I have been thinking a lot lately as to what it is that separates online stores that do OK, from online stores that do extremely well. In my 10 years of designing ecommerce websites I have noticed some very clear differences between the sites that seem to do well, and those that don’t. Most of this stuff isn’t rocket science, yet many businesses seem to be getting it wrong. This post is designed to be a little push in the right direction for businesses who feel they could be getting a little more out of their ecommerce website.

1. Your website needs to be updated DAILY

Weekly or monthly updates are not enough if you want your website to reach its full potential. Even if you don’t have new products to add on a daily basis, you need to find a way to keep things happening so that people have a reason to come back time and time again. What about a daily special offer? A blog? Editors picks? Clearance stock? Coming soon products? Pre-orders? Be creative – the more you update your website the more your customers will keep coming back. It’s also worth noting that a by-product of these daily updates will be increased search engine rank. Update daily, and the ecommerce gods will smile on you.

2. Send out regular newsletters

You want to be sending out a customer newsletter at least once a week. What if you don’t have anything new to advertise? Do a mail out on a special offer, coming soon products, or editor’s picks. Sending out a regular newsletter serves two purposes:

1. It gives you the chance to push special offers and new products, increasing your sales
2. It raises brand awareness so that customers don’t forget about your website

Also, invest in a good email marketing service and get a high quality, well branded email template designed.

3. Make life easy for your customers

I could talk for hours about user experience, usability and clarity – but the bottom line is this: make life easy for your customers! Understand why they are visiting your ecommerce website – to find and buy products – and make sure they don’t have to think too much in order to do this. The top ecommerce websites all have simple, consistent navigation and excellent customer account facilities (to make repeat ordering simple). You might think that flash animation with music is cool, but trust me; it will only annoy your visitors. Also, have a telephone number in clear view at all times so that if someone does get stuck, they can pick up the phone and speak to a real person.

4. Stay ahead of the competition

Your website should always be evolving, adopting new technologies and moving with the times. This could involve reworking your site slightly over time, or every now and again giving the whole thing a complete redesign. Factor in these costs as part of your overall business strategy – they should not be seen as an unnecessary, unwelcome cost, but as necessity to running your online business. And be proactive as opposed to being reactive. What I mean by that is don’t wait until you’re left behind to start thinking about keeping ahead. Always be on the lookout for fresh ideas and always strive to be the best in your marketplace.

5. Get someone in to manage your site full time

If you run your website as a “sideline” to your main business then the revenue it generates will always be a “sideline” to your main stream of revenue. Successful ecommerce sites have dedicated staff to run them, on a full time basis. A lot of smaller businesses expect their websites to be run by an existing member of staff, on top of their usual duties. Investing in a new member of staff to manage your web strategy on a full time basis may seem like a substantial cost but if they get it right, it won’t take long for you to see the return on investment.

6. Image is everything

It’s cliché, I know. But if you’re serious about reaping the rewards of the global ecommerce market (which is set to double in sales by 2012) then you need to look the part. A homemade site with a cheap logo probably isn’t going to cut it. If you’re currently running a homemade or low-cost ecommerce solution, now might be the time to invest in a professional solution. Remember, a professional web designer understands how your visitors interact with your website and can be a wealth of knowledge when it comes to growing your online business. Choose a web design company carefully, make sure they have the skills to deliver, have a proven track record, and give good honest, genuine advice.

7. PR, PR, and more PR…

Remember that full time member of staff you hired to manage your website? Well, part of their job needs to be PR. In a world that seems to be consumed by SEO, the real value of some good PR seems to be overlooked. Get your site featured on blogs, news sites, take out select ad space with news sites (often taking out advertising space will be more likely to get you featured editorially), and don’t forget about off-line promotion too. Try to build a good rapport with blogs or news sites in your marketplace as these people can be very powerful allies. Finally, get your staff member trained up on pay-per-click advertising – it can be a very effective tool when used correctly.

8. Web analytics are your friend

If you don’t have Google Analytics installed on your site, head over there and get it installed now. You should constantly be monitoring your stats, where your visitors are coming from, and tracking conversions on sales. If you examine these things in depth on a regular basis you will quickly get an idea of what works and what doesn’t. If most people are exiting your site on a particular page (say the cart page) then ask yourself why? If your average page views are down or your bounce rate is up, have a think about what could be behind this. Also be sure to note when you send out newsletters or update your site, as you will be able to tie this information into your analytics trends.

9. SEO is not the answer to everything

It’s amazing how many small businesses think that “tricking” a search engine into ranking them on page 1 is the only way to generate a lot of business. The truth is that if you are relying on SEO to bring in the bulk of your business you are in a very bad position indeed. What happens if Google decides to drop you for some reason? It is not as uncommon as you might think. Putting the fate of your business in the hands of the Google overlords isn’t a viable business strategy. Good quality SEO can be very effective, but don’t rely on it entirely. Also, the good news is that if you’re doing all of the other things discussed in this article, you’re probably well on your way to achieving a good search engine position naturally.

10. Make sure your customer service is second to none

All of the above points deal with having a good website and marketing strategy, but your customer service needs to back these things up. Make sure you get your orders posted out promptly, and that you deal with any complaints or issues quickly and cheerfully. We may live in a world of pay-per-click and SEO but word of mouth is still the most effective kind of advertising there is. As the saying goes, “a happy customer will tell their friends; an unhappy customer will tell anyone who will listen.” Wise words…