I really wish we could say that successfully selling online only required you to have your own online store.

Years ago, that may have been all that you needed.

But today? Not so much.

The number of online sales from customers continues to climb at the same time as the online retail community adds more and more sellers.

Gone are the days of having an etsy shop and – BOOM – you’re making sales. Your shop and its listings need to be fully optimized, and even then, it’s not enough.

Selling from your own website isn’t a surefire plan either. You’ll still need an integrated marketing plan, product SEO, and most – if not all – of the tips below.

How Get More Sales from your Online Store by Optimizing your Listings

• Write descriptive product titles and product descriptions First things first! Your product title and description are 2 of the first 3 things an online shopper will see when visiting your online store. If a shopper is viewing a list of a dozen (or more) product thumbnails at once, the product title and main image are the 2 things that will drive the next click. From there, the product description comes into play. If it’s too brief, a shopper isn’t going to get the information they need to decide to purchase it, and will click away. Remember, online shoppers can’t see or touch an item before purchase. They can’t pick up and read the (physical) box to find the product details they are most interested in. Your product description is the online equivalent of that, so you must be sure to put a good deal of time and effort into fully, properly filling out your online product description area.
• Optimize for internal platform search Online shoppers frequently utilize pre-set product categories or tags to narrow down their product choices (Product type, brand, size, price range, etc.) as well as the site’s search bar. The best way to increase your chances that your product will match a searcher’s on-site query is to have a descriptive, keyword-rich product title and fully filled out product description as described above. But the work doesn’t stop there if you want your products to show up correctly for those shoppers using categories and tags to search. If I’m on your online store and want to view only your Christmas products, you need to make sure that all of the Christmas products you sell are marked as being part of that category. If I’m on etsy and am searching for jewelry made using a specific semi-precious stone, you need to make sure the jewelry pieces you sell that use that stone have been tagged as such.
• Include multiple product images, and from different angles The most obvious photo angle is of a product head on. But that most obvious photo doesn’t show off the details of the product, the sides of the product, or the depth of the product. That’s why you need to take and post multiple images of your product to help your potential customer know that your product is going to work for their needs.
• Don’t forget to show the scale of the product If you are selling rings, show them on a hand. If you are selling shoes, show them on feet. If you are selling a piece of furniture or home decor item, show it in a room. It’s wonderful that you take gorgeous photos of your products from every angle and showing their detail, but if an online shopper can’t tell how large (or small) your product is as it relates to how it will be used, you are going to have a hard time making the sale.
• Product measurements are critical, too If you are making sure to include photos of your product that display their scale, that’s awesome. You’ll still want to include measurements of your products’ heights, lengths, and widths because some shoppers will specifically want to know this, especially if they are directly comparing two or more of the same types of products.
• Show related products if you can This feature isn’t available for all online stores, but if you have it, be sure to make the most of it! It’s very likely that the first product a customer looks at after landing on your online store is not going to be the perfect solution for what they need. But if that same shopper is shown 3 or 4 similar products at the bottom of that original item listing, you’re greatly increasing your chances that one of those 3 or 4 products will be the perfect item for them, and then make the sale.

Some of these changes are big, and some of them are subtle. But incorporating all of them into your online store will ensure it’s set up for maximum selling potential.