Shopify PIM - Unlock Revenue with Multi-Store Management.

4. Keep B2B Products Up-To-Date at All Times in Shopify with PIM

On the same note of image uploading, let’s discuss product data.

Are you selling a ton of products? Expanding products in your Shopify store is exactly with the platform was built for. The whole point is to reach to the ends of the earth, all on a single space that’s blossoming with opportunity. It’s all good…until you realize that editing your products might take a while. Particularly, if you’re doing each product separately, there’s much tedious work ahead.

Sometimes bulk-editing is completely and utterly necessary. Again, lots of products equal lots of data. What does that entail? An endless stream of SKUs, dimensions, relevant specs, pricing information, variants, materials - the list goes on.

A full-bodied store organizes its plethora of products by family, types, and other taxonomical categories. The organization is truly key here. However, when it comes to editing a multitude of related products, things get complicated.

Let’s explore the traditional system in place to edit products in bulk to understand where and how it can go wrong.

How Shopify Confronts Bulk-Editing

To update the product on Shopify, you can’t do it directly. Instead, Shopify offers a way to export your existing product data via a CSV file. Already, we’ve discussed CSV files with images. When it comes to product data, though, it can get a bit complicated.

The issues with Shopify bulk-editing

• Shopify limits the number of products you can export at any time to 50 products. This equates to a 1-page file.
• Do you have more than a page? Then the file must go straight to your email.
• When sorting through a CSV file on a spreadsheet, you might risk the product variants becoming disconnected from their URLs.
• Another risk: Importing the updated file onto your Shopify could possibly overwrite your previous data with the dreaded bad data.

Shopify does offer a few "productivity tools" for issues like this. For example, you can edit many product pages simultaneously with the "Bulk editing" tool. To clarify, this bulk editing tool is much like a spreadsheet on the Shopify site. On the spreadsheet exist all your product collections, inventory details, and other product page enrichment features.

Shopify’s spreadsheet tool can be helpful, as opposed to, say, going to each product’s editing interface for manual editing. But with any spreadsheet comes a few hidden problems. The more products you have, the more columns there are, which undercuts the initial ease of using a spreadsheet. It then becomes a long (horizontally and vertically) field of columns and rows.

Product categories are pretty complex. Think of all the possible labels needed for organizing products - product attributes, product families, attribute group types, and so on. It’s a whole other issue if your master spreadsheet or source of product data gets lost, damaged, or corrupted.

Hoping for backup? Think again.

Like most spreadsheets, Shopify’s spreadsheet tool lacks backup capability. So if there’s a mistake in the data (perhaps the system freezes, or a glitch occurs) any damage to the data is irreversible. If lost, there is no "Plan B" spreadsheet.

That is, unless you have a file stored on your computer. Creating your own backup file requires exporting products to a CSV file. While this is great to have as an option, it can get tricky. You would have to re-export every time you update your Shopify spreadsheet. Or, if you prefer to update from your computer file, re-import the CSV file every time.

So how can we improve the process of bulk-editing product data? Fortunately, Shopify works well with PIM to make things efficient for users.

PIM-Shopify integration solves inefficient bulk-editing

PIM exists to replace spreadsheets.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, PIM is the epitome of product centralization. As a repository for all product data, everything you need is on PIM. The software connects with and sends out data to sales channels, like Shopify. Using PIM eliminates the need for manual, labor-intensive file uploading.

Secondly, using a PIM for Shopify eliminates the build-up of files.

With the constant back-and-forth of importing and exporting CSV files, your computer is sure to get crammed. That goes for your e-mail inbox as well. On PIM, you just need the one software on which you can update data as needed.

Don’t like an update? Made a mistake?

With PIM’s audit history, every action is tracked. In other words, the software takes stock of every single update. It’s easy to return to a previous version of product data. Compared to the manual export-import system, this saves time and energy.

Additionally, a hidden caveat to this is A/B testing. Because of PIM easily and automatically updates to Shopify at your demand, you can play around with different tweaks. Try out variations of organizing product collections, image types, and content and see the effects. Tailor your content to get the most bang for your buck.

6. Set up Product Variants & Shopify Bundles on PIM

Shopify is an expansive, neat marketplace, known for its many user-friendly qualities. In particular, bundling products is one such feature on Shopify.

What exactly is bundling? Bundling is simply when customers are offered a way of grouping up multiple products, usually variants, at a lower price than if each item was bought separately.

Product variants are other versions of a product with unique identifiers like price and SKU, but the same product description. A variant is an attribute that can be discerned from other products, making it easier for the third-party company to process an order correctly.

Creative ideas for product bundles:

• Buy-one-get-one-free
• A "These products are frequently bought together" section
• Mix-and-match variants
• Grouping by a cohesive theme - think of a holiday-themed bundle or a gift set
• Bundles tailored to buyer personas

The Advantages of Product Variants

Including variants of products is a rewarding technique. Not only is it great for selling more, but it also enriches customer experience.

Drive Traffic

The biggest advantage of variants is revving traffic. The more variations of any product you have, the greater the likelihood that someone will stumble upon one of them. For example, if you sell a t-shirt in 5 different colors, there’s a 5x more chance of receiving prospective customers.

Customer Experience

Additionally, seeing more choices on a product page lends you two extra advantages. First, consumers do enjoy seeing that they have options. Too many options are too much (like, say, 15 variants of a single product). However, they like a good amount of variety. Showcasing different flavors of a food product, different colors, or materials of clothing is valuable in boosting customer experience.

Increase Sales

The second advantage? Well, product variants offer the perfect opportunity for upselling and cross-selling. Upselling opens the doors to product bundles. For example, offering other product variants in a package for the lower overall price. As for cross-selling, this opens up the chance to sell other products you offer, especially those that aren’t as successful.

Simple Pricing

Finally, pricing products become simpler with variants. For example, let’s say you sell 10 products in your store. Each product has 5 different variants. You need only ascribe a specific price 10 times, as opposed to 5, because each variant of a product will share the same price.

PIM Automatically Manages Variants

How does PIM do this seamlessly? In the software, attributes are the filing signifiers for products. In other words, using attributes like size and weight, products are neatly categorized into variants. The variants include their very own variant-specific swatches. These swatches are images that let the PIM know which products are connected - or variants.

All you have to do is filter and search for variants on PIM. With its organized search query system, you save time otherwise spent tracking down products. In order to populate product variants onto Shopify, you can do so from PIM. Gather only one category of items and edit and export in bulk. What PIM then does is populate the product variants onto your Shopify collection.

8. Grow on Global Scale with Automated Localization

Global expansion is the ultimate goal. Especially on Shopify, which makes selling internationally possible. In any other case, the feat would be incredibly challenging. For instance, it requires translating the store into different languages, adding other payment options, connecting with global manufacturing and shipping companies. The list could go on.

Fortunately, Shopify offers plenty of tools built for global scalability. Anything from multilingual support to multiple payment options, Shopify has your back.

But first, why is global expansion important if not necessary for maximizing success?

The Advantage of Global Selling

Ecommerce has something that normal stores don’t. It has the ability to reach just about anywhere n the world.

If your products and content have yet to be accessible to other locations, you’re missing out. As of now, ecommerce is a huge landscape in the vast world out there. Not only does it connect brands, big and small, all over, but it also empowers sellers to think outside the box. In this case, they can think outside their own town, city, and even country.

Expand your audience

By allowing your store to be accessible in other parts of the world, you are opening up your pool of potential customers. The more localizations you optimize for, you may find your target buyer personas in places you never expected.

Boost customer trust

Gaining the trust of your customers is enormously valuable. But how do you do that with people from different corners of the earth? By tailoring the product experience to the location - this means translating content to their language, accepting their currency, and offering shopping options.

Think about it this way. Two foreigners are visiting another country. Both are tourists, but one learned the language can speak with locals, while the other has no such knowledge. Who do you think the country’s people will be more drawn to?

It’s clear: Locals will feel more comfortable with the foreigner who can speak the same tongue. Not only does it open up communication, but also it shows the tourist’s value for the language and culture.

Expand your Brand

A business built for scale is a strong foundation. Scalability is the ultimate aim of an ecommerce enterprise. Opening your store’s doors internationally is a huge step to growing your Shopify business. Don’t limit yourself when it comes to location. Bring awareness to your brand outside of your main location.

Raise Competitive Value

Anyone can open up an ecommerce store. On Shopify or elsewhere. That’s the amazing thing about it.

On the other hand, oversaturation runs rampant in the market. We see this already - there is a high volume of variety for any singular product you can think of. In other words, there’s a lot of competition.

How can you one-up the unavoidable competition? By selling products globally, of course. There are 190+ countries out there in the world. Chances are, at least one of them is an untapped market for your products.

How Shopify Optimizes for International Stores

As the software that connects over a hundred countries, Shopify hones the art of international selling. Its API functionalities allow for built-in programming to simplify the process. For instance, Shopify is home to a language add-on feature. Its app store home to 18 different languages from French to Cantonese.

Multilingual Support

Supporting multiple languages is the key to localization. People won’t buy what they can’t understand. Even if google translate is there to automatically convert the language, you’d be hardpressed to find that the creative marketing copy has the same effect.

Localization of Units

Language isn’t the only aspect that needs converting.

Although the United States is firm in using the Imperial system, the Metric system is standard practice everywhere else in the world. Keep this in mind when setting up your product pages. Shopify’s multilingual features combined with PIM’s data integrity allows for a uniform localization of units. You need only edit the unit once for it to distribute across desired products.

Localization of Prices

According to a survey of multiple ecommerce shoppers worldwide, a whopping 92.2% said they would more likely buy from sites with localized pricing. Having only one pricing system can alienate up to a third of all viewers on your Shopify store. It can lead to bounce-offs and shopping cart abandonment.

USD-only web sites are leaving money on the table by ignoring global shopper preferences.

Gary McDonald, President of EX4

The PIM-Shopify Combo Packs a Punch

If your goal is to tap into international markets, consider using PIM alongside your Shopify store.

Sure, Shopify has its own multilingual capabilities. However, you can enhance such properties with a PIM. With the ability to collaborate with the translating team on PIM, you ensure that marketing copy, units, and pricing are accurately translated. Additionally, you can connect with international manufacturers to oversee product quality outside of your physical reach. All of these factors guarantee that your Shopify store’s product pages remain consistent.

10. Increase Shopify Revenue with an SEO Strategy

Among the many benefits of using a PIM is its built-in tools for a high-quality optimization strategy.

We know PIM is beneficial for organizing data, lightening up the load on back-end processes, and supporting multiple storefronts. Certainly, its main advantage is reducing costs and time sinks with automation. However, utilizing a PIM for Shopify has major implications for search engine optimization (SEO).

Establishing exceptional SEO is pivotal in your store’s long-term direction.

Let’s discuss in-depth how Shopify approaches SEO first. Then, we’ll get to the nitty-gritty of how a Shopify PIM can further augment your SEO strategy.

Shopify gives merchants the spotlight for maximizing SEO benefits.

If you want to leverage organic web traffic to your store’s advantage, Shopify provides a variety of solutions.

• Improve UX with Responsive Themes
• Integrated Technical SEO
• Focus on Keywords
• Build backlinks
• Compose exceptional content
• Shopify’s SEO plugins

Let’s go a little more in-depth with Shopify’s many features.

Technical SEO

The simplest way to explain technical SEO is that it is the foundation of overall optimization. As per the term "technical," it consists of the unseen, back-end coding aspects of a website. For example, things like sitemaps, robots.txt, page loading speed, mobile-friendliness, structured data, and so on all fall under technical SEO.

Only web crawlers can access and get information from such hidden elements. As such, optimizing your Shopify store’s technical SEO makes it more findable for crawling and indexing. In other words, search engines like Google can better scan and display your store on search results pages (SERPs).

On Shopify, you can easily improve and check everything is running smoothly. Like any other site, you can automatically generate a sitemap, ensure HTML effectiveness, and audit for page redirections, among other tasks.

Keywords

Like most website hosting platforms today, for selling or otherwise, Shopify anticipates merchant’s optimization needs. For example, Shopify advises merchants about the title and meta description, with the proper character length.

Product images include an option to input alt text. Evidently, image optimization, especially for a well-designed product page, is vital for drawing prospective customers. Even more so, alt text is essential for visibility by web crawlers.

One issue with Shopify’s alt-text input, however, is that you would have to edit that alt-text of similar images repeatedly. For example, if you use the same image multiple times across your webpage, you must manually enter the alt-text for each one.

Responsive Themes

Outstanding SEO isn’t just about keywords and ranking. In fact, User Experience (UX) is a huge factor in your Shopify store’s success. In fact, great UX design can magnify conversions by 400%.

A store website that is clean, easily navigable, and aesthetically pleasing leads to more conversions. In turn, Google sees that users enjoy spending time on your store with analytics like click-throughs and bounce rates and even frequenting the site. All of these factor into an elevated ranking.

Shopify helps optimize for UX design with its plethora of responsive themes. With availability in both free and premium themes of a variety of styles, you’re able to choose one that encapsulates your brand story. All are made for UX with stable navigation, clear links, and structured layout.

Essentially, the complex part of constructing your store is already established. Thus, you have more time on your hands to focus on high-converting content.

Boost your Store’s Rank with PIM for Shopify

Using PIM to manage your Shopify enterprise gives you a headstart in SEO. Essentially, PIM software offers a platform to input keywords from the very get-go. Even before your product launch on Shopify, you have all your keywords populated on your product pages. This goes for on-page and off-page SEO. On PIM, you can also optimize for an attractive meta descriptive. With built-in content grading, you can make sure you’re not missing out on any SEO opportunities.

Overall, a PIM helps you maximize your Shopify store’s ability to garner a lot of web traffic.