Coffee and Cola and Car Parts? Oh my!

While some e-commerce sites are built around their offerings of “random stuff”, they are marketed as such, and customers expect a miscellany of products from page to page. Jumping from novelty belt buckles to wind-up sparking nuns is expected and fun while browsing one of these sites. The same cannot be said for sites that focus on a more streamlined product line, and throw things in willy-nilly!

I won’t call anyone out – if this is your site, you already know what I’m talking about! Don’t let friends, family, or even yourself, take advantage of the fact that as an e-commerce store owner you have the liberty to offer just about anything on your site. This is your livelihood – not a garage sale, or newspaper listing for Grandma’s gently-used fur coat. Is it not worth the risk of customers not taking you seriously, or feeling unsure about your commitment to the products you focus on. It is also not worth the risk of search engines questioning your site’s relevance for the stars of your e-commerce show.

Search engines favor sites with a more focused product offering. The more you offer of a specific type of product, the higher you are likely to rank for that product. If my site sells baseball cleats, baby powder, eyeglass repair kits and scented candles, I am going to have a much more difficult time ranking for any of those products than sites that focus on just one. It is a search engine’s job to sift through endless pages to provide their ‘customers’ with the most accurate results. If your site lacks direction and leaves the search engine wondering exactly what it is you sell, there will always be an easier to read site waiting to take the ranking you could have had!

Many people are apprehensive enough about providing their credit card information to a stranger. Don’t scare them even further by placing whatever that thing is you found in the basement alongside your gourmet chocolates!