E-commerce experienced unprecedented growth in 2016. Online Black Friday sales, typically devoted to brick-and-mortar stores, reached $3.34 billion, outpacing the expected projection of $3.05 billion. Cyber Monday sales figures are not in yet, but the estimate is around $3.36 billion. Utah Marketers is thankful to have been part of this unprecedented e-commerce boom and looks forward to continuing to make contributions to the growth of online businesses.
(Pixabay / Pexels)
If you own an online business, here are a few ideas to help your company thrive in the coming year.
- Pay attention to appearance – A brilliant design makes a website attractive to users. An amateur design could turn them off. A good-looking website can create the impression that your business is big and sophisticated—even if it is only a one-man affair operating out of your home office. A well-designed website communicates success and stability, enticing customers to continue browsing and placing orders.
- Focus on content – Website content is very important in answering users’ questions. Make sure your content clearly communicates what kind of company you have, what products or services you offer, and what makes you different from other online companies. The content must be clear, concise and engaging.
- Make it navigable – Planning your navigation patterns in advance is essential. This can get tricky if your website offers different product lines or different services geared to different types of customers. Make sure your customers can see at a glance from the home page exactly where they need to go and how they need to get there. If you have download buttons, make sure they are highly visible and that the links pull up quickly.
- Be easily searched – There’s no point in pouring a fortune into a first-rate website that no one can find. Make sure to support your business with search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that search engines can easily access your website. While SEO isn’t cheap, it’s often worth the money to secure strong rankings for your site.
E-commerce is expected to continue its unprecedented growth into the new year as more and more people, especially Millennials, opt to shop online. Spruce up your website now and get a piece of the action.