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15 Ecommerce Marketing Ideas Your Company Should Try
Learn how to generate more revenue from the web with this compilation of the most effective ecommerce marketing ideas, from using email marketing to social media ads.
- insights from 179,000+ hours of retail & ecommerce marketing experience
If you want your business to continue to grow, you must adapt the way you market your ecommerce store. Digital ecommerce marketing is the most effective way to reach interested shoppers. If you’re looking for marketing ideas for ecommerce companies, you’ve come to the right place!
On this page, we’ll provide you with 15 marketing ideas for ecommerce companies. If you need help creating a marketing plan that works for your business, call us today at 888-601-5359 or contact us online to speak with a strategist.
Before we dive into our 15 ecommerce marketing ideas, it’s important to understand what ecommerce marketing is, especially regarding your website.
Learn What Product Feed Management Is Here!
What is ecommerce marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is the practice of creating brand awareness, increasing sales, and turning online shoppers into loyal customers for your ecommerce site through different marketing practices and channels. Some strategies that are effective for ecommerce marketing are SEO, PPC, social media, and email marketing.
We’ll go over these strategies and more in our list of 15 ecommerce marketing tips below. Let’s dive in!
1. Invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to reach more customers with your ecommerce site
SEO services are a great way for you to bring ready-to-buy shoppers to your business. This method will help you boost your website’s ranking in the search results, helping you reach your target audience.
To get started with SEO, you must choose keywords. Keywords trigger your website to appear in relevant search results. If you want relevant leads to find your business, you need to choose the right keywords.
You will find relevant keywords by conducting keyword research. As you conduct research, focus on long-tail keywords. These are keywords that contain three or more words, like “yellow raincoats for women.”
These keywords are specific, so you appear in relevant search results and connect with valuable shoppers, rather than consumers still researching their options. Long-tail keywords help you connect with high-value shoppers and drive them to your site.
There is more to SEO than selecting keywords. You also need to improve your site’s performance to help you rank better in the search results. This includes your page speed, navigation, and other factors that contribute to your page’s performance in the search results.
If you’re using ecommerce marketing practices, you’ll want to include SEO.
2. Use pay-per-click (PPC) to drive sales for your ecommerce business
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a valuable part of your ecommerce marketing strategy.
This strategy allows you to attract shoppers that know what they want but need to find the right place to get it. In fact, 65 percent of all high-intent searches result in someone clicking on a PPC ad.
These paid advertisements appear at the top of the search results, so they are great for attracting leads that are ready to convert.
To get started with PPC for your ecommerce business, you must choose keywords. Similar to SEO, you’ll want to choose long-tail keywords because they drive better traffic and keep your cost per click (CPC) low. A low CPC means you can get more clicks for your budget.
Once you have your keywords selected, you’ll bid for your ad’s placement. You set your maximum bid, which is the amount you are willing to spend each time someone clicks on your ad. This amount is flexible, and you can change it whenever you want.
Your maximum bid and quality score will determine your ad’s placement.
If you want to get the best placement, focus on improving your quality score. Google cares about putting the best content in front of their audience, so it’s better to have more relevant ad copy with a low bid than poor ad copy with a high bid.
Once you set your bid, you can launch your PPC campaign.
PPC is one of the best methods for attracting consumers looking to buy products like yours. They will be more likely to convert, which will help your store grow. PPC is cost-effective, too, as it allows you to control your budget and set the amount that works best for your campaign.
As you generate marketing ideas for your ecommerce company, don’t forget to include PPC on your list. This ecommerce digital marketing idea will help your business grow and reach new heights.
3. Reduce your percentage of abandoned carts with email marketing
Did you know that an estimated 300 million dollars are lost in ecommerce sales due to cart abandonment? People often put products in their cart and leave them there. If you want to recover these sales, invest in email marketing.
Many people put products in their cart and leave your website. Whether they got distracted or they got cold feet, these are potential orders for your business. Sending an email to remind people they have products in their cart can help your ecommerce store accelerate its revenue.
Let’s look at this example from Target:
The title of this email starts with, “You left something behind, check out now.” The title entices users to click on the email to see what they left behind.
Once you open the email, the heading states “It’s almost yours… just one more little step.” This tells people that it’s easy to complete their purchase. It also has a noticeable call to action (CTA) button stating, “Get it now.”
Just below this information, you see the product itself, as well as the cost. This makes it simple and easy to see what you left in your cart. It’s an effective email that gets people to buy the product they left behind.
By using email marketing, you can help your business recover potentially lost sales by re-engaging leads through abandoned shopping cart emails. This is an effective marketing idea for ecommerce businesses that allows you to generate more sales and revenue.
4. Advertise your products on social media to drive sales on your ecommerce site
Social media is a powerful tool that allows businesses to reach people where they spend their time online the most. Each social media platform has its own form of paid advertisements. You can use this as an opportunity for you to market your products to interested leads.
To start, choose your social media platform. Some of the most popular platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Each of these platforms offers paid advertising options that you can use to reach more people.
Once you select your platform, check out their advertising program.
After you have your platform selected, you can start running social ads. The great thing about social media platforms is that they have some of the most precise ad targeting available to you. You can reach a particular type of person through these ads and get them to buy your products.
You set your budget amount, style of ad, and duration for your campaign. It’s simple and easy to run these ads and start reaching people interested in your products.
By leveraging social media ads, you’ll reach more interested shoppers and earn more conversions and revenue for your business. It’s one of the best ecommerce marketing ideas for helping your business grow and be profitable online.
5. Invest in making your ecommerce website easy for buyers to shop on
An important part of your business is your website. It’s your storefront in the ecommerce world. If you want your audience to have a positive experience on your site, invest in making your site visually appealing and easy to use.
Users want to be able to browse products on your site and add them to their cart easily. They don’t want to struggle to find what they need or to check out. It’s crucial that you make the purchasing process as seamless as possible to maximize your chances of earning conversions.
Your audience doesn’t want to spend 20 minutes (and won’t) trying to figure out how to navigate your site and find the product they need. You must make your website as seamless and as easy to use as possible.
The best way to do this is to create a user-friendly design.
When you keep your audience in mind as you design your site, you create a site that’s easier for them to use. You design your website so your audience has an easier time finding products and buying them.
By investing in your website, you’ll put your business on the fast track to earning more orders that help your ecommerce business grow online.
6. Use content marketing to build brand awareness and shopper loyalty
Content marketing is one of the most powerful ways to drive traffic to your site. Not only does it help you attract and earn valuable consumers, but it also helps you establish yourself as an authority.
To get started with content marketing, you need to pick your topics. You can figure out the right topics for your content by conducting keyword and audience research. This will give you an abundance of options for writing content that your audience wants.
Once you have your topics, you will choose your format. You can create blog posts, videos, podcasts, ebooks, or infographics. It’s up to you to decide how to best deliver your content. Use a variety of formats to keep your content fresh and engaging for your audience.
When you create accurate, user-friendly content, you establish yourself as an authority. People will trust that you are an expert in your field. It makes them more likely to choose your business because they can trust you.
While readers may not convert right away from your content, they will remember your business. When they’re ready to convert, they will choose your ecommerce store over the competition.
If you’re looking for great marketing ideas for ecommerce companies, add content marketing to your list.
Not only will you drive more traffic to your site and generate new orders, but you’ll help your website rank better in the search results to attract even more traffic. It’s a great method for helping you increase your potential for conversions.
7. Personalize your audience’s experience
When you create an ecommerce digital marketing plan, a crucial element for success is personalization. Your audience is bombarded with hundreds of products a day. They don’t want to waste their time seeing products that aren’t relevant to their needs or interests.
With personalization, you use behavioral data to help you create a unique experience for each person in your audience. You show them products tailored to their interests based on their shopping behaviors.
It’s a great way to only deliver products your audience wants to buy.
Personalization is crucial to your online marketing success.
Whether you’re running an ad or sending an email, it’s crucial that you think about how to tailor it to segments of your target audience. Don’t waste your time with generic messages that fit everyone in your audience, as they won’t motivate people to act on your offers.
If you’re looking for marketing ideas for ecommerce companies that help you get the most out of your campaign, start with personalization. Personalization will help you increase engagement and conversions for your ecommerce company.
8. Leverage user-generated content on social media
As an ecommerce business, the most challenging part of marketing your products is getting people to trust them. People don’t want to waste their money on a product that doesn’t work, breaks easily, or underdelivers on user expectations.
This is where user-generated content can help you build trust in your products.
Many people turn to reviews when deciding to purchase a product. In fact, 89 percent of millennials trust recommendations from family and friends more than the brand itself. People turn to other people to get a clear and honest experience of a product.
User-generated content is a great example of this kind of product experience. When people enjoy your products, they may post about them on your social media. This is a great way to promote your products with an authentic experience.
Many big companies, like Target and Walmart, use user-generated content in their Instagram marketing strategies. They use this as an opportunity to show people experiencing their products. It’s a great way to build trust with their audience.
By investing in user-generated content, you’ll create an opportunity for your business to build trust with your audience. They will see real people using your products and be more enticed to check them out (or buy them!).
It’s a great opportunity for you to create trust and encourage conversions from your audience.
9. Optimize your ecommerce storefront for mobile
As technology rapidly grows and changes, your business must keep up with this evolution.
Now, mobile-friendliness is crucial to your business’s success. More people are shopping for products on their mobile devices, so it’s essential that you adapt the mobile experience to be a positive one.
Analysts predict that over 53 percent of retail ecommerce sales will be on mobile. That means that over half of online purchases will be done on these devices, rather than a desktop computer!
If you want your business to survive, you must adapt your website for mobile purchases. You need to create a mobile experience that makes it easy for your audience to browse your site and complete purchases.
To do this, think about how people purchase products on mobile devices. Think about the way they scroll down pages, how they click on buttons, and the size of the screen. These are all important factors to consider because they influence how your audience navigates your site.
As an example, when people browse on mobile phones, they typically use their thumbs to scroll and click on buttons. If your “Add to cart” button is in the top corner, it’s not in an ideal space for tapping.
It would be better to put the button towards the bottom or middle because it’s easier to reach.
When you’re updating your site for mobile usage, put the user first. Create a website that caters to how people browse on their phones. If you do that, you’ll create a better experience for your audience and encourage more conversions.
By optimizing your storefront for mobile, you’ll drive better results for your business. It’s a great marketing idea for ecommerce companies that will help you earn more sales, orders, and revenue for your business.
10. Utilize shopping feed management to manage coupons for your customers
Shopping feed management is a valuable tool for your ecommerce business to help you improve the information within your product feed to show your product to the right people when they are shopping.
When you use shopping feed management, you streamline your ecommerce platform for coupon integration and custom shopping feeds for your audience. This strategy helps you get to know your audience better so you can deliver products and coupons that align with their needs.
You can target these online shoppers by presenting them with the right products and deals. Shopping feed management allows you to optimize your site and coupons so more customers are compelled to buy your products.
If you need help with your shopping feed, WebFX can help. We’ll help you audit, analyze, and optimize your existing shopping feed for help you create a new one. Call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about optimizing your shopping feed.
11. Think visually when building your ecommerce website and brand
The hardest part about selling your products online is that your audience can’t see or interact with your product in person to determine if it’s the best fit for them. It can be a challenge to provide your audience with that kind of information online.
To help make it easier for your audience to buy, think visually when you’re building your website and brand. It’s one of the most important marketing ideas for ecommerce companies that want to grow.
When you list products on your website, ensure that you post enough photos to help your audience see how the product looks. Provide images from all angles. Show your product with the size dimensions or next to an object for scale, too.
You can take it a step further by adding a video showing the product in action. Whether it’s a model posing in the shirt you’re selling or someone showing your frying pan in action, videos can help your audience get a better sense of your products.
Visuals make it easier for your shoppers to understand your products. They can see all angles of the product, as well as watch it in action. This helps build them build the confidence to add your product to their cart and purchase it.
In addition, allow people to post photos in their reviews. People want to know exactly how the product looks when they get it. By allowing people to upload their own photos, it gives users an authentic product experience.
If you want to be successful with ecommerce digital marketing, focus on being visual. It will lead more people to engage with your product listings and could ultimately convince people to choose your product over a competitor.
12. Utilize video marketing for ecommerce digital marketing to show off your products
Video marketing is a powerful way to market your products. As we stated previously, videos are a great way to give your audience insight into your products. It’s one of the best ways to help your audience see before buying.
This type of marketing goes far beyond just marketing products. Not only is video great for showing off your products, but you can also use it to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how they’re made. It’s a great way to help your audience understand your products better.
The example below features Nordstrom’s YouTube channel, a great platform for video marketing.
Aside from behind-the-scenes, you can also create promotional videos. Video marketing is a great way to market your products to your audience. You can show your product in action and tell your audience why it’s the best fit for them.
Did you know that 80 percent of users switch between searching online and watching videos when researching products? Video has a huge impact on users during the research and buying process, so it’s important that you utilize this method to help you reach valuable leads and earn conversions.
Video marketing creates a great opportunity for you to educate your audience about your product and promote that product to help more people find it.
13. Use Amazon marketplace to reach more customers
As an ecommerce business, you want to reach leads wherever they will buy your products. You want to take advantage of any credible platform you can use to help more people find your products. Amazon is a great platform for posting your products and reaching valuable leads.
It’s a great platform to help you reach leads that you can’t reach through other mediums. In fact, 92 percent of Americans have purchased products from Amazon, while 44 percent of people buy something from Amazon at least once a month. Many people use this platform to find the products they need.
If you want to reach these leads, create your online store on Amazon and start selling your products. It’s a great opportunity for you to market your products to interested leads.
In addition to selling your products, you can also advertise your products on Amazon. Amazon allows you to create sponsored posts to reach more people looking for your products. It helps your products appear at the top of the search results so more people find your products.
To make the most of your Amazon campaign, you must invest in Amazon SEO. Amazon SEO will help you optimize your product listings to reach more leads searching for your products. It’s a great way to help your ecommerce business earn more conversions.
By investing in Amazon marketing, you’ll expose more people to your products and help your business grow by earning more conversions.
14. Utilize Walmart marketplace to reach more customers
Alongside Amazon, Walmart marketplace is another great place to sell your products. You can reach hundreds of people who are conducting searches for products you sell. It’s a great opportunity to reach a larger audience and earn more conversions.
Walmart makes it simple and easy for you to upload your products to their site. You can bulk upload them, do it by a single item, or use a solution provider to upload your product catalog. Once you upload all your products, optimize their product information, and establish your shipping process, you can launch your store.
This marketplace is a great opportunity for you to earn more conversions for your business. You’ll help your business grow by reaching a new pool of customers that may not find your business through other marketing efforts.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to expand your business with ecommerce marketing, Walmart marketplace is a great starting point to reach more valuable customers for your ecommerce company. It’s one of the best marketing ideas for ecommerce companies that want to expand their reach.
15. Optimize your products for visual search optimization to earn more conversions on your ecommerce site
As we stated previously, your ecommerce business relies heavily on imagery to engage your audience and get them to purchase products. Many times, people know the type of product they want to buy, but they don’t know the best way to search for it. By optimizing for visual search, you can help direct leads to your products.
It’s a great way for you to earn leads from competitors, too. Let’s say you sell insulated water bottles. A lead is out shopping and sees an insulated water bottle they like.
Upon looking at the price, it’s too expensive for their budget, but it’s still a product they want. To find a similar product at a cheaper price, the lead takes a photo of the water bottle and searches for it online.
So, they conduct a visual search, and, to your luck, they find you carry a very similar product for a better price! Now, they decide to purchase from your business instead of the competitor’s business.
Visual search is an important part of your business because it helps people find your products when they don’t know how to search for them. It’s a great way to attract leads to your products and get them to buy from you.
Start using these marketing ideas for your ecommerce business today
When you’re trying to reach new shoppers for your ecommerce business, a strong digital marketing plan can help. By obtaining a list of marketing ideas for ecommerce companies, you’ll be able to build a strong online presence that allows you to grow your business.
If you don’t have time to dedicate to building your online marketing plan, WebFX can help. We have over 28 years of experience creating digital marketing campaigns for ecommerce companies that drive results. Our team has managed over 14.9 million transactions in the past five years for our clients.
We’ll help you create an ecommerce digital marketing campaign that works for your business.
Want to learn more about creating a custom ecommerce marketing campaign? Contact us online to see how we can help you compile marketing ideas for ecommerce businesses to create an effective campaign.
We Drive Results for Ecommerce Stores
- 14.9 million+ transactions generated for clients
- 10+ different departments to support your website
Table of Contents
- What is Ecommerce Marketing?
- 1. Invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Reach More Customers with Your Ecommerce Site
- 2. Use Pay-per-click (PPC) to Drive Sales for Your Ecommerce Business
- 3. Reduce Your Percentage of Abandoned Carts with Email Marketing
- 4. Advertise Your Products on Social Media to Drive Sales on Your Ecommerce Site
- 5. Invest in Making Your Ecommerce Website Easy for Buyers to Shop on
- 6. Use Content Marketing to Build Brand Awareness and Shopper Loyalty
- 7. Personalize Your Audience’s Experience
- 8. Leverage User-generated Content on Social Media
- 9. Optimize Your Ecommerce Storefront for Mobile
- 10. Utilize Shopping Feed Management to Manage Coupons for Your Customers
- 11. Think Visually when Building Your Ecommerce Website and Brand
- 12. Utilize Video Marketing for Ecommerce Digital Marketing to Show off Your Products
- 13. Use Amazon Marketplace to Reach More Customers
- 14. Utilize Walmart Marketplace to Reach More Customers
- 15. Optimize Your Products for Visual Search Optimization to Earn More Conversions on Your Ecommerce Site
- Start Using These Marketing Ideas for Your Ecommerce Business Today
We Drive Results for Ecommerce Stores
- 14.9 million+ transactions generated for clients
- 10+ different departments to support your website
Explore our retail & ecommerce case studies
Read our case studies for a more in-depth look at our results.
Solving key challenges for ecommerce companies
Our website isn’t driving enough traffic
Boost your online visibility and brand awareness with our top-tier marketing services that increase your rankings in search results so you can outshine your biggest competitors and drive more qualified traffic to your website.
We’re not selling enough products
When you partner with WebFX, boosting your product sales is a breeze. Our expert designers and marketing specialists will optimize your product pages and ad campaigns for maximum conversions, ensure your site provides a great user experience (UX), and more.
We aren’t acquiring new customers
Struggling to reach new members of your target audience so you can increase your sales? Our team can help you launch highly-targeted advertisements and marketing strategies that reach the people most likely to purchase your products (and turn them into loyal customers).
We’re not retaining customers
The team at WebFX specializes in helping your ecommerce store implement strategies that build brand loyalty to keep past customers coming back to purchase more of your amazing products.