E-commerce

E-commerce has been a very popular term since the advent of the Internet. But what exactly is it and what are your options in this as an entrepreneur? Here is a comprehensive explanation of the concept of e-commerce.

What is E-commerce?

E-commerce refers to a company’s commercial activities via the Internet. The sale of services and products falls under this term: optimal conversion from visitor to paying customer is therefore very important in an E-commerce website. Establishing a good strategy helps achieve the best results.

E-commerce and social media

E-commerce is one of the most influential sales channels, and for good reason: it makes it possible to sell products and services that are normally more difficult to distribute. Consider online courses, software or e-books. Furthermore, e-commerce also makes it much easier to trade internationally without having direct representation abroad. E-commerce offers attractive opportunities for your business.

An important aspect of e-commerce is that it is not just about selling products. It also includes the promotion of products, and today this is done mainly through social media.

The impact of E commerce on SEO

E-commerce certainly has an impact on SEO, but vice versa, SEO also has a big impact on e-commerce. Making your e-commerce website easily findable is critical. The better your website is findable, the better the results you achieve. The better the website, the faster you will convert a visitor into a paying customer. A good interaction between e-commerce and SEO is indispensable for achieving success.

My advice

We recommend setting up an e-commerce website in the best way possible. There are some standard things that should not be missing, such as payment links and an existing shopping system. Creating a good strategy makes it easy to connect with your target audience. Search engine optimization is also very important for the findability of your website. So our advice is that you optimize SEO and use search engine advertising.


Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different types of E-Commerce websites?

There are different types of e-commerce websites, each with its own characteristics and goals. The following is an overview of the most common types of e-commerce websites:

  1. B2B (Business-to-Business): this type of e-commerce website focuses on transactions between businesses. The goal is to provide the business customer with products or services they need to run their own business.
  2. B2C (Business-to-Consumer): this type of e-commerce website focuses on transactions between businesses and individual consumers. The goal is to provide consumers with products or services they need.
  3. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer): this type of e-commerce website focuses on transactions between individual consumers. The goal is to enable consumers to sell products or services to other consumers.
  4. C2B (Consumer-to-Business): this type of e-commerce Web site focuses on transactions in which consumers offer products or services to businesses. The goal is to enable companies to fulfill their needs by using the products or services offered by consumers.
  5. G2B (Government-to-Business): this type of e-commerce website focuses on transactions between the government and businesses. The goal is to enable businesses to fulfill their needs by using the products or services offered by the government.
  6. G2C (Government-to-Consumer): this type of e-commerce website focuses on transactions between the government and individual consumers. The goal is to enable consumers to use the products or services offered by the government.
  7. G2G (Government-to-Government): this type of e-commerce website focuses on transactions between government agencies. The goal is to enable government agencies to exchange products and services among themselves.

There are also some e-commerce websites that combine several of these types.

Can an E-Commerce website be successful even without good SEO?

Yes, it is possible for an e-commerce website to be successful without good SEO, but it is probably harder to generate traffic and sales. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to optimizing a Web site to rank higher in the search results of search engines such as Google. A higher ranking can lead to more organic traffic to the website, reaching more potential customers.

However, there are other ways to generate traffic to an e-commerce website, such as paid advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, influencer marketing and content marketing. Although these methods do not rely on SEO, they can still be effective in generating traffic and revenue for an e-commerce website.

That said, lack of good SEO can limit the long-term growth and success of an e-commerce website. Therefore, it is always advisable to invest in a solid SEO strategy to drive organic traffic to the website and improve its online presence.

How do I increase conversion on my E-Commerce website?

Increasing the conversion rate on an e-commerce website is an important goal for any online business owner. Here are some tips that can help improve conversion on an e-commerce website:

  1. Provide clear and uncluttered navigation: ensure that website visitors can easily navigate through the website and find products or services quickly.
  2. Optimize product pages: provide clear and attractive product descriptions, images and prices so that visitors know what to expect.
  3. Use customer reviews: post customer reviews and ratings on the website to build trust and credibility with visitors.
  4. Provide a good user experience: make sure the website loads quickly and works well on different devices and browsers. A poor user experience can lead to lower conversions.
  5. Simplify the checkout process: make the checkout process as simple as possible so that customers do not drop out during the checkout process.
  6. Offer different payment options: offer different payment options so customers can choose what is most convenient for them.
  7. Offer free shipping and returns: free shipping and returns can increase conversion because it gives visitors more confidence and lowers the barrier to purchase.
  8. Use upselling and cross-selling: offer related products on the product pages or during the checkout process to encourage customers to buy more.
  9. Use email marketing: send targeted emails to customers and subscribers with special offers and discount codes to entice them to buy.

It is important to keep testing and optimizing to keep improving conversion on an e-commerce website. By trying different techniques and strategies, you can find out what works best for your website and your target audience.

With what ways can I get more traffic on my E-Commerce website?

There are several ways to get more traffic on an e-commerce website. Below are some strategies you can employ:

  1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization): make sure your website is optimized for search engines so that it ranks higher in search results and attracts more organic traffic. Optimize website content, meta tags and descriptions, website speed and mobile-friendliness, among other things.
  2. PPC (Pay-per-click): use paid advertising on search engines, such as Google Ads, to drive targeted traffic to the website. Paid ads can produce immediate results, but can also be expensive, so it is important to monitor costs and conversion rates.
  3. Social Media: use social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest to promote your products and drive traffic to the website. For example, use Facebook Ads or Instagram Ads to target advertising.
  4. Content Marketing: create valuable and relevant content, such as blog articles, infographics or videos, that attract potential customers and lead them to the website. Make sure the content is search engine friendly and contains the right keywords and links.
  5. Email marketing: build an email list and send targeted emails with special offers or discount codes to keep customers returning to the website. For example, use a pop-up that asks for an e-mail address in exchange for a discount.
  6. Affiliate Marketing: work with other websites or influencers and pay them a commission for promoting your products and referring traffic to your website.
  7. Events: organize events, such as trade shows, webinars or workshops, to promote your products and connect directly with potential customers.

It is important to see what strategies work best for your e-commerce website and target audience. Keep testing and optimizing to keep increasing traffic to the website.

Can an E-Commerce website run alongside a physical business?

An e-commerce website can run perfectly well alongside a physical business. In fact, many businesses today have both a physical and an online store to increase their audience and reach a wider customer base.

An e-commerce website offers benefits to physical businesses, including an online presence that makes it easier for customers to find and purchase products even if they are not near the store. An e-commerce website also increases the potential reach of the business and can lead to increased sales because customers can store at any time of the day or night. In addition, having an e-commerce website can be cost-effective because it requires less physical space and staff than a physical store.

It is important to remember that running an e-commerce website in addition to a physical business can mean extra work, such as putting products online, keeping track of inventory, providing good customer service and shipping. But if done right, an e-commerce website can contribute to the growth of the business and be an important part of the company’s marketing and sales strategy.

Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
Five stars
My clients give me a 5.0 on Google out of 77 reviews

I have been working for 10 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 22 March 2024. The last update of this article was on 22 March 2024. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.