2019 is just around the corner. Now is the time to look towards the new year and what it brings for Shopify Plus stores. Your eCommerce store needs to be ever-evolving. Otherwise, you run the risk of being left behind your competitors.
eCommerce is one the fastest growing marketplaces. It prides itself on being a diverse platform, allowing businesses of all sizes reach audiences across the world. We at Blackbelt have looked into the future to discover the new eCommerce trends. Whatever industry or sector your Shopify store is in, these two hot trends will help take it to another level.
Advanced Product Search
Often, customers will search for products on your Shopify e-commerce store by typing in a common phrase. It could be very broad, “black dress.” Or it could be very refined, “little black dress size 8.” Depending on how your store is set up, they either find it quickly or not.
The first upcoming trend for 2019 is Advanced Product Search. This trend allows Shopify experts to create tailored searches for every consumer. It ensures that no customer leaves because they didn’t get the right result. Instead, they see what they want, when they want it.
Utilize this trend by:
- Filtering product results
- Creating a number of different product filters
- Allow customers to filter results themselves
- Tailor product results: available products first, out of stock products last
Filtered results are highly effective in increasing conversion rates. Plus, there’s no limit on the filters you can create. From primary filters to highly detailed, customers can choose the filters themselves to see the right results. You can install the Product Search & Filter app to implement this significant trend. A professional Shopify developer will be able to guide you through the process.
A number of high profile brands already utilize this trend, boosting their popularity up the ranks. It means your Shopify services need to get onto this trend sooner rather than later to keep up.
Advanced Product Search also ties in with the 2018 trend of personalization. It allows you to tailor results for individual customers based on their data. It’s another way to make every customer feel valued and not just a number on a screen.
Amazon SEO
Amazon is one of the biggest search engines in the world for products. It is the third largest retailer online, and this shows no signs of slowing down. Due to this, a new type of SEO has been created. If your Shopify Plus store relies solely on Google SEO techniques, you will miss out on valuable customers.
“…over 54 percent of all product searches on the internet now take place on Amazon” Deren Baker, CEO of JumpShot
If your Shopify Plus store is linked to an Amazon marketplace account, this is a trend you cannot ignore. Much like Google’s SEO, Amazon uses an algorithm to determine which products are shown to which users. Unlike Google, Amazon’s A9 algorithm has two distinct factors:
- Performance
- Relevance
A product must have a strong sales history to rank highly. It must also be highly relevant to the search term. The majority of customers on Amazon will not look further than page 3 of results, so you need to appear highly to get the sale.
Utilizing Amazon SEO on your Shopify Plus store involves:
- Researching relevant keywords
- Prioritizing keywords within your product listing, including the title, search terms, and description
- Optimizing product images
Keyword research for Amazon SEO is unsurprisingly similar to Google’s. There are a number of online tools you can use to aid you. Ultimately, basic research involves finding as many keywords as possible for your search term. Bear in mind, over 70% of Amazon searches are long-tail. It means keywords are a lot more detailed than Google’s SEO keywords. Rather than “red dress,” it would be “elegant occasion wear red dress.” This is an important distinction to implement within your content.
Optimizing your product descriptions is where it gets interesting. Take the keywords you’ve discovered and prioritize them. By doing so, you will uncover what your product title should be. Your title should include the most relevant, high ranking keyword. Keywords in titles have much more of an impact than keywords in the product description.
Don’t dismiss product descriptions too quickly, however. Place a couple of highly relevant keywords within the description to boost it more.
Luckily, you can hire a Shopify expert to help optimize your product listings for Amazon’s algorithm. By installing the Amazon Channel app, you can integrate both your Shopify Plus platform and Amazon listings. You can also manage products and sync your inventory.
We at Blackbelt believe the two trends above are set to become the must-have features of your Shopify e-commerce store. Our team of Shopify experts is on hand to help utilize and implement them onto your store. Your store doesn’t deserve to be left behind. Take note of the trends which are going to make a mark, and ensure you keep up to date.
***
Once again, thank you for keeping up to date with our Insider Blog @ Blackbelt Commerce. Be sure to check out our portfolio and our other great services.
Furthermore, we also have other terrific blog articles such as How Insight Reports Can Help You Gain More Sales For Your Shopify Plus and 6 Ways To Boost Your Shopify Store In 2019. — We are Blackbelt Commerce, a TOP Shopify & BigCommerce developer.
As well as great blog posts, we also offer support. If you have any questions please write them in the comments below.