This is my presentation for MivaCon14: Which new features in the ecommerce marketplace actually work and will help your business grow.

1. ECOMMERCE BEST PRACTICES
STEVEN SOULE

2. 2014 Ecommerce Best Practices
Which new features in the ecommerce
marketplace actually work and will help
your business grow.

3. E-Commerce Best Practices
• Awareness
• Usability
• Clarity

4. Shopping Brick & Mortar vs. Online

5. Awareness
• Search Engine Optimization
• Email Marketing
• Social Media Engagement

6. Awareness: Search Engine Optimization
• Site-wide SEO
• On-page SEO
• Off-page SEO
SEO Checklist
SEO Fundamentals

7. Awareness: Email Marketing
• Weekly Newsletters
• Remarketing
Newsletter Best Practices
Beginner’s Guide to Email Marketing
Remarketing Strategies

8. Awareness: Social Media
• Socially Engage in your visitor’s communities,
don’t just advertise
• Offer discounts
• Purchase Advertisements
Social Media Tips for Ecommerce Sites

9. Recap: Awareness
• Search Engine Optimization
• Email Marketing
• Social Media Engagement

10. E-Commerce Best Practices
• Awareness
• Usability
• Clarity

11. Usability
• Website Performance
• Responsive
• Intuitive
Usability Checklist

12. Usability: Website Performance
• Every second counts
– Majority of online shoppers will abandon a page
after waiting 3 seconds for it to load.
• Mobile users expect speed to be that same as
a desktop computer
Page Speed Analysis Tools
How to lose weight in the browser
Does your site follow webmaster guidelines?

13. Usability: Responsive
Responsive Design Infographic
Ecommerce Responsive Design Statistics
Images: http://bradfrostweb.com/blog/web/responsive-web-design-missing-the-point/

14. Usability: Intuitive
• Help customers find what they need
– Easy & Effective Search Results
– Consistent & Clear navigation
– Category/Search Page filtering
– Highlight calls to action
Navigation Guidelines
Creating the best ecommerce experience
Conduct an Interface audit

15. Recap: Usability
• Website Performance
• Responsive
• Intuitive

16. E-Commerce Best Practices
• Awareness
• Usability
• Clarity

17. Clarity
• Showcase Products
• Be Transparent
• Understand Your Site

18. Clarity: Showcase Products
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Use Product Videos
Have high quality product images
Show product reviews
Have detailed product descriptions & feature
specifications

19. Clarity: Be Transparent
• Reveal as much information as you can
– Show stock levels
– Display Trust Badges
– Clearly display shipping & return policies
• Offer Free Domestic Shipping (If possible)
– Notify them of any warranties or guarantees
Driving Factors for Shopping Cart Abandonment

20. Clarity: Understand Your Site
• Consistently Check:
– Who is using your site
– How they are interacting with it
– What is being purchased
• Track Changes
– A/B Test significant changes
– Multivariate detailed changes

21. Recap: Clarity
• Showcase Products
• Be Transparent
• Understand Your Site

22. E-Commerce Best Practices
• Awareness
• Usability
• Clarity

23. Feature List

24. Global Elements
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Mega menu or drop down navigation
Search with auto complete
Breadcrumbs
Mini Basket
Contact Information
Live Chat
Policy Links

25. Home Page
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Don't use rotating banners
Show various high level categories
Show best selling products
Show new products
Show products that are on sale

26. Category & Search
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Add Facetted Filters options
Display Ratings
Quick-view product details
Product Comparisons
Various sorting options
Create a "New Products" category

27. Product Page
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Multiple Large Product Images
Show Product Videos
Have A Clear Add To Cart Call To Action
Cross-sell Frequently Purchased Items
Display Customer Product Reviews
Related Products
Show Products That Other Customers Also Bought
Display Recently Viewed Products
AJAX Add To Cart
Answer FAQs

28. Basket & Checkout
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Shipping Estimator
Wish lists
Coupons
Gift Certificates
Various Payment Methods (PayPal, Amazon, etc.)
Once order is purchased, suggest a follow up action:
– Share order in social network
– Offer discount code to come back again
– Show products related to their order

29. Sources & Additional Reading
http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-blog/ecommerce-product-page-best-practices/
http://conversionxl.com/11-low-hanging-fruits-for-increasing-website-speed-and-conversions/
http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/tag/e-commerce/
http://www.bigsplashmarketing.com/services/google-analytics
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/marketing-guides/
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/infographics/
http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/seo-checklist--webdesign-10740
http://www.invodo.com/resources/statistics/
http://bradfrostweb.com/blog/web/responsive-web-design-missing-the-point/
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/loading-time/?wide=1
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/
http://www.slideshare.net/Radware/radware-sotu-winter2014infographicwebperformance
https://github.com/zenorocha/browser-diet/wiki/Impact-of-performance
http://www.slideshare.net/somethingdigitl/creating-the-best-ecommerce-user-experience-uxsomething-digital
http://blog.sumall.com/journal/10-best-practices-improve-e-commerce-website.html

30. Thank you
Steven Soule
Web Developer
ssoule@mivamerchant.com
858-731-4134