This is a Guest Post by David Rodwell. David is a passionate writer on topics regarding credit card processing and business. You can find more of his articles located at CreditCardProcessing.net.

Having an online store is one thing; having a successful online store is quite another. If your site isn't optimized, your conversion rates are going to drop through the floor. In many cases, your conversions have less to do with the product or even how you sell it than they do with other factors like security or aesthetics.

Ecommerce and small business sites need to connect with their customers on every level if they want to get ahead. That obviously means offering a product that meets needs and providing compelling reasons to buy. But it also means drawing readers in with visual cues, and instilling buyer confidence with advanced security measures.

In many ways, these two areas – security and aesthetics – are the most important concerns for your online store.

Here are some killer online store optimization techniques you need to put into play today:

• Get secure. There are important advanced security measures you need to have in place in order to create a secure transaction for your customers and prevent chargebacks. These include things like SSL, Address Verification Service (AVS), CCV verification, PCI-compliant shopping cart software, and security monitoring. If your site isn't secure, your customers are going to know it.

• Brag about your security. Potential customers need visible indications that you’re providing a secure transaction. Simply having SSL and putting “https” in their address bar is a good start. Consider composing a security and privacy statement, and offer a pop-up link to it from the checkout page. This will eliminate at least some of those abandoned shopping carts.

• Make navigation intuitive and identifiable. Now we’re moving into the area of aesthetics. Your customers shouldn't have to wonder how to get from your shopping cart back to the online catalog to add more items, and they shouldn't have to leave the shopping cart entirely just to find shipping charges.

• Use eye-catching visuals for promotions. That doesn't mean “gaudy.” It just means using clear, bold, large fonts, brilliant images, and well-designed buttons.

• Define your page’s regions and keep them consistent. Don’t let columns change from your main website to the shopping cart. This can be difficult if you’re not using a shopping cart that directly integrates with your CMS system. Ideally, you’ll run your cart as a component of your overall CMS so that those regions are consistent and clear, no matter what page the customer is on.

• Don’t confuse the customer. Don’t use underlining if something isn't clickable. Don’t put ambiguous commands (like “finish”) on your buttons. Choose clear text and clear language in order to achieve maximum results.

• Watch the visual noise. Great pictures enhance a site and enhance your sales. Too many great pictures becomes just visible noise. If you have a catalog that uses images, for example, minimize the images in your sidebars, banners, etc.

Your ecommerce success depends largely on your ability to make your site visitors comfortable and confident doing business with you. These techniques will help you optimize your site, increase customer confidence, and ultimately boost your sales.

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