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by Chris Peer on Thu, Apr 24, 2014 @ 08:54
eCommerce websites enable visitors to view and buy products online. Today, starting an online store is cheap and for a couple of hundred dollars, you can have a modern, functional store thanks to eCommerce scripts like Magento.
Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform that has been implemented on many websites. The good thing with the script is that it can be customized, enabling you to have a unique store that comes in the design and with the features you need. Magento is built to make it easy to generate sales in your store. Below are some of Magento’s powerful features and extensions that can improve your eCommerce sales.
Simplified Checkout Process
Most eCommerce sites suffer from abandoned shopping carts because the checkout process is complicated or just too long. Magento’s one-step checkout extension comes in handy in such situations. The extension simplifies the checkout process by combining several stages into one. This helps to reduce the number of customers who abandon their shopping carts midway through. The more customers who complete the checkout process, the higher the sales.
Follow Up on Customers
Even if you have simplified the checkout process, there are some customers who still abandon the shopping process for various reasons. You should follow up on these customers. Magento tracks the shoppers’ checkout process and detects an abandoned shopping cart. Armed with this information, you have a chance to follow up on such shoppers either via email or phone to find out what problem they encountered. Following up can prompt the shopper to return and complete the order and even better, help you identify the problem they came across.
Search Engine Optimization
Long-tail links are complicated and difficult to remember. Shoppers would not be in a position to memorize long-tail links or discern if they are the correct ones for the products they want. This can hurt your sales considering most online shoppers will reach your shopfront via search results. Luckily, Magento has a solution to this.
Magento has an extension that converts long-tail links into short, search engine optimized ones. The extension can also be used to optimize page titles and the header. Having keyword-optimized titles and links will make your store easily found through search engines.
Multi-lingual and Geo-targeting
eCommerce stores that have multiple sites based on geographic location can benefit from multi-lingual and geographic features. If you have a global audience, it is advisable to have your store accessible in the dialect of the geographic region of your target markets. Magento can identify the geographic region of buyers based on their internet addresses and redirect them to the appropriate website. This means a visitor from a particular area can view your store in a language they understand.
Responsive Design
Internet shoppers will access your website from a variety of devices. Your store should therefore be correctly displayed, whether it is being viewed on a PC, a tablet, or a mobile device. Magento has a responsive design that can adapt to the device the store is being accessed from. All of your visitors will be catered to, regardless of the device they are using to access your site. This opens up your eCommerce site to a wider audience and can increase your sales.
The above list is just a scratch on the features and extensions that Magento offers. Most of these features are simple to implement once you have installed Magento.
Are you attending the Magento Imagine conference in a couple of weeks? We will be set up at the Briteskies booth talking about how eCommerce strategy and Inbound Marketing go hand-in-hand. If you're interested in setting up a time to talk with us, click here.