If you already have a successful offline business, you are familiar with marketing. However, the techniques for attracting visitors to your online store can be completely different.
By having an online store, you will have the opportunity to reach a larger number of potential customers. Additionally, you will have full authority over their shopping experience. However, it is important to note that simply creating an online store does not guarantee customer traffic.
Driving Traffic to Your Online Store
When considering marketing for your ecommerce site, you can break it down into three primary target audiences.
- People who have shopped with you before or at least know about your store
- People who are looking for the kind of product that you offer
- People who would want the product that you offer if they knew about it
Although this may be a simplistic approach, it can still assist you in considering your various marketing activities and how to allocate your time and budget effectively.
When targeting your initial audience, those familiar with you, it’s important to establish a direct means of communication such as email, content marketing, or social media. This allows you to connect with them directly and at no cost, excluding any expenses for necessary tools.
To cater to your second audience, you must come up with methods that enable them to come across the products you offer that fulfill their requirements. This can involve optimizing search engine results (SEO), generating content (such as through blogging), and engaging in search engine marketing.
When considering your third audience, it is important to think about building brand recognition. Are you presenting a solution for a problem they are unaware of? Alternatively, is your target audience already using a competitor’s solution? The way you approach your marketing will be influenced by the answers to these questions.
Once you have established your store, you can begin marketing your website to your current customer base. Additionally, we will discuss strategies for enhancing your website’s visibility to potential new customers who are interested in your product. We will also guide you on how to effectively allocate your advertising budget to reach a highly engaged audience.
18 Marketing Tactics to Promote Your Online Store
Let’s examine eight tactics that can be utilized to increase traffic to your new online store, ranging from marketing efforts towards current customers to acquiring new ones.
1. Utilize (and keep building) your email list.
Having a solid email marketing strategy is essential, even if you have a physical store. Ensure you gather email addresses from various sources such as existing customers, potential customers, and individuals interested in your events. This way, when you start your business, you can send an email to all these contacts, informing them about the option to visit your online store.
One possibility is to take this opportunity to contemplate extending a promotion to individuals on your email list. Another option is to provide a referral discount as an incentive for customers to spread the word about your website among their friends and family.
Make sure to keep collecting email addresses on your site as email remains one of the most effective marketing tools in the ecommerce toolbox. There are brands that utilize pop-up boxes to encourage users to enter their email addresses by offering a small promotion, such as 15% off their first purchase or free shipping.
In order to maintain effective communication with your email list, it’s important to establish a consistent schedule for sending emails. This schedule should include promotions, new content, product launches, and any other noteworthy updates that can entice customers to visit your website.
2. Boost your organic social presence.
To enhance your digital engagement with your online business, it is recommended to prioritize your social media channels by ensuring they contain vibrant images and engaging videos. This simple yet impactful strategy can greatly contribute to boosting your overall online presence.
3. Optimize your site for SEO.
If you are new to search engine optimization (SEO), it is important to remember that it covers a wide range of aspects, and attempting to optimize can be overwhelming. Here are a couple of points to consider when you are beginning.
Put yourself in the shoes of your user and think about how they describe your products and what information they are seeking.
When thinking step by step, rephrase the following text without altering its meaning, while also paying attention to on-page content. Ensure that the content naturally includes language that customers are likely to use when searching for related products and answers their queries. Do not introduce new information or eliminate any existing information.
Meta tags are important for search engines as they help determine the content of each page. It is essential for every page on your website to have a unique title tag. Additionally, meta descriptions provide concise summaries of each page. When your website appears on a search engine results page, users will see the title tag and meta description first.
4. Create interesting, useful content.
One way to attract visitors to your site and establish your brand as a credible source in your industry is by producing valuable content specifically tailored to potential customers who are interested in purchasing your product.
5. Try out Google Ads.
When using Google Ads for search engine marketing, you have the chance to place bids on keywords in order to appear as the top result on search engine results pages. The primary aim of search engine optimization is to secure the desirable “top spot”, but it is important to note that Google Ads will still be displayed before organic search results.
Search engine marketing is an effective method to promote your website since it does not necessitate design and can successfully generate new traffic. It provides real-time outcomes and enables you to modify your campaign strategies according to performance.
6. Update / Rewrite Old Blog Posts
Repurposing your existing content and driving extra traffic to your site can be achieved by updating and rewriting your old blog posts.
Search engines consider the content of blog posts as new when they are updated.
In order to rephrase the text while maintaining its meaning without adding or removing information, can you please provide the text you would like me to work on?
7. Go on Podcasts
Participating as a guest on a podcast has the potential to generate focused and interested traffic to your eCommerce website.
The number of podcast listeners grew by 29.5% between 2018 and 2021, and over one-third (104 million) of Americans listen to podcasts on a regular basis.
In addition, every week 28% of Americans engage in podcast listening.
Podcasters typically include links to your website or offer in the show notes or description, allowing audience members who heard you on the podcast to easily access more information about you and your business.
These show notes appear on several high authority sites including iTunes, Spotify, and Anchor.fm.
If you are looking for podcasts within your niche, you can utilize Google and search for “top [your niche] podcasts,” or consider using tools such as Rephonic or Site Explorer.
8. Social Media
Social media can be utilized as a fantastic resource for boosting the level of visitors to your website.
There are several tactics that are highly effective for posting on social media in order to generate traffic to your site.
- Posting content from your site, including blog posts, ebooks, infographics, and videos
- Using relevant hashtags to help buyers find you
- Replying to people asking questions with links to your relevant content
- Changing your cover photo to promote new content or products
- Tagging influencers who might be interested in your content or products
You can utilize social media tools like Later, Zoho Social, and Buffer to schedule your social media posts ahead of time and distribute your website content on all of your social media platforms.
9. Newsletters
One effective method of driving traffic to your website is by regularly sending out newsletters and promoting offers from your eCommerce site.
In the content of your newsletter, make sure to include valuable information that directs readers to your website’s blog posts, product listings, and landing pages, allowing them to gain more knowledge about your offerings.
When thinking in a systematic manner, rephrase the following text without altering the meaning, while paying careful attention to your email subject lines as they greatly influence whether or not your customer will open your email.
In order to boost the number of people signing up for your newsletter, it is important to develop a newsletter magnet. This refers to content that visitors need to provide their email addresses for in order to access. Additionally, sharing your newsletter magnet on social media can be a useful approach to turn your followers into subscribers.
To ensure a user-friendly experience, make signing up for your newsletter on your website effortless for visitors. Incorporate subscription forms on both your homepage and about page.
10. Influencers
By inviting an industry influencer to publish a guest post on your site, you can increase traffic to your site using both organic search and the influencer’s own promotional efforts.
By thinking step by step, you can rephrase the given text without adding or removing any information, while maintaining the same meaning: Employing this approach enhances the depth of your content and demonstrates to visitors that you possess authority in your respective field.
Furthermore, influencer marketing offers a cost-effective approach to generate extra traffic for your eCommerce website.
Influencers utilize their audience to direct traffic to your eCommerce site by posting links, discount codes, reviews, or giveaways.
11. Improve Your Website’s Responsiveness
Due to the majority of users accessing Google search through mobile devices, Google has given priority to mobile-first indexing. This implies that they primarily utilize the mobile version of your site content for indexing and ranking.
To increase the amount of traffic your website receives, make sure it is responsive so that it can receive higher mobile scores from Google.
12. Create a Tool
One more effective method for increasing website traffic is to offer users a complimentary tool on your site.
If your eCommerce business specializes in selling cleaning supplies, providing a seasonal cleaning calendar could be beneficial for your customers. Similarly, family law attorneys can attract more visitors by offering a straightforward child support calculator tool that follows the formula applicable in the state where they practice law.
13. Google Ads
By utilizing Google Ads, you can guarantee that your website appears prominently in search results when certain keywords are entered.
With Google Ads, you will be charged only if a user clicks on your ad. The cost you incur per click is determined by the level of competition for the keyword. Paid search results are displayed at the top of the results pages and effectively attract more relevant visitors to your website.
14. Exchange Backlinks
Backlinks are links that originate from another website and direct traffic to your website. When these backlinks are sourced from businesses and influencers in your industry, they contribute to better search engine rankings and increased exposure to a wider audience for your eCommerce site.
There are numerous opportunities available for eCommerce websites to exchange backlinks with other websites in their industry, as they strive to enhance their web traffic.
15. LinkedIn Posts
LinkedIn posts and having a LinkedIn company page are extremely effective when it comes to generating website traffic. With almost 800,000,000 active users, LinkedIn is considered the most trusted social network in the United States.
Your business can be more easily found online through your LinkedIn posts and business page. By including links to your website on these platforms, you can increase the traffic to your site and enhance your search engine ranking.
16. Setup Google Business Profile
ECommerce businesses that enhance their Google Business Profile experience a 700% increase in clicks compared to those that do not optimize it.
Starting in 2022, Google will allow you to communicate with customers through chat on both search and Google Maps. Moreover, Google will furnish your business with a comprehensive log of customer calls, enabling you to assess the success of your listing in generating phone inquiries.
In order to maximize the efficiency of your Google Business Profile, it is advisable to follow these step-by-step guidelines.
- Claim and verify your business through Google Maps
- Complete all the information and verify it is accurate
- Add some images
- Optimize your Google reviews by responding positively to every review you get – even the negative ones.
17. Online Directories
One more successful technique to boost your website traffic is to include your business in online directories that are free of charge. These directories typically provide a link to your website within your profile, thereby leading to an increase in traffic.
To begin, here are a few widely-used directories that can assist you.
- Google My Business
- Yelp
- Foursquare
- Angi (formerly Angie’s List)
- Foursquare
- Bing Local
- Yahoo Local
- Glassdoor
- YellowPages
- MerchantCircle
- SuperPages
- Better Business Bureau
- City Search
- Mapquest
- Manta
18. Press Releases
While links embedded in the press releases may not directly generate traffic to your website, they still serve as a valuable tool for enhancing your brand’s recognition and visibility.
Press releases, despite their contribution to your eCommerce business and your website’s perceived expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, are crucial for meeting Google’s quality metrics.
In addition, a well-written press release has the potential to generate media attention for your brand and increase website traffic.
