Why doesn't anybody come to my site?
If you're asking this question, you probably haven't made much effort at publicizing your site. Read the Merchant's To-do List for more information on bringing people in.
My statistics show me that people are visiting my store, but they only visit a page or two before leaving.
Your statistics can be valuable in letting you know when important changes need to be made to your store. If most of your visitors see only the front page and leave, it probably means one of three things: (1) Your front page is ugly, unprofessional looking, or does not adequately represent your products. (2) Your front page does represent your products, but the people who are visiting are not interested in them.
If ugliness is your problem, your store may be in need of a makeover. You may need to hire a professional to cure your woes. Read here about giving your site a makeover. If you believe that your problem is that your visitors do not care about your products, it could be that you need to re-examine your business plan. Is there a market for your products? Far too often people have this idealistic view of the internet and believe that what would not sell in the corner store will somehow sell on the internet. If you believe that's not the case, if your products are marketable, then it could be that your traffic is not qualified, that is, they come to your site expecting one thing, and see another when they get there. Be careful in promoting your site that you do not get so caught up in the hype that you make outrageous claims. You may want to resubmit your site to search engines with different descriptions. Take a close look at the Merchant's To-do List.
People come to my site, but why are they not buying?
Most likely, you're being impatient. Commerce on the internet is still new, so people are a little wary of buying on-line. They are especially wary of buying from a store that they have not seen before. Much of this fear is unfounded, so you must do your best to reassure them. The site must look professional and contain name, address, email address, and phone number so people know that they can contact you. Even if you are brand new, try your best to appear established, reliable, and stable.
Also, think of your site as a mail order catalog. A person's first visit to your site is like the day the catalog arrives in the mail. People generally do not snatch the catalog from the mailbox and immediately call and order. They stow the catalog away and keep it for future reference. In your case, they will explore and bookmark the site. The first order may come weeks or months later. Just make sure that you make a good first impression, or your store will be thrown in the trash like junk mail.
If your store is difficult to navigate, if it's unattractive, or, most importantly, if your products are undesirable or overpriced, people will come, but they won't buy. That's where knowing the market comes into play. If your competitor, who's just a few clicks away, sells the same products for less, then you will not make the sale. Pay attention.
