistic by editing individual layers and adding some special effects. You can even blur out certain objects in the background if you think that they could distract users from the product you want to display. By using this tool you can make your great photos even better.

Later

An important part of running any social media account is finding the optimal time to upload a post. If you ship products across the country, you have to factor in differing time zones, since some people may not be up to read your post and will not go back to find it. Formerly known as Latergramme, Later is a tool you can use to schedule your posts more effectively.

Using Later, you can schedule your posts ahead of time so they go out at the exact time you want. Not only that, the program allows you to see what your future posts will look like before they go out, allowing you to catch any mistakes before they go live. Later has a basic plan you can try for free, so give it a shot to see if it helps you with planning your Instagram schedule.

Iconosquare

If you are having trouble keeping track of your Instagram analytics, the Iconosquare app is a great tool to use. By using the app’s analytic technology, you can track the real-time performance of your posts, as well as your follower growth. You can also see how other factors, such as hashtags, can affect engagement with your followers.

Even better, you can use Iconosquare to compare your performance with competitors in your market. If you find that you are falling behind, you can use the information gathered to make proper adjustments to future posts. With this analytics app, you should see a strong improvement to your performance on Instagram.

Hashtagify (Instagram Version)

Hashtags are powerful tools for online marketing, since people can use them to see items associated with popular trends. Adding a good hashtag to one of your posts can help you direct a lot more traffic to your profile, and to your storefront from there. If you are having trouble finding a strong hashtag to include, you should consider using Hashtagify.

Originally developed for Twitter, this powerful search engine was later expanded for use with Instagram. By typing in a single word related to your brand or products, the system will search for all the trending hashtags associated with them. You can then incorporate these hashtags to help your post get in front of as many people as possible.

The app was recently enhanced as well, and now you can use it to track how many conversions your posts are getting with the new hashtags.

With these tools at your disposal, you should see a healthy amount of activity on your Instagram profile.

Want to learn more about the importance of marketing in eCommerce?

How to Run Contests & Giveaways That Get You Fantastic Promotion

AlexMarch 27, 2019

Promoting Your Business Through Giveaways

One of the simple facts of life is that people like to get free stuff, especially when the things being given away are of relatively good quality. Online sellers have caught wind of this, and have learned to use contests and giveaways to promote their businesses. Giveaways can drum up a lot of attention for your business, so long as you manage them responsibly. Learn how to create a successful giveaway that will get your company some good promotion.

Defining Your Goals

Writing in Notebook

Any seller that is setting up a contest or giveaway is trying to accomplish something specific, so it is important to lay out the goals you want to meet ahead of time. Are you trying to get more people to subscribe to your email list? Or are you trying to get more followers on a specific social media platform, like Instagram? List out all of the goals you want to meet so you have a reference to go off.

By setting these goals early on, it will be easier to figure out how you need to handle your giveaway. For example, if one of your goals is to build up followers on Facebook, you now know that most of the promotion for your giveaway should be handled on that platform.

Going into the planning process without defined goals can lead to you attracting the attention of people who have no interest in buying your wares.

Selecting the Right Prize

Giving a Gift

When it comes to setting up a giveaway, a critical task is selecting the right prize to give away. The prize is what people are after, so you need to make sure you select it before you move forward in the planning process. Since you are trying to drum up attention for your business, you want to give away something special that catches the interest of consumers and is hard to find elsewhere.

Gift cards are always a reliable prize since people enjoy discounts, but they might not be special enough to catch the interest of a wide range of people. One of your best options is giving away a limited edition version of a product on your site that people have high interest in. Since people cannot get this special item from other sellers, they will be inclined to sign up for a chance to win it.

Setting Things Up

Once you have prizes selected, it is time to actually set up your giveaway. To make things easier for yourself, there are several tools you can use online to create the giveaway. There are a number of tools to use, including ShortStack, Rafflecopter, and more.

Gleam is one of the most popular giveaway tools, since it allows people to enter competitions multiple times using different social media platforms. By using it, you can attract people from across different social media channels, while also giving each of your accounts more exposure. Make sure you set a fair duration for the giveaway so people have enough time to enter.

Marketing Your Giveaway

After setting up your giveaway, you need to create a strong marketing campaign so you can entice people to join it. After all, people will not join in if they do not know a giveaway is even going on in the first place. In order to maintain consumer interest, you must consistently market the giveaway throughout its duration.

Spread ads through your social media platforms and email lists so you can entice people to enter. Make sure you give people an opportunity to subscribe to your email list you can give them info about your products and updates for the giveaway. Do not forget to use sponsored ads on social media to attract people outside your current customer base.

Finally, make sure you make it clear when the giveaway ends, so people know how much time is left to join.

Partner with Effective Influencers

Handshake

Even with your best efforts, your marketing campaign alone might not be enough to pull in a large number of consumers. This is why you should work with partners and influencers who can spread the word about your contest or giveaway. Over the course of your career you have probably built partnerships with people who can reach out to tons of people; you should put those partnerships to work.

Talk with your partners, and see if any of them focus on an audience that you would like to draw in. You should also consider doing research online to see if there are any influencers who would be in interested in working with your brand. With the help of partners and influencers, your giveaway will gain a lot more traction online, and you will generate many more leads.

Want to learn about other ways you can build up your email list?

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Improving Navigation: Help Your Customers Find What They Want

AlexMarch 11, 2019

Helping Customers Get Around

There are several elements behind a well-designed website, and navigation ranks as one of the most important ones. If customers cannot easily find what they are looking for, you will have trouble making a lot of sales. Making an easy-to-navigate website can be a bit tricky, because not everyone can use the search bar to simply find what they want. Try using these tips to improve your site’s navigation so you can make shopping easier for your audience.

Make the Search Bar Easy to Find

Searching on Laptop

The most prominent navigation tool for any eCommerce website should be the internal search bar. According to Econsultancy, 30% of users use a website’s internal search bar to directly locate any products they want to purchase. Therefore, the search bar itself should be placed in such a way that anyone can find it as soon as the website loads up.

On most eCommerce websites, the search bar can be found in the middle area right at the top of every single page. This is done so users can easily find the search bar on every page on the site. Make sure the search bar does not obscure other parts of the site, or else users will have trouble seeing what else is on the current page.

Provide Autosuggest or Autocorrect

Proofreading

Something important you must realize about online shoppers is that they are not always the best at spelling. They may know exactly what they are looking for, but they might be unsure of how to spell it out in the search bar. This can make it difficult for them to find what they are looking for, so it would be wise to include an option for autosuggestions on your site.

With the autosuggest function (or autocomplete function), the search bar will be able to detect what the customer is looking for before the word is typed out. With the right functionality, the tool can also help direct users to the right items even when the spelling is slightly off. Lastly, this function also allows the search bar display similar items to the one customers are directly searching for, giving them more options to work with.

List Subcategories Under Multiple Parent Categories

When designing the top navigation bar, you should consider double listing subcategories across several parent categories if it makes sense to do so. It is understandable why some designers avoid doing this; having duplicate subcategories may cause confusion for some users. However, if a particular subcategory logically fits under multiple parent categories, there is no harm in repeating it.

Say for example that someone is looking for pencils to use at college. If the pencils are only listed under the office supplies subcategory and not the school supplies category, then the person may not be able to find them as easily. If it makes sense to do so, duplicate subcategories so users can find products quicker.

Make it Easy to Find Sales & New Products

Sales Percentage

Many of the people who shop online are after products that are either brand new or discounted. To complement these types of shoppers, you should have a dedicated area for new products and discounted items right on your homepage, or in the top nav bar. That way, people do not have to dig around through subcategories just to find what they are looking for.

To give an example, consider putting a label for discounted products in your top navigation bar so people can quickly find items on sale. You can do something similar for new products as well. Another smart thing you can do is to include filters on each of the category pages so people can find new items and discounted items for each type of product you offer.

Other Tips & Tricks

To wrap up, here are a few smaller tricks you can use to improve your site’s navigation capabilities. Make sure your website displays your company logo on every page, and make sure it links out to the site’s homepage. You should also have a link for each primary label in the top nav bar so users can get to a broader landing page for each type of product.

Lastly, try to display your products as much as possible in the site’s navigation. That way, your customers can figure out what a product looks like before clicking on the product page. Keep all these tricks in mind during the design process and your customers will have a much easier time getting around your site. Of course, this should lead to many more conversions in the future.

With Logicblock, you have several tools at your disposal to make it easier for customers to search for particular products. Want to learn more?

Surprising Statistics About eCommerce Marketing Strategies

AlexFebruary 15, 2019

All About eCommerce Marketing

Like with any business, marketing is essential when you sell products online. In order to sell your products, you need to market your business so people will be aware of your brand. Strong marketing campaigns across different formats can help any online business find success if they are planned out properly. If you want to learn more about how much marketing matters in this business, check out some of these statistics.

General Marketing Statistics

Online Stats and Charts

The global marketing share percentage heavily favors Google, with a last reported net share of 74.5%. (Source)
In 2017, 61% of marketers stated that having a strong organic presence, along with improving SEO, should be top priorities in online marketing. (Source)
Online stores benefit from having a strong social media presence. Stores that have them typically make 32% more sales than stores that do not. (Source)

Email Marketing

Checking Emails

It was reported that the average return for email marketing can go up to $38 for every dollar invested. Long story short, you could get a 38-to-1 return. (Source)
As of 2017, it was reported that there are over 3.7 billion email users, with the number expected to rise over the next few years. As a result, you can reach a lot of people through email marketing campaigns. (Source)
Videos can increase the click rate of emails up to 300%. (Source)
You can get a 5% increase in open rates for your emails if you personalize the content within them. On the flip side, personalized subject lines perform worse than standard ones. (Source)
Welcome emails may seem trivial, but they are extremely helpful. Welcome emails can generate up to 320% more revenue than traditional multi-send promotions. (Source)
Two-thirds of emails are viewed on mobile devices. Therefore, mobile optimization is vital for marketing purposes. (Source)

Social Media Marketing

People Using Smartphones

75% of online users claim that social media is a crucial part of the shopping process. They use it to gauge for feedback before making a purchase online. (Source)
In 2016, 86% of women turned to social media sites for feedback before going through with online purchases. (Source)
63% of the companies listed in Fortune 500 use Instagram for marketing purposes. Big brands are using social media for marketing, and you should be too. (Source)
49% of consumers actively shop for products through a company’s social media page. Tag your products and use CTA’s so people can buy things quicker. (Source)

Marketing to Existing Customers

Handshake

30% of consumers would rather shop from a website they are already familiar with. (Source)
82% of major companies stated that marketing to retain existing customers is cheaper than focusing your campaign entirely on new buyers. (Source)
When you market to a customer who shopped from you in the past, you have a 60%-70% chance of securing a new purchase. (Source)

Need help developing your email marketing list? We’ve compiled some information that can help with that.

Keep Driving Sales After the Holidays Conclude

Alexander NicolaidesJanuary 18, 2019

Keeping a Steady Pace

The holiday season is a key period for online sellers, since this is when sales tend to peak over the course of the year. Thanks to an abundance of sales and marketing campaigns, most companies see major profits during this time. However, once this period ends things must go back to normal, and companies run the risk of suffering from a sales slump as a result.

Use these tips and tricks to drive sales after the holidays so you do not run into a slump.

Don’t Be Quiet After the Holidays

Typing on Laptop

One common mistake that online sellers make is being too quiet after the holiday season. At the start of the year, most sellers slow down a bit with their marketing campaigns. This happens because some marketers get tired from producing multiple holiday ad campaigns, and most shoppers start getting sick of seeing all the emails advertising holiday sales.

It is not inherently bad to slow down after the holidays, but it is not a smart move to go completely radio silent. Advertisements help pull in potential buyers, and if you stop with emails and other ads completely you could risk losing their attention. You do not have to go

crazy with ad campaigns, but it is important for you create new advertisements that target people who saved money to use after the holidays.

Try More Discounts

Shopping Discounts

Online shoppers are never tired of finding discounts, even after they have finished buying gifts for the holidays. People are always trying to find the best prices online, not just during big shopping periods. Adding to this, lots of people will want to break in the gift cards they received from friends and family over the holiday period.

It might be a good idea to offer discounts on your winter products during this time, because when spring rolls around it will be harder to sell them. This can help you clear out your old inventory so you can make room for new items later down the road.

It can be tiring to offer so many discounts in such a short amount of time, but if you are willing to go through with it you can retain a lot of holiday customers.

Introduce New Products

Shopping Bags

A smart way to keep consumers interested in your brand is to introduce some new products at the start of the year. If you do not think customers would be interested in discounts on your leftover items, refresh your inventory with some new products people might need for the rest of winter. While your competitors focus on restocking after the holidays, you can catch them off guard with new items that they do not offer.

New products entice consumers, and they can help you attract new customers while other sellers slow down after the busy shopping season. If you plan to start selling the new products in January, it is important that you promote these items while the holiday traffic is still high.

Market Around New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Fireworks

Another tactic you can try is to gear your products and advertisements towards people who are looking to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions. Most people like to let loose and have fun during the holidays, but when the New Year rolls around they start setting resolutions so they can better themselves. The key to success early in the year is to market towards people who have this mindset.

For example, some people like to start exercise programs after the holidays, so if you sell fitness items you should focus on advertising them. Try setting up a section of your site that focuses on items that will help people fulfill their resolutions. Shoppers want to get a fresh start for the New Year, and you can succeed by selling products that will help them do just that.

Give Loyalty Rewards to Frequent Customers

Your most loyal customers are some of your greatest assets, especially when sales slow down after the holiday rush. They are the source of most of your income, and if they are happy to shop from you they might recommend you to their friends. Therefore, you should definitely focus on loyalty rewards at this time of year so you can keep them invested in your brand.

At the start of the year, offer your most loyal customers some rewards, including discount codes and coupons. You might want to give them a couple of extras so they can give them to their friends. Not only does this keep your current customers happy, but it could potentially bring in some new customers as well.

With these tactics in hand, you can mitigate the slowdown in sales that typically starts at the beginning of the year.

eTail 101: Ways to Find Your Target Audience

Alexander NicolaidesNovember 13, 2018

Finding the Right People To Sell To

It is difficult for online sellers to succeed if they do not know who they are selling their products to. Marketing costs a lot of money, and you cannot waste that money trying appeal to every single type of shopper. Some people may not be interested in your products, so marketing to them will not do you a lot of good. There is a specific audience for your products, and you need to figure out what that audience is so you can sell to it.

If you are having trouble finding your target audience, use these tips to narrow things down.

Who Would Use Your Product?

People Sitting Outside

When you are just starting out, it can be a bit challenging to fully identify your target audience, especially if you have not had any customers yet. In this case, you will not have specific data to work with, so you have to start simple. Go over each of your products and services, and make a list of all the features and benefits each one has.

From there, start making a few assumptions about what kind of people would benefit the most from using your products. Think about things like age groups, occupations, location, and more when you are reviewing this. The more you know about your products and services, the easier it will be to identify your target audience.

Survey Your Current Customers

Reviewing Charts

If you have managed to make a few sales before fully identifying your target audience, you are at a bit of an advantage. Ask your most recent customers why they bought some of your products, and ask them about their shopping habits. Do you notice any common traits shared by these particular customers?

This knowledge can help you get a better idea of what kind of people would be most interested in the products you offer. With this information in hand, you can adjust your business plan to attract other people who have similar shopping habits to your current customer base.

See What Your Competitors Are Doing

One of the best ways to learn more about your target audience is to check out how your competitors are handling things. Go to a competitor’s website and see which products and services are the most popular. Browse through product reviews to get an idea of what people are looking for in these particular items.

The key, however, is to not go for the exact same audience your competitors are going after. Is there something your products and services offer that the competition does not? If there is, you should focus on it, because you could appeal to a specific niche of customers that other companies are not zeroing in on.

Use Analytic Tracking

Charts on Tablet

If you are signed up with a service like Google Analytics, you can get in-depth information about the people who visit your website. This can be used to learn many things, such as what your most popular content is, and where the majority of your conversions come from. You can even learn more about specific keywords that are helping you pull in traffic.

All of this information can tell you about your recent customers, and you do not even have to ask them a single question. Gathering this info can help you determine which audience you should focus on the most with your business plan. In the end, it is a lot easier to identify with your audience when you know more about their shopping habits.

Once you have identified your target audience, it will be much easier create content that will appeal to them directly. This will lead to more conversions and a larger customer base in the future.

Start Preparing for Black Friday & Cyber Monday Now

Alexander NicolaidesSeptember 28, 2018

Getting Ready for the Biggest Shopping Days

Out of all the shopping days, Cyber Monday and Black Friday rank among the most important days for online sellers. Over the span of a few days, millions of shoppers will be looking out for the best deals they can get on products being sold online. Lots of people shop on both of these days, so it is imperative that you are ready for these shoppers so you can have a profitable period.

Since Cyber Monday is only a few days after Black Friday, you can save yourself a lot of work if you make preparations for both at the same time. Get ready for these busy shopping days by making the following preparations.

Can Your Site Handle Large Amounts of Traffic?

Using Laptop and Tablet

Before Black Friday and Cyber Monday arrive you should think about your site’s capabilities in regards to handling traffic. It should come as no surprise that massive deals attract lots of people, so on these days you will have many more shoppers to work with. If your website cannot handle the influx of shoppers it will probably slow down, and if the traffic becomes too much to handle it might crash all together. That is the last thing you want to happen.

To prepare, go through your analytics from the previous shopping season to see how many people visited your website last year. With this information, you can develop a general idea of how many people may visit your site. If you have any concerns, set aside some time to speak with your website provider so you can make sure it is prepared for the influx of shoppers.

Logicblock partners will not need to worry; our advanced infrastructure ensures that our websites run at the best possible performance, even under strenuous conditions.

Check Your Inventory for Both Days

Storage Warehouse

The most important aspect of selling on a busy shopping day is having enough products to sell. If you run out of products to sell before the day is over then you will be missing out on thousands of potential sales. Use estimates from the previous year to get an idea of how much inventory you will need to keep up with demand. Applications such as Tradegecko can help you keep track of your current inventory before Black Friday arrives.

This is especially important if you, like many other sellers, take part in both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Make sure you have enough stock for both days so you do not run out for the second day. It would be disastrous to have a good Black Friday, only to find out that you do not have enough products left to sell for Cyber Monday.

How Are You Handling Discounts?

Discounted Clothing

Online shoppers are looking for good deals on quality products, so you need to have a game plan in regards to how you will handle discounts. Typically, it is a good idea to offer discounts up to at least 20%, because anything lower will probably not interest consumers. Offer larger discounts if you can afford to do so, because better deals can lead people away from your competitors.

Place discounts on your most popular items so you can entice more people to pick them up. If you can, put a countdown on your homepage to create a sense of urgency within customers. Finally, if you plan to offer discount codes on these days you should test them to make sure they work before people attempt to put them in.

Fix Broken Links & Old Information

Dead links are a problem for any online seller, but they can be especially disastrous on days like Cyber Monday. If links are not working properly they will not be able to bring your customers to product pages, and this will lead to lost sales. Even worse, dead links make people think that your site is not working properly, and users will likely sign off as a result. Test all the links on your site and fix any of the ones that are not working.

In addition, you should also be keeping an eye out for any outdated information that is still lingering on your site. For example, if the contact email on your site is out of date, users cannot contact you if they need help with something. Check your contact information and other important pages to make sure everything is up to date.

Create Your Email Marketing Campaign Early On

Checking Email on Computer

A strong email campaign can help you bring customers from your email list to your store on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You can use this to let people know what products are going to be on sale, and they will know to visit your store when the sales go live. It would be wise to design this campaign as soon as you can so you can send emails over the weeks leading to Black Friday.

Design your emails in a way that quickly delivers information while also presenting strong visuals that people will remember. Usually, keeping your email simple is the best option. You can use your emails to offer special Black Friday discounts to any customers who have been with you for a long time. Special incentives like these can convince people to buy from you instead of your competitors.

Cyber Monday and Black Friday are the busiest shopping days during the holiday season, and it is important to prepare for them. Want to learn more about why preparing for the holiday shopping season is crucial for businesses?

The Top Holiday eCommerce Trends For 2018

Alexander NicolaidesSeptember 14, 2018

Popular Trends for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and online sellers are already preparing for the influx of holiday shoppers. If you are preparing for the holiday shopping season, it might be a good idea to get an idea of how this shopping season will be different from last year’s. Prepare for the holiday shopping season by checking out some big trends that are expected to make a strong impact this year.

eCommerce Sales Are Going Up

Pile of Coins

While many people still visit shops during the holidays, the amount of people who shop online for gifts is steadily increasing. According to Digital Commerce 360, it is believed that U.S. shoppers will spend $119.99 billion during the 2018 holiday season. This is a 15.5% increase over the previous year’s total of $103.88 billion, and this is definitely a strong jump up.

As the eCommerce industry continues to grow, more people are adapting by making more purchases online. According to an Internet Retailer survey conducted earlier in the year, 76% of shoppers from the United States said they bought around 25% of their gifts from online shops. Online retailers can make it big during the holiday season, so long as they are prepared.

Mobile Will Likely Dominate

Man Using Smartphone

Shopping on mobile has been on the rise over the past few years, and this trend will only go up during the 2018 holiday season. According to comScore, shoppers spent around $31.8 billion on gifts during Q4 2017 through the use of tablets, phones, and other mobile devices. Though not all shoppers make purchases on mobile devices, many use them to compare prices and see what items are currently in stock. As a result, mobile usage plays an important role in the holiday shopping season.

As the amount of mobile shoppers continues to grow, some are expecting mobile purchases to overtake desktop purchases for the first time this year. Many outlets, including Salesforce, expect mobile users to account for 68% of the eCommerce visits made at the end of the year. Whether or not this ends up being true, the point to take away is that you must optimize your site for mobile users if you want to succeed during the holidays.

Branding & Savings for Shipping Boxes

Another trend that is expected to pick up over the holidays is the use of shipping boxes for the purposes of branding. Custom shipping boxes are easier to afford nowadays, and they can help personalize any orders you ship out. Personalization helps make an impression on buyers, and if you make a strong enough impression you can draw those people back in after the holidays.

If you can avoid buying unnecessarily large boxes, you can save a lot of money on this process. In addition, you can also personalize the inside of a box by including information about sales or a personal thank you note to new clients. Make a strong impression on your customers so they come back long after the holiday season concludes

Customers Expect Faster Shipping

Shipping Truck

Faster shipping times continue to be a crucial part of the holiday shopping season. Buyers need to have their products before holidays like Christmas arrive, and online sellers are expected to ship items quickly as a result. As major online retailers continue to deliver products in record time, smaller companies are expected to keep up.

When deciding on a warehouse to partner with, make sure you select one with an ideal location so you can quickly deliver products to a wide selection of people. If you have a physical location, same-day pickup might be a smart option to include for last-minute shoppers. No matter what you do, if you can get products into shoppers’ hands faster you will be much better off during the holidays.

Need help preparing for the holiday shopping season? We have gathered some tips and tricks you can use to prepare for this busy period.

How Product Photos & Videos Influence Consumer Purchasing

Alexander NicolaidesJuly 30, 2018

Showing Off Your Product to Consumers

In the business of selling products online, the quality of your product page is a key factor in how well your products perform. While a product’s description will help show what it can do, visuals such and photos and videos also influence shoppers. High quality visuals can directly show shoppers what a product looks like, and if they are impressed with how the product looks they just might buy it.

See why having high quality photos and videos is important, and learn how they directly influence the decisions of online shoppers.

Why Good Photos & Videos Are Beneficial

Searching on Laptop
Having high quality photos and videos for your products is a necessity for online sellers. Since consumers cannot physically hold a product when shopping online, they can only go off what is presented on the product page. A beautiful photograph of your product can give consumers a good idea of what the product is like, and can influence their decision to buy it. Words can only tell an online shopper so much.

On top of this, videos and photos are easily sharable online, so if someone likes the photos on one of your product pages, they could be shared to other potential buyers. Adding to this, visuals help improve the product page’s overall quality, helping to increase its ranking in popular search engines. Good visuals only benefit online sellers, so having them on your product pages is an absolute necessity.

What Happens Without Good Visuals?

To jump from the previous point, what happens when you do not have good photos or videos on your product page? As mentioned previously, visuals do a much better job of showing off your product than a simple description would. If a product’s photo does not show the item in a good light, consumers may be turned off from purchasing it.

These issues are only elevated if you decide not to have any visuals on your product page. Consumers may like a product’s description, but they might get suspicious if they find out there are no images or videos of the product in question. They might assume you are trying to hide something from them, even if the product itself is top-of-the-line.

It is important to have visuals on your pages, and they need to be of high quality if you want them to positively influence consumers.

Statistics on Product Photos & Videos

Here you can take a look at some specific statistics that show the influence of visuals on a shopper’s decisions. According to JustUno, 93% of consumers consider the visual appearance of a product to be a key factor when making a purchase online. In addition, 59% of senior executives agreed that if a page has both text and a video on it, users will be drawn towards watching the video, according to Digital Information World.

Consumers simply prefer the option to view something visual if they have the option to. According to a 2018 Hubspot survey, 54% of consumers wanted to see more videos from brands they liked. Photos and videos play a major role in whether or not consumers buy particular products, so you need to make sure you show your products off in the best light.

Taking Quality Photos of Products

Handheld Camera

Taking high quality photos of your products can be done by following a few simple steps. First, make sure you have a good camera, because the nicer the camera is, the better the pictures will come out. Next, you need good lighting. Consider creating a dedicated lighting setup so you can take professional photographs.

Having a tripod is also handy, since it can help you keep the camera steady as you take the pictures. Finally, try to take your photographs with a white background so nothing distracts from the product itself. With some practice, the quality of your photos will jump up dramatically, and you will be able to entice customers with stunning pictures.

How to Make a Good Product Video

Video recorder
Incorporating videos is an excellent move for any online seller, since they can show what your products actually do. Making a video is obviously not as easy as taking a picture, but anyone can create pleasing product videos with a little practice. Video cameras work well for creating videos, but if you have a newer smartphone you can use that too. To make a good video, you need to write a strong script that gets across all the important aspects of your product.

Once again, you will need a good lighting setup so you can show off the product effectively. For voiceovers, get someone who can passionately talk about the product in a way consumers will find engaging. Finally, keep your videos short, because if they drag on for too long you might lose the interest of consumers.

Want to learn how to incorporate videos using your Logicblock account?

Photos and videos are just two of the elements of a good product page. Want to learn about some of the other key elements?