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Better internet connectivity worldwide has increased the number of digital buyers, and this upward trend is forecasted to continue in the coming years. In 2020, about two billion users purchased products or services online.
Entrepreneurs must keep in mind that setting up an ecommerce website or product page is a whole other ballgame. The potential for significant profits with ecommerce is high and achievable, but only if you get the formula right.
The success of your ecommerce website will rely on a great number of factors that require some techniques. Ecommerce is a fast-paced business where product listings shuffle all the time. It’s not just about putting in engaging relevant content or social network integration.
Therefore, you have to put customer experience at the top of the list by optimizing site functions that will keep customers coming back for more.
Many start-up entrepreneurs make seemingly small, but, overall, costly mistakes when first setting up their ecommerce websites. There are so many moving parts to making it work, so many details can be overlooked in the process of building an ecommerce store.
Here are simple solutions to some of the most common ecommerce problems encountered by business owners.
Common eCommerce Problems and How to Solve Them
1. Poor cybersecurity
Even some big brands have suffered huge losses, no thanks to security breaches in their system. Not all small business owners have the technical know-how or resources for full-time IT staff or support, which could be dangerous.
Solution:
Investing in top-of-the-line cybersecurity solutions is key to building a website that customers can trust. Certainly, you want to reassure your clients that you can protect their private data and personal information like their contact information and credit card details.
Inquire with IT professionals and check your web design agency if they offer monthly website maintenance plans. This will be way more affordable than having to hire a full-time, in-house IT staff or team. Moreover, the cost of IT maintenance will be much cheaper than rebuilding your page or company image following a security breach.
2. High bounce rate
A good measure of your ecommerce site’s success lies in the number of conversions and not merely in how many users visited your page.
As a matter of fact, high bounce rates usually happen because of a combination of factors: low-quality and inconsistent content, unresponsive functions, and substandard overall website structure that results in poor customer experience.
Solution:
Be meticulous about content curation and organization. For example, ensure that you have well-crafted content with consistent, on-brand messaging—from copy, titles, product descriptions, and everything in between. Your website should highlight your brand’s unique value proposition and showcase copy that provides solutions to your target audience’s pain points.
Also, remember that having a clear call-to-action that can easily be spotted and accessed is key to making a sale.
Taking the time to check navigation functions, responsiveness, and website features before launching your online store ensures that the digital buyer experience goes as smoothly as possible.
A primary consideration when creating a great user experience for consumers is to make it easy for them to navigate your ecommerce website whether they are using their PC or Mac, smartphones, or tablets.
3. No social proof
Lacking product reviews and grading systems can hurt your chances of closing sales. For instance, typically rely on feedback before making a purchase. Above all, opinions, comments, and testimonials from previous buyers will usually be a deciding factor for online shoppers.
Solution:
Integrating review apps and systems with your website allows buyers to assess your offerings. In the same vein, encourage users to comment or leave a review, and make your forms as simple as possible so they are motivated to submit their feedback.
4. High shopping cart abandonment rates
Research shows that over 81% of consumers abandoned their carts before making a purchase. There are many reasons why online users abandon their carts, and some of the leading ones include complex checkout processes and high shipping costs. In addition, it is also possible they have low intent of buying and might just be browsing.
Solution:
Optimizing your checkout process will help remedy cart abandonment issues. For starters, don’t make your checkout flow too complex and time-consuming. In short, lessen friction by minimizing elements and asking only for necessary details.
If high shipping costs are an issue, consider bundling extra shipping prices into the product costs or offering to bypass shipping fees if their intended purchase meets a specific price point.
Creating a sense of urgency through promos will encourage those with low buying intent to proceed to checkout.
5. Poor image set-up
Search engines cannot fully recognize images unless there are appropriate descriptions to identify what they depict. Without ALT tags, you can’t maximize your still visual assets, even if you have compelling ecommerce store-worthy product shots.
Solution:
Categorizing your image ensures that search engines can properly index your visual assets. Subsequently, incorporate vital descriptive information that sums up what your visuals show through ALT tags so that users can find them on search engines as they do their product research.
6. Disagreeable product returns policy
Most consumers are well aware of the risks when shopping online. They rely on website components such as product descriptions, pictures, and social proof to judge the goods they intend to purchase.
At one point, consumers may receive damaged goods or something that is below their expectations. If these digital shoppers encounter unfriendly return policies, it may end up damaging your brand image.
Solution:
Try balancing the cost of product returns and having a more lenient returns policy. Furthermore, having rules and guidelines anchored to the convenience of buyers is a key customer loyalty retention strategy. As a result, this shows your commitment to providing quality customer service, which will increase the trust they put in your brand.
7. Ignoring SEO
Many new business owners starting ecommerce sites think that having a presentable website with engaging content is enough to reel clients in and sell their services or products.
Some of the most common SEO mistakes among new ecommerce stores are having duplicate content, inappropriate meta tags and descriptions, and unoptimized product pages.
Solution:
Don’t waste all the time and resources you spent building your online store by neglecting search engine optimization. Most certainly, SEO-friendly techniques will get you better rankings on search engines. Here are some tips on how to fix some of the common SEO issues we mentioned above:
Duplicate content
- Ecommerce products are usually divided into categories and subcategories that create several URLs, which virtually lead to the same product page. Category and subcategory pages, archives, and various tags can be excluded from search engine indexing via the Robots Exclusion Protocol.
- Using the canonical tag will also exclude duplicate pages as well as reviews, comments, or shopping card pages.
Meta tags
Meta tags or meta descriptions are summaries of what your webpage has to offer. It appears under the website title in search results, giving users a sneak peek of your content. Some quick tips to writing good meta tags include:
- Writing with brand voice consistency in mind
- Matching your description to your page content
- Ensuring that the content conveys value to consumers
- Inclusion of your primary keyword
- Using unique meta descriptions for every page on your site
Unoptimized product pages
Among the most common mistakes of new ecommerce website owners is not optimizing their product pages. Listings must not only be composed of pictures, short titles, and product costs since these won’t be properly indexed by search engines for future search queries.
- Use keywords that your target market uses for search engine queries.
- Avoid over-optimization by repeatedly using keywords. Keep it organic-sounding and conversational.
- Don’t copy product descriptions from manufacturers or other online stores that sell the same items.
- Provide detailed information like the product’s unique features, materials used, product testing results, or other relevant data that adds value to your description.
- Upload the description on the product web page itself and not via an iFrame
Solutions to Common eCommerce Problems: in Closing
Creating good online shopping websites revolves around providing the best ecommerce store experience for users. It is a complex ecosystem that requires regular maintenance. Consequently, checking that everything is updated and working as expected should be prioritized at all costs.
In addition, avoid doing guesswork when trying to make any major changes by diagnosing your website problems. In other words, gather information like website traffic, sales or lead generation data, and other relevant analytics so you can make informed decisions on how to improve your business page.
Keep in mind that fortified cybersecurity, good web design, seamless navigation, uploading quality content, enhancing website structure, boosting search engine optimization, and ensuring page responsiveness are critical to creating a winning ecommerce website.
That is to say, digital buyers should be able to access your website and experience smooth navigation whether they are using their smartphones, tablets, or desktop computers.
That’s a lot of different elements working together. Hence, if you’re not confident that you can do it alone, investing in professional website maintenance services for your specific concerns will help you get to the bottom of things.
Above all, having a well-maintained ecommerce store will definitely boost your sales, so it’s going to be worth the investment.
