It's no surprise that content has taken over in recent years. According to Google's very own John Mueller...
When it comes to the quality of the content, we don’t mean like just the text of your articles. It’s really the quality of your overall website. And that includes everything from the layout to the design.
As we've discussed in previous blogs, your social media content is equally important to your overall search engine rankings. While the existence of your social media does not affect your overall rankings, sharing links to and from your website and social accounts increases your traffic, sending Google the signal that your website offers value to its audience.
For eCommerce brands in particular, high-quality content will be the number one factor your audience uses to determine if they want to purchase from you. Most online users never see their purchase in person before they hit "buy." Because of this, they rely on content in the form of videos, blogs, or even mockups.
If you're asking yourself, "what are mockups?" Don't worry - you're not alone! Many small business owners don't understand exactly what mockups are or how they can be an incredibly useful e-commerce website feature.
Mockups not only add life to a website, but they also make it convert better. People no longer want to browse a website – they want to experience it. Using the right mockups can boost your site’s conversions and get you to connect better with your target audience.
What Are Mockups Images?
Mockups images are simply artistic renderings or ideas of how a finished product will look. These can include product packaging, t-shirts, social media posts, business cards, and more.
Website mockups are one of the best eCommerce website features if you're looking to cut costs. After all, it will be much easier to hire a graphic designer to create a variety of mockup images for you to use on your website than it is to research, design, manufacture, test, shoot, and process everything yourself.
When users can visually see how your product will look, the design or texture of it, how light reflects, and so on- they are much more willing to convert.
How Mockups Help UX (User-Experience)
Your user's website experience is incredibly important for conversions and brand growth. To put it simply, UX is important because it aims to fulfill the user's needs. It seeks to provide positive experiences that keep users loyal to your brand. Furthermore, a memorable user experience allows you to control your customer’s buyer’s journey better.
One significant way mockups images can help with UX is by enabling you to catch potential design errors early. When you put together a product mockup, you get to see whether your design works or not, both practically and aesthetically. This also allows you to go back and edit your plans until you achieve perfect balance.
In addition, you're able to implement feedback from your team and customers quicker. When your community and brand advocates feel heard and included, they are more likely to have better experiences and become better, more loyal supporters.
Finally, mockups are one of our favorite eCommerce website features because they can help foster a sense of “guarantee” with your audience. Brand validation comes in many forms, but they serve a singular objective: to make the buyer feel comfortable and inspired to take the desired next step of the buyer’s journey.
eCommerce Mockup Samples
Here are a few additional samples of how you can create mockups for your businesses:
How to Use Mockups Images In Your Web Design
There are a dozen ways to utilize mockup images, here are four places you can start to help drive high-quality traffic to your website:
Home page
Products/services
Blog Images
Social Media Ads
The best way to determine where you should start placing your ads, though, is by putting yourself in your buyer's shoes. When we click through websites in the search results on Google, we are more likely to stay on a website with easily understandable information and supplementary images that connect to the info.
Additionally, high-quality mockup images allow the users to make an informed opinion about the value of your product. So it is almost common sense to place those images in the places where your audience goes when figuring out if they want to make a purchase.
Key Takeaways
Choosing images that resonate with your customers is key to increasing your conversion rate, and this means that you have to put your ego aside. Think about what your customers want to see and how they’d want to feel about shopping at your eCommerce site. Remember that they couldn’t care less about your needs – quite frankly, their goal is to meet their own!
Mockup images in your web design help your audience see how your brand can uniquely meet their needs. When they can better understand what you do, how you do it, and what they expect to be delivered, your chances of conversion drastically increase.
If you need help creating high-quality mockups for your website, our graphic designers can help! Click the link below to meet with one of our graphic design team members and let us show you exactly how an updated image can benefit your bottom line.