Product Recommendations 101

July 12, 2022
Written by Ampry

Product recommendations are a vital part of any ecommerce store’s marketing strategy. You can boost customer satisfaction and average order value if you present the right products to the right audience at the right time. There are many ways to display personalized product recommendations and rank higher on search engine result pages. This article will discuss the best products you should focus on to improve sales and how you can leverage SEO to optimize your product page. Are you looking to leverage quiz-style popups to send first-time web visitors to your bestsellers? Then, schedule a personalized strategy call with an experienced conversion expert at Ampry.

What Products Should I Be Advertising?

Ecommerce businesses that deliver customized web experiences experience a 19% boost in sales. In addition, 56% of online buyers are more likely to revisit a website that provides relevant product recommendations. For example, Netflix believes its customized product recommendation engine is worth nearly a billion dollars. Product recommendations may include presenting every new customer with a list of your bestsellers. Also, they may comprise a complex algorithm that shows every web visitor a dynamically updated list of your products. Your product recommendation will largely depend on your industry and target audience, but here are the best products you should advertise no matter what you’re selling.

Cross-Sells

Cross-selling products on ecommerce is a marketing strategy that aims to sell related products to what a customer is purchasing. Cross-sells can be of any category but should be complementary to each other. For example, suppose a customer has bought a smartphone from your ecommerce store. Then, as a cross-selling tactic, you can recommend products such as phone cases, screen protectors, or earphones. Likewise, if a customer has bought a pair of sneakers, you can develop product recommendations, such as shoelaces, socks, polish, and other shoe care products.Cross-selling aims to make customers buy products they didn’t have in mind when they visited your ecommerce site. By advertising cross-sells, you’re solving customers’ problems of finding additional products, thus improving customer trust. (Click here to read our latest article to learn more about the best social media marketing books!)

Up-Sells

Upselling is a popular technique that aims to coax or convince customers to spend more than they intended by offering add-ons or upgrades that add value to their initial order. The upgrade or add-on is more profitable for your business and adds more value to a customer’s order. For instance, if you’re a hotel owner, you can upsell hotel room booking by offering additional features, such as unlimited Wi-Fi or ocean view. If you’re looking to up-sell to your ideal customers, here are two effective techniques you should follow:

  • Maintain a maximum price margin. One essential thing you need to know about upselling is that you should maintain a maximum price range you’re going to upsell to customers. For example, if a customer has bought a product worth $150, there’s no point in offering an upsell of $300 to that customer. Your price margin shouldn’t be more than 50% of a customer’s initial purchase.
  • Offer bundled services or products and make them enticing. One of the most successful upselling strategies you should follow is providing bundles to your customers instead of upselling another product or upgrades. The secret here lies in creating strategic bundles, or no one will purchase them. For example, if a customer buys a laptop, you can bundle the entire thing as one package instead of upselling them a laptop bag. And while customers are getting a great deal, you’ll also make a more significant sale, which is perfect for you and the customer.

Best Sellers

One of the best techniques for product recommendation doesn’t need advanced tracking—highlighting your best sellers. Instead, all you need to do is monitor your popular products and ensure you repeatedly showcase those products to your customers.According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of a business’s profits often come from 20% of the items sold. So point your ideal audience in a direction that’s proven to make you more money. J. Crew does this cleverly by including a “Best Seller” label on items while potential customers browse their site. These labels add social proof that otherwise would be missing, and social proof notifications help improve conversions. (Learn more in our article how to start selling on Shopify.)

Related Products

One of the best ways to cross-sell is by displaying related products on your product page. For example, if a potential customer is looking at toothpaste, you can offer them a toothbrush. This is an effective way to improve your average order value.Related products don’t have to be direct accessories, but they should align with the product a customer is currently viewing.For instance, ASOS encourages its customers to “Buy the look” when they advertise related products.

Upsell One-Time Items with Subscriptions

The most traditional upselling technique entails recommending web visitors to more expensive product alternatives. However, there are more effective ways to upsell.Turning one-time products into subscriptions on your product pages is one of the most effective upselling techniques.By upselling products using subscriptions, you can improve the lifetime value of your customers. Instead of one-time purchases, you can get frequent payments and ultimately gain loyal customers. However, how do you convince your web visitors to make such significant commitments?For a subscription strategy to succeed, you must be clear about the benefits customers will derive after choosing your subscriptions. For example, if you don’t give prospective customers a good reason to become long-term customers, they won’t be ready to spend more.

How Can I Best Build My Product Page?

Having a well-optimized product for your online store is crucial. It’s even more crucial post-pandemic when many consumers search online for items they need rather than visiting brick-and-mortar stores.With many software products competing to rank high on the search engine results, your ecommerce store must be on the first page of Google and other popular search engines.By leveraging the following product page SEO techniques, you can build an optimized product page:

  • Keyword research. Keyword research is the backbone for effective product page SEO. When performing keyword research, leverage product-focused topics that potential customers are looking for. Don’t focus too much on keyword volume. Instead, focus on relevancy and what will generate more conversions. If you have data from other platforms such as paid search, incorporate it into your topic and keyword research and use ad copy with CTR in your meta description.
  • Optimize meta descriptions and titles. Meta descriptions and title tags are essential in product page optimization. Ensure you include details, such as product name, brand name, model number, and other vital info.

You can leverage structured data in your meta descriptions to highlight product reviews with price and star ratings to persuade potential customers to buy what you’re selling.

  • Create unique meta and product descriptions. Avoid using the same product description for all your products because you’ll miss tremendous opportunities. Each product can rank for branded and non-branded keywords, so use unique descriptions to take advantage of that. Give potential customers enough details to persuade them to click on your products and generate more traffic and sales.
  • Add customer testimonials and customer reviews. Genuine testimonials and reviews from customers who have used your products or services speak volumes to prospective customers trying to determine whether to do business with you. Thus, it’s vital to allow customers to share their experiences with your offers and how your products have solved their problems. Product pages with customer reviews and testimonials convert 58% more potential customers than their review-free counterparts, so adding them to your product pages is a no-brainer. Customer reviews also enhance customer trust--especially if you get endorsements from credible sources. They can also help you deliver fresh and unique content Google, and other popular search engines love. Just mark them up with reviews, too.

Are you looking to convert more web visitors into leads by offering personalized, on-site experiences? Then, schedule a customized strategy call with Ampry.

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