Ecommerce is here to stay. One of the hidden benefits of the pandemic, was the amount of people who moved their shopping experience online. Now is probably one of the best times in Internet history to start an Ecommerce website.
Here are 7 ways to increase traffic to your e-commerce website without buying ads:
- Referral Program
Many of the top ecommerce sites have exploded by using a referral program. Sites, like Shopify and Etsy have referral tools built-in, but you can easily add a referral program to your website. If you are using WordPress, check out this plugin. - Freebie / Upsell
This tactic is used by all the bigs. It’s a proven formula for building an email list and starting buyers into your funnel. Simply create a landing page dedicated to a valuable freebie (such as a PDF report, Google Sheet, Tips, etc) and use an opt-in form. If using WordPress, WPForms is the perfect choice for a free form email collector. As a bonus, hook up Mailchimp (also free) to store the emails and re-target your offers. - Blog Post -> Twitter (one-two punch)
This strategy is probably one of the most effective way to find new targeted buyers. Start by writing a highly valuable blog post that is long-form (over 500 words). Then, use the scheduler in Twitter or a service like Buffer to schedule snippets of the article as tweets. BONUS TIP: Stack 10 blog posts and schedule a different snippet/tweet every day. Do not repeat the same tweet sooner than 10 days – or delete the tweet after 10 days. - Socials
Of course, this one is easy. Once you have your blog content growing, it’s easy to find a free image on Pexels or Unsplash and post daily with a link back to your post. - Loyalty Program
This one is also used by all professional ecommerce sites. It might take a bit to get set up, but by offering points or loyalty rewards to your buyers, you can keep them coming back. - Guest Posts
If you are just starting out and don’t have a following on socials or customers, finding another site in your niche to guest post is a great start. - Start a YouTube Channel
Most of your new customers can be found on Twitter and YouTube, since the discovery aspect of those sites is better than other social sites. If you start a channel where you are reviewing products or creating how-to videos, you can include links to your website in the description and let the YouTube algorithm work for you!
These seven strategies are tested and proven, but it takes consistency. The best thing to do, is to start with each strategy as a 10-day focus. Dive deep on each strategy and really take the time to create valuable content and work each one. Give it some time to settle in and make sure you look at the metrics. We will be posting another article on metrics that can help figure out what is working and where to make adjustments.
Best of luck in your ecommerce journey and stay positive – this stuff works!