If you’re in pursuit of some proven ways to get quality traffic to your online store to increase your sales, then this is the post for you. Online traffic is not some divine right for any site, each store or portal must work hard to attract visitors and to keep them coming back. Quality traffic requires even more effort on the part of the site, engaging with prospects and customers on a regular basis, being seen on the right sites or social media platforms, and putting out attractive messages to engage the target audience.
1. Ensure your advertising lands smartly
Paid advertising remains one of the primary method of attracting traffic to most online stores. You will already know the keywords essential to your business success, but should focus on using advertising to lead customers to high-impact and high-performing pages or products that are proven sellers.
For new customers, make sure there is a discount offer or other deal prominently displayed on the landing page to encourage them to shop, and ensure you get their email address or social media following as part of the deal to encourage repeat business.
While not every e-commerce landing page is oriented around a lead gen form, this one from Groupon does a really good job of illustrating an easy path to victory. The user lands on the page and are given incentive to provide their email as seen in the picture above.
Read more on this: 11 elements of a successful website
2. Mix your sales and informational posts
With more marketing, advertising and engagement performed over social media, there is a strong need to provide a mix of information, insight, offers, and fun – depending on the store, to maintain the interest of your followers.
Any business should share unveiling of new products or services. Highlight the company’s or product appearances at trade shows, festivals or other events. Even highlight staff in action – either at business or company social events – to give a human face to what can often appear a totally automated process.
Any posts should contain those high-focus keywords, but don’t make them stuffed with keywords and salesy pitch that are clearly not meant for a human to read. Tell stories, use emotion and drama to hook readers, make them shareable and interesting, with plenty of imagery or video.
3. Reviews are free advertising
According to a research some 90% of people read an online review before visiting a site. Ensure your reviews are searchable and shareable, as an independent opinion is considered far more valuable than the typical marketing text. If you have some amazing reviews, why not show them up on your site?
You can also provide a feedback link between buyers who have completed an order and those who may be considering one, creating higher quality traffic. Your positive reinforcement is more likely to nudge a prospect into a sale, which is why it is essential to have social media sharing buttons on reviews to help people share these opinions.
4. Business buyers love data
Any e-commerce store selling to the business sector should make maximum use of statistics and data. Ensure adverts and social media posts highlight these, as most business buyers either have to, or love to, justify their buying decision with a data point.
These could include a customer satisfaction rating, an efficiency or productivity improvement score. You can also use some of your own data points, such as most popular products or “used by x% of our clients” to create relevant data points. By speaking the language of your business buyers, you are more likely to attract quality traffic and increase sales.
5. Be part of your community
Stores focused on any particular vertical, market or niche should be an active part of the that community. From participating in online forums and social media groups dedicated to the area, to attending trade shows or conferences, a virtual or physical presence creates awareness that transcends Google search. Top notch social media marketing can help grow your online community.
Summary
Ideally, any store e-commerce efforts would be competent in all five of these areas to increase the quality of their traffic. However, a focus on quality over volume will always coalesce around the areas of most interest to the store and its customers, focus on those first and others later.
