Monthly Archives

May 2016

successful ecommerce

7 Things Successful Ecommerce Websites Have in Common

By | Blog

E-Commerce is the single fastest growing retail market in Europe. 78% of the entire population have made at least one purchase online via an eCommerce site such as EBay or Amazon etc.

But what makes a successful eCommerce site propel whilst others plummet? Any eCommerce store can grow in success – you just need to know how to get it there!

Here are 15 things every successful eCommerce store has in common:

1. Responsive Design

It’s no surprise that mobile devices have quickly become the main internet portal for millions of users around the globe. In fact, mobile devices are expected to generate 68% of all internet traffic by 2017. Successful eCommerce sites are responsive, meaning that they operate across all devices including mobile and tablet. Google even favours mobile-friendly sites over non-responsive designs, so if you want your eCommerce store to succeed the first step is to get it on mobile.

2. Smooth Checkout Process

Customers prefer a smooth and hassle-free checkout process. Studies show that the most sales online come from eCommerce stores that allow customers to complete a purchase without having to register. Simple forms without any distractions or unnecessary “gibber jabber” are more likely to persuade a customer to complete a purchase rather than making them register for an account. Keep the checkout process smooth and clean!

3. Flawless Product Pages

Product pages should be clear and straight to the point. Sites that offer various sorting options tend to show an increase in sales. For example, many shoppers like to sort product pages by price, size or popularity. Another great feature is the ability to view a different number of products per page. Many shoppers enjoy flicking through countless product pages as part of the online shopping experience, but others prefer to see products in larger batches. HD quality images are also more likely to grab people’s attention, especially when it comes to online retail.

4. Social Proof

People are more likely to trust a site that isn’t afraid to show off their reviews and testimonials – good or bad! Using social proof is a great way to add a sense of authenticity and credibility to your site. Popular eCommerce sites, such as Amazon, include reviews on each of their products. This helps customers to gain a better insight into the product, helping them along in their decision making process. This can also be accomplished via Facebook or Twitter etc. Facebook mentions can do wonders for your site’s performance, so encourage your followers to leave feedback as much as possible.

5. Sense of Urgency

How many times have you been convinced to buy a product online because there was only one left in stock? Successful eCommerce sites are genius’ when it comes to creating a strong sense of urgency. They do this in order to create the “fear of missing out” in their customers, which inevitably convinces them to complete a purchase. You can do this with various limited time only offers or by using count downs for certain products and offers etc.

6. Quality Product Images

When it comes to product images, it’s not just about the high definition. Your product images should present the item in an honest and truthful light. This means that you should never use fuzzy or highly pixelated images. The photographs MUST be true to the product or you will receive a lot of returns and negative reviews as a result. Incorporate a wide range of angles or better yet, a short video of the product in use to give customers a clearer insight.

7. Site Search

Websites offering site search allow customers to find products in a few short seconds. This saves a lot of scrolling time, making the buying process a lot simpler and user friendly. It’s also a great way to navigate a site, simply type in your search keyword and you will find the associated products within seconds. A website that has mastered the art of site search is of course Amazon and EBay. These sites make the shopping experience enjoyable, easy and efficient for their users.

 

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketingadwordsvideo productionsocial mediaSEO BelfastMagento or web design questions you may have.

ecommerce statistics

20 Ecommerce Statistics That’ll Keep You Up at Night

By | Blog

E-Commerce has its advantages. It offers users the opportunity to buy or sell online 24/7, making shopping for specific products easier than ever. BUT there are still many aspects to eCommerce that business owners are completely oblivious to.

Since we like to keep things exciting here at RYCO, we’ve included 20 of the most shocking ECommerce statistics (you can thank us later):

1. Surprisingly, it’s 7 times MORE EXPENSIVE to attain a new customer than it is to keep a current one.

2. When it comes to shopping on mobile devices, men take the lead at 22%, whilst only 18% of women currently shop via their smartphones.

3. 73% of customers prefer businesses with friendly staff members – even via online communications.

4. After experiencing a negative customer experience, over 89% of customers will never shop from the same store again.

5. Customer experience will be the most influential online purchasing factor by 2020.

6.  Loyalty members will spend 13% more than not one, but two non-members.

7. The most popular time for online UK sales is after 6pm.

8. Tablets take the lead as the most popular online shopping device. Tablet users are three times more likely to spend online than both desktop and mobile users.

9. 45% of online shoppers take to social media to help influence their buying decisions.

10. 75% of consumer’s shop online because they believe online stores offer better deals than their local stores.

11. Online reviews influence 55% of shoppers, helping them to decide whether they want to make a purchase or not.

12. If users are prompted to make a new user account before making a purchase, 23% will give up.

13. According to recent ecommerce statistics, 28% of online consumers abandon shopping carts when shipping costs are higher than expected.

14. Shoppers aged 18 – 34 buy online more than any other age group.

15. From 2016 onwards, online sales will grow 93% each year.

16. Posting 1 to 4 times a day on Twitter will give you the best CTR.

17. Adding a simple smiley face into your Facebook post can increase post shares by 33%.

18. 30% of mobile users will not complete a sale form a non-responsive site.

19. If your site doesn’t load within 3 seconds, 57% of internet users will abandon it.

20. Emails from companies influence over 70% of mobile purchases.

We hope you enjoyed these surprising but true ecommerce statistics. If you’d like to learn more about how to manage a successful ecommerce store, get in touch with RYCO today. We are ecommerce specialists based in Newry, Belfast and Dublin:

CALL US: 028 9099 8106

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketingadwordsvideo productionsocial mediaSEO BelfastMagento or web design questions you may have.

website upgrade

7 Signs Your Website Needs Upgraded

By | Blog

If eyes are windows to the soul, your website is the window to your brand. So ask yourself, what is your company’s site saying to potential customers? Is it time for a website upgrade?

Has your website seen better days?

Have you been keeping it up-to-date or have you let it slide back to the stone-age?

If you are experiencing low conversion rates and slow traffic, your website may need a few tweaks (or a complete makeover). Here are 7 signs that show it might be time to upgrade your website:

1. Your website is over 3 years’ old

Three years might not sound like a long time, but in the digital universe, three years may as well be 300. Since web development is constantly progressing, you need to make sure your site is moving right along with it. New opportunities are always arising to make your site better, faster and leaner. By upgrading your website and making it more user-friendly, visitors will be more likely to stay on site long enough to convert.

2. Your website includes zero links to your brand’s social media sites

Businesses utilise social media channels to spread word about their services and products. It’s an easy way to create interest and reach a broader audience. 80% of online consumers are more likely to purchase from a business they follow on Facebook or Twitter. Linking your website to your social channels will help your customers to better relate to your business, increasing their trust in your brands credibility.

3. Your website’s content hasn’t been updated in lightyears

If your website contains the same content every time a customer visits your site, you risk losing their interest. Out-of-date content will also have a negative impact on your SEO efforts. If your website does not allow you to update content, it may be time to upgrade or switch to a different platform. Content management platforms such as WordPress and Magento, allow users to edit content as often as they please. Platforms such as these, are easy-to-use and enable you to keep tabs on how optimised your web pages are.

4. Your website is non-responsive

Mobile devices will generate 68% of all internet traffic by 2017. Therefore, your website MUST be mobile friendly. If your site is not mobile friendly, you will need a website upgrade or risk losing up to 27% of potential traffic.

5. Your website’s UX Design is Poor

A user friendly website is guaranteed to perform much better than one lacking usability. For example, a website that makes it difficult for customers to navigate is likely to lose customers rather than gain any new ones. A website upgrade will allow you to look closely at the design, layout and usability of your site. Take some time and learn more about your customers. Once you know what your customers want from your site, you can give it to them via the web upgrade process. For example, would customers be happier with a site map? Maybe you should incorporate one into your website. Is your site difficult to navigate? Make it easier for them, etc.

6. No Clear Call to Action’s

As soon as a potential customer visits your site, it’s up to you to grab their attention straight away. Show off all your brand has to offer and don’t be shy. If your website doesn’t include any call to actions, you miss out on potential sales, email sign-ups and written testimonials etc.

7. Slow Loading Web Pages

The faster your website loads, the better. Internet users are impatient and over 50% of them expects your website to load within just 2 seconds! If your site takes too long to load on the screen, visitors will click the little red “x” before they have a chance to be impressed by your brand.

If you feel like it’s time for a website upgrade, give RYCO a call today:

Newry : 028 3026 1861

Belfast : 028 9099 8106

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketing Belfastadwords PPC Belfastvideo production Belfastsocial media BelfastSEO BelfastMagento or web design questions you may have.

SEO Strategy

Why your SEO Strategy Isn’t Working Out the Way You Planned

By | Blog | No Comments

No matter how much we plan, prep and plot, sometimes things just don’t work out the way we thought they would. Building an effective SEO strategy seems like a piece of cake. You’ve done your keyword research and you know exactly how to climb up the rankings. Several months have passed and your site has crept closer to the top BUT it still hasn’t made it onto the first page. Why?

SEO is changing, which means you must adapt your strategy or risk falling behind. However, it can be difficult to see exactly where you are going wrong. Here are a few reasons that might explain why your SEO strategy isn’t quite as “googlised” as it should be:

 

Stuffing Keywords

 

Keyword stuffing goes a little something like this:

Web Design Northern Ireland, Web Design Northern Ireland, Web Design Northern Ireland etc.

This is of course an extreme example of stuffing keywords. This tactic is used to try and fool Google in order to rank higher on search results. Instead of noticing this and boosting your position on SERPs, Google will see what you’re doing and punish you by dragging your site to the bottom. You can thank the Penguin update for this!

 

Using Repeated Meta Tags

 

Each page on your website needs its own title tag and meta description. They should be descriptive and relevant to the content on the said page. Focus on specific keywords that are relevant to certain pages.

For example, an online clothing store should include unique meta tags for each page. These are usually divided by the type of clothing available on each page such as blouses, jeans, skirts and coats etc.

Using original meta tags will persuade people to hit the “click” button and improve your SEO.

 

Neglecting Broken Links

 

The links on your page may have been added back in the stone age and have since broken. The only way to find out if your site includes broken links is to double-check each one to make sure it still works.

Replace those that no longer work and update your content if needed. In addition to this, some of the links that were once considered high quality may have lost their original “kick”.

If you find that your site links to poor-performing sites, it may be time to update them!

 

Using Low Quality Content

 

Updating your website with poor content won’t do your SEO performance any favours. Avoid using dodgy content services that produces “optimised” content for low prices. Yes, you will probably receive a batch of content but the poor quality of this content will not get people’s attention – or Googles, for that matter.

If you don’t have the time to produce content yourself, seek out professionals. They will be able to not only write your websites content and articles, but optimise them for Google.

 

Preventing Google from Crawling your Site

 

It’s up to you to make sure Google can find your content. If you don’t do this, Google won’t be able to index OR rank your website. You can leave your site open to Google’s wandering eye by configuring Google Webmaster Tools to your website.

The best way to ensure that your SEO strategy is performing at optimal level is to seek help from a professional SEO agency who specialise in the matter.

Don’t hesitate to give RYCO a call today to discuss how we can help improve your SEO strategy and take your site to the first page of Googles search results.

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketing Belfastadwords PPC Belfastvideo production Belfastsocial media BelfastSEO BelfastMagento or web design questions you may have.

Newry : 028 3026 1861
Belfast : 028 9099 8106

 

online retail trends

Future Online Retail Trends: Have they gone too far?

By | Blog | No Comments

Online shoppers are more demanding than ever. They want quick check-out purchases, fast delivery (you’ll get brownie points if it’s free) and exceptional customer services without any unnecessary “jibber jabber”.

New online retail trends are expected to come into play within the next five years. Here are just a few online retail trends that are likely to make an entrance sooner rather than later:

 

1. Brands will Know A LOT more about You

Receiving personalised emails is nothing new, we’re well used to curated email marketing ploys. However, in the next few years’, brands will be able to take it a step further. E-Commerce brands will use Bluetooth low energy technology to find out more about your shopping habits.

Examples of the kind of information recorded includes: when (and where) you browsed for specific products  and how long your spent on each page etc. This is followed up by a reminder sent straight to your mobile or email address. Some reminders may persuade you to buy the product by using a special offer you simply can’t refuse.

 

2. Virtual Shopping is HERE

Virtual reality isn’t just for gamers. Online stores will soon implement augmented reality to give their customers an “immersive experience”. This means that you can try on clothes to see what they will look like on you before making a purchase. Such tools will decrease the chances of returning items to the store due to wrong fitting’s etc.

 

3. Advertising goes Mobile – again.

Mobile advertising will be the “norm” by 2019, with desktops expected to take the back bench. Texts with relevant and highly targeted messages will be a common sight in our future inboxes.

This type of in-app advertising will improve delivery services and customer satisfaction, making it easier to get in touch with brands to make queries and suggestions etc. Mobile payments are also expected to rise to over 2 billion by 2019.

 

4. Have your own Digital Personal Shopper/Assistant

Most online shoppers will have their own digital assistant to help them shop online. They will be able to filter our shopping experience in a more strategic and filtered approach.

For example, if you are shopping for a pair of jeans, your digital assistant will filter out incorrect sizes and pairs that are unlikely to be of interest, leaving you with a refined and targeted line up of potential products that are most likely to appeal to you.

 

Contact RYCO Marketing today to stay ahead of online retail trends and get the most out of your ecommerce store.
Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketing Belfastadwords PPC Belfastvideo production Belfastsocial media BelfastSEO BelfastMagento or web design questions you may have.

Call Us TODAY: 028 9099 8106