How to drive traffic to your online store.
In a previous article, we provided advice on how to prepare your ecommerce store for peak shopping periods like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the festive season. Expecting heaps of traffic during sale periods is one thing, but what measures can store owners take to increase visitor traffic during off-seasons?There is no one golden rule for increasing web traffic. Driving traffic to your online store requires a combination of strategies and tactics, many of which are marketing-related.These tactics include but are not limited to:
We’ll unpack each one to help you understand some of the activities involved so you can craft your own winning strategy.
Search engine optimisation basics
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the practice of optimising your website for search engines so that your site comes up in search results for keywords related to what you do.The first step is to conduct an SEO audit to find out what changes you need to make to your website. There are many free and paid tools you can use for this.An SEO audit will tell you:
Next, you need to develop content that has been enriched with relevant keywords – the same ones you will be using in your product descriptions, meta tags, and URLs. Once again, there are many free tools you can use to conduct keyword research. Google Keyword Planner and Google Search Console are also great resources here.If you’re using WordPress, a plugin like Yoast can help you add metadata and optimise content. The tool offers detailed tips on what needs to be improved, and where.?
Content marketing
Content marketing involves publishing engaging and informative blog posts, articles, or videos related to your products, services or field. By creating content that resonates with your audience, you can build brand awareness and trust, and have a base from which to focus your SEO activities.?
Search engines aside, relevant and interesting content will keep your customers engaged and bring them back for more. This is where your content can be leveraged to increase visitor traffic. Decide on a plan for how and where you will be sharing your content to increase visibility and clickthroughs to your website. Channels you can use include:
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Sharing your blog posts effectively is crucial for increasing traffic and reaching a wider audience.
Digital advertising
Digital advertising is very effective for increasing traffic to your website but will require some budget. You can use Google Ads or Bing Ads to attract visitors who are searching for a particular product or service or use paid advertising on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.?
One of the biggest advantages of digital advertising is that it allows for precise audience targeting. You can define your audience based on demographics, interests, behaviour, location, and more. This helps ensure that your ads reach the right people. You can also use paid advertising to boost the visibility of your blog posts. Ads come in various formats, including text ads, image ads, video ads, and interactive ads. You will need to monitor and optimise your campaigns regularly to improve their performance.
Email marketing
Email marketing is a versatile and cost-effective way to build and nurture customer relationships, drive sales and website traffic, and foster brand awareness. Emailing customers regularly ticks several boxes:
Mailchimp is a user-friendly tool, ideal for those just starting out with email marketing. Use the platform to store your email list, build templates, schedule emails, and monitor your email performance. Once you start increasing your volume of sends and mailing list, you can opt for a paid plan or a mailing tool more suited to your business’s needs. As tempting as it is, don’t buy a mailing list from a third party. Not only does it go against the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), but recipient complaints as well as blacklisting as spam can result in your hosting account being suspended.
Instead, build an email list by offering incentives like discounts or exclusive content to visitors who sign up. Send regular newsletters with product updates, special offers, and personalised recommendations to keep your audience engaged and encourage them to visit your store.
Building a consistent and sustainable traffic flow takes time and effort. It's essential to monitor your website analytics, track the effectiveness of your strategies, and adapt your approach as needed to maximise your online store's visibility and success.