How Much Does a Website Increase Sales For Your Business?

A brick-and-mortar business of twenty years ago could have looked at the internet and felt it wasn’t all that relevant to them. The internet was younger and eCommerce had barely begun.

In the third decade of the century, though, every business should at least consider how an increased online presence could affect trade. For the vast majority, regardless of their industry, a dedicated website would increase brand awareness, expand their market and boost revenue.

But by how much? What can businesses do online that will achieve the results they’re after?

How to increase customer engagement by going online

The data about eCommerce indicates a steady rise in the percentage of sales completed through the internet^[1]. For the hospitality and restaurant industry, this means hotel bookings and food delivery orders are increasingly completed through apps and websites. For retail, this means online sales are becoming more and more necessary.

The raw figure for 2021 in the US shows that 19% of all commerce was completed online. This translates to a total figure of $871.03 billion, and a $90 billion increase from 2020. No business sneers at a sales boost of 19%, and the idea that 1/5th of all commerce is now completed online shows how dependent both traders and consumers are on the internet.

However, limiting our thinking to basic sales figures may not provide the full picture of how online presence boosts businesses. Going beyond Google or social media for an online presence does more than simply providing a further sales channel. 

A website demonstrates a greater degree of professionalism, ambition, and a modern mindset. It allows customers to engage with the business anytime of day through blogs and media and ensures basic information is accessible. Retail businesses can then sell 24/7, while restaurants can ensure menus are fully visible at all times.

An online business never closes, and businesses with websites grow between 15-50% more relative to similar enterprises that aren’t online^[2].

How to increase website traffic

Armed with knowledge like this, businesses with established websites are constantly looking to improve their digital marketing and grow their online store. They create content with blog posts, conduct keyword research, and carefully design their landing pages to keep viewers interested.

But why do blogs make a difference? They don’t make sales, and yet they can drive huge amounts of traffic to your website. With the right page, title and content, marketing can be done in a whole new way, ensuring organic searches for related products lead people to your website.

Producing regular, wide-ranging content for your website can be every bit as valuable as email marketing. When thinking about how to increase your website ranking on Google, having more content, with the right keywords can improve your response from Google analytics.

Naturally, it’s also important to ensure that you complete all the basic requirements for creating an online presence. Join Google Business, make sure you’re available on Google Maps and work on your Google Review score. Once all of this is completed, you can gain credibility by showing your score on your website, and your website will be visible when users look at you on Google Maps.

You’ll also need to test how the website runs on different kinds of devices. If your website runs smoothly on a desktop but not on a mobile device, then mobile users won’t bother spending much time struggling to navigate on a maladapted webpage. Test on mobiles, tablets, and desktops until you’re confident every page works on every kind of device to optimise your site.

Referring to your website on social networks will guarantee that anyone who searches for your business online will see your website. With all of this done, you’ll know how to increase customer engagement. Users will see pages of content, plenty of detail about the products and services you offer, and have more to look at; this all translates into more sales.

How to increase your website conversion rate

Converting as many website visits into sales (CRO, or conversion rate optimization) is a key part of your website management. As with many parts of modern business management, data collection can be your best friend. Websites can record when and where visitors leave the site and their activity while they are on various pages.

Analysing this data can help you structure your website to curb lost leads and short stays. Having a review section to get more direct feedback from visitors can be useful in itself, and guest post sections and forums can provide more engagement.

One of the simplest ways to boost conversion is to examine where in the checkout process potential customers are dropping out most frequently. Businesses can lose online sales not because of any issue with the product, but because the checkout process is long-winded or there is a problem during that process.

Having a webchat to allow customers to get in contact if they experience problems can help alleviate some of these losses. You may find that many visitors will prefer not to use the chat, so ironing out these issues is still valuable.

Pop-ups like live chat features or eye-catching sales content showing the best value deals of the moment can stick in the mind of visitors while giving an element of style to the website. However, these types of content require similar maintenance and some businesses do not update information online often enough. Information online can then become out of date and the business can lose face when telling customers pricing is no longer correct.

How to increase website traffic using social media

When looking to build more traffic to your site, social media is a very useful tool. Social media is free to use, and there are many platforms on which businesses can advertise and boost brand awareness.

Ensuring your business is on each platform, and produces regular, relevant content is an excellent starting point. With your website mentioned on your profiles, increasing social media traffic through regular posts will lead to traffic on the website as well.

Getting into the habit of posting on each platform is a simple task, but associating and engaging on social media with other, similar brands and influential profiles will boost brand awareness.

Straightforward calls to action asking viewers to share content or check out your website may feel bold to some, but can be an effective way of driving traffic.

Social media will also affect your website's SEO score, so researching good social media habits and conducting SEO research can be valuable to your business.

Website integrations for a simpler online life

Regardless of whether you’re looking to boost search volumes or increase your conversion rate for your website, managing your business and online presence is time-consuming and draining.

Finding a retail POS system that allows you to integrate your online business with your online store takes two big jobs and turns them into one.

Epos Now’s flexible POS system can integrate with a number of online sales platforms. From the in-house Epos Now Online, to WordPress, Woocommerce and Shopify, to online food delivery apps for the hospitality sector, there are plenty of fantastic options available.

With an online integration, you can:

• Maintain real-time stock control in one place tracking online and in-store sales
• Widen your market with over 55 languages supported on Epos Now Online
• Use an extensive suite of widgets, including pop-ups, scheduling functions, social media links and menus
• Get online fast with easy setup processes through reputable partners like Woocommerce

To find out more about the benefits of Epos Now, submit your details below and speak with our team of experts. Alternatively, take a look at our hardware and POS software options online.