Building an online store usually gets much more complicated than
just creating a website and getting the products to sell. You need to
stand out from competitors, and give prospect customers a reason to
spend money with you.
It doesn't help to have the very best products known to the industry if your store doesn't land you visitors that may be interested in purchasing them. And if you have started doing business very recently, there is a good chance that your store is currently sitting in an obscure corner of the Internet, with nobody to see it.
What are some good traffic generation guides that can land you new visitors in a relatively short time? Read on to find out.
1. Pay-Per-Click Ads
Although considered unethical, PPC ad campaigns are usually one of the most popular and remarkably efficient techniques to drive more traffic to your eCommerce store. Google itself offers businesses the opportunity to increase website traffic by creating PPC campaigns through AdWords, a pay-per-click platform that displays ads at the top or on the right of SERPs.
If you want to invest in an AdWords campaign, it's better to avoid promoting your entire store, as this can create confusion among prospects. Instead, choose to advertise a unique benefit of your store: easy returns, discounted designer accessories, up to 75% discounts to new customers. The more enticing the benefit, the better chance you stand at driving traffic and boosting conversions.
2. Leverage Social Media
Creating promotional campaigns on social media can greatly impact your success - especially when done correctly. But to make this traffic generation method work, you must be smart about how you put together the campaign - specifically, you need to be very mindful of the elements of a good campaign.
You need an attractive, one-sentence post, a large, visually-appealing image, and an incentive - something that encourages fans to click through your links and possibly make a purchase.
Create your posts thoughtfully if you want your online store to get traffic. Never write more than one or two sentences, and always try to keep the word count of the entire post under 140-160 characters.
GOOD: "You can never look too elegant. Right? Browse [store name] today - first-time customers get up to 75% discounts!" (112 characters)
BAD: "For women, looking good is never easy. We keep searching for the perfect garment, we spend hours in the front of the mirror, we ask for a best friend's opinion. Browse [store name] and find our collection of fail-proof garments. Up to 75% discounts for new customers!" (267 characters)
3. Optimize Image ALT Tags
As much as 20 to 60% percent of traffic can be driven by image search - and since you have an online store, you have images for every single product that you're selling. You can easily land more visits if you learn how to correctly optimize your images' ALT tags with the right keywords.
If you're selling a luggage set by Pierre Cardin, a suitable ALT text would be "Pierre Cardin luggage set" or "stylish luggage set for women by Pierre Cardin" instead of just "luggage set."
You can copy and paste the product's name in the ALT text field, but it's better to write a more specific keyword that corresponds to common search queries performed by prospective customers.
Final Word
You cannot expect to build an online store and expect customers to find you immediately. You need to drive traffic to establish credibility and trust, and also to start converting visitors into customers. Find unique selling propositions and discounts, or make use of the right incentives to give them a reason to click through your website and even spend their money with you - which is your ultimate goal, right?
It doesn't help to have the very best products known to the industry if your store doesn't land you visitors that may be interested in purchasing them. And if you have started doing business very recently, there is a good chance that your store is currently sitting in an obscure corner of the Internet, with nobody to see it.
What are some good traffic generation guides that can land you new visitors in a relatively short time? Read on to find out.
1. Pay-Per-Click Ads
Although considered unethical, PPC ad campaigns are usually one of the most popular and remarkably efficient techniques to drive more traffic to your eCommerce store. Google itself offers businesses the opportunity to increase website traffic by creating PPC campaigns through AdWords, a pay-per-click platform that displays ads at the top or on the right of SERPs.
If you want to invest in an AdWords campaign, it's better to avoid promoting your entire store, as this can create confusion among prospects. Instead, choose to advertise a unique benefit of your store: easy returns, discounted designer accessories, up to 75% discounts to new customers. The more enticing the benefit, the better chance you stand at driving traffic and boosting conversions.
2. Leverage Social Media
Creating promotional campaigns on social media can greatly impact your success - especially when done correctly. But to make this traffic generation method work, you must be smart about how you put together the campaign - specifically, you need to be very mindful of the elements of a good campaign.
You need an attractive, one-sentence post, a large, visually-appealing image, and an incentive - something that encourages fans to click through your links and possibly make a purchase.
Create your posts thoughtfully if you want your online store to get traffic. Never write more than one or two sentences, and always try to keep the word count of the entire post under 140-160 characters.
GOOD: "You can never look too elegant. Right? Browse [store name] today - first-time customers get up to 75% discounts!" (112 characters)
BAD: "For women, looking good is never easy. We keep searching for the perfect garment, we spend hours in the front of the mirror, we ask for a best friend's opinion. Browse [store name] and find our collection of fail-proof garments. Up to 75% discounts for new customers!" (267 characters)
3. Optimize Image ALT Tags
As much as 20 to 60% percent of traffic can be driven by image search - and since you have an online store, you have images for every single product that you're selling. You can easily land more visits if you learn how to correctly optimize your images' ALT tags with the right keywords.
If you're selling a luggage set by Pierre Cardin, a suitable ALT text would be "Pierre Cardin luggage set" or "stylish luggage set for women by Pierre Cardin" instead of just "luggage set."
You can copy and paste the product's name in the ALT text field, but it's better to write a more specific keyword that corresponds to common search queries performed by prospective customers.
Final Word
You cannot expect to build an online store and expect customers to find you immediately. You need to drive traffic to establish credibility and trust, and also to start converting visitors into customers. Find unique selling propositions and discounts, or make use of the right incentives to give them a reason to click through your website and even spend their money with you - which is your ultimate goal, right?
