10 eCommerce Hacks to Grow Your Business in a Few Months

By Rodney Laws | Ecommerce

Aug 31

Merchantry estimates that there are over 4.2 million eCommerce brands in Canada and the US. So yes, there’s no better time to be an online seller than now.

But considering the massive competition, running an ecommerce store is not an easy feat. The good news is that you’re here. That means you have the drive to stand out.

So, how can you boost growth in the vast sea of eCommerce? Let’s find out! Below, you’ll find 10 quick eCommerce hacks that’ll help you drive your success in months.

Note that these are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many more growth hacks for ecommerce you can look for. But the following tactics will help you set up a solid ecommerce growth strategy.

Let’s dive right in.

 1. Go into Speed Mode

You don’t want your sales to suffer from Slow page loading for even 1 second. Here’s why, according to Envisage Digital:

  • 1 second delay in page load drops views by 11%;
  • Cuts down conversion rates by 7%; and
  • Drops customer satisfaction by 16%.

Imagine what a 2- or 3-second bounce rate could do to your revenue! Here are a few things you can use to boost page loading:

  • Run a test using Google Page Speed. This tool can determine your speed performance. It also suggests how to decrease page loading time.
  • Invest in a CDN, or Content Delivery Network. A CDN allows you to use different servers to drive data transfer and cut down content latency.
  • Update your hosting plan. Work with a website host that offers high performance and fast speed. You can also upgrade to VPS or cloud hosting to boost page loading.

Here are more tips to increase page loading speed.

2. Make Yourself Easy to Find

The trick is to stay at the top of the heap. But how to stand out among the sea of eCommerce sellers? That’s where SEO comes in.

SEO is about driving organic traffic using relevant terms. These are words and phrases users type in a search browser to find web pages.

You should focus on researching 3 types of search terms:

  • The first is frontend, which is directly related to your business. You’ll find them in titles, descriptions and blog posts.
  • The second type are backend keywords. Customers won’t see these terms, but they can help you widen your online reach.
  • Lastly, use transactional keywords to convert users. These are terms used when a customer is ready to buy a product. Think of brand names, or words like “purchase” and “order now”.

But great traffic also requires great content that delights audiences. That’s On-Page SEO, and it is what will drive both traffic and conversions.

3. Inform Your Customers

Any eCommerce site should work on creating in-depth product descriptions. Users want to learn what a product can do for them.

So, it’s not enough to name the item and its general features. Tell your audience how it’s built, and what its purpose is. In short, share the product’s story with the audience.

You should apply these same principles to your videos and images. Always include high-quality visuals that showcase your offers as much as possible.

You can also include tutorials or how-to videos that display the product in action. Shoppers need to see what they’ll buy, and how it actually works, whenever possible.

4. Long-form Content

Blog posts are an excellent way to keep customers informed and interested in your expertise. They promote engagement and customer retention.

However, you need to go outside your own blog to attract new traffic. The best way to do so is by writing guest posts.

Guest posts are content that you can publish on an ally’s website to build brand awareness. They are also a great feature to show that you are an authority within your market base.

Plus, guest posts give you the chance to set up backlinks into your own website. This means new customers will have a better chance of finding you.

5. The Magic of A/B Testing

This is one of the most used eCommerce growth hacking tactics. A/B testing can help you compare similar products, and see which has better images, layout and copy.

An A/B test is a key ecommerce hack you need to optimize conversions. It can let you know which assets benefit your sales, and which are hurting growth.

You can run A/B testing using Google Optimize. This tool can pinpoint the changes that should be made to product listings to drive conversions. For example:

  • Image location, quality and size.
  • Color, size and location changes to action buttons, like “Add to cart”.
  • Stating product supply and free shipping offers.
  • Including trust badges in prominent areas.

Make sure you A/B test on a regular basis. That way, you’ll soon find the best adjustments that can boost sales.

6. Include Trust Badges

Customers value secure purchases. The thing is, ecommerce has little room for face-to-face sales. So, how can you show buyers that you are a trustful seller?

It’s easy: showcase trust badges. These are the logos of the software you rely on to make every sale as trustworthy as possible.

You can also feature the authorized payment methods available. Chances are customers will feel safe knowing their data is well protected.

Place trust badges in visible places. For example, right next to the Add To Cart button, or at the checkout page. This will boost your seller credibility, and also promote conversions.

7. Responsive Design

This is about device adaptability and personalized storefronts. And these are not only ecommerce conversion hacks, but a must-do for all sellers.

Responsive design means setting up your site, so that it fits the device customers use to visit. This means ensuring a great UX on desktop, smartphones and tablets, separately.

Users are increasingly browsing via mobile devices. And once they know what to buy, they’ll use a desktop or laptop to make the purchase.

So, it’s crucial that sellers adopt a mobile-first, desktop-second approach to their online storefronts.

8. Custom User Navigation

The second key to responsive design is to adapt your webpage to the user’s habits. This means tracking users, so they can find what they need each time they log into your store. For example:

  • Set your store to showcase the specific products a recurring user was looking at the last time they logged in.
  • Use the homepage to feature offers related to the common items they look or buy for.
  • Save their search queries so they don’t waste time typing the products they want to review.

Here are a few more tips to enhance this eCommerce growth strategy:

  • Visible search bar. Most customers will already know what they want. So, they’ll go to the search bar to find it. Make sure your search bar is in a prominent place on your website.
  • Homepage simplicity. State your value proposition and selling points, but copy and video should be at a minimum here.
  • Menu navigation. Keep a visible and simple menu on top. This is a compass to user search. The idea is to let users navigate smoothly, and go back and forth across your store.
  • Product tags. This tool can help users find specific product categories. Plus, tags are also a great tool to customize URLs to improve SEO, both internally and on SERPs like Google.

9. Checkout Simplicity

Almost 70% of users abandon the shopping cart without making a purchase, according to the Bayard Institute.

The checkout process can actually make or break conversions. It can’t be overly complicated or else your bounce rate will suffer for it. So, how can you push it along?

  • Offer guest checkouts. Not all buyers want to create an account to buy a single product. So, don’t force users to register. Let them make the choice for themselves.
  • Provide multiple payment options. Many users are still wary of sharing their credit card info online. So, give them the choice to buy using PayPal or Amazon Pay, for example.
  • Keep the account registry simple. Don’t ask too much info from users who do want to create an account.

10. Involve the End User

Let people know users are buying your products. And better yet, let your customers announce it themselves.

Customers need more than great content to buy a product. They also want to learn what other users think about the product.

That’s where social proof comes in. This means sharing customer ratings and testimonials via your website and social media.

But social proof can go beyond testimonials. A great strategy is to share user generated content.

For example, encourage users to post their purchases on social media. Then, take those posts and share them across your own channels.

Learning about other buyers’ experience gives new users confidence to buy a product.

Final Thoughts

None of these tips are complicated nor expensive. In fact, you can start using them almost immediately!

As a rule of thumb, take the time to experiment, or partner up with an expert. This means working on a few ecommerce growth tactics first.

For example, start off by boosting your page speed. Then, check if your bounce rate decreases. Afterwards, you can revamp your content to boost user retention.

Test, analyze, and build upon the results. Take a slow, strategic approach to test your eCommerce growth hacks. This will let you see which tips are actually boosting growth.

And if one tactic is not working, then change it. With time and work, you’ll soon find the formula that works best for your eCommerce store. The results are worth it.

Best of luck!

Author

Esteban Muñoz is a content writer at AMZ Advisers, with several years’ experience in digital marketing and e-commerce. Esteban and the AMZ Advisers team have been able to achieve incredible growth on Amazon for their clients by optimizing and managing their accounts, and creating in-depth content marketing strategies.