E-commerce is a truly amazing idea. You can market your product to thousands of customers without the marketing budget of a multinational company, take orders, and deliver them all at the same platform.

With the COVID-19 pandemic locking people up in their homes, online shopping has become the new norm, making e-commerce almost a necessity for most modern businesses.

While the possibilities are endless, it’s easy for things to go wrong with e-commerce if you don’t keep a few basic points in mind. If you’re wondering why your online business hasn’t achieved the growth it should have had, here are some common mistakes you might be making.

1. You have insufficient information on your store.

While everyone includes basic information like product descriptions and pricing, it’s easy to neglect the pages you think are unimportant.

One page people tend to neglect is the “About Us” page. You might think buyers aren’t interested in reading about you but you’re wrong. Buyers are curious about the person or company they’re buying from, especially if you’re just starting out and not big yet.

A well-written about us page helps you connect with your customers by sharing your personal story with them, which builds trust and credibility. At the end of the day, less buyers are going to bounce off your store.

At other times, e-commerce stores fail to clearly outline sales terms and conditions, leaving users confused about their refund and exchange policy. This can turn away a good number of buyers (no one likes taking risks with their money!), so make sure to include this information in clear terms in your store. A good online business lawyer can help you in this regard.

2. Your store is not designed for phones.

Mobile phones are a major medium people use to shop online. You could have the most amazing store, but if it’s not optimized for mobile phones, you’ve lost a lot of customers in an instant.

Open your store on your mobile browser, and see if it runs as smoothly as it does on a desktop. If it’s displayed incorrectly, lags, or is not very responsive, it means you need to have a conversation with your software team!

3. You haven’t researched the market.

This mistake can be made with any business, but it’s particularly easy to make with online businesses because they’re so easy to set up.

You can have full confidence in your product, but your business won’t flourish if no one wants your product. So it’s extremely important to find out the demand your product has before launching a store.

Another common mistake people make is failing to niche down. You should clearly define your niche, and then aim to engage your target audience. If you don’t niche down, you won’t be targeting a specific audience. You’ll basically be shooting in the dark.

4. You’ve neglected SEO.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what makes your store visible on the internet. When you type “best pencil holders” in Google, you see a list of websites. Those websites aren’t ranked randomly but by how well they’re optimized for search engines.

Every piece of text that you put onto your store (from product descriptions to the About Us page) is an opportunity to make use of the right keywords and improve your SEO. Many e-commerce owners neglect the content they put on their website when it’s one of the most powerful tools to drive the right kind of customers to their store.

But SEO is not just about content. As competition between websites is increasing, SEO is getting more and more complex with constantly evolving on-page and off-page SEO best practices.

So it’s unlikely you’ll be able to tackle your store’s SEO by yourself. If you’re a startup, consider working with a budget-friendly SEO agency to take your store to the next level!

5. You’re not loud enough.

You can have the most amazing e-commerce store out there but it’s going to be useless if people don’t know about it.

You need to make use of all marketing platforms available to you to promote your website. Creating a brand identity and a story that people can relate with help in website promotion, so it’s a good idea to work on those aspects of your store as well.

Placing ads on social media platforms, collaborating with influencers and YouTubers, and making the right use of SEO content are some ways to promote your website. Many more ideas exist, and no one idea alone can turn things around for your store.

If you’d like to take all the ideas and turn them into an effective marketing strategy, your best bet is to work with a good digital marketer who can help you scream out as loud as possible!

6. You’re failing to close the deal.

The checkout process is the most important part of your store when it comes to closing the deal. If it’s too cumbersome, there’s a very good chance your customer will abandon the cart.

Your goal should be to make your checkout process as smooth as possible. You can do this by ensuring good page load speeds and a clean, intuitive user interface. At this point in the buying process, you should keep things minimal and avoid distracting the customer with offers, promotions, and advertisements.

It’s also helpful to keep the information required for making the purchase minimum — today’s internet users crave instant gratification and too much typing while shopping online annoys them.

Finally, try to offer as many payment options as you can. Nothing breaks the heart of an e-commerce customer like the unavailability of their preferred payment option, which sometimes is the only option they really have!