One of the most important factors when it comes to on site SEO for eCommerce, is having well crafted content. Content is king because it not only allows you to tell your customers who you are and what you sell, but it also lets you tell the search engines how to rank your site and what keywords to place you on. Well crafted content serves both purposes well and will engage your customers while ensuring new ones can find you.
Ecommerce marketing challenges
In addition, the barrier to entry is lower for businesses wielding an effective SEO marketing strategy. Disruptors and online publishers have siphoned market share in just about every retail category, from eyeglasses to mattresses to skin care.
Rental and subscription models also enable many newcomers to increase their market share. (Rent the Runway alone has a market valuation of $800 million.) Ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce allow a business to set up a new online store quickly and easily. In addition, online marketplaces like eBay allow individuals to sell and resell personal possessions.
In this post, I’ll explain exactly what ecommerce marketing is and why it matters. I’ll also reveal 17 ecommerce marketing strategies you can use to capture new customers and boost loyalty among existing customers.
What is ecommerce marketing?
A holistic ecommerce marketing strategy is made up of marketing tactics both on and off your website. A sound marketing strategy can help you build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, and ultimately increase online sales.
1. Invest in SEO
Ecommerce SEO refers to the search engine optimization of an online store. The goal is to get your product pages among the top 10 results on search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. This brings more organic (non-paid and free) traffic to your website. Backlinko found that the #1 organic result is 10 times more likely to receive a click compared to a page in spot #10.
Done well, you can show up for popular search terms related to your products. The screenshot below shows Shopify merchant Everyday Yoga ranking on page 1 in Google search for the term “women’s yoga pants,” which receives more than 49,500 searches per month.
2. Run an influencer marketing campaign
Influencer marketing is a smart way to accelerate your ecommerce business online. It helps you reach new audiences, build brand awareness, and work with creators that make sales for you. Influencers are like internet celebrities that work as ambassadors for your brand. You pay them to promote your products through free products, cash, or discounts.
Example of influencer marketing on Instagram | Source: @amanda.ghee
Influencer marketing is superb for finding relevant customers. How often have you seen an Instagram post from an influencer, liked what they were wearing, and wanted to buy it? Promoting products through influencers shortens up the sales cycle. With more social commerce features on Instagram and TikTok, shoppers can buy directly from the platform.
3. Sell on marketplaces
Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay can help people discover your brand easier, reaching millions of people around the world. Some customers are die-hard marketplace shoppers and there is a higher chance they’ll buy something from you on a channel they know. However, they do come with hefty selling fees and other caveats to consider.
That’s why, for ecommerce brands, it’s recommended to use marketplaces to complement your branded store. You don’t need to list all your products on a marketplace, just some of the bestsellers. Create compelling listings that show off your brand and add branded packaging inserts to marketplace orders that encourage people to shop directly from your website.
4. Create a TikTok marketing strategy
TikTok should be part of every business’s ecommerce marketing plan. With over one billion monthly active users and more than 173 million first-time installs across app stores in the last quarter of 2021 alone, TikTok is just as powerful as other social media marketing platforms.
Businesses thrive on TikTok by publishing genuine content. Raw and authentic videos tend to get more exposure and engagement than highly edited content, like what you see on Instagram. That’s what makes TikTok unique when it comes to strengthening relationships with an audience. TikTok also has a few benefits that make it different:
People are buying what they see from TikTok creators. According to research from Adweek, over half (51%) of TikTokers make purchases from brands they see in the app. There is also a place for every niche in the TikTok space, including fitness, goth, NYC, and gay TikTok. The platform also offers livestream shopping and advertising to help promote your products.
5. Run PPC campaigns
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is the main model of online advertising for businesses both large and small. It’s backed by data, easy to scale, and offers a good return on investment. PPC ads often target online ad space in search engines, social media platforms, or websites. These ads work well for ecommerce brands because they target ready-to-buy shoppers and can lead to higher sales than organic marketing.
The two most popular platforms to run PPC ads on are Facebook and Google. Google shopping ads are popular for ecommerce brands. You’ve seen these ads before. When you search for “men’s boots,” you’ll notice an ad that shows detailed information about various products related to your search.
The big benefit of PPC ads is how targeted you can get with campaigns. You can choose exactly who you’ll advertise to and the type of ad that’s shown. You can also run retargeting ads to people who’ve viewed specific landing pages or previous ads, and encourage them to shop on your site again.
Conclusion
eCommerce digital marketing is an ever-evolving process. You have to stay atop the marketing industry to always know what’s working at every point in time. 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with both challenges and opportunities. The ability to adapt to the changes we face and rise to meet those opportunities are what will ensure the ability to succeed both during and after this crisis.
We have covered the best eCommerce marketing tips for 2021. It’s easy to get lost in trying to implement all the eCommerce marketing strategies out there. Trying to do everything is the fastest way to get burnt out, and have no result. Always be sure to have a promotional plan you intend to follow before you begin your eCommerce marketing journey. Always set goals such as expected conversions, website visits, click-through rates for eCommerce ads, and customer acquisition costs. You can set goals monthly, quarterly, or annually.
This is why we recommend you seek eCommerce marketing agencies for all your promotional needs. This will save you time, and effort. ComboApp is a full cycle digital agency that helps e-commerce businesses with ideation and validation, product design and development, creating and implementing marketing plans, PR solutions, consumer acquisition and activation as well as content and SEO marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is eCommerce marketing?
eCommerce marketing involves utilizing an ever evolving array of promotional strategies to market your eCommerce website or product and converting that traffic to paying customers. The list of best eCommerce marketing strategies outlined in this article will help you make the most of your e-commerce website or app promotion in 2021.
2. How can I promote my eCommerce business?
You can promote your eCommerce business by developing a marketing plan and taking advantage of the various tools at your disposal. Some of those tools include SEO, mobile-first web design, social media, emails, blogs, and more.
3. Does ComboApp provide eCommerce marketing services?
ComboApp is a full cycle eCommerce digital marketing company that thrives in helping businesses make their mark in the competitive mobile and digital marketplace. We offer eCommerce marketing services ranging from product design and development to SEO, content management, consumer acquisition and activation.
4. How do you write an eCommerce marketing plan?
It is always best you seek the help of professionals to help with your marketing plan. However, a short breakdown of how to write an eCommerce marketing plan is, prepare a mission statement, list and describe a niche market, describe your services, and spell out your eCommerce marketing strategy.
5. How an eCommerce marketing consultant can help your business grow?
eCommerce marketing consultants are seasoned marketers who work for marketing agencies such as ComboApp. We have years of experience as well as market and industry data to best advise you on your advertising journey.
6. Why do I need SEO for eCommerce website?
75% of all users never go past the first page of search engine results and the majority stick to the top 3 results. If your page is not ranking high on search engines, people will never know your e-commerce site exists. SEO helps people find your store and helps you to get sales.
Sources:
https://terakeet.com/blog/ecommerce-marketing/
https://www.shopify.com/blog/ecommerce-marketing
https://comboapp.com/ecommerce-marketing-agency/ecommerce-marketing-strategies
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