eCommerce sales explosion is encouraging new entrepreneurs to sell online. At some point, this frequently asked question “How can I drive free eCommerce traffic to my online store?” would spring to retailers’ minds. Seeking this knowledge is expected since increased traffic suggests more revenue. The good news is you can get eCommerce website traffic in 2 ways: free or paid. In this article, you can learn eight proven free eCommerce traffic strategies to get higher traffic to your eCommerce store.
“Why is traffic important?” Whether you are a beginner or an expert, getting higher free eCommerce traffic is a necessity if you want to generate more sales. If you don’t have the budget for ads, you can drive traffic and make your first sale. On the other hand, you can run ads and drive more traffic within a short period. However, an ad gone wrong would mean money gone down the drain without any result.
Free eCommerce traffic alone does not guarantee sales
While you are excited about getting more eCommerce website traffic, know that traffic alone does not imply sales. Many stores boasting higher traffic have more abandoned carts than sales. You need some essential prerequisites in place before traffic converts into sales. Are you looking to get higher traffic and generate more sales? Are you looking for eCommerce traffic growth methodologies to grow your brand? You’ve come to the right place. Read closely; there’s so much to be learned in this post.
8 Strategies on How to Increase Traffic to Your eCommerce Store
Fortunately, there are enormous ways to drive traffic and attract customers without breaking the bank. We’ve gathered a list of eight proven, strategies on how to increase traffic to your eCommerce website.
1. Target your audience on Facebook
Facebook has become the most popular social media platform which owns nearly 1.9 billion daily active users. Literarily, what this means is that people spend most hours of their lives on Facebook. If 75% of consumers visit Facebook before making a purchase, then every online retailer should own a Facebook Page. On Facebook, you will find different kinds of audiences that fit every category you can think of. Brands use Facebook to stay abreast with customers and vice versa. Strategies to get the targeted audit on Facebook:
- Create a Facebook page
- Use the Facebook Marketplace to display your products
- Post regularly on your Facebook page
- Try to run the Facebook ads
- Integrate Facebook shop on your online store
2. Implement Email Marketing
Email marketing is the oldest, yet most potent way of promoting a product or service. Email marketing boasts the highest ROI (Return on Investment) among other marketing channels. What this means is for every dollar you spend, you will get an average of $40 in return. Isn’t it worth implementing? Not even Snapchat or TikTok can boast. And you need to build an email list once you get started. It is completely free but you will have to give-to-get. You will offer a discount, coupon, or promo to your customers so they can drop their email addresses. Or, you can make it optional – add a signup form on your website so they can willingly drop their email address if they want to follow up on your store. Once you have built a list of emails, you can now start an email marketing campaign. Take note of this when sending your shoppers email:
- Choose a platform to design your emails
- Learn how to create short, enticing subject lines
- Don’t bore your audience with long write-ups – go straight to the point
- Include a Call-to-Action after each mail, highlighting what you expect your audience to do after reading your mail
- Include visuals within your mail
- Ensure to write grammatically-sound English
3. Engage with Influencers
If you cannot exercise the patience needed to build an email list or grow social media followers, you can opt for Influencers. An Influencer is someone who has enormous eCommerce traffic solutions that he can communicate to. Since they have a connection with their followers, they can influence their audience to buy your product. His traffic source may be on social media, blog, podcast, etc. There are Instagram influencers, YouTube influencers, Facebook influencers, Twitter influencers, TikTok influencers, and so on. Before choosing an Influencer, consider the following:
- Know the ideal platform that will drive traffic to your online store
- Determine his credibility, reputation, and honesty
- Ensure you add the right keywords and links to your business
- Negotiate pricing and duration before you commence work together
- You can send them a sample of your product so they can speak unbiased about your brand
NB: Employing the service of an Influencer requires a budget. If you don’t have a budget, you can pay attention to the next step.
4. SEO optimize your website
Search Engine Optimization is a free way to get eCommerce traffic growth and rank your products on search engines. If someone is looking for your product, the first place they go to search is Google. When they search, only sites with higher rankings will be displayed in the search results. If you can optimize your site, then your store can be visible when people search for your products. What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization is the process of increasing web traffic through several efforts to get a website to gain a higher ranking on search engines. Some of these efforts may include but are not limited to:
- Adding keywords and key phrases – these are specific search terms that people use to find items on search engines. You can use free keyword research tools like Google Trends to find the most suited words for your product.
- Pay attention to metadata – this refers to SEO titles, descriptions, headings, image titles, and slugs throughout your store pages.
Keywords are crucial to SEO. If done correctly, your store will appear on the first page of Google search result that relates to your niche.
5. Leverage Instagram’s asset
Instagram can be a big booster to your online store. Depending on your business, you can use Instagram to showcase and promote your products. There are several ways to connect your site with Instagram and vice versa. Try these:
- Integrate Instagram with your store
- Optimize your Instagram bio
- Use Instagram stories
- Remember to add CTAs to your Instagram account
6. Utilize content marketing
Creating valuable content for your business can make a huge impact on your traffic. For upcoming brands without a budget, creating relevant and engaging content can attract the right audience to your online store. While the goal is for visitors to buy, you first need to trigger their interest by offering free, resourceful content.
Some of the most common forms include:
- Blogs
- Forum posts
- Videos
- Infographics
7. Use a sales campaign to attract customers
A sales campaign helps customers to find the best deals on your store. Below are some campaign ideas that can help you:
- Buy One, Get One (BOGO) deals
- Offer a giveaway
- Create a sense of urgency
- Offer a competition
- Create a coupon available on your store only
NB: Creating a sales campaign can be effective if you combine the right marketing efforts. This could be email marketing, social media marketing, Influencers, etc.
8. Advertise on Google
SEO guarantees organic traffic which is ideal for every beginner because it is free. If you have a budget, you can opt for paid Google advertising to drive traffic to your eCommerce store. It is called PPC (paid-per-clicks) ads. The ads cost is recorded per click your store receives.
Bonus Tip: Dropshipping – Backs Your eCommerce Bussiness Up
eCommerce can be a profitable business venture if you have the inventory, warehouse, online store, and logistic company. For those who love to sell but don’t have the required capital to start up this business, dropshipping can be a decent alternative. What is dropshipping? Dropshipping is a business model whereby a retailer sells goods to consumers without stocking an inventory, owning a warehouse, or fulfilling orders. Rather, he partners with a dropship supplier who handles shipment on his behalf.
Starting a dropshipping business involves three processes which are:
- Know the right products to sell
- Create an online store
- Finding the right dropshipping supplier
1 & 2 can be achieved with a few Google searches but 3 will require a recommendation. This is because the internet is filled with numerous false dropshipping suppliers. So far, we have found the SaleYee platform trustworthy and reliable. SaleYee is a reputable global dropshipping company in China that solves every dropshipping challenge.
They offer a lot including:
- 30,000+ Profitable SKUs to choose from different categories
- 650,000+ sq.m. local warehouses
- Free and fast delivery
- Responsive customer support
- Huge discounts
- Free membership
- Up to 3-Month After-Sales Period
You may visit SaleYee.com to get started for FREE.
Conclusion
Driving traffic to your eCommerce website doesn’t necessarily require a huge budget. With these free eCommerce traffic strategies, you should be able to get higher traffic to your eCommerce store. Remember to try each strategy and master the ones that best works for your brand. Creating a good marketing strategy out of these tips will help you ward off competition both short-term and long-term. Know your audience and let your store be built with your customers’ needs at heart. Whether you are a new retailer or you have not enjoyed much success, there is an opportunity for you.
