When managing an e-commerce site, whatever it is, we are always faced with the same dilemma: how to bring visitors?
Many entrepreneurs swear by natural referencing and buying Ad Words keywords … Yet you have multiple ways to fill the funnel of your E-commerce.
I invite you to read a list of 18 tools – grouped into 4 main categories – which will allow you to increase the visibility of your site & to draw more potential buyers for your E-commerce.
Make yourself known via search engines
1 – SEO on search engines (SEO)
Google rules da world! .. With 3.7 billion pages of results viewed via search engines, a website – whatever it may be – can not ignore its natural referencing in its strategy of acquiring traffic.
2 – Pub. On search engines (SEA)
A sponsored link campaign is a paid advertising action on the “click”.
The main advantage of Search Engine Advertising is that it offers high visibility instantly, and that it can control its cost of acquisition: as an advertiser, you bid on a keyword to appear in front of others. It’s a bit of the keyword purse …
However, one can not improvise “trader” … The budgets of sponsored links can cost you very expensive unless you know how to optimize your CPC campaigns correctly!
> Make yourself known via “advertising” actions
3 – Headbands e-pub (display)
A format resulting from the “traditional” advertising that is valued mainly at the cost per thousand, as in mass media advertising. The principles of “support” and “useful audience” apply completely with this visibility lever.
This is not the most efficient format to bring visitors:
– Catch rates are low
– Net surfers learned to navigate without seeing the ad (14 sec before seeing a banner!)
However, the e-pub in the form of display has the merit of grabbing 7% of surf time of Internet users. A significant “part of time”, which can eventually benefit brands that want to make themselves known & improve their reputation.
4 – E-mailing
Direct marketing new generation, E-mailing is the second means of communication that encourage the most to purchase. It is one of the first CA drivers for E-commerce.
Its ridiculous cost allows you to spend more time testing and especially targeting your messages, so as to address them to the right person, with the right timing … If you succeed this key step of e-mail marketing, then you enjoy satisfactory return rates.
5 – Public Relations Online (press releases)
Are you launching a new product? You can publish a press release on the web on publishing sites, or even on sites specialized in your field of activity.
In addition to the announcement effect, this publication will also bring you visitors in the medium term. But do not be deceived, it is not with a single publication that your result will be tangible.
7 – Presence in the Physical World & Actions MKG Offline
In general, to attract cyber-buyers we naturally think of the only Internet media … But if you have a physical distribution network, for example, it can become a strong driver of visibility and a real competitive advantage.
All off-line communication actions are also likely to increase the visibility of your e-commerce site, such as videos.
> Make yourself known with “Web 2.0” actions
8 – Have a blog
A blog, filled with fresh content and always updated, can be an interesting weapon as part of a traffic acquisition strategy.
Speaking of your field of activity, you will be able to offer useful and value-added content that will have repercussions in terms of image … and SEO!
To go further: A blog to improve its SEO? from blog.axe-net.fr.
On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure a “minimum service”. Without regularly updated content, a blog loses its raison d’être. In addition, without a minimum of SEO optimization, your blog will not serve your business.
9 – Facebook, Twitter, Viadeo and other “social networks”
Visibility is also conceivable via social media. Great “fashion” of the moment -which could play in your SEO – you can read previous articles on the subject:
> Business model Twitter: Why sell audience follower is relevant from an advertising point of view?
> Professional use of Facebook: MadMagz gives you the keys
> Do you know the faces of the main websites 2.0?
> And several articles dealing with the topic in the Best Marketing Tips of the Year 2009
10 – Digg Like & News Broadcast Sites
Digg Like allows users to share their best addresses. In addition to improving the visibility of your site, being on the digg like will promote your SEO in search engines.
As for news broadcast sites, they will allow you to recruit a few qualified Internet users interested in your field of activity. Like price comparators, these sites have the advantage of being well referenced naturally.
However, even if these platforms will allow you to reach a qualified audience, remember that these sites will especially reach the Internet users in search of information, ie, which are in a “primary” phase of any purchase process …
In a nutshell, an affiliate may be likened to a “commercial” of the web. That is to say, it will offer your products on its own site, and will pay each time a visit redirected from his site will materialize in a tangible result (a click, a lead, a sale …).
There are specialized platforms that play the role of “matchmaker” between E-merchants and affiliates. Some important sites even directly offer their own affiliate program.
12 – Partnerships
In business, 2 business leaders meet and shake hands … On the Internet it is also possible to set up business “partnerships”.
This can range from simple link exchange – because there is an affinity in the theme of 2 partners for example – to a real exchange of good business processes;
Wacky example: “If you put an advertisement of my site in your newsletter addressed to your customers, then I will send an email to my database to announce the launch of your new product”
13 – Private Sales
Some sites are based on the following economic belief:
Companies have expensive inventory
Better sell them than keep or destroy them
As a result, private sales sites help manufacturers to “destock”. They get very low purchase prices, which allow them to offer competitive selling prices to their own subscriber base.
Why not make your brand known & sell some of your goods through this distribution channel?
14 – Promote its products on auction sites & other market places
Many e-merchants start the adventure of E-commerce with a simple E-bay shop … And why, once your E-commerce site is online, E-bay would not be any more useful?
You can still use these auction sites – or market places like Price Minister – as a full-fledged distribution channel. With the high volume of traffic that these sites experience, you increase your chances of making your products visible and accessible to your prospects.
15 – Presence on price comparators
In e-commerce, price comparators are often essential levers to create traffic on its commercial site. There are comparators of generalist products, but also specialized comparators on a market segment.
In addition to draining thousands of cyber-buyers in the advanced phase of their purchasing process, comparators are often very well referenced naturally in the search engines on “product” expressions.
These “infomediaries” of the web business, these sites help the users to make their final decisions; do not miss it!
16 – Cash Back Sites
An innovative business model that knew how to make a hole: rewarding consumers with sounding and stumbling for their purchases!
For the smartest cyber-shoppers, price comparator visits follow one another with a short check: check that the merchant is affiliated with his favorite cashback system!
A new weapon full of future therefore for the merchants who thus benefit – with some competitors – of a “privileged market”; those who prefer to buy from you because it earns them money!
17 – Discount Code Sites
The hunt for bargains continues for our clever surfer!
After taking a look at the entire offer available on the comparators
After checking that you offer a cashback
The cyber shopper wants more and will check if you offer any promotional code. At this stage of the purchase, your chances of winning the business are complicated if you are not in “short list” … But by being present at this fateful moment of the purchase, you may be able to remember at good memory of the surfer who has his CB in hand 😉
18 – Advertising via order confirmation
And if you have not won the choice of the buyer, you can try a final action of visibility; display the advertisement of your offer on the payment confirmation page of another merchant site.
At first glance, this technique may seem far-fetched. But if your offer is “fly” and you are able to offer relevant advertising, I remind you that your user always has his CB in hand 😉