Online retailers must consistently work to attract new customers if they want to grow their business. With so many choices available, B2C ecommerce companies have to find effective ways to convince site visitors to convert into buyers. In this article, we will explore 13 proven strategies for earning more customers through organic and paid channels. Implementing a combination of on-site optimizations, content marketing, ads, social media and more can help drive more traffic and transactions.
Optimize Your Website For Mobile
Given that over half of website visits now occur on mobile devices, it is paramount that your site offers a seamless experience across phones and tablets. At a minimum, ensure your site has responsive design which automatically resizes content to fit different screens. You should also audit page speeds to eliminate slow load times which cause high bounce rates on mobile.
Use tools like Google's Mobile-Friendly Test and PageSpeed Insights to diagnose issues. Optimize images, reduce redirects and enable compression to improve load times. It's also a good idea to test how your site appears and functions across various mobile browsers and devices. Ask others to test on their phones so you can identify any glitches. Offering a optimized website makes the path to purchase simple for mobile shoppers.
Improve Your Product Pages
Product pages are one of the most important pages on an ecommerce site as they aim to convert browsers into buyers. High resolution images displayed at optimal sizes are key to help customers visualize products. Include multiple angles to showcase details.
Complement photos with thorough descriptions covering materials, sizing, features and benefits. For apparel, include models wearing items at different sizes. Product specifications tables are also useful. Customer reviews and social proof like star ratings and review count leads to increased trust and conversions.
Make reviews visible without requiring a click. Optimize review snippets and leverage Positive, Negative, Neutral sorting. Consider integrating review collection tools directly on product pages. Pages loaded with vivid images, information and reviews are more compelling and convert better. Checkout: https://zipprr.com/aliexpress-clone/
Master Search Engine Optimization
Search engines send a huge percentage of free traffic to ecommerce stores. Mastering SEO practices will help rank higher in search results and expose your products to interested shoppers.
For on-page factors, optimize page titles, headers, meta descriptions and image alt-text around important keywords. Internal linking between category, collection and product pages also helps search engines understand site structure. Focus on long-tail keyword phrases relevant to your products.
Off-page factors involve getting relevant links from authoritative sites. Guest post with niche blogs and directories, while building relationships with influencers. Social shares and backlinks from social profiles also aid visibility. Monitor keyword rankings and adjust strategy based on analytics. SEO is an ongoing process but delivers steady returns.
Leverage Email Marketing
Building an email list is crucial for an ecommerce business as it enables personalized, automated communication. Incentivize site visitors to sign up for your newsletter via opt-ins on the home page and throughout the website.
Craft informative, intriguing subject lines highlighting timely offers. For the body, keep it brief with an attractive hero image linking to the offer. Include related/recommended products below and call users to action clearly. Balance promotional and educational content to maintain readership.
Automate re-targeting based on cart abandonment with incentive emails within minutes of leaving items unpurchased. Welcome series and post-purchase follow ups improve loyalty. Constant nurturing through relevant emails brings lapsed customers back.
Run Promotional Discounts and Deals
Limited-time promotions attract shoppers swayed by perceived value and urgency. Launch flash sales of curated bundles at attractive prices. Customers enjoy combo deals while retailers clear excess inventory.
Create exclusive coupon codes promoting new collections or seasonal arrivals on social media. Combine codes with time-bound offers for stronger pull. Ensure deals are visible sitewide via banners or popups.
Analytics will reveal best time for sales - holidays, back-to-school etc. A/B test frequency, offering different deals to segmented lists. Carefully track profitability of each promotion to optimize further campaigns. Sales bridge lulls by stimulating demand through discounts.
Optimize Product Listing Ads
Google Shopping and Amazon allow showcasing products to certain search queries for a cost-per-click. Craft targeted, optimized campaigns on these ad networks.
Closely monitor individual ad and target keyword performance. Continuously refine budgets, bids and targets driving the best return on ad spend (ROAS). Be ready to pause underperforming ads or keywords.
Consider retargeting and remarketing ads showcasing subsets of website traffic and past visitors via cookies. Build dynamic AdWords campaigns triggering relevant ads based on browsing behavior. Careful management and testing of paid listings extends reach.
Display Creative Banner Ads
Social media platforms enable running visually rich, interactive banner campaigns. Capitalize on the massive audiences on Facebook and Instagram by promoting timely offers through compelling ads.
Avoid generic images - be creative with your visual storytelling. Portray aspirational lifestyles or show products in use. Include prominent calls-to-action. Test different headlines, images and copy variations to see what converts best for your audience and products.
Narrow targeting via interests, behaviors, demographics and past site activities delivers your ad to engaged prospects. Leverage dynamic/retargeting ads powered by ad platform pixels for greater relevance. Balancing creatives with tight targeting boosts results from paid social posts.
Engage Customers on Social Media
An active social media presence builds brand awareness while offering customer support. Post a variety of fresh, useful and engaging content regularly across key platforms.
Showcase new collections and behind-the-scenes videos on Instagram and Pinterest. Share tips, answers consumer questions and drive conversations through Facebook posts. Encourage user-generated content by responding supportively to tagged posts, reviews and questions.
Social proof like follower counts and reviews posted organically boost credibility for your brand. Drive social signups by incentivizing share-to-unlock promotions. Understanding different demographics on each channel helps tailor the right messages.
Build An Affiliate Marketing Program
Partnering with relevant influencers expands your reach through their networks. Build a clear affiliate program structure highlighting benefits like sign-up bonuses, tiered commissions and performance tracking tools.
Recruit micro-influencers from complementary niches through outreach. Provide creative assets and optimized product links for them to promote naturally. Track sales and payout commissions regularly to motivate affiliates.
Loyal ambassadors help convert cold traffic while you focus on strengthening your brand. Ensure the program page clearly explains terms to attract eager partners. Nurture the program by supporting top affiliates individually.
Offer Compelling Live Chat
During peak shopping times, an attentive live chat team addressing customer queries converts doubts into orders. Train agents to provide prompt, polite assistance with a knowledgebase at their disposal.
Explain chat availability clearly on the site with an engaging prompt or floating widget. Gather leads from abandoned carts or bounce page visitors through proactive engagement. Feed common queries to automated chatbots for 24/7 help.
Prompt customer service fosters trust while resolving issues. Chat history also provides qualitative feedback for improvements. Patience and personalization makes the difference in securing sales amid high competition.
Conduct Inbound Marketing
Reputation and consideration develop organically through helpful content beyond product listings alone. Publish tailored guides, how-tos, tips and reviews on your blog or as downloads.
Optimize titles, descriptions and images for targeted keywords before promoting content through topical keywords, tags and backlinks. Syndicate guides to relevant industry magazines or directories.
Webinars work well to position yourself as a thought leader while subtly endorsing products/services. Measure performance of each content type and reinforce top-converting formats for lead magnets or your social media strategy.
Nurture Website Pop-Ups
Timely, non-intrusive prompts at optimal points in the user journey can effectively boost cart size. Behavioral triggers serve personalized offers based on browsing history or time spent online.
Test soft introductions to complementary items customers may need alongside purchases. Target page exits or add-to-carts with limited cart offers increasing average order value. Time boxes increase urgency for quick decisions.
An engaging design balanced with relevancy and scarcity makes pop-ups a useful sales tool. Closely analyze metrics to optimize content, frequency and placement site-wide for maximal response.
Analyze Website Traffic & Conversions
Google Analytics and other analytics tools reveal what's working versus dead ends needing improvement. Drill down traffic sources to attribute impact and ROI of each campaign.
Inspect bounce rates and onsite behavior flows to identify pain points costing sales. Segment demographics to tailor experience. Monitor goals like signups, carts, purchases over time against campaigns.
Continuous testing and optimizations based on quantified results ensures resources are deployed effectively. Evaluate top pages, products and campaigns regularly to sustain relevance. Iterative improvement keeps conversion rates climbing over the long-term.
Conclusion
The online retail landscape is highly competitive so proactively earning new customers through tried-and-true techniques will help thriving B2C merchants stay ahead. Optimizing your website, strengthening your product presentation, leveraging paid and organic search, email nurturing, creative social media engagement and live support differentiates the customer experience.