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When it comes to launching an e-commerce website, selecting a niche and creating product databases or static pages are relatively manageable tasks. The real challenge lies in driving traffic to your newly established online store, particularly if your brand is not widely recognized and you have a limited advertising budget.
In this article, we will continue our series of tutorials on starting an online shop by providing valuable tips and suggestions for attracting visitors to your e-commerce website. Irrespective of your website's nature, you have two primary options for generating traffic: paid advertising and unpaid methods, which encompass content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media marketing. We will delve into each of these strategies, discussing when and how to utilize them effectively to maximize your budget and achieve optimal results.
By the end of this article, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the various approaches available for driving traffic to your online store and be equipped with practical insights to implement these strategies successfully.
Driving traffic to an online shop through paid advertising
While paid advertising may not be the most appealing solution, it can be worthwhile, especially for newly launched online stores seeking initial visibility. Investing in AdWords campaigns or Facebook ads can help jumpstart your visibility in the early stages. When running pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, you have the advantage of setting a budget and adhering to it, ensuring you don't overspend. However, it is advisable to hire a skilled professional who can optimize your PPC budget effectively.
Certain keywords may have higher bidding costs compared to others, and an experienced advertiser will possess the knowledge to adjust your campaign for maximum results. The same principle applies to Facebook ads. You can begin with multiple campaigns focusing on traffic, conversions, or brand awareness and then fine-tune them based on the initial results after a few days.
By employing someone proficient in managing PPC campaigns, you can ensure that your budget is utilized efficiently and that you achieve the desired outcomes. It's essential to be strategic in your approach and continuously monitor and optimize your campaigns to maximize the value you receive from paid advertising.
How to use paid advertising
Paid advertising operates on a straightforward principle. In platforms like Google Ads, you bid for specific keywords, and your webpage is displayed in search results, either at the top in the dedicated advertisement section or lower on the page, depending on your bid and competition. While there is no guarantee that your ads will only reach the most relevant users, you can enhance the efficiency of your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns by selecting a mix of longer and shorter keywords, including both brand and non-brand terms.
It's important to note that once you cease paying for these ads, they will no longer appear, resulting in a decrease in paid traffic. You can monitor this change through your analytics tool and evaluate the overall impact of your paid campaigns on brand awareness. If, after a few months of paid advertising, you observe an increase in organic traffic, it indicates that people are becoming more acquainted with your brand and online store.
In addition to Google PPC ads, there are other platforms worth exploring. Bing PPC ads, Facebook and Twitter ads, as well as advertisements on YouTube and Pinterest, can all be viable options depending on your niche. It is crucial to consider the relevance of each channel to your target audience. For instance, if your e-commerce website specializes in car accessories, investing in Google or Facebook ads may be more effective than purchasing Pinterest ads since the likelihood of driving relevant traffic and obtaining leads from Pinterest in this case is relatively low. However, if you sell products such as shoes, clothing, jewelry, accessories, beauty products, fitness gear, home decor, or kitchenware, it may be worthwhile to give Pinterest ads a try.
Carefully evaluating the suitability of each advertising channel for your target audience ensures that you make informed decisions and invest your resources where they will yield the best results.
Non-paid solutions for driving e-commerce traffic
Paid advertising is only one of the solutions you can include in your strategy for driving visitors to your e-commerce website. So if you don't have a budget or you're not willing to invest in paid campaigns, you can always rely on non-paid solutions, but keep in mind that these require more time and human resources in most cases. Non-paid traffic drivers include content marketing, blog and content publishing, social media posting, blogger outreach and PR campaigns, marketing on forums and in online communities, as well as e-mail marketing (although this one can also be considered a paid solution in some cases).
Content marketing
Content marketing refers to promoting your online store by publishing and sharing content that is relevant for your target public. It can include blog articles, guest posts, e-books, free checklists or templates, as well as interviews, the content you publish on product pages or category pages, the static pages of your e-commerce website and so on. It can refer to written content but also to video, graphic and audio content, so if you have a very good designer for example in your team, you can include infographics in your content marketing campaigns.
If you're in a niche that is suitable for video marketing, than you may want to create some branded videos, or product videos, and post them on your store's YouTube channel. If your e-commerce website sells digital goods, you may want to consider offering some free downloads for generating leads and building your database of potential customers. Once you have their email addresses, you can initiate email marketing campaigns, or target those potential customers through newsletters and remarketing campaigns.
For an efficient content marketing plan, you will need to decide on what type of content you want to publish, when, for what purpose (traffic, leads) and how you'll measure the results. This means you'll need a content strategy plan, and this should take into consideration all the social media channels, the blog, and the content published on your product pages.
Search engine optimization
In addition to content marketing, it is crucial to plan your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Ideally, you should have a targeted keyword list before building your website. If you haven't incorporated keywords into the meta elements of your webshop's pages, you'll need to allocate time to optimize all category and product pages with specific keywords.
Implementing SEO for your website may be time-consuming, especially if you have a large store. However, the long-term benefits are significant as it can increase organic traffic, attract consistent visitors, and generate customers. Therefore, investing in SEO is highly recommended.
It's important to note that SEO involves both on-site and off-site optimization. Once you have optimized your e-commerce website pages, you'll need to plan your off-site SEO efforts. What does this entail? To simplify matters, you can start with local optimization and link building. Local optimization requires less time and is a one-time task. On the other hand, link building can be time-intensive, making it advisable to hire a professional to manage this process effectively.
Blogger outreach and PR campaigns
Getting other bloggers to write about your products can be a good starting point as well, so you should invest some time in researching the influencers and micro-influencers in your niche, and then see which of them is open for a collaboration. Reach out to those bloggers who already have a following and could influence their readers or see if they're interested in a giveaway.
Offering free samples is always a good idea for generating some traffic to a newly created e-commerce website.Then, the classical press releases and PR efforts can still work in your favor, but some may require a budget. Websites like Help a Reporter Out for example may be useful if you don't want to invest that much in PR, as there are plenty of journalists there who are always interested in doing interviews with entrepreneurs and business owners.
Forums, communities and offline events
The most effective way to attract people to your e-commerce website is by meeting them where they already are and demonstrating how your products can solve their pressing problems. Your target audience is likely to be active on forums, online and offline communities, and relevant events in your industry. After launching your webshop, make a concerted effort to actively engage in these spaces as frequently as possible.
Search for relevant forums with active users and identify topics where you can provide value while promoting your products or services. Avoid simply sharing links, as this is considered spam and is generally unwelcome. Instead, focus on finding discussions that are relevant to your niche and important to your target audience, and contribute by offering helpful answers and sharing insightful opinions.
For instance, if you run an online store that sells bikes, consider joining biking communities and participating in relevant events. Invite people to test your products or organize contests with valuable prizes. By turning a few customers or target visitors into brand advocates and promoters of your webshop, you can significantly amplify word-of-mouth marketing and increase awareness about your website.
We genuinely hope you find this article useful and that these suggestions help you effectively engage with your target audience, leading to greater success for your e-commerce business and if you are ready to start your new online store, please visit cloudcart.com.
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