The Best Type of Content and Images for E-Commerce Websites

Regardless of what products or services you sell on your e-commerce site, a powerful content marketing strategy is the best way to market your business and sell your products and services. Content marketing does not only refer to the text based content on your site, it also includes the product images you use as well as your video content. 

By understanding what type of images and content works best for your e-commerce site, you will be able to gain leads, drive sales and improve your bottom line. 

E-commerce businesses that make use of a well thought out content strategy and striking imagery will always convert higher than competitors who don't use this tactic, and SEO research has proven this. 

But what are the best practices when it comes to images and content on your e-commerce website? 

Let’s take a look: 

Avoid Content Clutter:

E-commerce websites that have a simpler design are known to have a higher conversion rate. Your homepage should have a clear focal point and your users eye should always be directed to the Call to Action on the page. 

You do not want to clutter your home page content with too much information and too much text, your viewer wants to find what they are looking for without having to consume too much unwanted information. Stick to strong imagery, easy to use navigation and a powerful call to action on your home page to ensure the best possible user experience. 

Keep your Navigation Menu Simple:

Your website's navigation menu keeps your content organised and groups what you are selling, and it is vital you do not over complicate your navigation menu. If you offer too many menu categories, you could quickly confuse the user, preventing them from continuing to find what they are looking for. 

Too much content in your navigation menu bar will divert your user away from your page and may even send them to a competitor - this is why it is vital to keep this content as clean and easy to navigate as possible. If you have a lot of products for sale, group them into categories and create an easy path for the user to navigate, leading them to find exactly what they are searching for as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Write Informative Blogs:

Running an informative and consistently updated blog on your e-commerce website is a great way to build a strong following, and it gives people a reason to visit your site daily or weekly. 

When creating your blog posts, make sure to provide helpful and relevant information that your target audience will appreciate, this will establish your business as an industry leader and ensure your place in the mind of your target audience. From how-to guides and e-books to trending topics and industry news, your blog can quickly become a one stop source of information for your consumer - and it doesn't hurt that this kind of content gets you noticed by the search engines and helps in your Search Engine Optimisation efforts. 

They may not purchase something every time they visit, but they develop a relationship with your brand through this kind of engagement and you will always be front of mind when it comes to purchasing your service or product. 

Write Informative Product Descriptions

It is impossible to  sell something online with just a name and this is why every single product offered on your website should have an informative description and answer any questions your potential client may have when considering making a purchase. The key is to avoid large blocks of text with each product, so it is important that you keep the description short and to the point. For example, provide information about the size of the product, what it is made of, what it does, and its key benefits. Use bullet points when putting the text together so that the user can quickly scan the content and make an informed decision. 

You do not need to give a full history on the product and its development but you do need to make sure that you answer all your potential clients' questions so they don’t click off your website and go somewhere else to get the answer.

Optimise your Product Images

An e-commerce website means that customers don’t get to have a tangible experience with your product - the way they can at a brick and mortar store and your product images are what they rely on to give them a sense of what they are purchasing. 

When taking photographs of your products or designing images of your products, make sure to do so from every angle and have the option of zooming in when a user clicks on your image. But there is more to optimising your e-commerce images than simply taking a good photo.

If you run an e-commerce store, image optimisation is something you need to master.

How to optimise your images for e-commerce:

• Name all your images: When it comes to optimising your images for search engines, it's important to use the relevant keywords to help your web page rank. Search engines do not only crawl the text on your website, they also crawl your image file names and it is important to take this into consideration when loading your images. 

• Optimise your Alt Attribute: An Alt attributes is the text alternative of the image you are using and this is important for web accessibility. 
   
• Choose image dimensions and angles: You may think that providing larger images will make for a better user experience but do not place the largest image on your website by simply shrinking the dimensions as this will increase your page load time which makes for a terrible user experience. Instead, use a smaller image and provide your user with the option to view the larger file. It’s common practice to show multiple angles of your product so that your user gets a greater perspective of your product. 
   
• Optimise your image thumbnail: Most e-commerce sites use thumbnail images especially in their category pages as thumbnails quickly showcase a product without taking up to much real estate. However, make sure to use a smaller file size for these as they may significantly affect your pages loading time which in turn, damages the user experience. 

Your e-commerce site needs to be as user friendly, informative and easy to navigate as possible and when you use the right content strategy and optimise your imagery effectively, you create a great user experience that quickly translates into sales.

In Conclusion:

Your e-commerce site needs to be as user friendly, informative and as easy to navigate as possible and when you use the right content strategy and optimise your imagery effectively, you create a great user experience that quickly translates into sales.

E-commerce website development is a science on its own and the most successful online shops are those with a well thought-out strategy to drive volumes of qualified traffic to the website.  

Every online shop is different, depending on the number of items available for purchase and each page will require a product description, and needs to offer a great user experience - with no bugs or glitches so that your customers return again and again. And we are here to help guide you through this process! 

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