How to Target Online Shoppers to Your Online Store

How to Target Online Shoppers to Your Store

How Do You Attract Online Shoppers to Your Store?

» The online version of a window shopper is one who surfs by your home page for a look but doesn’t step in to actually look at everything your store has to offer. How do get them to step in to your store and how do you keep them coming back once they have entered and looked around a bit?

This past holiday season there was an estimated $10+ billion, with a "B" spent online, about %3 increase year over year according to ComScore Networks reporting.

So the key would be marketing; that was easy, now get out there and get marketing!

If it was that easy we would all be rich and kicking it in the Bahamas I would guess but it's not. Marketing an online store is also much different than marketing a brick and mortar store. Also properly marketing your online store or general web presence can be more important now days than traditional methods of local or national marketing. So let’s look at some ideas about how you can help attract and keep shoppers in your online store or small business website.

Let's look at some targeting ideas!

» Content is going to be a driving force to rate high in most search engines and keeping that content fresh will keep your visitors happy. If you're selling women’s clothing for example, make sure you have plenty of copy written about the trends in women’s clothes and styles. By using the names of your products and detailed descriptions you will attract shoppers looking specifically for that product. Use small blurbs or tease this content on your home page and then the visitor will click on the content to read more on a deeper page of your website.

On your home page have a spot for a “What’s New” or “In the News” section about your product, this is an area you can place upcoming information and signal to the visitor that there is always something new on your website to see. This will entice them to possibly come back at a later date. Become an expert on your product and write about the latest and greatest on your website, forums, and blogs or how ever you can get the word out.

» Variety is another thing online shoppers are really looking for variety in product lines. So, if you sell tops and blouses you should think about selling some skirts or pantsuits to go with those tops and blouses. This will add depth to your product line, give your shoppers more to choose from and at the same time add more rich content to your website. Maybe you can find a "niche product" that is hard to find and feature it in your store making your product line unique and sought after.

Adding product variety can also be done by partnering with other dealers for the product or using affiliate marketing tools like Amazon to offer specific products. Adding affiliate marketing tools to your online store can also increase your revenue stream with out increasing your inventory on hand, a wining combination.

» Organize all your products into well thought out categories on your website in the form of your main navigation. Online shoppers are very impatient and know what they are looking for. If you don't make your products easy to find in your online store shoppers will not shop with you. You don't have to list every color of shoe or handbag you sell in your main website navigation but be sure to make your categories clear and logical. Once the proper category is shown then list out the different styles of shoes and all the different colors choices you offer. Giving shoppers a search box on your website is always a good thing and will be the main method many shoppers use to find products on your website, so test it and make sure it works as expected in most cases.

» Make the most of every opportunity! The biggest opportunity for online stores is probably the Holiday shopping season, so get out your calendar and start planning for next year right now. Also take a look at an historical statistics you might have on your visitors from last Holiday season. Knowing who your online customer is and what they are looking for means that you can plan your marketing strategy around them. This could mean teasing these items more on your home page or using a targeted pay per click advertising campaign during that time.

Look at all the important dates and plan marketing strategies around those dates as much as possible. Maybe you can offer special pricing on your website, or offer an email coupon that people can use at checkout in your shopping cart. What ever it is, plan it out and don’t miss the opportunity to attract shoppers.

» Get to know your online customers that are making purchases by having them fill out some very general user information during their purchase. Offer them an email newsletter with some basic user questions, sex, age, location. Use this as a demographic of your shopper and use it to target their product needs. Then use an email marketing tool to keep in touch with them each month by emailing them a small promotional newsletter with product updates, coupons, contest entries and whatever else will entice them back into your online store to shop.

» Pleasing the online shopper today is a tall order. Experts also strongly suggest that online store owners pay special attention to the whole checkout process as well, this is an important shopper experience while in your store. Your online store should provide complete order status online, an easy to follow shopping cart experience, fulfillment consistency, multiple well organized categories, wide product selection and an intuitive website design. Testing your systems from time to time is always a good idea.

For more information check these out:
Shopping mall listing for your small shop?
Promoting and marketing any product online may ultimately lead you to some type of online shopping mall where you can get your web site listed for shoppers to find. Are these online malls worth it?

Search Engine Myths Unraveled
With the following we want to try and unravel some of those age-old search engine myths and help re-direct some of your efforts.

First Stop Shops Online Shopping Mall our very own online shopping mall, list your shop with us today.

Google Information For Webmasters
If you are responsible for a web site, the following information may help with some of your search engine and marketing efforts.

E-Commerce Times
Article stats from The E-Business and Technology Super Site.

Our Top Picks

Promoting Your Online Store Made Easy!

Constant Contact Email Newsletter Free Trial

Shop Recommended Web Design Books

We Recommend

Photoshop Guide Books that help with learning all the tools in Photoshop.

WP Web Design books to learn this powerfull design software.

Website Marketing to stay on top of the latest in website marketing tips.

For Web Design that helps you learn this website design software.

Our Tech Hangouts

A Programmer's Heaven Web Design Resources

Sitepoint Website Design Forums

The SEOmoz.org SEO Website Resources

WordPress Training Resources Index