Anyone that plans on making any sales online will need to adopt proven tactics that will drive traffic to their website. While there is quite a bit of competition out there, companies of any type and size can use these actionable steps to bring traffic to their website and then convert that traffic into paying customers. Read on to learn the ropes of increasing your traffic for selling online, and getting the recognition you want.

 

Organize Your Social Media Accounts

It may seem like quite a bit of work to create multiple social media accounts, but every online business owner will quickly realize that this is vital to their success. Long gone are the days in which a world-class product or service will be enough to generate traffic. The three most important social media sites for new business owners include Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest depending on the type of business that you are running. These three have a proven history of working seamlessly with e-commerce stores and have a pre-made base of customers. From there, owners will want to consider expanding their accounts to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Unfortunately, just creating these accounts will not be enough for any business. Owners will need to pick and choose exactly what they promote on these websites and how they would like to promote it. There is no single answer that will work for everyone, but most will want to focus on keeping the information light and consistent without spamming followers with a heavy-handed sales pitch. When promoting information on these websites, never overlook just how important mobile traffic is, with 67 percent growth in the last year alone.

                                                                                                                                                         

Become a Content Marketing Master

Anyone that has ever delved into content marketing will realize two facts very quickly. The first fact is that content marketing is extremely affordable or completely free in some cases. The second fact is that content marketing will take some time, especially when first learning how to do it successfully. Content marketing is essentially providing past, present, and future customers with valuable information, and there are a wide variety of tactics to do this. E-commerce website owners should begin thinking about what kind of information they know and what kind of information their customers will find invaluable. At minimum, this should include a weekly blog. More advanced content marketers will want to start thinking about white pages, how-tos, guest posts, and infographics.

 

Start a Pay per Click Campaign

Not every form of digital marketing will be free, and one of the best ways to make every penny invested into marketing count is with a pay per click (PPC) campaign. Pay per click advertising involves paying search engines and other websites when traffic clicks on any links that direct them towards your website. E-commerce site owners will typically pick a handful of keywords and keyword phrases and then “bid” on the advertisement space when someone searches those phrases. Business owners should realize is that this process can become complicated for those that are not careful.

Anyone that cannot invest time into a PPC campaign should most likely consult with a PPC specialist or a digital marketing agency. Even if these agencies are only used for a short period, they will help business owners get the hang of this type of marketing and learn some of the best methods for making their budget count. An agency or PPC specialist can also put in time for projects such as monitoring the bids when business owners are too busy.

 

Don't Ignore Traditional Marketing

Any current customers that you may have or local venues that you use to sell goods or services should be immediately directed to the website. This pre-made base of customers will be invaluable in those first few months, and even if they only spend some time on your site to check out your products it could help with your search engine standings. First, take a look at anything that your current customers, family, or friends may have such as business cards or brochures. Outside of a number for contacting you, the first piece of information that they should see on these is your web address. If your address is similar to other popular websites or easy to misspell, then consider buying up multiple addresses that all direct towards your e-commerce site. Also encourage current or past customers to leave reviews directly on your website or on product review sites.

 

Go Heavy On Email Marketing

Any time that an email can be sent to a prospective customer, it should be done. While it may seem like countless advertisements get deleted from inbox folders, there are some surprising statistics on this form of marketing. When it comes to a return on investment, email marketing actually remains the most effective form of advertising. The revenue from email marketing has grown by about 28 percent in the last year, but business owners need to be smart about how and when they send emails. One of the best ways to reduce the turnover rate of traffic is to send emails for abandoned carts. Any time that a customer leaves their digital shopping cart without making a purchase, a friendly email reminder can be sent. Offering incentives and discounts exclusively through emails is also effective.

 

The world has changed drastically when it comes to marketing and bringing in customers. Every business owner will need to carry out some research and then invest some serious time and energy into their website in order to make those first few sales. When it comes to selling and buying online, it is all about visibility and incentive. By improving your visibility online, and giving customer’s greater incentive to visit your site or look at your products, you can seriously improve your sales and traffic levels.