First steps in Online Sales Development. Where to begin?

E-commerce has rapidly developed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Successive lockdowns forced the owners of brick-and-mortar stores to enter the online world. Many of them wondered how to set up their own e-commerce business and how to build an online store. In this article, you will learn how to plan the entire process in simple steps so that online sales bring you to profit straight from the first months. Let’s do it!

"Why exactly do I want to sell on the Internet"? Online sales vs. in-store sales.

That’s the question we should ask ourselves at the very beginning of online sales research. It is worth gathering appropriate arguments and analyzing case studies of various online stores from the same industry. In the case of products such as shoes, clothes and electronics, it makes sense to start selling online. What is the reason?

• Acquiring new customers from online sales who do not want to buy in-store for various reasons;
• It is a great convenience to regular stationary customers if we allow them the opportunity to shop online;
• Better effects for promoting various products;
• E-commerce provides additional promotion channels, e.g. e-mail marketing, social media marketing, that will increase eCommerce sales

How to choose the right software for online sales?

Choosing the software to support your online store is a significant next step. Before deciding on a particular system, it’s worth asking yourself a few questions:

• What is the number of products that you want to sell online? It is technically crucial as not every database can support many items.
• Do you work with a developer who will be able to make modifications and support you in the case of technical problems? If not, then consider SAAS (Software as a Service) as a solution. Systems such as Shoper or Ebexo provide technical support for a fee. However, if you cooperate with the developer, then the best choice will be software that offers options of modifying files in FTP (Data Transfer Protocol)

Choosing Hosting

Choosing the right hosting – server and domain provider is another very important factor in setting up an online store. Suitable hosting and server will make the store and the database work properly. Additionally, a good server will be vital in achieving high positions if you start SEO soon after launching your store. Thanks to it, the loading speed will be satisfactory (PageSpeed), and this is one of the key Google ranking factors. A high position will also lead to better online sales.

How to increase eCommerce sales? Promotion and sales strategy for eCommerce

When you have created a store with a range of products and a designed category structure, it is worth starting the promotion of your brand online. It will help develop your business and will increase eCommerce sales. How to do it? Today’s technological development offers many possibilities. Here are a few of them:

• Creating a Facebook Fanpage: this is another way to reach potential customers. Plan promotion strategy on your FB page and post systematically. Constant updates and posting lifestyle content or informing about any technical errors – may also reduce the bounce rate (the rate of people who left the website immediately after entering). Facebook Ads are also worth recommending, thanks to which you can promote your products and increase eCommerce sales.
• Creating an Instagram account: Running an IG account is crucial for visual content. It’s also another social media channel for customer acquisition. You can easily create video stories, reels and run ads campaigns on Instagram.
• Google Ads: The most popular advertising service on Google for acquiring new customers.
• Positioning (SEO): website positioning, so its optimizing according to Google’s principles. It will allow you to achieve even better results and, what’s more important, long-term effects. SEO has an advantage over advertising campaigns because the implemented optimization is resistant to customer fluctuations, changing trends, etc.

The key to success is synergy: combining the possibilities of all of these tools and channels above. It is a chance for you to succeed in e-commerce and build an online store that brings profits.

The constant development of the store

Once the store is running, it’s good to keep an eye on it and be ready for constant modifications. In addition, it is worth updating products, conducting marketing campaigns, and taking care of the store according to Google standards.

To sum up, the decision to start a business online is certainly not the easiest one. However, following the tips above will facilitate this process, and thus you will achieve satisfactory results in online sales sooner than later!

Author: Adrian Agapow

Junior SEO Specialist