Why Arent People Buying From Your Ecommerce Website?

Your stock is tempting, your prices right - your ecommerce website is good to go, but somehow the customers just aren't buying. So where are you going wrong?

Make sure people can find your ecommerce website.

What are you doing to bring customers to your ecommerce web site? It's not enough to just design a website and then sit back and wait for the money to come rolling in as eager customers flock to your store. In fact, unless you go out of your way to show them, your prospective customers may not even know your business exists at all.

First of all, make sure your ecommerce website is optimised for the web. You should be using good key words throughout the site, and in your meta tags (if you don't know what meta tags are, your designer should!) You should also be building as many links to your ecommerce web site as possible, as the more opportunities people have to click on a link to your site, the greater the likelihood of your website cropping up in the search engines - and attracting visitors.

You should also think about online advertising for your ecommerce website. Pay per click advertising, for example, allows you to set a daily budget and pay for your site to appear in search engine listings. It could be a good idea if you're serious about bringing in visitors.

What if you're getting the visitors to your ecommerce website, but not getting the sales?

If there are plenty of people coming to your ecommerce website, but none of them are buying anything, you know that the problem lies either with the site itself, or with your stock.

First of all, think about your stock. Is it well presented on the site, with clear pictures and good item descriptions? Is it fairly priced? Take a look at some of your main competitor's websites, and see how much they're charging. With so much choice on offer, no one will buy from you if they can get the same thing cheaper elsewhere ? and remember that the internet makes it easy to shop around. If your prices are the same, or even lower, than the competition, however, you may have to look elsewhere to find out what the problem could be.

Is your ecommerce website itself putting off buyers?

One of the main reasons people give for not shopping on the internet is fears about security. Your ecommerce web site should have a clearly stated privacy policy, and returns policy. People who are giving you their money before they receive their goods are making a leap of trust; they have to trust you to take only the amount you've said you're going to take from their credit card, and they have to trust you to actually send the goods they're buying from you. Because they can't actually see the goods in the flesh (as it were) before they buy them, they'll also often look for reassurance that if they aren't satisfied, they'll be able to get their money back. You should make sure that they can find reassurance on all of these points just by looking at your ecommerce web site.

Amber McNaught is co-owner of Hot Igloo Productions Ltd, a website design and online marketing firm offering high quality designs at affordable prices. Visit their website at http://www.hotigloo.co.uk

---

Short Story: The Benefits of Shopping Online

Maria's new lifestyle: Short story about the benefits shopping on the Net has given to a dedicated artist.I've got this strange friend; her name is Maria. Maria's always been a little weird but... Read More

What You Must Know About Selling Online to Europe

The European market is a multi-billion $ sector which you can not afford to ignore. If you are based within Europe, American or Canada you must be aware of the legal restrictions and... Read More

Intranet Project Names - Some Ideas

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet."In this famous quote from Act II of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet tells Romeo that a... Read More

The Check is in the E-mail

Have you ever had someone who owed your business money say, "the check is in the mail." Well now there is an answer to that old tired way of brushing you off and... Read More

Database: The Secret of Success

BENEFITS OF A DATABASEBy maintaining your list as a database, you can segment in many ways for targeting. Targeting improves the productivity of your offers. You can use a database to isolate the... Read More

How to Get Free Internet Merchant Accounts

This article will show small businesses how to get free internet merchant accounts. If your business is to grow and succeed, it is essential to accept online credit cards.Benefits of accepting online credit... Read More

Get Out of The Way

Get out of the way and make it easy for your visitors to find what they want.Recently I completed a report for a site that was the most 'peaceful' and among the most... Read More

How to Start a Business on the Internet

So you want to start a business? Good for you. Really, I mean that sincerely. I think about the millions of people that let the thought pass briefly through their minds on he... Read More

Working With Drop Shippers

Drop Shippers, the manufacturers or distributors who are willing to ship their products to your customers, bring a powerful benefit to ecommerce. Online businesses that engage in the wholesale-retail trade can cut down... Read More

Intranet - The Benefits Realisation Plan

The Millennium ExperienceA successful project is one that delivers on-spec ('quality'), time and cost. Right? Well consider these two projects?The Millennium Dome was delivered on time for the 31 December 1999 and safely... Read More

Is Your Website Credit Card Friendly?

In my last column I discussed the process of credit card enabling your brick-and-mortar business. I pointed out that research has shown that accepting credit cards can help increase revenue and enhance cash... Read More

Increasing E-Commerce Website Sales: A Guide for the Online Newbie

Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are now interested in becoming e-commerce merchants. To profit from your online business, you must first produce a unique website that will intrigue visitors... Read More

Choosing on Order Fulfillment Service

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you can no longer package and ship the orders yourself, it's time to begin outsourcing your order fulfillment. Although all order fulfillment centers offer... Read More

Using Credit Cards Securely Online

Nowadays, shopping online is a very common thing. Making your purchases without leaving your house is an attractive option for many of us. Purchasing items over the internet using your credit card can... Read More

The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned

I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days worth of sales from one of my sites and there were none. This had never happened before and of course I was anxious... Read More

3 Powerful Concepts That Climb Marketing Mountains

You have probably heard many times how you should offer free reports. Like many of us, the idea of putting in work to give something away may have gone through you transparent. (Right... Read More

What Does It Take to Make Money Online?

What a loaded question! Let's narrow that down a bit and take it from the perspective of someone who wants to work from home and make money online in a home business. That... Read More

Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And Its Company

1. Balance - You want to find a directory rich in many different categories of products rather than the quantity of products available. Many of the directories try to advertise how many products... Read More

How To Find the Best Merchant Account For Your Business

What a great idea! Start accepting credit cards and watch your profits soar. Nothing could be simpler. Or so you thought until you began researching merchant accounts. It can all get extremely confusing.... Read More

Is Your Business Afraid of the Internet?

My Business is Afraid of the InternetBill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, once said that there would soon be two types of businesses, those online, and those out of business. Those words still ring... Read More

A Beginners Guide To Setting Up A Successful Online Store

A beginner's guide to setting up a successful online store Online selling is by no means a simple task. To sell products online not only requires making use of high end marketing strategies... Read More

6 Steps to Attracting Black Customers Online

by Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva"In the rush to keep up with technology, many African-American business owners are so busy trying to add the latest bells and whistles to their Web sites, get... Read More

The Top 10 E-Commerce Ways to Follow up with Clients - Part 1

Did you know that 80% of all sales are made after the 5th contact? The biggest mistake we make is not following up with our clients regularly. We not only lose the chance... Read More

Shopping Cart Abandonment ? Discover 5 Things you can do to Lower Cart Abandonment

A common frustration among merchants who sell online via a shopping cart is the percentage of people who abandon their cart and leave the site never to return. This is known as the... Read More

Business Online ? Blind Hunt

Do you sell something online? Do you have a business in the Internet? Have you read the "How to generate more traffic and convert it to sales" articles? Have you played the "Be... Read More

How e-business and e-Marketing are Changing

Internet now days became a real marketplace and many many companies using Internet as a online Selling and Customer Care or Support Tool for their Products and Services.Companies using e-Marketing, Search Engines Optimizations,... Read More

Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you can no longer package and ship the orders yourself, it's time to begin outsourcing your order fulfillment. Although all order fulfillment centers offer... Read More

Online Shoppers Say They?ll Buy from Small and Large E-Businesses Alike

As the holiday shopping season begins in earnest, consumers say they're just as willing to buy from small online retailers as they are from large, national e-commerce providers.In addition to this key finding,... Read More

Credit Card Merchant Account Basics

Knowing which credit card merchant account to get can be very confusing. There are thousands and thousands of banks, merchant account providers and third party sales teams that can offer you all kinds... Read More