Generating online sales

16 Mar Generating online sales

The UK’s e-commerce market is back to posting double-digit growth after several months of a less stellar performance from online retail outlets.

In fact, the ONS revealed that sales were up by 13.1 percent in April 2015 when compared to the same period last year, primarily as a result of smartphone and tablet use helping to bolster e-commerce activities nationwide.

There are, of course, differences between performance levels depending on the type of products that are being sold, with fashion and clothing doing better than groceries, for example. But even with small discrepancies and seasonal shifts, there are a few things that businesses of all sizes can do to generate increased online sales.

Improve your SEO

Gaining a good position for your site on search engine results pages is inescapably important, yet can seem like a daunting task given the regular updates to the algorithms that govern ranking.

The best way to capitalize on SEO at the moment is to focus on mobile optimization since this is now taken into account when pages are ranked following a mobile search. And almost half of the world’s biggest companies are still flagging when it comes to mobile-friendliness, which is why start-ups and emerging rivals can leapfrog them with just a few minor tweaks.

SEO is still essentially reliant on filling a site with the relevant, interesting, and original copy, so remember not to neglect this area even as you pursue a mobile-focused update.

Run a PPC campaign

SEO will only get you so far and is something that established sites can benefit from most, so paid search ads are worth harnessing if you want to increase the profile of your budding brand and generate those first clicks and conversions.

If you do not have experience of utilizing PPC and platforms like Google AdWords in the past, then it is a good idea to consult with a third party to make sure you get this right and avoid wasting money.

Contacting a London AdWords consultant company is a good starting point and will allow you to navigate this similarly fluid, evolving medium, which as with organic SEO is now increasingly influenced by mobile.

Embrace social media

Social media presents the perfect opportunity not only for businesses to promote products and services and provide links to the places where people can purchase them, but also to engage customers in a proactive manner and get involved with the conversations that are being had about what they offer.

Facebook and Twitter presences should be a well-understood basic requirement at this point, but if you are looking for increased engagement with an audience then multimedia platforms like Instagram and Vine are also worth adding to your arsenal.

People are easily captivated by images and videos, whereas text alone is less likely to grab and retain their attention. So if you want to boost traffic and send sales skyrocketing, you cannot ignore the potential of social media.