How to Market eCommerce Business

Adding an eCommerce website to your business model can prove to be one of the most profitable opportunities for you. Consider that, according to Forbes.com, year-over-year revenue growth in eCommerce sales is up 68 percent as of mid-April and conversion rates have grown by 8.8 percent in February, and it is clear, eCommerce websites are critical to today’s business model.

Just having an eCommerce business isn’t enough, though. Like every other type of business you create, you need to increase your marketing efforts. That’s something Nuanced Media can help you with if you don’t want to invest the time in doing so yourself. If you do, here are the key components of every successful eCommerce marketing strategy.

A Comprehensive SEO Strategy

All websites, including eCommerce sites, need to have a formal SEO strategy. It ensures your website is ranking well when consumers look for your products and services online. Search engine optimization includes many components, and it can take some time to learn the details of it to ensure your site performs. In short, start with this:

• Choose a site that has solid SEO principles in place.
• Ensure your website loads fast to ensure people who land there move through it.
• Know your audience and use keywords and other SEO elements that target those customers. They will turn into buyers, pushing your search engine ranking higher.

Build Content with a Blog

Blogs are one of the secret weapons for eCommerce owners. There are many perks to having a blog –

•         Provide insight into your company, brand, and products to your customers.
•         Create up to date content and become thought leaders in your industry
•         Create a space for you to engage with current and potential customers.
•         Increase SEO by uploading quality content using strong keywords

Utilize Social Media

With a strong site and quality content, the next step is to connect with your customers through social media. Create a social media campaign to inform your target audience of what your company has to offer. What do they want to know? This isn’t about a heavy sales pitch but rather giving them educational content – stories, insights, live videos, and engagement opportunities – that help build your brand. At the same time, quality social media posts get likes, comments, and follows you need to build your customer base. All of this also works to drive traffic back to your eCommerce site.

Paid Advertising

There’s a great deal of competition in the eCommerce world. Instead of waiting for your SEO strategy to start paying off, be sure to consider paid advertising. PPC advertising is like low hanging fruit – it is a way to get your ads in front of customers to target customers when you’re ready. Hubspot says this should include:

•         Broad and ultra-specific keywords
•         Long-tail keywords that apply
•         Strong understanding of your competitors
•         Include pricing information when appliable

eCommerce will require some level of paid advertising in most cases. Place your ads directly on sites to show them what products and services you have to offer.  Keep in mind that this should just be a portion of your budget – it is meant to increase your organic traffic.

Offer Samples

Most companies do not like to think they are going to give the product away for free – but it can be a good strategy for those just launching an eCommerce website. What is going to get you to buy that new product on the shelf at a grocery store? It could be a good price or a flashy ad campaign, but having a free sample right there is going to lure in today’s buyers.

Develop a process to offer a free sample of your products or services. It does not have to cost your company a great deal – you don’t have to give away a lot of product. Rather, set the process up so it benefits you –

•         Be sure to make your free promotional offer clear to get enough people to sign up.
•         Request their email address so you can nurture them as well.
•         Be sure to include a box for them to check off if they don’t want to receive ads from you.
•         Utilize positive reviews on your eCommerce site, customers are more likely to buy when they know others have found satisfaction in the product.

Build Reviews

Finally, don’t overlook the importance of reviews for your product. These will not only help customers get a better understanding of your product but allow you to learn more about what they want. You can also use your social media as a way to reach your buyers to gain those reviews. The key here is to reach out to them, don’t wait for them to come to you.

Each one of these components can help make your eCommerce website a success. The good news is you do not have to do it alone either. Our team at Nuanced Media is here to offer guidance and help with every step of the process. All you have to do is to reach out to us today.

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