Practical Ecommerce periodically asks industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce company. Here’s what 10 of them had to say for the September 2017 installment of “10 Great Ecommerce Ideas.”
Use Marketplaces to Build Your Brand
“Ecommerce brands should be on as many relevant marketplaces as possible. To build a successful brand, you need to build awareness. Consumers purchase from brands that they trust. If they have never heard of your brand but they trust the marketplaces you sell on, then use that to your advantage. If you don’t, your competitors certainly will.”
Phil Masiello
Chief Executive Officer
Hound Dog Digital
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For SEO, Quality (not Quantity) Is Key for Inbound Links
“Having inbound links pointing to your site is fundamental to rank well in Google. But the secret is quality, not quantity. Only high-quality links from authoritative sites will build trust, authority, and the ability to rank high. A high Majestic Trust Flow score (30 at a minimum, above 50 is great) for your root domain is vital for success in Google, and your rankings will be forever hindered if this score is low. To increase your Trust Flow and your rankings, focus on building authoritative, trusted links. Don’t touch black-hat link building tactics with a 10-foot pole. For example, buying a bunch of low-quality links for cheap or leaving mass forum and blog comments are both surefire ways to harm your rankings and get penalized by Google.”
Chloe Spencer
SEO and Online Marketing Specialist
ChloeSpencer.com
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A/B Testing Never Ends
“Conversion rate is the most important metric to any ecommerce site. Never stop testing your site for better conversions. Ask your customers about their shopping experience and listen to their suggestions. There is always room for improvement. The slightest increase in conversion could be significant.
“For example, say a site with 30,000 visitors per month converts at 5 percent, and the average order is $150. That would be 1,500 orders, for $225,000. If the conversion rate were increased to 6 percent, that’s 300 more orders and $45,000 in additional sales. What changes on your site can increase its conversion rate?”
Greg Hoffman
President
Apogee
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Use Seller Fulfilled Prime for Amazon Sales
“Don’t want to use Fulfillment by Amazon and pay to get your SKUs to Amazon’s warehouse? Leverage Seller Fulfilled Prime and get the Amazon Prime advantage without sending your SKUs to Amazon’s distribution centers. You have to use your own 2-day shipping rates with your own carrier. Monitor your Amazon customer purchasing patterns and strategically get your SKUs spread across various third-party warehouses nationwide. Make calculated decisions about where to send your stock, so that you keep shipping and delivery time within two days, without paying for 2-day shipping services. ”
Chad Rubin
Chief Executive Officer
Skubana
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Consider Shipping Insurance
“Protect yourself against unnecessary losses with the carriers from lost or damaged shipments. Look at your losses including the cost of the shipment and the value to the end user (not your cost). It may make sense to purchase shipping insurance moving forward.
“Sure, carriers include protection on up to the first $100 of value of your shipment, but only when they accept responsibility for the loss. They are judge and jury.”
Ellen Riley
Chief Operating Officer
71lbs.com
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Control Your Brand and Content on Amazon
“Control your content and protect your brand on Amazon through the new, and very improved, Brand Registry program. Now trademark owners and their registered agents can lock down content, as well as address trademark violators and counterfeiters much more easily.”
James Thomson
Partner
Buy Box Experts
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Make Social Media Customer Care Top Notch
“On-site trust signals are important for consumers in their buying journey. However, as both a consumer and a marketer, I check the social media profiles (at the least a Facebook page) of a new site I may be purchasing from. While reviews and testimonials on a retailer’s site may be valuable, how a brand responds to their social media posts to be more insightful. Make sure your social customer care is top notch. You never know whether it can cost you a potential customer.”
Vanessa Pino
Director, Content and Inbound Marketing
1-800-PetMeds®
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Display Shipping Info Early
“One of the most effective ways to increase sales — and avoid abandoned shopping carts — is to offer clear shipping information, including cost and delivery estimate, as early in the shopping process as possible, right on the product pages.”
Laura Behrens Wu
Founder
Shippo
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Sell Global, Think Local
“To sell your products or services successfully abroad, adapt your marketing and fulfillment strategy to each local market. Focus your research on identifying the standard shopping experience for each local market you’re entering and adapt your operations to accommodate regional expectations.”
Ori Greenberg
Chief Executive Officer
Algopix
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To Reach Consumers, Sell on Amazon
“If you aren’t selling on Amazon already, you should consider it. Fifty-five percent of online shoppers start their product search on Amazon. If they can’t find you there, they might not bother to look anywhere else.”
Lars Hundley
Owner and Founder
YoyoPlay