The Importance of Properly Setting up Products on M2 for SEO

Content optimization is critical for SEO. This includes properly setting up products on eCommerce websites.  

Properly setting up your products in Magento 2 requires knowledge of your products and the time to think through each aspect. Properly setting up products now will help to mitigate problems later on or the need to change products. Below we’ve outlined how to set up products for good SEO in Magento.

Magento Settings

• Product Meta Tags
  • Stores > Configuration > Catalog > Catalog > Product Fields Auto-Generation
    • Currently Magento 2 only supports {{name}}, {{meta description}}, {{meta keywords}} and {{sku}} but SEO extensions can add other attributes to be used in these fields. We do not suggest using {{description}} here because the description field content is often longer than the standard 160 character limit reserved for meta descriptions.
    • IF you use this as a stopgap, we suggest adding the SKU because product names can be duplicated.

• Stores > Configuration > Catalog > Search Engine Optimization (scroll to the bottom of the page)
  • Use Categories Path for Product URLs: Set to No

• Stores > Configuration > Catalog > XML Sitemap

• Setup Google Analytics and AdWords using the built-in configurations and not embedding the tracking codes directly in the template.
  • Stores > Configuration > Sales > Google API

• Embed other tracking scripts
  • Content > Configuration > Edit the Website or Store View theme (based on your store settings) > Header for scripts that need to go into the header, and Footer > Miscellaneous HTML for scripts that need to go into the footer.

• If you have a dev site, be sure Search Engine Robots is set to noindex/nofollow on dev/staging and index/follow on production.
  • Content > Design > Configuration > Edit the Website or Store View theme (based on your store settings) > Search Engine Robots set to NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW on dev/staging and INDEX, FOLLOW on production.

• Default meta titles:
  • Content > Design > Configuration > Edit the Website or Store View theme based on your store settings > HTML Head

• • Change your meta titles so they’re not set to the default. Meta fields should actually be specifically written for each category and product, so you’re really just updating this setting so that it’s not empty or using the Magento default values.

Magento SEO extensions

Use either Magento 2 SEO extension or Advanced SEO Suite for Magento 2

Plan the Organization

• Navigation
  • Prioritize popular categories and products first in the sort order.
• Related / Upsell / Cross Sell Products
  • Set them up or use an extension
• Attributes
• Avoid duplicate products. If you have duplicate products, custom options or configurable products may be a better solution for you.

Product Names

• Unique, useful and understandable.

Product Images

• Images are one of the first things customers see, so use good ones..
• Include image Names
• Include Alt Text

Custom Descriptions

• Focus on the customer need or problem the product helps resolve, or a story of the lifestyle where the product could be used.

Product URL

• Edit the product > Basic Settings > Search Engine Optimization > URL Key
• We recommend leaving the Create Permanent Redirect box checked unless you deliberately want to kill the old URL, or are just setting up the product for the first time and don’t necessarily need the redirect rule.

Meta Descriptions

• Edit the product > Basic Settings > Search Engine Optimization > Meta Description

Meta Keywords

• The best use for meta keywords is to make that field searchable when using site search. Include alternate spellings, names, and details for the site search to pick up.
• Edit the product > Basic Settings > Search Engine Optimization > Meta Keywords

Structured Data

• Make sure all schema.org microdata is setup properly, including availability and all user generated content fields.
• There are rich snippets testing tools available to test your product page markup.

User-Generated Content

• Reviews
• Comments
• Customer Photos
• Customer Video

Test on Mobile

• You’d be surprised by how many merchants sit at their computer and don’t use their phone to view their own website. View your product pages on mobile to make sure the images and content display properly and completely.
• Reference the Mobile Usability report in your Google Search Console account (located under the Search Traffic sub-menu) to ensure Google isn’t trying to tell you they’ve detected some issues.

• Check site speed on mobile (as well as on desktop).

Contact us to learn more about setting up products for good SEO in Magento 2. Checkout some other good articles on SEO: 3 Ways Merchants can Improve SEO for eCommerce and eCommerce SEO Basics Merchants Need to Know.

Why You Need to Utilize Google Analytics for eCommerce

For many eCommerce entrepreneurs, Google Analytics can become overwhelming with its number of technical reports and amount of information. Even though using Google Analytics can help you evaluate marketing efforts and optimize your online store for conversions and sales, most entrepreneurs aren’t trained business analysts that sift through data all day to find these valuable insights.

Why Bother with Google Analytics for eCommerce?

You’re busy enough without stuffing your brain with numbers you don’t understand and trends you never knew existed. So why bother with analytics? Google Analytics helps eCommerce entrepreneurs understand what works and what doesn’t work, gain an advantage over competitors who don’t use analytics, and increase sales and conversions.

Target Audience Identification

Most think of Google Analytics as a tool that tracks the number of visitors that come to your site or individual pages on your site. Google Analytics data, however, provides much more than a number. Google Analytics tells you exactly who’s visiting. Visitor data includes age, gender, geographical region, interests, and more.

Mis-identifying your visitors leads to lost sales. If, for example, you believe your audience consists primarily of middle-aged men, you would naturally include language and other features targeted toward middle-aged men. If Google Analytics, however, shows that you’re getting an equal number of visitors in their 20s and early 30s, you’ll want to adjust the marketing message or the marketing medium.

Because you receive user data based on in-market segmentation, you’ll know how many of your website visitors take a specific interest your store’s specialty. If you market educational software, for example, your demographics report displays the number of visitors who see your site that list education and learning as an interest. Not only does it identify visitors that would naturally be in your target audience, it tells you specifically what part of that target audience they fit in to.

Website Usability

Google Analytics tells you what visitors do once they get to your site. Something as simple as knowing where visitors enter your site and where they drop off helps identify issues that need fixed and what parts of your site are attracting visitors.

The Behavior and Conversions reports within Google Analytics help you understand if your website’s usability satisfies your customers. The behavior reports show which pages receive the most user engagement and those pages that get little interest once visitors arrive. Conversion reports will show you where users drop out, helping you to eliminate weak links in the conversion process. One very useful data point you can find using Google Analytics is cart abandonment and how to measure it.

Audience reports help you optimize user experience by identifying which devices visitors are using to view your page, which browsers they are using, and which search engines they are searching from.

Budget Allocation

Successful businesses don’t just guess how to allocate money in their budget. From the analysis Google Analytics provides, you can determine the best way to invest further budget. There are even reports within Google Analytics that suggest a percentage of budget increase or decrease based on the specific attribution model you choose.

Google Analytics helps identify gaps in your budget. Using the acquisition report, for example, you might identify that a large percentage of visitors that come from Pinterest buy certain products. It would, therefore, behoove you to allocate resources to attracting more Pinterest visitors. Furthermore, using Google Analytics for budgeting means you can measure the ROI of changes in marketing campaigns.

Now What?

As an eCommerce entrepreneur, you might be wondering how you can take all this information and put it to work for your store. That’s what we’re for! We help merchants achieve their eCommerce goals with our in-house team of Magento-certified developers and Magento Marketing experts ready to build a site that will withstand the rigors of eCommerce and heavy traffic.

Keyword Research: How to Find Keywords for SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a great way to drive traffic to your website, increase conversions and tap into the millions of consumers shopping for products online. However, finding the right keywords or key phrases to target can be a challenge. Here are a few ways to help eCommerce merchants find the right keywords for SEO and some tips for maintaining SEO over time.

Choose keywords and key phrases that best describe your business

Make sure to first research keywords and key phrases that specifically fit your business. The key word here is “specific.” If you are a car window repair shop, choosing the keyword “windows” will get you nowhere fast. If you are a local New Holland tractor dealer, trying to rank with the phrase “New Holland” might put you into unwanted and unprofitable competition with several large cities around the world. If you are a coffee shop, tempting as it might be, you have little chance with the keyword “coffee” alone. Do you see the trend? Make sure your keywords are on-target, ownable, realistic and not easily mistaken for another subject entirely.

While it’s important to go after the keywords and key phrases that best describe your business, it is also important to research your competition. For SEO, it’s possible to gain a lot of valuable information on your competitors. There are several tools available to help with this including SEMrush or Moz’s Keyword Difficulty Tool. Both are great used separately or together. The goal is learn what your competitor’s strengths and weakness are and where there is an opportunity to gain an edge. Start with the same keywords and key phrases used in your initial research. Does your competitor rank for the same keywords? Are there other keywords they’re ranking for that you’re not? How are they using those keywords? A competitor analysis is a valuable tool in SEO.

How many people are searching the web using those keywords

Once you’ve built a list of relevant keywords, it is important to analyze how often those keywords are being searched for via search engines. Two free tools that do a good job of this are Google’s Keyword Planner and Wordtracker’s GTrends Tool. Follow this rule of thumb: if a keyword generates a lot of searches, it will be harder to rank organically through an SEO effort. If you find that your keywords have too much competition, try adding the town, city or state name. Also, try longer-tailed keywords; for example instead of  “windshield repair” try “windshield repair Cincinnati” or “window repair shop in Cincinnati.”

Estimating costs for ongoing SEO efforts

A cost analysis of the effort and time required to implement your keywords versus the amount of traffic they may generate may also prove beneficial. Your current rank for a keyword or phrase, the amount of competition for the same keyword and the current state of your website are all important factors in estimating ongoing SEO campaign costs. In addition to keywords, merchants can improve SEO through new content, optimizing metadata, updating product descriptions, category pages, optimizing images must be taken into account. It’s important to budget efforts based on what is necessary and what will drive conversions.

Optimizing Keywords for SEO Is an Ongoing Process

Determining the proper keywords for your SEO campaign is an ongoing process. A set it and forget it mentality just isn’t possible with SEO. Tracking changes made to SEO efforts is important. Performing consistent traffic analysis, keyword position reports, and frequent website updates optimally tune your website for SEO. It’s good to document what changes have been made on specific pages and what the targeted key phrase is. A reference document tracking changes with notes can prove to be valuable. Historical data will help you learn what changes had a positive impact and what still needs to be tackled or revisited.

Like most things, experience and first-hand knowledge are paramount. Start your SEO campaign on the right track with the proper keywords and you’ll gain the experience to make your website highly competitive by constantly refining your SEO strategy.

To learn more about finding the right keywords for SEO, or more about SEO for for Magento and our marketing services, contact us today.

6 Common Google Adwords Mistakes

Google “SEO vs. PPC” and you’ll see over 1.2 million results and a lot of contradictory opinions. The truth is that both search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising, if effectively leveraged, will put your business in front of prospective customers. Only you can determine which is better for your business, or whether a combination of the two is your best bet.

Some marketers contend that, especially for smaller businesses which are new to online marketing, PPC is the better choice. Among these is Adam Stetzer, who argues in favor of PPC:

“Agencies should steer inexperienced customers into PPC first because it is most similar to Yellow Page advertising. Furthermore, 72% of marketers that use PPC plan to increase their PPC budgets, which demonstrates it is generally successful. PPC allows customers to secure new business rapidly. Trust will develop over time, and new products [like SEO] can then be proposed.”

The truth is that both SEO and PPC can work for any business, especially if they get the expert help to make their campaigns a success.  That’s because there’s another truth: neither SEO nor PPC is a DIY project.

According to Google, businesses on average make $2 for every $1 they spend on AdWords campaigns.  The operative phrase there is “on average.” Some businesses achieve a much higher ROI with AdWords, and some lose money.  Said differently, being successful with AdWords means fully understanding how pay-per-click works, and how to avoid rookie mistakes which put your investment at risk. Below are six common Google AdWords mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Using the Wrong Keywords

When you choose keywords, you’re predicting what prospective customers will type into Google when looking for businesses like yours or products you sell.  That sounds easy, but it’s easy to go wrong.  For example, let’s say your business sells used home appliances in Tampa, Florida.  If you use keywords like “appliances,” or “appliances Tampa,” your ad will be displayed to a lot of people, but many of them are looking for new appliances or commercial (not home) appliances.  If any of those people click on your ad, you’re losing money.

The most dangerous word when it comes to PPC campaigns is “assume.”  Rather than making assumptions about the best keywords for your business, do your research.  You can get help from tools like Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool or WordStream (both are free).

2. Not Being Specific: Negative Keywords

When you choose your keywords, AdWords will automatically default to “broad match.”  This means your ad will appear when people type variations of your keywords, including using synonyms or typing them in a different order.  You need to specify more precisely what constitutes a match.  One way to do that is by using negative keywords.

Just as keywords tell AdWords what people you want to see your ad, negative keywords specify what people you don’t want to see your ad.  Going back to the example of the used home appliance business, you can more effectively target the right people by using the negative keywords, “new appliances” and “commercial appliances.”

3. Neglecting Mobile

Most internet searches now take place on mobile devices.  You need to accommodate these searches with ads that work on the smaller screens of smartphones and tablets.  First, you need to let AdWords know that you want to use their mobile search feature.  You then need to ensure your ads work on a smaller mobile footprint.  For example, you might want to shorten keyword phrases and truncate your ad copy.  Finally, you can include a click-to-call extension for your mobile ads, which will automatically push a call to your business when someone clicks on your ad.

4. Displaying Ads at the Wrong Times

Do you really want people contacting your business when it’s closed?  After all, if a lot of prospective customers call only to reach voicemail, you could be losing business.  You can tell AdWords when to display your ads (and when not to display them) using Ad Scheduling.  To be most effective, turn off your ads when no one’s there, or during extremely busy times when your business is less able to handle incoming calls.

5. Forgetting to Use Bid Adjustments

One of the benefits of PPC advertising is the ability to limit your spending to a predetermined amount.  You can tell AdWords how much you’re willing to spend, in other words.  AdWords will then limit your ad’s exposure accordingly (for example, your ad might display every 3rd or 4th time your keywords are entered).

Bid adjustments go one step further.  You can tell AdWords the specific circumstances under which you want your ad to be displayed, while still keeping within your budget.  For example, you might give preference to mobile searches, or to searches which take place in certain geographical locations (like those closer to your brick and mortar store), or at certain times of the day or days of the week.

6. Omitting Ad Extensions

Ad extensions in AdWords let you augment your ads with key information, things like business phone number, address, or links to specific web pages.  Take advantage of ad extensions because they provide useful information to prospective customers. In addition, they give your ad more real estate on search pages and generally improve click-through rates for your ad.

Google Adwords Mistakes and Improve Your Marketing Efforts

Doing PPC advertising right is a challenge, but totally doable. Like everything else about your business, success means doing your homework, being persistent, and growing your knowledge base and experience every day.  That’s as true about marketing as it is about designing a website that works for your business. Paid advertising can help boost sales and grow your business, just be sure to avoid silly mistakes.

To learn more about Google Adwords, Magento development and how they both work together, contact us to learn more.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is paramount to maximizing the profitability of an eCommerce company. An ideal custom-tailored strategy paired with the right SEO tools leads to execution of SEO tactics which drives business results. Successful implementation is where an SEO expert and partner can help take your business to the next level. However, before leaping into an SEO partnership to perform and execute a new SEO strategy, it’s important for merchants to have a solid handle on their business goals and needs. SEO can be very beneficial to merchants. But if goals and expectations are not properly communicated in the beginning, the results can be lacking and off-point. This can lead to wasted time for both parties. To avoid disappointment, here are five questions eCommerce merchants need to ask themselves before hiring an SEO partner.

1. Which site actions are currently the most valuable?

What features, functions and user actions equate to the most organic growth and revenue on your eCommerce website? In other words, what items or pages are currently resonating and converting well with new customers? Pages that currently rank and perform well organically will play a key part in benchmarking success for other pages being optimized. It’s important that merchants have an idea of what is currently performing well to help their SEO partner with focus and direction.

Most SEO Action Plans will have sections that focus on content optimization and on-site optimization. Both initiatives will analyze the technical aspects of both high performing and low performing pages, content, and meta information. Proactive merchants that identify their most valuable content can provide beneficial insights to an SEO partner. It’s also okay to not always know why  – that’s why you’re hiring an SEO partner after all.

2. Who is your target audience?

What type of people are your customers? Are they new parents, teenagers, Millennials, Baby Boomers or some combo of these groups? A considerable portion of SEO success is dependent upon content and verbiage. Due to the different ways in which groups communicate and interact with eCommerce websites, your SEO partner will rely on your expertise and understanding of the target audience. No one knows your customers better than you. Therefore, when your SEO partner is working on onsite optimization that could include new blogs, press releases, or informal content for your customers, they will need to know who they are writing for and what your unique customer expectations are.

3. What are your unique selling points?

Why do customers buy from you versus your competitors? Are you known for excellent customer service, best prices, or unique products that can’t be found anywhere else? Merchants who know and market their USPs successfully will be ahead of the competition – particularly for SEO. The primary focus of SEO for eCommerce websites is to drive traffic and sales. Merchants need to showcase their top USPs to new visitors and reinforce them to repeat customers.

An SEO partner will work to direct customers to the right place and present your business in the best light. Effectively communicating USPs is an integral part of a successful SEO strategy.

4. Who is your biggest competitor and why?

Who is that other company you and your team always reference in meetings or try to emulate? Merchants who are familiar with their competitors will have an edge. For SEO, it’s possible to gain a lot of valuable information on competitors. For example, their total monthly traffic, the keywords they are ranking for that your site isn’t, and how well they’re doing on mobile.

A complete SEO strategy will include a detailed competitor analysis. Have an idea of at least 2 competitors to include in an SEO plan, and a detailed competitor profile can provide an SEO partner with a great head start. A good SEO partner will integrate concepts that are working in your industry, develop original material based on that success, and make your company more competitive.

5. How will you monitor success?

Are you measuring success based on conversion rates, customer growth, or sales revenue? Maybe it is a combination of metrics? How you monitor success is both a practical and ideological question. There are many data points that can be tracked when analyzing the progress and success of SEO. Every business is unique, and merchants need to decide what matters most to their individual needs.

Concise reporting of key metrics is a critical way to see how the efforts of your SEO partner are paying off. An experienced SEO specialist will be familiar with multiple types of reporting tools and will likely have a recommendation. However, if you’re able to share how you measure success and what’s important to you, it will make it easier for your SEO partner to target the appropriate areas of improvement where you’ll see desirable results.  In addition, it’s important for merchants to be engaged in the reporting process and to ask questions to help push efforts in the right direction.

SEO is a Team Effort

Regardless of how talented your SEO partner is, your input and industry insights are invaluable. You are the expert on your eCommerce business. Spending time helping your SEO partner to understand your business needs and goals are essential to success. If you are ready to begin the SEO process, looking for SEO help, or want to evaluate your current SEO plan and strategy then contact us. Finding the right SEO partner begins with a conversation and we would like to talk to you.

Getting Started on eCommerce SEO basics

The proper setup of eCommerce Search Engine Optimization (SEO) basics is key for a successful online business. When eCommerce SEO basics are in place, merchants remain ahead of the game. On average, Google’s ranking algorithm changes more than once every day. Additionally, the SERP (search engine results page) is constantly evolving with new features.  SEO plays an important role in driving inbound traffic and customers to websites. An ideal SEO partner sets a technically-sound foundation, proper long-term SEO strategy, and assists your company with remaining on the cutting edge of search.

Here are the eCommerce SEO basics merchants need to know when optimizing sites for search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo:

1. Data Collection

Data collection and management accounts like Google Analytics and Google Search Console are critical for analyzing and tracking data of all kinds. In addition, it’s important to have Google tracking scripts embedded properly on your site. Google provides an array of reporting and analysis tools that help merchants understand customers from the time they land on your site to purchase.

2. Sitemap

A sitemap is an XML file that contains all of your individual webpage’s URLs. In other words, a sitemap is like an archive with every webpage in your website. It’s important to make sure the right pages are included and the wrong pages excluded in your sitemap. In addition, the sitemap needs to be easy to find by search engines. Your sitemap can and should be submitted to Google via the Search Console.

3. Robots.txt

Robots.txt is a file that lets search engines know what to crawl and what not to crawl on your all of your specific pages. For example, a robots.txt file will contain disallow and allow statements that instruct which sections of the site search engines should and shouldn’t crawl. Robots.txt acts as an added layer of instruction in addition to the sitemap.

4. Title tags

Title tags are what loads at the top of each page. View these tags as a way to tell search engine bots what each page on your website is about. If you write a tag too vaguely, then you could negatively affect your page’s rankings.  In addition to boosting your SEO, title tags play an important role in click-through-rates. For example, title tags are often the first impression of your page. A well-written title tag will boost your chances of getting clicks. Some social media platforms, including Facebook and LinkedIn, will display your title tags when you share a link. Since these tags can show up in so many places, it’s important to make them engaging enough earn a click.

5. Meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are the brief explanation of what your page is about. Meta descriptions are more detailed than a title tag and help a user decide what your site offers when browsing through SERPs. As with title tags, your meta descriptions should capture the attention of users, and entice them to visit your site. Your meta descriptions should be specific for each page and never the same as another. Duplicate meta descriptions will create problems and devalue your content in Google. Another helpful tip for meta descriptions is that SERPs will put meta descriptions and title tags in bold if they match the search query. This bold text can be an attention-grabber. Do some keyword research to make your meta descriptions as close to what people would search for as a way to get the most clicks to your site.

6. Headers

Headers serve to help Google understand the main points in pages. In addition, headers help to structure content on your pages. For example, a basic header will use an H1 tag in HTML. Further, consider adding second-level headers such as H2 and H3 in your copy. Websites that make proper use of headers often rank much higher in search. If your pages have a lot of text, consider breaking it up into shorter paragraphs with the appropriate second-level headers. This style will make your pages easier to read and increase the likelihood of people reading the entire page.

7. Status code errors

Status code errors are important to SERPs because they help to determine the health of your website. Specifically, status code errors consist of 3 digit numbers ranging between 100 and 500. Each number identifies a different class of error noted below:

• 1xx – Informational
• 2xx – Success
• 3xx – Redirection
• 4xx – Client error
• 5xx – Server error

For SEO, the most important errors to fix immediately are those at the 4xx or 5xx level. 4xx errors are important to resolve because they can affect the user experience. 5xx errors are important to resolve because they involve the server. Error notices are frustrating for users and SERPs take this into account. You don’t want potential customers to click on your site and receive a message such as No Content, Not Found, Forbidden, Unauthorized, Proxy Authentication Required, or Request Timeout. To solve these errors, start thinking about changes you’ve made to previous pages or recently deleted pages. There are plenty of tools available to help crawl your site for status code errors.

8. Load speed

Load speed is determined by how long it takes for a site to load on any device. For example, a desktop user experience vs. mobile experience and how quickly your site loads for each. As you might have expected, a faster page fares much better in regards to SEO rankings and conversions. In fact, slower pages directly lead to higher bounce rates, and won’t rank as well in Google’s search rankings. There are several factors that could hurt page speed including HTML code issues, 3xx redirects, caching problems, server response time issues and large or unoptimized images. There are tools available to help analyze and optimize page speed. Optimizing images, reducing status code errors and resolving server issues will increase page speed.

9. Mobile optimization

In recent years, mobile has taken over as the primary device used to search the web. Therefore, SERPs require websites to be mobile friendly. Most websites have moved to a mobile responsive design and render properly on both desktop and mobile. Important factors for mobile-friendliness include page speed and user-experience. User-experience for mobile generally includes ease of search, navigation, images, and checkout. In addition, a  fast mobile experience can be ruined if you have desktop features such as pop-ups because of the multiple windows it forces users to navigate. There are several tools available to help with mobile optimization.

10. An optimized home page

Your homepage should include title tags, headers, and meta descriptions for the reasons noted above to help SERPs understand the nature of your site content. For some merchants, it may be beneficial to optimize the homepage for certain keyword phrases. For example, the keywords could include the types of products you sell and perhaps a top-selling item. For other merchants, it may not be best to optimize for a certain keyword. It depends on your business and industry. However, for either strategy, it’s important for SEO that title tags and meta descriptions to be complete. In addition, keep your homepage as clean and uncluttered as possible with your focused information.

The eCommerce SEO basics to get you up and running

SEO is a great way to optimize your site not only for SERPs but for your customers. A site that is seen as user-friendly will not only help your rankings in Google, Bing, and Yahoo but will also help in increasing conversions. Building a solid SEO strategy is key for eCommerce merchants in today’s digital-first world. However, there are many ways to go about creating a plan of attack for SEO. For Magento merchants, we highly recommend investing in an internal SEO expert or a partner with SEO and Magento experience. As discussed above, there are several technical aspects of building and optimizing your website for SEO. Make sure you have a partner who understands the complexity of Magento as well as SEO.    

For more details on SEO, Magento, or Digital Marketing for eCommerce, please contact us today.

What eCommerce Sites Are Doing Wrong

According to Practical eCommerce, about 80% of eCommerce startups fail. There are many reasons why eCommerce businesses fail including no real investment to a bad marketing strategy.  However, near the top of the list, are eCommerce websites that do nothing to enhance customer service or fail to deliver a quality customer experience.

CIO, in 11 Common eCommerce Mistakes and How to Fix Them, notes some of the more terrible (but nonetheless prevalent) problems with eCommerce websites.  Many, for example, lack navigation, while others select shopping carts that don’t meet their functionality needs.  Still others have search functions that don’t produce relevant results, or confusing and time-consuming check out processes.

Whatever the specific problems eCommerce sites face, however, they share one feature in common:  they don’t embrace a customer experience paradigm which puts users in the driver’s seat.  Instead, they define customer service in more traditional terms, as essentially reactive, a model which waits patiently (and misguidedly) for customers to experience a problem and (hopefully) contact them for help.  For eCommerce sites looking for more effective ways to enhance customer service, there is another way.

The Rise of Proactive eCommerce: 3 Ways Merchants Can Enhance Customer Service

Online shoppers, like other consumers, are increasingly savvy, and increasingly accustomed to finding solutions to problems on their own.  This is especially true among the rising tide of Millennial consumers who bring their noted DIY mentality to the shopping experience. Forward-thinking eCommerce marketers understand this trend, and enhance customer with a host of self-service capabilities, including the following 3:

1. DIY Customer Service

Millennials occupy an increasingly larger share of the market.  What they’re looking for is not the traditional customer service model. But rather empowerment, and that’s putting pressure on eCommerce sites to bring the DIY culture into customer service.  Jeff Platon, CMO for customer-service software provider, Interactive Intelligence, notes the importance of this trend:

“Today’s customers are busy and often mobile and need to be able to solve a problem quickly and preferably independently. Customers’ demand for better self-service experiences, as well as expanded channels for self-service (Web, SMS, mobile), is driving higher investments in this technology.”

Successful eCommerce businesses enhance customer service by using predictive self-service technology to let customers find their own answers easily.  Those technologies are most successful when fully integrated, obviating the need to go to a separate FAQ page or engage in online chat.

2. Email and Text Notifications

eCommerce giants like Amazon and Walmart have long empowered shoppers with push notifications delivered through email or text (SMS).  Customers receive such notifications when an order has shipped or backordered, as well as when backordered items become available.  Walmart also now tells customers through these channels when items have been delivered (delighting customers who learn through email that ordered items are sitting outside their door).  An increasing number of marketers and web designers are following suit and putting their own spin on these real-time notifications to enhance customer service.

3. Enhance Customer Service Via Social Media

Increasingly, eCommerce brands are using social media platforms to respond to customer service inquiries.  As evidence of this trend, the total number of social media messages which required a response from businesses jumped by 17% from 2014 to 2015.

In addition, social media platforms allow eCommerce businesses to enhance customer service by meeting customers’ needs in the presence of their friends and fellow customers.  Equally important as regards to the DIY culture, many companies, rather than waiting for customer service issues to manifest, now deploy both proactive and preemptive strategies that address potential issues before they arise.

eCommerce Customer Service is Constantly Changing

eCommerce customer service is changing as industry leaders find new ways to accommodate consumers’ increasing desire to control their own shopping experience and find their own solutions to problems.  The best eCommerce sites enhance customer service by providing users with the tools to quickly and easily resolve issues, explore options, and get the answers they need on their own.

To enhance customer service and stay on top of the trends which are driving eCommerce success, merchants need to partner with website designers that have experience implementing customer experience and customer service techniques.  To learn more about the ways our Magento eCommerce site design, development and maintenance services can help you optimize your online sales, contact us today.

Your Magento Website is Awesome. Your eMails Should be Too!

​A well developed multi-phase eMail marketing program can enhance the relationship of a merchant with their customers by encouraging loyalty and repeat business. Merchants need to develop eMail copy and templates consistent with their brand for triggered, transactional, and promotional eMails. In order to get the very most out of eMail marketing efforts, we recommend a combination of triggered eMails based on visitor actions as well as transactional eMails to support specific customer purchase activity

Triggered eMails

Triggered eMails are targeted towards up-sell and re-sell opportunities. For example, when a customer abandons a cart, merchants can set a triggered eMail to send after a certain amount of time to remind them to come back. Triggered eMails are planned, built and scheduled to target customers after they have interacted with your site. In fact, many consumers have become savvy enough to add items to the cart and just wait for the best promotional eMail to come along. Abandoned carts have evolved into a form of window shopping.

Create triggers based on actions that should be followed up with via automated eMail such as:

• Cart abandonment
• Price updates
• Favorites or wish list updates
• Birthday messages and offers
• Welcome Messages
• Replenish reminders
• Recently browsed reminders
• Post purchase up-sell and cross sells

It’s important to set up triggered eMails properly so customers are not bombarded with multiple communications in short time periods. Many eMail service providers (ESPs) have the ability to determine delivery frequency. Utilize the ESPs functionality to avoid issues like a customer getting several triggered eMails in one day, or worse, getting the wrong triggered eMail. Create rules, set up workflows, set limits, and add filters to ensure customers get the right eMail at the right time that is consistent with your brand.

The Initial Time Investment

One hurdle regarding the implementation of triggered eMails is that it takes time to set them up properly. Particularly if there isn’t a plan in place already or if this is a new approach for your company. The setup does require some investment to work through your unique customer cycle. The heavy lifting is in the planning and testing of which action points are necessary for your unique needs.  

However, the great benefit to marketing automation and triggered eMails is that once they are set up and running smoothly, there is little effort needed to maintain them. In addition, there are many tools within eMail marketing platforms that assist with this activity to make the process manageable. Select a quality ESP with workflows and true automation capabilities. With a quality ESP, triggered eMails are far less ongoing work to optimize once they are running.

Transactional eMails

Transactional eMails are a type of triggered eMail, but are generally only for customer service automation. The CAN-SPAM act describes the purpose of transactional eMails as:

1. Facilitates or confirms a commercial transaction that the recipient already has agreed to;
2. Gives warranty, recall, safety, or security information about a product or service;
3. Gives information about a change in terms or features or account balance information regarding a membership, subscription, account, loan or other ongoing commercial relationship;
4. Provides information about an employment relationship or employee benefits; or
5. Delivers goods or services as part of a transaction that the recipient already has agreed to.

Transactional eMails are required to be direct and generally only contain information needed by the customer. However, transactional eMails are a great way to emphasize your brand, build trust, and show customers that you’re an organized, professional business that cares about them.

Create transactional eMails based on actions that should be followed up with automatically such as:

• Welcome eMails
• Receipts – Completed a purchase
• Shipping confirmation
• Shipping Updates
• Invitation Rate/Review items

In a study from Experian Marketing services, transactional eMails prove to drive greater revenue per eMail. In addition, transaction rates are eight times higher than promotional bulk mailings for order confirmations and four times higher than promotional bulk mailings for shipping and return/exchange based messages.

The Experian report also noted that customers opened and clicked through transactional eMails at a much higher rate than they do with promotional eMails. In fact, it was noted that transactional eMails are opened and engaged with repeatedly. This type of engagement allows merchants an avenue to cross-sell products to highly engaged customers.

Transactional eMails Provide Significant Monetary Value

The Experian Marketing services study also found that transactional eMails provide higher revenue per eMail as well as strong transaction rates in comparison to bulk promotional eMails. In fact, the average revenue for a transactional eMail is two to five times greater that bulk promotional eMails.

Experian isn’t the only study noting the value of transactional eMails. In a study from the Data & Marketing Association, they found that over 75% of eMail revenue is generated by triggered campaigns, rather than traditional promo campaigns.

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If you want your eCommerce business to succeed, it’s not enough to have a great website.

• Email marketing as a source of visitors to ecommerce sites increased by 218%
• Visitors to ecommerce businesses from social media sites increased by 308%
• Organic searches for ecommerce sites increased by 145%

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