Mumbai has become a thriving base for a rapidly expanding tribe of direct-to-consumer (D2C) founders, whose ventures span everything from fashion and beauty labels to brands in food, home and wellness. A great many of them kick things off in much the same fashion: a standout product, a solid Instagram following, and a freshly launched online store.
The brands that continue to grow, however, regard their online store as far more than a simple catalogue of products. They design and build it in a way that lets Google discover it easily, while also making shoppers feel at ease about making a purchase there. Below are the hands-on steps that D2C brands in Mumbai — and indeed anywhere across India — can put into practice to get both of these things right.
1. Know Your Target Market
Successful D2C brands will have a clear understanding of who their target audience is and how their audience searches and shops.
Ask yourself:
- Who is my ideal customer? What problem does my product solve?
- What keywords do they search for on Google?
- Do they mainly shop on mobile? What are they unsure of?
Answering these questions will help you understand your page layout, product descriptions, navigation and checkout. A store layout that is based on real customer behaviour will almost always outperform one based around your own preferences.
2. Optimize Your Store Structure
Optimizing your store structure will help your store rank in search. By organizing your products into logical categories, it will be easier for customers and search engines to find what they are looking for.
An optimized structure will generally have:
- Clear main categories that match how people search. For example Skincare, Hair Care and Gift Sets.
- Sub categories to show specific products. For example Face Wash for Oily Skin.
- Simple URLs.
- Internal links to help customers navigate to related products, categories and blogs.
- A simple menu that will help customers navigate to a product in 2-3 clicks.
- Working with a Shopify development company in Mumbai who Understand
Search will help here. By ensuring your templates, categories and URLs are set up correctly from the start, you won’t have to pay for any clean up work when your catalogue grows.
3. Optimize Product Pages
Product pages need to be optimized to help them rank but also help persuade the customer to purchase.
Optimized product pages will typically have:
- A descriptive name including the type of product and a key feature.
- Unique product descriptions explaining what the product is for, what it does, what ingredients/materials it contains, sizing and care instructions.
- Lots of high quality product images.
- Customer reviews and images.
- A short FAQ section.
- Clear pricing, delivery timeframes and returns.
Writing from the customer’s perspective will help. If your product page helps answer any questions a customer may have, it will generally perform better in search and at checkout.
4. Optimize Mobile Speed
Most D2C customers in India will search on their mobile devices. If your pages are slow, customers will leave without seeing your product.
The most common optimizations will be:
- Optimizing your product images. Compress and resize them.
- Remove any apps you are no longer using. They can add extra code and slow your pages.
- Use a light and well built theme.
- Avoid using too many heavy pop ups, videos and animations.
- Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test your key pages and optimize anything flagged.
If your theme or custom code is causing your pages to load slowly, a professional Shopify development service will be able to help.
5. Optimize Checkout
It doesn’t matter how much traffic you are getting if you aren’t converting. Many Indian customers will abandon their cart due to a slow, confusing and risky checkout.
Common optimizations include:
- Offer your customers their preferred payment methods. Add UPI, cards, wallets and cash on delivery if it makes sense for your business.
- Be clear about your delivery costs and timeframes.
- Keep your forms short and allow guest checkout.
- Include trust signals like secure payment badges, easy returns and a visible contact number.
- Ensure everything is easy to use on a small screen.
Try navigating through your store on your phone. From your landing page to payment, note any areas where you are hesitant.
6. Build Trust
As customers are purchasing from a brand they may have just found out about, trust is key. High converting brands will have clear trust signals.
- Add an About page to give your story, team and reasons for existing.
- Show real customer reviews, ratings and images.
- Be clear with your shipping, returns and privacy policies.
- Make it easy for customers to contact you via WhatsApp, email or phone.
- Include any press mentions, certifications or partnerships.
7. Create Content to Attract Customers
Not all customers will search for your product by name. Many will search for help such as ‘how to choose a moisturiser for dry skin’ or ‘what to gift for a housewarming’.
By creating helpful guides, comparisons and how to articles, you can attract these customers early. Ensure each article links back to the relevant category/page. Update old articles as your range grows. It’s better to have one helpful article each month.
8. Monitor Key Metrics
Set up Google Search Console and Google Analytics from the start. Each month, look at:
- Organic traffic and which pages are driving traffic.
- Keywords and average position.
- Conversion rate and add to cart rate.
- Cart abandonment and drop off points.
- Revenue from organic.
Use this to find out what you need to optimize first. Small improvements to your highest traffic pages will generally perform better than occasional large overhauls.
9. Use Experts
Many founders will do their own content and basic setup. This is a great way to start. However, if you are noticing your templates are slow, you have duplicate pages, messy URLs, poor rankings or are migrating your platform, using experts can save you time and money. Using dedicated Shopify SEO services will help you audit your store, fix any technical issues and create a strategy around your products and market. This will help you grow organically.
Final Thoughts
D2C brands that rank and convert will have a simple strategy. They will know who their customers are, have a clear store structure, helpful product pages, fast loading pages, easy checkout and build trust throughout. None of this needs a huge budget but will need to be consistent.
Choose one of these factors to improve this week and track the results.
FAQs
- Why is organic search important for D2C brands?
You will get free traffic as you aren’t paying per click. This will help reduce your reliance on paid ads. You will also get customers who are actively searching for what you sell.
- How long until a D2C store starts ranking?
Most stores will see some initial improvements after 2-3 months. After 6 months, you should see better improvements. This depends on your competition and how consistently you are optimizing.
- What is a good conversion rate for a D2C store?
This will depend on your category, price point and traffic source. Try to track your own conversion rate each month. Focus on improving your product pages, speed and checkout.
- Should a new D2C brand use ads or SEO?
Many brands use both. Ads can help you get quick traffic and data on what is selling. SEO will help you get a consistent stream of traffic at a lower cost. By starting SEO early, you will have it in place when you want to reduce your ads.
- Do I need a custom Shopify store?
A well built theme will often be enough. Once you need bespoke features, a unique brand experience or something your theme can’t provide, you can move to custom development. A Shopify development company in Mumbai can advise you based on your budget and growth goals.
- Does page speed really impact sales?
Yes. Customers will leave quickly if your pages are slow. Slow pages can also impact your search. By compressing your images, using a light theme and removing any unused apps, you should see some improvements.
- How do D2C brands build trust with new customers?
Show real customer reviews, clear policies, easy contact and a real story. Including clear returns and secure payment options near your checkout will also help reduce hesitation development services and Shopify SEO services.
