Consumers have more choice than ever before when it comes to where to shop. It can seem like an impossible task just getting noticed amongst all the noise out there.
The thing is, you don’t need a huge budget or ad spend to attract more people to your eCommerce store. There are loads of ways you can increase your website traffic without it costing you a small fortune.
Keep in mind, it’s not about driving just any old traffic to your website. It’s about driving the right traffic to your website. You’d rather have 100 relevant visits who are more likely to convert, than 10,000 irrelevant visitors to your website who will leave. What do the right visitors look like? They’re people who are interested in what you’re selling. People who want more information on your product or services. People who will sign up and purchase further down the funnel, or those looking to make a purchase right now. Sounds great, right. But, how do you go about attracting the right audience?
Let’s take a look at some really simple, but effective ways you can drive traffic to your eCommerce store.
1. Build a social media presence
Did you know that there are 45 million people in the UK alone who are active on social media? That’s a lot of people, and the chances are your target audience is among them. Building a social commerce strategy is super important for eCommerce companies. It can be a really effective means of driving traffic to your eCommerce store. Hiring a social media expert is a great investment (you can do this through a freelancer, agency or inhouse depending on budget). If you don’t have the means to do this, don’t worry – there are things you can do to ensure traffic is coming in from your social media channels.
Consider things like:
- Posting regularly (new products, company updates, sharing relevant news, sharing your latest blogs).
- Implementing short videos (Instagram and Facebook stories)
- Link to your website from your social media bios
- Host giveaways and contests (get your followers to share posts, tag friends and follow you for a chance to win something)
- Consider reaching out to influencers (If you do this make sure you look for natural partnerships with relevant influencers in your industry)
2. Focus on SEO
Pretty much every internet search begins with Google. If you’re selling online you need to step up your SEO game in order to get noticed and reach more people. 90% of all internet searches via desktop take place on Google, with 35% of Google queries being product searches. There’s a huge benefit for retailers to invest in their SEO offering. Similarly to social media, it’s great if you can get an expert in to help with this.
However, you can still employ the basics yourself, such as:
- Meta descriptions
- URLs
- Keyword research
- Landing pages
- Image alt tags
In order to do this and gain more traffic to your eCommerce store through SEO, you’ll need to consider moving to an SEO-friendly eCommerce platform.
3. Start blogging
Having a blog on your website is also really great for SEO. Posting regular content can help boost your ranking in search engine results, driving more traffic to your site, but also shows your potential customers that you’re active. Consider writing about your product ranges, instore events, gift guides, seasonal buying guides, fashion edits, product use cases, etc. There are countless topics you can write about!
A blog offers value to your website users, giving them extra information and building trust before buying. You might also want to explore guest blogging opportunities to expand your audience, whether that is collaborating with others on their websites, or letting people write for you.
4. Email marketing
Grow your lists by positioning sign-up forms around your website. Most websites have a pop up when you first land on the site asking you to sign up. For new customers, offer a percentage off their first order as a thank you for signing up to your newsletter. This will inspire them to purchase with you, and you can keep marketing to them for further offers and promotions.
Other places you’ll want to include sign-up forms are along with your blog content and in your website footer. Growing your list and being able to keep in regular contact offering promotions and news will drive more returning traffic to your store.
5. Offer rewards and loyalty programmes
Keep people coming to your website by building customer loyalty. You can do this by giving your customers incentives like receiving a reward each time they shop with you whether that’s points towards a future purchase or vouchers and money off. Consider refer a friend offers for your current customers too, this is a great way to drive more traffic to your eCommerce site and build your customer base.
6. Use video
Implementing video marketing is a great way to gain more traffic and is one of the most popular forms of content people are consuming online. You’ll need to decide what kind of video works for your brand. Consider things like; product videos that showcase your products, how-to demonstration videos, reviews and testimonials, or popular unboxing videos. If you’re thinking of implementing video as a way to drive traffic to your eCommerce store, this guide on ways you ca use video in eCommerce is a great starting point.
7. Think about mobile users
The number of people shopping on their mobiles is rapidly increasing year on year. Baymard has discovered that 30-50% of all eCommerce traffic is now from mobile devices. This means that retailers who aren’t offering a fantastic mobile experience are losing out on sales as people are wanting more seamless buying experiences.
Google’s mobile-first indexing plays a part too; this means that Google index mobile sites before the desktop version. So, for new sites, you need to make sure your website is mobile responsive in order to rank higher.
Final thoughts
Paying attention marketing your eCommerce store is key to your online success. More traffic = more customers. Hopefully, this blog has gone some way in inspiring different ways you can drive traffic to your eCommerce site without the need for a huge budget.
If you’re looking for a new, beautifully designed eCommerce website that converts, get in touch with the Venditan team today.
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