Changes in recent years have shown us that a consistent and consistent online presence can be a crucial advantage for companies and can play an unexpectedly important role in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
And when the company’s main activity is the marketing of products, the promotion of the online shop becomes necessary for the image of a modern brand adapted to the needs of the market.
However, the recent growth of online commerce brings with it a number of challenges, mainly in terms of increased competition, but also in terms of the expectations that customers have of their favourite companies.
Although accelerated sales growth is more often seen in companies with more than 4 years on the market, younger companies have also seen sales boosted by the context of the pandemic and changing consumer behaviour in general.
In addition to increasingly demanding requirements on shopping experience and platform design, consumers are also paying attention to alternatives in the market by choosing based on variables such as price, discounts or other benefits received at checkout.
Innovation and constant change in the digital environment can be confusing for entrepreneurs who want to keep up with the industry on their own.
Evolving platform functionalities, increasing complexity, and the diversity of social networks considered indispensable in recent years require thorough research and strategic decisions based on the needs and objectives of each business.
So, what should an e-commerce store do to make sure it reaches as many potential customers as possible and that its offer becomes known to them?
If you’re looking for marketing ideas for online stores, you’ve come to the right place. Here are our recommendations and a few tips & tricks for successful online store promotion strategies.
E-commerce store promotion through SEO optimization
When you launch an online store, you hope it will be a smashing success from day one because the idea behind it is brilliant, right?
Surely you want your target audience to see the benefits of your website, fall in love with the products you sell and everything to work by itself.
But along the way, reality and algorithms will show you that it’s not a piece of cake to reach your potential customers, even if the offer and products in your portfolio are perfect for them.
So even with great design and great products, it takes time for your store to grow.
That’s why you need a clear set of online store promotion methods that effectively boost the visibility of your offerings to potential customers and generate solid results.
In order for your website to appear in the organic results of search engines like Google, it must meet a number of criteria imposed by these search engines.
Optimising your website to appear at the top of search results is done through SEO, “search engine optimisation”.
This optimization can be done by implementing internal links, attracting external links through advertorials or quality information, but also other tactics that an SEO agency can help you apply.
Relevant to mention is the fact that SEO optimization of the e-commerce store can be done On-Site and Off-Site, i.e. internally, focused on improving the online store and externally, focused on increasing its visibility in the digital environment.
SEO, social media posts and email marketing are all methods of online store promotion and can work to drive traffic to your site, but they take time to really produce the effect you want.
Much to the dismay of content creators, images and text behind products are just the beginning of the journey to customer feeds.
Integrating SEO strategies with other types of strategies such as content marketing, social media marketing or email marketing can improve results and reduce the time it takes to reach your goals.
To accelerate sales, paid promotion is among the only solutions with fast, visible and measurable results. So:
Implement Pay-Per-Click campaigns
Not only customers, but also online shop owners have started to have higher and higher expectations regarding the speed with which they get what they want.
If lately a customer expects to receive ordered products as soon as possible, an entrepreneur wants immediate results when it comes to his e-commerce promotion campaigns.
The main benefit of a PPC promotion campaign is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. But it’s a complex process based on a series of essential steps, carried out with the help of specific tools.
The online shop promotion strategy through this type of campaign starts with an analysis of the current situation of the shop and an analysis of the words relevant to the business.
Then, once the objectives, budget and methods of reaching the objectives are set, the strategy is finalized and the implementation of the strategy is continued.
Testing, optimisation and retargeting are part of the campaign’s efficiency activities and lead to improved results.
A PPC campaign for online shop promotion may involve the development of a landing page (if necessary), the creation of text and photo or video design, as well as a reporting stage.
The complexity of each step means that you need to work with a PPC agency for online shops, which has the know-how but also the resources to deliver performance.
PPC campaigns are the ideal choice for companies that want to make the most of a limited budget.
Depending on when they aim to meet the potential customer during the buying process, they are classified as active (Social Media Ads) or passive (Google Ads).
Social Media Ads for online shop promotion
Online shop promotion depends on the creativity and optimization of PPC campaigns for e-commerce promotion. When we talk about active PPC campaigns, i.e. those made on social networks, we can use targeting options for specific groups based on demographics, interests or other characteristics.
In this way, we make sure that our message only reaches the users we define as potential customers and who might be relevant to our business.
Active ads are therefore displayed in the feed of targeted users and are intended to spark curiosity, interest or even a need among them.
One of the most popular platforms for Social Media Ads is Facebook.
Capturing and retaining attention on this social network has become an important element in the success of a business, and it all starts with the correct definition of an objective, an end result that you want to achieve.
After understanding and defining the audience, the place where the ads will run (Newsfeed, Messenger, Instagram, etc.), the available budget and the type of ad best suited to the product being promoted are determined.
As with any PPC campaign, the implementation of the marketing campaign for the store is followed by performance improvement and optimization of various parameters so that when reporting the results reflect the achievement of the set objectives.
Promoting your online store can be more effective through PPC campaigns on Instagram if the products you market vibrate with energy, excitement or beauty.
As a lifestyle and creative-oriented platform, on Instagram you can be successful with photo, video or carousel ads. On this platform you can therefore see the need for quality visual content, with the focus shifting from text to visuals.
The big difference and disadvantage of active PPC campaigns compared to passive ones is that they disrupt the user experience on the social network and can create discomfort or unpleasantness to be associated with the underlying advertisement.
Google Ads – passive campaigns
It is said in the industry that if you are a retailer and you are not promoting through Google Ads, something is wrong. Acquiring new buyers is one of the most complex steps in promoting a store.
When a Google user searches for keywords relevant to your business, an ad can persuade them to visit your store and create the context to convince them of the quality of the products you offer.
And when PPC campaigns are carried out correctly and professionally, the customers acquired can easily be converted into loyal and valuable customers.
Google Ads advertising includes:
- Search Ads (ads displayed on Google search engine pages)
- Display Ads (banner ads)
- Video Ads (ads displayed on YouTube and partner platforms)
- Shopping Ads
- Gmail Ads
Depending on the objective set, Google Ads campaigns need to be customised and optimised on a case-by-case basis to generate the expected results.
Google Shopping Ads is a growing feature and is expected to develop more and more in the future.
As mentioned earlier, the biggest advantage of passive campaigns is that there is already a buying intent expressed by the potential customer, and Google Shopping Ads at exactly the right place and time when a potential customer is looking for a product.
These ads are managed through Google Ads and Google Merchant Center.
In Google Ads, budgets are set, insights are generated and shopping campaigns are optimised. In Google Merchant Center, the product catalog and other details related to shipping and fees are maintained.
Google Shopping Ads allows you to include details about your e-commerce inventory, including photos, price, title and reviews.
Because at this point everything already seems to become much more complex, the help offered by a PPC agency specializing in online stores is even recommended for the correct account setup and management.
Online shop promotion. Mistakes to avoid
Although most entrepreneurs want to see progress and quick sales when it comes to their online store, this is not easy to achieve without the specialized help of a PPC agency specializing in online stores.
Launching an e-commerce store takes a lot of preparation, and when it’s finally live, you want to see results as soon as possible.
Below is a list of mistakes you should avoid when you start defining your e-commerce online store promotion strategy:
Be careful when choosing your e-commerce platform. Once you start an online store and invest in its growth through e-commerce promotion, you need to keep in mind that in the next few years it must provide you with the functionalities you need to grow your business.
Define your target audience correctly and carefully. Unfortunately, just having a product and a promotion space is not enough to have a profitable business.
Constantly evaluate and research your customers and audience and develop communication strategies that are appropriate to their interests.
In this process it is important to define your ideal customer, that customer for whom you can then identify the challenges, values and issues they face.
Work closely with your technical team to ensure that the store has an intuitive, modern, clean UX.
Navigating the site should be pleasant and easy, and the information accessible and clear.
Also at this stage make sure that the shopping process ends with an intuitive checkout and that the checkout is not burdened with unnecessary and frustrating steps for users.
An online shop requires an audience that is used to digital communication and different direct interaction media.
So there is a good chance that when their expectations are not met, they will contact you through different channels for assistance.
Whether it’s by phone, email or social networks, your customer expects attention and a quick response.
Take care to clear up any unpleasant situations and maybe even give customers small compensations when their complaints are justified.
Finally, here’s an important tip if you want to speed up your sales process:
Carefully choose the promotion agency you work with and to whom you entrust your growth budget.
Besides the financial loss, you will waste your time and energy if you don’t carefully check the team and their experience in the field.
Every entrepreneur has experiences to learn from and goes through some situations where they wish they had been more informed.
An online store promotion strategy doesn’t have to be one of those experiences that you look back on years later wishing you had made different decisions.
Our advice is to read up on e-commerce promotion methods, analyse them and understand the advantages and disadvantages of each for your online shop.
And if you’re determined to get it right from the start, it’s best to enlist the help of experts to define the strategy you’re going to implement.
Involving a PPC agency that specialises in e-commerce promotion is likely to be the inspired business decision you’ll congratulate yourself on making in the future.
