Top 10 Out-of-the-Box E-Commerce Marketing Tips

by Robert Clough

Are you looking to take your e-commerce site to the next level? Read on to learn the top ten out-of-the-box e-commerce marketing tips.

So, you’ve got your digital shop started and you’re not sure what to do next?

Or, maybe you’re just not drawing the traffic you need to reach your earnings potential?

It’s time to dive into learning about e-commerce marketing. It’s not nearly as complicated as you think and if you’ve already got your store up then you’ve got the really difficult part done already.

Hop right in. We’ve got ten hot and actionable tips to help your store to thrive well into the future.

1. A Solid SEO Strategy

Hopefully, you didn’t ignore keywords when you put together your page.

Everyone hoping to make a profit online needs a good SEO strategy to help them get ahead of the competition. Organic traffic converts much better than paid traffic in most cases so ignoring the commercial intent of searchers isn’t a good plan.

You don’t just need your on-page strategy in place. You’re also going to need backlinks and authority if you really want to rise to the top of your niche.

2. Implement Content Marketing

While your main purpose may be just to set up shop, you’re still going to need to make sure that you have content to bring in buyers. Content marketing can make your e-commerce store stand out as an authority on your products in addition to just being a shop.

The most simple way to begin is with a blog.

Blogging about your product niche and bringing valuable information to your potential customers will help bring in more people and you’ll find it to be an easy way to enact your SEO strategy.

3. Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization is an easy way to get ahead. Mobile devices are being used by people to shop more and more these days.

You need to do more than make sure your site will function on mobile. You also need to ensure that you’re targeting voice searches with long tail keywords.

Voice recognition is changing the way people are searching, phrases and questions have become the norm since many people simply say what they need into their device now.

4. Use Heatmaps

There are a number of tools which can be used to produce a heatmap for your website. This will allow you to see where your customers are moving the mouse.

By going through and analyzing things you can easily begin to drop your call-to-action and purchasing buttons where they’re most likely to be seen.

Ignoring these plugins and tools is a big mistake if you’re trying to get a higher conversion rate.

5. Paid Advertising

While Google AdWords is still the dominant factor when it comes to PPC advertising, there are a lot of ways to pay some cash to get your store in front of prospective customers.

It’ll cost some money in the short run but if you make sure that you’re appearing for commercially viable keywords and placing banner advertisements in places where customers might be interested you’ll be surprised at the results.

Many newbies to e-commerce ignore this, reasoning they can build enough traffic for “free” and that’s a big mistake.

6. Social Media Advertising

There are two ways to go about social media advertising: creating a fantastic page which keeps customers engaged and thinking about your product and paid advertising.

While focusing on just one platform isn’t a bad idea, you’re making a mistake if you don’t at least try to make some posts across the most popular platforms in order to raise awareness of your store.

Social media can also hurt you if you’re not careful, so think twice before you throw out anything which might be controversial.

7. Use Retargeting

If someone has visited your website once in the past then they’re more likely to become a customer in the future.

This means you’ll want to use modern marketing techniques like retargeting. Basically, if someone has visited your page in the past then they’ll see more advertisements for your business in the future.

It’s a great way to catch customers who were only half-interested in the first place and those who needed to think about the decision to spend money on your products.

By consistently showing up you can capture many of your “escaped” customers.

8. E-Mail Lists

E-mail lists don’t have to be pure spam, although the association is always going to be there.

Think of the value that you’re offering with an e-mail. E-mail isn’t the right medium to work on your brand awareness. Instead, you should probably be linking to your informational content on the page and maybe adding a few special offers.

You also want to make the list easy to opt out of for those who aren’t enthused to be getting your offers in their inbox.

E-mail marketing can be make or break, so approach it with care. If done right, however, you can have your customers absolutely psyched to open it up and see what you’ve got going this time. Make a marketing plan now, as there’s a lot more about e-commerce than just running a shop.

9. Keep an Eye Out for New Techniques

You don’t need to be running on the cutting edge at all times. Let other innovators do it for you and look at what they’re doing.

The truth is that sales in digital form, the backbone of the advertising for your e-commerce marketing efforts, rarely has any huge innovations.

The really successful people tend to just stick to tried and true methods like white hate SEO, solid content marketing, and sticking with their plan unless it’s entirely unfeasible.

That said, once in awhile something big comes along that can change the game. Keep abreast of things by looking into the marketing as a whole once or twice a week and you’ll still be better informed than the competition.

10. Be Adaptable But Don’t Be Hasty

You’ll need to make sure that you’re adaptable at all times but it’s easy to get over-corrective and shoot yourself in the foot.

This is one of the biggest mistake many e-commerce beginners make: You don’t need to react to every single rise and fall of traffic or conversion rates.

Instead, you’ll need to gather data over time and change only one variable at a time in order to make sure that your analytics are on point. It might be worth a small drop in revenue to learn what you’re doing wrong, rather than panicking and changing everything while hoping it works out.

E-Commerce Marketing in Action

Whether you’re a complete newbie in the field or a seasoned pro you’ll find that all of the above tips are required for you to get ahead.

By coming up with a great marketing plan that involves a unified front and sticking to it despite the minor ups and downs of every day business, you’ll quickly be able to make sure you remain profitable.

It’s time to start bringing in the customers you deserve and it all starts with a strong e-commerce marketing strategy. What are you waiting for? For help getting started, check out our newsletter!

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