You have been working on a unique and innovative project for months, you have created a quality product and you are convinced of its success. You already have a website to communicate on your brand and gain visibility.
You have a physical store but sales are not taking off or you don’t have the money to finance such a place and your project is stagnating.
The only solution to make you known and generate income : create an e-commerce site.
In this article we will reveal everything about this essential tool for your business.
Discover the 8 tips to create a revenue generating e-commerce site.
Why create an e-commerce site for your business?
What is an e-commerce site?
An e-commerce site (online store) is a website that allows tomake online sales. Like a physical store, you will be able to display your products and services to reach a targeted audience, trigger purchases and generate revenue.
According to the 2021 assessment of the Fevad (Federation of e-commerce and distance selling):
- Online sales increased by 15,1%
- The sector will thus total 129.1 billion euros in 2021, including 66.7 billion euros for product sales.
- The number of active merchant sites increased by 11% over one year.
Creating an e-commerce site is a necessity for all businesses, as online purchasing has become a reflex for customers.
The sanitary situation in which the whole world has been plunged and the successive confinements have accelerated this ascent which does not date from yesterday…
The history of e-commerce
Nowadays, buying a product or a service on the Internet has become simple and accessible for everyone, but this was not always the case.
The history of e-commerce goes back more than 60 years:
1960: creation of electronic data interchange (EDI) allowing the transfer of digital data for orders and invoices.
1969: Dr. John R. Goltz and Jeffrey Wilkins, two students at the University of Arizona, create CompuServe, one of the first Internet commerce services. Bought by AOL in 2007, CompuServe has contributed greatly to the evolution of online sales.
1979: English entrepreneur Michael Aldrichinvents e-commerce. It allows buyers and sellers to conduct transactions with secure data transmission.
1982: Alexander Randall and Cameron Hall, graduates in systems theory and economics, set up Boston Computer Exchange in the USA, the very first online sales company. This platform was mainly used to sell, buy and trade computer parts. It closed in 1990.
That same year, French developerscreated the minitel. A true precursor of the Internet, the service reached its peak in the late 1990s with 25 million users. However, the minitel will decline, unable to compete with the Internet which appeared in 1994.
1994 :On August 11, Phil Brandenberger, a Philadelphia resident, placed the first online order using a secure credit-card payment system. For $12.48, the first online purchase is an album by singer Sting.
E-commerce is beginning its meteoric rise, revolutionizing our lives as consumers and becoming an essential tool for global commerce.
1995: Amazon is created by the American entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, he will send his first package from his garage in Seattle, Amazon is currently the largest global online sales company with a turnover of 280, 5 billion dollars in 2019.
The same year, the Franco-American-Iranian Pierre Omydar, a computer scientist from Silicon Valley, created eBay, an online auction site. The company employs 13,000 people with 2020 revenues of $10.3 billion and 2019 revenues of $8.6 billion (source Wikipedia).
1998: Creation of thePayPal electronic paymentservice under the name Confinity. Founded in the United States by Max levchin and Peter Thiel, the company was renamed PayPal in 2001 after merging with X.com, Elon Musk’s online banking company.
Since the 2000s, thanks to the performance of broadband and the advent of social networking, online sales have continued to develop andimprove. The goal is to satisfy more and more customers and to generate more and more income.
In 2022, creating an e-commerce site to promote your products and services is no longer just a strategy, it’s the cornerstone of your company‘ s future.
What are the advantages of an e-commerce site?
- A strong visibility: creating your e-commerce site increases your visibility andadds a meeting place with your future customers. You can reach a clientele that does not usually come to your physical store for health reasons or for difficulties to move. If you don’t have the financial means to own a place, an online store gives you the opportunity to offer and sell your products and services on the Internet.
- Almost infinite catchment area: online sales will allow you to reach a clientele at the other end of theplanet, where the physical store quickly finds its limits with only local customers.
- Improving userexperience (UX): User experience is the quality of the user’s experience of digital or physical environments. The more satisfied they are with your products and services, the more likely they are to buy them. The simplicity, speed and fluidity of online sales will considerably boost the user experience, and a satisfied customer is a loyal customerwho will take up your advertising.
- Customerloyalty : through an optimized and well-designed online store you improve the user experience but you also have the possibility to maintain the link with him between his purchases and his visits. Thanks to a blog or a newsletter you can communicate in a more intimate way, by telling the backstage of your company, by informing them about your new products or about some promotions. This way your prospects (potential customers) and clients do not forget you, being more likely to buy your products or use your services first.
- Reduce fixed costs: by creating only an e-commerce site you will reduce your fixed costs considerably. Your initial investment is less, you don’t have to pay for a place, less electricity to spend, less employees to hire (if at all in the beginning) so more autonomy to manage your budget.
Read our article How much does an e-commerce website cost?
- Available 24 hours a day,7 days a week: Your products and services are available all the time, day and night! You don’t need anyone to make sales on your online store, they can be done quietly while you sleep. But be careful, you’ll have to be reactive to satisfy your customers and build loyalty!
- Increase your turnover by being more visible, by reaching a wider target on a virtually infinite catchment area, by improving the UX, by increasing customer loyalty, by reducing costs, by being available 24/7, necessarily your turnover can only increaseer ! it’s a virtuous circle.
- Analyze your audience: Having an e-commerce site allows you to analyze, get to know and understand your audience. Thanks to tools like google Analytics, you can analyze their behavior andbuyinghabits. It is up to you to adapt your content, your product, your services and your offers according to the data collected and the needs of the customer.
What is a good e-commerce site?
Creating a good e-commerce site is the art of balancing visitor optimization and search engine optimization.
User experience is the key to a good e-commerce site. The easier your site is to use, the more fluid its navigation, with targeted and relevant content, the more the Internet user will enjoy browsing it.
The Internet user is also sensitive to a simplified, secure and efficient payment system as well as to convenient delivery times.
An e-commerce site well optimized for visitors must also be visible and have a good reputation with a visual charter elegant and attractive.
When a user types a query on Google, he will only consider the first results that appear. The grail for a company is to be in these first results. To achieve this, you need to know how to use certain strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and inbound marketing (the art of attracting customers to you), without ever forgetting that it’s human beings who browse online stores.
The criteria of search engines :
- Page loading time
- The performance of your website (bounce rate, number of page views, time spent on your website)
- Your natural search engine optimization (SEO)
By finding the right balance between your needs of your customers and what the search engines expect you will gain visibility and increase your revenues.
If you want to achieve your goals in terms of sales and save time, call on professionals in the creation of website. At Altosor, our experts are on handto advise you and create an e-commerce site that reflects your image, while optimizing it for search engines and your customers’ needs.
For more information click here
PrestaShop: a French CMS for creating and managing your online store
8 tips to create a revenue-generating e-commerce site
Creation of a business plan
Very often the future entrepreneurs rush to create their e-commerce site without going through the business plan.
A business plan is a written document that allows you to formalize a business creation project. You will present your product and services, define your objectives, your organization, your target customer and your strategy. You will also need to develop a detailed, quantified financial forecast.
This business plan is necessary to be able to benefit from a bank loan or financing assistance.
You may be thinking that you are just starting an e-commerce site, that the costs are minimal and that you don’t need to prepare this document.
It’s a pity because you’ll be depriving yourself of a very valuable tool
Let’s remember that according to the Fevad in 2021 the French spent 129 billion euros in online sales. E-commerce is therefore a fast-growing sector but one where competition is fierce. With an 11% increase in the number of e-commerce sites, it is imperative that future entrepreneurs stand out.
The business plan will help you to :
- To propose an ambitious and unique project,
- Build a solid foundation,
- Anticipate the risks,
- Anticipate and map your path to success.
What are the steps in an effective business plan?
- The presentation of your project: how and why create your e-commerce site? Highlight your team, your complementarity and your strengths
- Market research: you must establish the relevance of your offer to the market and the needs of your target customer.
- The business model: explain how your e-commerce site will make money, your price ranges and your communication strategy.
- The legal status: the micro-enterprise is the most popular for e-commerce sites beginning, you can also opt for another legal status. Ask the real experts in the field.
- The financial plan: highlight the functioning and profitability of your project with precise and detailed figures. The goal is to be able to serenely palliate all the expenses related to the launching of your company.
Don’t neglect this step, even if you don’t apply for a loan or financial aid, a good business plan remains the foundation of the future and the good financial health of your online business.
Optimize your natural referencing (SEO)
The natural referencing gathers the various processes used to optimize a website and improve its positioning on search engines.
Creating anSEO-optimized e-commerce sitewill propel you to the top of search engine results, considerably boost your online visibility and contribute to increasing your sales.
Let’s say you sell eco-responsible children’s clothing in Bordeaux. With a good SEO, your brand will appear at the top of Google results when a user searches for the keywords: clothing, children, eco-responsible, Bordeaux. Your customer’s need is met and they will have the opportunity to purchase your products online.
Search engine optimization is a long-term digital strategy that requires time and skills, particularly in writing content for the web.
By calling on professionals, an average of 6 months is necessary to optimize your referencing.
The advantage is that a good positioning on search engines is relatively long-lasting.
According to a study conducted by the site similarweb.com in January 2022, Google’s market share is 91.06%!
Some numbers:
- More than 3.5 billion Google searches per day
- 76% of all global searches are done on Google
- Over 60% of Google searches are done from our cell phones
(Source translated : firstsiteguide website )
Apply in the first results google is a necessity.
3 pillars allow an effective and durable natural referencing:
- Popularity: thanks to inbound and outbound links (backlink and netlink) as well as your status as an expert in your field.
- Content: relevant keywords remain the most effective way to communicate with Google and to appear in its first results when the user searches. There are many very effective SEO tools that can help you choose the right keywords to optimize your content.
- Performance and optimizations: First of all, it’s about the page loading speed and the structure of your site. But also HTML markup as well as internal linking (internal links allowing to navigate from one page to another of the same website).
At Altosor we are convinced that an optimized SEO is the assurance of a successful e-commerce site. Our experts will work with you to develop an effective SEO strategy to boost your visibility, acquire new customers and increase your sales.
To learn more about our services click here
Optimize the user experience of your e-commerce site (UX)
The user experience (UX) has become a major issue in order to increase revenues with your online store.
What is user experience (UX)?
It is the quality of an individual’s experience when interacting with a product, a service or a website.
In the case of an e-commerce site, the UX will define the user’s experience in terms of ergonomics, aesthetics, emotions, and ease of use. Google measures this experience through its EAT Google criteria.
Internet users won’t return to a websiteif they‘ ve had a bad user experience. A customer who is not satisfied does not stay on your site and it is your turnover which is impacted.
4 keys to improve the UX of your e-commerce site :
Study the behavior of your typical user
The user must be at the center of your concerns. The aim of your online store is to meet the needs of your visitors and customers, to provide them with positive emotions and answers. You must absolutely know your target customer by heart and offer him a tailor-made content.
Optimize the loading speed of your site’s pages
The loading speed of a site is a pillar of UX, users want to be informed in a clear and especially fast way. If your page takes more than 3 seconds to load, users will leave your page and go buy elsewhere.
Optimize navigation for mobile format
Half of the world’s internet traffic is on mobile. Make sure your site works on both computer and mobile. Again, if the user is unable to load your site on his smartphone, he will leave your site.
Optimize the design of your e-commerce website
This is the first thing your visitor will see. The first impression being the most decisive, you must not neglect the aesthetic aspect of your online store . It is the element that will make your visitor stay or leave. You have to make them feel positive emotions at the beginning, inspire them with confidence and get them to navigate your site.
Create your e-commerce site with web design specialists to optimize your UX and turn your visitors into customers. An SEO audit will help you determine the actions you need to take to optimize your website.
Discover our graphics service c design .
Implement an inbound marketing strategy
Inbound marketing refers to a set of practices aimed at attracting customers to you rather than going out to find them.
This strategy will allow you to guarantee the visibility, the durability and the profitability of your online store.
Inbound marketing is the opposite of outbound marketing, which consists of going out and soliciting customers.
From now on, your future customer won’t want to be canvassed, and will see advertising as far too intrusive. He’llprefer to find out on his own and think things through before making a purchase.
The inbound marketing strategy consists in arousing the interest of your prospects thanks to interesting and relevant content to eventually transform them into customers.
Why install a blog on your e-commerce site?
A blog allows you to publish personal articles around a specific theme.
Inbound marketing wasfirst launched in 2006 by hubspot . By creating a blog with quality, SEO-optimized content, the company increased its revenue by more than 50% in one year.
The blog is the engine of your inbound marketing strategy.
According to a study by Demand Metric 70% of online shoppers prefer to learn about a product or service by reading a blog post rather than an advertisement.
The 4 main steps of inbound marketing :
Attractsr relevant visitorss
By working on your SEO you will define targeted keywords and attract to you visitors interested in your products and services.
Rely on SEO experts to produceregular, relevant and optimizedcontent for your e-commerce site. Be patient and you’ll get more and more visitors that you can turn into leads (potential customers).
Convert visitors into leads
After attracting visitors, you now need toget them to take action to become leads. Place cleverly in your blog posts, offers, promotions and calls to action. Create freebies ( free quality content) in exchange for information such as email address, first and last name, but also forms to fill out for more information on your products or for a quote. This database is invaluable for maintaining the link with your prospects in order to convert them into customers.
Turn prospects into customers
By keeping in touch with your prospects, through a newsletter forexample, you build a relationship of trust. By reading interesting blog posts, being informed of your offers and promotions, your prospects will convert into customers in the long run.
Discover our services of creation and distribution of professional e-mails via a newsletter
Create a community of ambassadors
We know that a satisfied customer is a customer who comes back, who talks about it around him and who will leave you positive reviews. Positive customer reviews to put forward on your online store.
Customer satisfaction depends on the quality of the product or service, but also on impeccable customer service and original and constantly renewed content.
And that’s where social networks come in: they are an important part of your inbound marketing strategy. They allow you to produce regular posts and especially to maintain an interactive link with your customers. Social networks help you to know your customers better in order to adapt your products and services to their expectations and needs.
Creating your e-commerce site based on the inbound marketing strategy is a guarantee of success and increase in your sales.
If you would like to benefit from expert advice on communications and digital marketing please click here
Effective communication via relevant social networks
Some numbers:
- 72% of connected consumers worldwide use social media at least once a day.
- 49.1 million French people visited messaging and social networks in October 2020, representing 73% of the population.
- Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are the most popular social networks in France (excluding messaging)
Source Guide #Datamind Trends 2021-2022: the essential figures to understand social networks
Social networks have become essential communication tools for online stores.
Creating an e-commerce site without integrating relevant and adapted social networks would be counterproductive and even detrimental to your sales.
Whatever your field of activity, you must implement a good social strategy that will allow you to :
- Attract visitors to turn them into customers (inbound marketing)
- To better understand the needs of your customers
- Maintain a relationship of trust with your customers
It is important to well choose the social networks that best suit your online store.
Leading socialnetworks:
- Facebook: The most important one, with 2.912 billion monthly active users, 40 million in France. It will allow you to develop your notoriety and your visibility, to develop customer loyalty, to interact with them and to promote your offers.
- Instagram: In the world totalled in 2020 1.393 billion active users monthly. (Source digimind blog). Instagram allows you to edit, post and share photos and videos. The leading network for influencers, Instagram is all about images and aesthetics.
- Tiktok: TikTok takes the prize for growth in 2020 with 5.5M unique daily visitors (+267%) source Médiamétrie / net ratings / offremedia . It is a social network in full expansion, widely used by a young public (13-22 years old) but which remains potential customers. Young people also have purchasing power, or can influence their parents’ purchases. A social network not to be overlooked if you’re positioning yourself on a product or service aimed at this age group.
LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and surely many other social networks can serve your business.
Aith the help of professionals, choose the networksocial network that best suits your needs.s productandà your services and boost your sales!
Discover our community management services with our social network experts.
Take care of your product pages
A product pageis the web page that appears when a visitor clicks on an item in your online store. It will detail your product by giving its characteristics as well as all the information necessary to the possible questions of your visitor.
Creating an e-commerce site with qualityproductpages is essential to boosting and increasing your sales. In a physical store, the visitor can touch and observe the object from every angle to get a concrete idea of the product. On your online store it is the missing step in the buying process.
The product page replaces this stepThe product page replaces this step, so it must be optimized and written with care.
It meets the needs of the visitor who wants to know exactly what he is buying, but also your needs as an e-merchant who wants to sell better and better to increase your turnover.
The product page is also a great way to improve the SEO of your website e-commerce site.
Your product page must :
- Communicate accurate and correct information
- Showcase your products
- Reassure the prospect about the purchase process (payment method, delivery, return conditions etc. ….)
- Increase your conversion rate
- Improve the visibility of your online store.
To achieve this your product page must have :
- An impeccable, attractive visual that allows you to see the product from different angles.
- A clearly identifiable title that states the identity of the product (name, brand) and certain characteristics
- A relevant, convincing, well-structured description with impeccable spelling
- The detailed price
- The call to action
- A good internal linkage with images and links to other products in your store.
- Additional information (depending on your product) your product sheet must be as complete and accurate as possible
Call on our r é daction experts to write high-quality, optimized product sheets that will win over your visitors!
Call on professionals in the creation of e-commerce site
The best tip to create a revenue-generating e-commerce site: call on web experts!
You can create an e-commerce site yourself, however to have a professional, attractive and efficient site it requires several targeted skills.
Our Altosordigital agency can help you implement all the above tips, saving you time, customers and money.
Why call upon professionals of the creation of e-commerce site ?
To have a professional website
It is imperative to have specific skills:
- Web site design
- SEO
- Digital marketing strategy
- User Experience
- Web copywriting
After a study of your project, experts will create an e-commerce site to your image, meeting the needs of your visitors and customers.
A agency digital agency can also take care of the redesign of your current website.
A professional e-commerce site will attract visitors and make them stay on your site to buy your products or services.
For manage the technical aspect of your e-commerce sitee
Managing an e-commerce site is not the most exciting part for an entrepreneur, it requires special technical skills.
A digital agency will know how to use tools like WordPress, WooCommerce, PrestaShop , Shopify and, above all, advise you on which CMS to choose. Do you prefer SaaS or Open Source? Do you have no idea what that means? Don’t worry, it’s normal, these are highly technical skills that a digital agency knows how to master.
Read our article How to make an e-commerce website on WordPress with the WooCommerce plug-in?
To benefit from the valuable advice of experts
The web and e-commerce sector is in a constant state of flux, and industry experts areconstantlyupdating their skills .
By using a digital agency to create your e-commerce site, you will benefit from constantly updated skills and new features.
Responsive experts will propose a digital marketing strategy tailored to your products and services, and include it in the design of your site.
At Altosor we believe that create a successful e-commerce site is the assurance of your company’s success.
Your products and services are highlighted and gain visibility, visitors flock and become loyal customers.
Our web design experts are at your disposal to design an e-commerce site that will boost your sales and increase your revenue.
You wish to discover our services click here
