In order to build an effective ecommerce business, organizations require a tech stack that seamlessly grows alongside your business in real-time. Investing in effective technology solutions will help you close the reporting loop that will offer you reliable information from which you can scale your business effectively.
This ecommerce tech stack will help you refine your budget, optimize your marketing funnels, and will help you get in front of high-converting prospects. All of the data collected helps you visualize your customers’ buying journey. Using historical data alongside real-time analytics, you can see where your business is finding success and where you are running into roadblocks.
In this post, we will cover what technology solutions will help you find and grow lifetime value customers and will help you optimize for ROI and ROAS. I think it’s worthy to note that if you engage with Stryde for digital marketing services, we pay for and deploy a lot of these tools on your behalf, so that’s a plus!
Let’s dive in and learn more…
Google Analytics
Cost: Free
Google’s free Analytics platform provides a variety of benefits and insights that can greatly benefit your business:
Long-Term Performance Tracking
Depending on when you implemented the tracking code on your website, you will be able to customize current campaigns based on historical data. You will be able to track metrics that had positive or negative changes over time, and you will be able to track seasonal revenue trends.
Audience Targeting
Google Analytics allows you to group end-users based on their activity on your website. You can group individuals who visited a product page and did not make a purchase, you can group users who abandoned items in their cart, and you can group users by demographic and geographic information.
Acquisition Data
Your business can benefit from the knowledge of understanding how visitors find your website. You will be able to distinguish whether they found you organically through search engine optimization, through paid ads, direct search, or through website referrals.
Campaign Performance Tracking
You will be able to track current and previous campaigns performance through traffic metrics, conversion metrics and behavioral metrics. Understanding revenue generation, traffic acquisition and demographics will help you construct future campaigns that increase your ROI.
You can learn more about Google Analytics and start tracking your website visitors by clicking here.
Google Search Console
Cost: Free
Search Console provides a holistic review of the health and performance of your website. You will be able to review:
Crawl Data: The Crawl Report will detail what pages are being crawled by Google Search Bots.
Indexing: The Indexing Report will identify any pages that return an indexing error, and will allow you to submit pages to be reindexed if it is new or updated content.
Organic Traffic Insight: Review how frequently your site shows up in search engine result pages, what search queries your site shows for and how often an end-user clicks through to your site on those search queries.
URL Inspection: URL reports will identify if there are any errors in the code, any usability errors, and whether there are any canonical errors.
Core Web Vitals: Report on how well your pages perform using real end-users.
Backlinks: Report detailing all of the sites that link back to your site.
You can learn more about Google Search Console and start improving your search engine optimization by clicking here.
Google Optimize
Cost: Free
Google Optimize lets you perform small A/B tests that allow you to see what type of content and design is most conducive to a positive end-user experience. You can test the following items:
- Color changes – Different colored buttons and texts.
- New Images
- CTA text variations
- Navigation adjustments
- Page redesigns
- Animations
- Reordering page content
You can learn more about Google Optimize and start improving your conversion rates by clicking here.
Google Tag Manager
Cost: Free
Google Tag Manager (GTM) allows you to add global site tags and configure tags on your website instantly all in one interface. This management tool allows you to gather significant insight including:
All of Your Tags in One Place
In one dashboard, you will be able to quickly deploy tracking codes throughout your website. Forget editing code individually on your web pages, GTM makes it easy to deploy and control all of your codes in one place.
Track Form Fills
Form fills are important to track. Whether the form is for an email subscription, a questionnaire, registering for an event or a contact us to learn more form, they provide your business with valuable information to follow up on. GTM makes it possible to track each form fill correctly using predetermined directions.
Track Scrolling
GTM allows you to add tags that will track how an end-user scrolls through your website. This knowledge will help you identify what parts of your site are compelling and what parts lead to inactivity. You will be able to organize your website to improve end-user experience.
Track Links
Understanding where your end users click on your website will allow you to organize your site to increase click traffic.
You can learn more about Google Tag Manager and get started by clicking here.
Shopify
Cost: Starts at $29 per month
If you’re just starting out, Shopify should be the very first tool on your list as you’ll need a website before starting to sell your product. Shopify makes it incredibly easy to get a web store up and selling products in no time. Their free and premium theme library makes it affordable for any business of any size to have a beautiful e-commerce website and their vast library of free and paid apps makes it a breeze to customize your store, market, and grow.
You can learn more about Shopify and start selling online by clicking here.
Ampry
Cost: Starts at $299 per month
Ampry allows you to create an onsite experience that is highly customized to show the right message, to the right customer, at the right time. You will be able to personalize your end-users experience so they are more likely to convert. They do this through email collection pop-ups and something that no one else offers… abandoned cart/checkout pop-ups. They split test messaging, offers, imagery, etc. to drive the highest conversion rates possible.
You can learn more about Ampry and start recovering lost sales by clicking here.
Corso
Cost: Free
There is nothing more frustrating in the world of e-commerce than trying to resolve an issue with a lost, damaged, or stolen shipment. At the end of the day the carrier doesn’t want to take responsibility for the shipping issue created and the merchant is out significant money having to either refund or send the customer a new product or have the customer work directly with the carrier for a resolution.
Corso is a premium shipping protection solution that makes it easy for customers to file a claim and get a quick resolution when something goes wrong with their order. It’s a free service to the merchant and can actually be a revenue source for brands. Help reduce customer service tickets, increase retention rates and improve customer satisfaction with this free solution of Corso Shipping Protection.
You can learn more about Corso and start protecting your orders by clicking here.
Triple Whale Pixel
Cost: Starts at $300 per month
This tracking tool allows you to save time and simplify how you integrate your ecommerce and marketing data from all of your tools. This platform allows you to track all of your data with a server-side pixel, and use AI to reduce reporting errors across all of your tools. The server-side pixel allows you to show the actual return on ad spend (ROAS) get better targeting for your paid media campaigns, which in turn, helps improve your ROI on dollars invested.
You can learn more about Triple Whale and start improving your data and attribution by clicking here. Use the code stryde at checkout for 15% off your monthly subscription.
KnoCommerce
Cost: A free version is available, Analyst Plans start at $99 per month, and Pro Plans start at $249 per month.
* We’ve actually negotiated a special offer for Stryde clients and prospects that give you a forever-free plan that include access to more features. If you are interested, please contact us and we can make an introduction to them.
KnoCommerce is a tool that helps you gather information through surveys. It’s easily deployable so you can have it up and running very quickly. The surveys are easily customizable and can be used to gather large amounts of data. KnoCommerce then helps you break down attributions and better understand your customer journey. The data can be integrated into tools such as KnoCommerce’s API system, Triple Whale, Klaviyo, and others.
You can learn more about KnoCommerce and its survey tools by clicking here.
SEMRush
Cost: Starts at $119 (this is included in Stryde SEO retainer)
SEMRush provides businesses an in-depth look at how visible their site is on the web and what keywords are driving traffic to their site. You will be able to directly assess what keywords your competitors are ranking for and you can track keyword growth over time. This information will directly influence your content strategy, paid search campaign keywords, and your site architecture.
You can learn more about SEMRush and start tracking your keyword growth by clicking here.
Deep Crawl
Cost: Starts at $99 (this is included in Stryde SEO retainer)
Deep Crawl allows you to run multiple crawls at the same time. This tool allows you to save time, pre-scheduled crawls set at your desired frequency, and over time you will build an archive of crawls that you can refer back to for more insights.
You can learn more about Deep Crawl and start uncovering technical SEO issues by clicking here.
Ahrefs
Cost: Starts at $99 (this is included in Stryde SEO retainer)
Ahrefs offers tools that help with link building, keyword research, rank tracking, and competitor analysis.
Keyword Research: You are able to search several different search engines to identify keywords that generate more traffic to your website.
Backlink Analysis
Backlinks improve a website’s visibility and domain authority. Ahrefs allows you to identify who is linking back to your site, whether those links are spam or genuine, and what your competitor’s backlink profile looks like.
Site Audit
Ahrefs tools will crawl your website and identify whether there are any errors with links and keywords.
You can learn more about Ahrefs and start a backlink analysis by clicking here.
Billo
Cost: Starts at $59 (this is included in Stryde creative retainer)
Ecommerce stores can generate high-quality video content with ease using Billo. This tool allows organizations to create tasks and have video creators bid on your project. Once you select the content creator of your choice, you will be able to ship your product to their door and get high-quality footage showcasing your solutions in return.
This simple tool allows you to create video content that will help increase your return on investment.
You can learn more about Billo and start producing your first video by clicking here.
Canva
Cost: Free version available. Pro version starts at $10 (this is included in Stryde creative retainer)
Canva is a photo-editing platform that offers thousands of templates for social media platforms that are pre-formatted to the appropriate dimensions. This simple tool allows you to create compelling Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts with the help of animations, photos, fonts and unique graphics that can help you generate interaction with your audience.
Brands can create a custom profile that contains pre-designed and pre-sized templates that only require the addition of your logo. This will help create a cohesive and consistent brand image across all of your social profiles.
You can learn more about Canva and start creating your graphics by clicking here.
Klaviyo
Cost: Free up to 250 subscribers. Starts at $20 after that
Email marketing allows a business to develop brand awareness, credibility, and trust. Through carefully curated messages, you can generate leads and increase website traffic. Klaviyo is an excellent email marketing tool that can help you build email funnels that are personalized and implement email subscription pop-ups on your website.
Benefits:
Complete Control: You own your email list, so all sales generated through this channel will come back to you. You also have complete creative control of messages and design.
Low-Cost Marketing: In comparison to social media advertising, email marketing has a low upfront cost and usually offers a stronger ROI.
Make It Personal: Targeted messages lead to improved engagement and a better experience for your end-user. You can segment and personalize a variety of ways:
- Demographic
- Product Category
- Signup Method
- Lifetime Customer Value
- Cart Abandonment
You can learn more about Klaviyo and start generating revenue through email by clicking here.
Canva
Cost: Free version available. Pro version starts at $10 (this is included in Stryde creative retainer)
Canva again… it’s an incredibly versatile tool that can assist in a variety of marketing tasks. Ecommerce stores can benefit from using this tool to build email marketing templates that all employees can use to maintain brand identity and cohesiveness.
You can learn more about Canva and start creating your graphics by clicking here.
Recart
Cost: Each of their four plans offers a variety of services. The plans range from the Starter at $299 per month, the Pro at $499 per month, the Scale at $999 per month, and an Enterprise plan that you’ll need to contact Recart about when it comes to pricing.
In today’s world, most people carry cell phones. This has made marketing through SMS a key part of getting more sales. Recart can help with all of your SMS needs. This solution offers pre-build SMS templates and automations that can take your text subscriptions to the next level. Recart offers an easy way to collect customers’ phone numbers so you can continue to contact them when you have promotions, in the future.
You can learn more about Recart and its survey tools by clicking here.
Google Optimize
Cost: Free
As previously mentioned, Google Optimize is a great tool to help improve conversions on your website. You will be able to test hypotheses and gather real-time data on what is most effective on your website. Google Optimize allows you to test multiple variants at a time and also allows you to update web elements based on your findings.
You can learn more about Google Optimize and start improving your conversion rates by clicking here.
Crazy Egg
Cost: Starts at $24 (this is included in Stryde conversion rate optimization retainer)
Crazy Egg is a heat mapping tool that allows you to record real-time users and visually see how they interact with your site. This tool helps you see where end-users stop scrolling, what buttons or pages receive the most clicks, and whether or not users are finding your most important information.
You can learn more about Crazy Egg and start improving your conversion rates by clicking here.
Canva
Cost: Free version available. Pro version starts at $10 (this is included in Stryde creative retainer)
Geeze… we love Canva! Not only can they help with paid media and email, but they can also help amplify your on-page content by adding unique images and infographics.
Unique Images
Canva is a great tool to use when building brand consistency. Setting the tone, style, and format for images within this tool is easy, and your team will be able to make decisions that are on-brand.
Infographics
Infographics visually convey data or facts. Our brains find visual content easier to understand and convey a more compelling story than long-form content. Canva offers a variety of templates that can help your team to build concise infographics.
You can learn more about Canva and start creating your graphics by clicking here.
Gorgias
Cost: Plans ranging from the Starter at $10 per month all the way up to an Enterprise level account which says to contact Gorgias for pricing. The Advanced Plan, which is a step under that is $900 per month.
Gorgias gives you a way to consolidate all of your customer service inquiries in an easier manner. This tool helps you answer customers’ questions quickly, and it helps you track sales made by support agents. Gorgias also can integrate with an impressive list of websites including Shopify, Magento, social media platforms, and more.
You can learn more about Gorgias and its customer support solutions by clicking here.
Delighted
Cost: There are four plan types that are billed yearly; the Free Plan, the Premium Plan at $224 per month, the Premium Plus Plan at $449 per month, and an Enterprise Plan you’ll need to contact Delighted in order to get pricing.
Delighted is another great tool for collecting and analyzing customer survey data. It makes it easy to create a custom survey with personalized questions that are tailored to your needs. Once you’ve gathered data, Delighted can help analyze this data with AI and reporting. You’ll then be able to take these insights and create growth within your business. This solution also automates seamlessly with other solutions such as Shopify, Salesforce, and more.
You can learn more about Delighted as well as its survey collection and analysis tools by clicking here.
Smile.io
Cost: Plans range from the Starter Plan at $49 per month to the Pro Plan at $599 per month.
In order to keep recurring customers invested in your company, having a loyalty program is very important. Smile.io can help with this in a big way. It can help you implement a loyalty program based on points per purchase, VIP perks, or even rewards for referrals. Smile.io gives your loyalty program a custom look and feel while requiring no coding from you.
You can learn more about Smile.io and its loyalty program-building tools by clicking here.
Referral Candy
Cost: Their plans are all billed yearly. The Premium Plan is $47 per month, the Plus Plan is $239 per month, and their Enterprise Plan pricing is based on you contacting them for a quote.
Referrals are a huge part of sales and eCommerce, these days. ReferralCandy is a simple way to help reward your customers for referring friends. The service offers help with automated invitations, custom rewards, pay-per-performance, and more. So, you can reward your customers for referrals in a seamless way that helps generate more sales for you.
You can learn more about ReferralCandy and its rewards programs by clicking here.
Ecommerce Tech Stack for Success
In the early days of ecommerce, having a website, shopping cart and payment software was all the technology you needed. While these are vital tools to your success, technology has come a long way in supporting ecommerce business growth. Additional software can help increase ROI, brand visibility, and trust with your customers.
Ecommerce stores are all unique, so the tech stack that works for one may not be the right mix for you. This guide walks you through technologies that provide holistic support for any store, and they all support generating growth for your online store.
Please note, we use every single one of these tools and have very deep relationships with most of them. As mentioned above, if you work with Stryde, we deploy and cover the cost of these tools on your behalf. If you choose to sign up for your own account, many of them will pay us a small commission when a new subscriber signs up.
Greg is the founder and CEO of Stryde and a seasoned digital marketer who has worked with thousands of businesses, large and small, to generate more revenue via online marketing strategy and execution. Greg has written hundreds of blog posts as well as spoken at many events about online marketing strategy. You can follow Greg on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
