When setting up your Bigcommerce store, you might feel like a little bit of a shy, scared animal. You’re being introduced to a whole new world of business after all.
Running an online store requires you to be on top of things all of the time. This means you can’t afford to slack off on your store’s maintenance. Yes, optimizing your store is not an easy task, but if you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and get your store up and running, you’re going to love it!
Whether you’re just getting started, or you’re looking for a little polish, this article can help you get your Bigcommerce store up to snuff. But first, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you need to do website maintenance on your Bigcommerce store.
Benefits of Optimizing Your Bigcommerce Store
There are many benefits of optimizing your Bigcommerce store. First of all, optimizing improves your ranking on search engines like Google. Your rank determines how high up on Google’s search results pages (SERPs) your site appears when someone searches for something related to your business – which means more exposure for you!
Another benefit is increased conversion rates: optimization helps visitors find exactly what they’re looking for because it’s easier to navigate through different sections of the website.
Lastly, optimization helps create brand awareness with potential customers by getting them familiar with all the different aspects of your company (this team, the services or products it provides, mission statement, etc).
That said, here are effective strategies you should consider to optimize your Bigcommerce store and increase your visibility online.
1. Plan Your Store Before You Build
The first thing to do is to plan your Bigcommerce store before you build. Make sure that you know who your target customer is and what they want. Be specific about the products you’re going to offer, what marketing strategies will work best for your business, and how much it’s going to cost to get set up.
After planning, it’s time to choose a domain name and start building your store. You can get started by selecting a theme or uploading your own custom design. This will help you stand out from other Ecommerce stores and make it easy for customers to find you on the internet.
Once you have a logo, try and develop other marketing assets such as the slogan, and color scheme before proceeding to add products.
2. Leverage Advanced Features
Bigcommerce offers a lot of different features to help you grow your store and increase conversion rates. As you’re setting up your store, take some time to explore the various tools that the Bigcommerce platform has to offer.
These features can make all the difference in finding customers loyal to your business. What cutting-edge technology do you offer your customers that your business rivals don’t?
A good example of a feature that you can consider is email templates that you want people who purchase from you to receive in addition to their receipt. You can also choose what type of currency you’d like people to see when they check out on your site (USD by default).
Don’t forget to turn on SEO Optimization within Site Settings. This will enable Google Analytics so that you get detailed statistics on how people are interacting with your site and which pages on it are popular among visitors and those who convert into buyers.
The more traffic Google Analytics gets, the better understanding Google will have of what keywords people are searching for and what content they’re clicking on most often. And this information will help you create optimized content and pages for search engines like Google.
3. Display Product Using Featured Images and Videos
Featured images and videos are two tools you should use to display your products in the best light possible. These tools are especially helpful for retailers who offer their own products, as they allow them to showcase their differentiating features. One method is to include a video that demonstrates how your product is used.
Another way you can leverage imagery and video content is by using them as testimonials for your product. For example, if a sports fan bought merchandise from you and loved it, ask him or her to record a short clip talking about what he or she liked about their purchase.
4. Organize Your Categories and Products
Organizing your categories and products is a very critical function of running an online store. This allows customers to find items quicker and easier, which in turn leads to more purchases. It also helps you as the store owner because you will know where everything is located instead of having to search through multiple pages.
Products are also important to optimize because it makes it easy for people who have never been on your site before to find what they want quickly and efficiently. Make sure each product has a clear description, a photo, and pricing information, and is categorized correctly according to industry standards.
5. Include a Bottom Bar
One of the best strategies you can use when optimizing your Bigcommerce store is adding a bottom bar. The bottom bar should have things like most popular items, new products, best sellers, and recommended items.
If your customer scrolls down the page, then they might not see this information, but it will also be visible when they come to your website for the first time.
Regular Website Maintenance is Key
You’ve done your research. You’ve decided to take the leap and launch your very own eCommerce store. Now, it’s time to get down to business: setting it up and optimizing it so that you can reach as many potential customers as possible.
However, anyone who owns a Bigcommerce store will tell you that it’s no walk in the park and there’s more to the e-commerce game than just selling products. You need an attractive store layout, slick product descriptions, and user-friendly checkouts.
If you’re ready to take your e-commerce store from good to great, consider the tips and tricks listed in this column to optimize your Bigcommerce store for better business results.