Guest Post: 7 Proven Techniques to Increase Your E-Commerce Website Traffic
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Website visitors or users are referred to as website traffic. Visits, also referred to as "sessions," are a common unit of measurement for web traffic, which is used to assess how effectively an online company is able to draw customers.
Web traffic was first considered the most crucial indicator of a website's popularity when e-commerce first gained traction in the 1990s. This is because there were no other measures available to measure online performance at the time. Analyzing a website's performance became significantly more thorough as digital marketers improve their skills.
While there are several metrics that help evaluate the effectiveness of traffic, website traffic is the most valuable and relevant indicator of online store performance.
Why do you need to increase your e-commerce website traffic?
With the onset of technology, e-commerce businesses have become increasingly competitive due to the never-ending rise of online purchases. It is a portal that represents the essence of your brand and allows your target audience to see how you differentiate your business from your competitors. Also, plan ahead and prepare for the moment when your company will burst with orders. Many organizations locate resourceful and professionally managed IT companies that will assist them in managing somewhat inconvenient but crucial chores when that time arrives.
If there is one thing for sure, the more you increase your website traffic, the higher you rise your chances to convert those leads into customers.
As mentioned previously, one of the key elements that make a marketing strategy great is the steps you are actively taking to monitor your web traffic.
So let’s look into some proven techniques to increase your website traffic:
1) Publishing Long-Form Content
Most often it is assumed that a user prefers shorter content due to their attention span. However, publishing long-form content has proven to be much more effective. Even Google’s first-page articles average out to be roughly 1890 words. These long-form contents can be detailed guides or comprehensive blogs, or extensive PR articles that are informational.
Another key advantage to creating long-form content is an opportunity to incorporate more high-search volume keywords. This leads to higher domain authority and stronger backlinking, thereby increasing your SERP rankings.
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It is also a popular myth that shorter content is much more successful on social media channels and web pages. However, if your business objective is to educate your customers about how your brand can meet their needs, it is imperative not only to grab their attention but also to inform them why they should stay.
A study conducted by Neil Patel stated that longer postings garnered an average of roughly 68% greater engagement on Twitter and 22% more engagement on Facebook. Additionally, even landing pages are recommended to be more detailed in order to appear more trusting to your target audiences. Long-form landing pages increased purchases by roughly 52%, according to Moz's conversion rate specialists.
Hence, long-form content on your website is an extremely successful way to drive more organic traffic. It aids in establishing a long, trusting relationship with your audience because long-form content tends to be more credible and authoritative.
If for some reason you experience writer's block, several long-form AI tools can assist you in creating high-quality written content. Even though they might not replace proper human writing yet, they can definitely help you come up with a piece of content that rocks.
By providing useful content to users looking for information, you contribute to their education and facilitate their purchase decision. Let's say you own an online store oriented toward pet food & accessories. It would make sense to publish an in-depth article about food diet for dogs. Pet owners would run into your piece of content when looking for information on search engines and would likely be interested in your products.
2) Guest Posting
Guest blogging or posting for websites related to your business is a very effective method to drive traffic to your websites organically. Guest blogging comes with several advantages such as generating new content on trending topics, gaining market expertise in the field, establishing credibility, and gaining exposure for your brand.
Creating quality guest posts on specific topics can help you earn the trust of a loyal community of readers. An extensive well-researched guest blog can help build authority and credibility. This attracts quality readers, thereby establishing authority in a niche area of expertise.
Another important aspect of guest posting is link building. Backlinks are those links that navigate readers to other websites. This enriches your content by giving your users more to read on a given topic but also more authority in the eyes of Google's algorithm.
3) Unique Content
Content is the cornerstone of any digital space. However, posting content without a goal in mind can be futile. Websites need to attract visitors through one-of-a-kind and interesting content that will eventually help convert your readers. Your content must also address customer pain points and queries that they may have.
"Your ability to individually respond to your customer query at large scale is a key success factor" - brainboxlabs.com, Digital Marketing Agency
Additionally, posting content regularly also plays an important role in grabbing the attention of your audience. Sites with more than 16 posts per month get around 3.5 times as much traffic as those with 0 to 4 posts per month.
To post content that can be distinguished from your competitive websites, it is also required to create content on topics that are trending topics with high keyword potential. This can be done by using long-tail keywords that are low keyword difficulty and high in traffic potential.
4) Leveraging Social Media
Social Media is also another effective method for creating shareable content. Posting content that is suited for different platforms can lead to better engagement and lead generation. Making content such as blog posts, articles, guides, PR articles, videos, etc shareable across social media for your audience with relevant hashtags and CTA’s can help build link juices and authority.
Let’s look at some ways how using social media can be effective for the e-commerce industry:
Recommended for specifically new brands to establish themselves as market leaders
A great way to engage and familiarize yourself with your consumer base is through the comments section on posts, in real-time. It is also a great way to receive immediate feedback on a product you offer as social media is preferred by 34% of customers for customer service.
It is also a medium for consumers to be updated on any type of promotional offers, attractive discounts, or sales announced by the brand
Since most e-commerce platforms need to promote their storefront, social media channels such as Instagram can play a crucial role here. These platforms can feature products sold on the platform that will direct them to the website, thereby directing traffic there.
Since social media today is a commonly used tool among consumers, it is a great way to build on that following by posting relatable content
Social media channels can also allow you to make viral content.
Another method that works with social media is hosting live interactive digital events like polls, contests, giveaways, etc. that are exciting for your audience. Moreover, this is a smart way to test what your users are expecting from your brand.
Channels like Instagram and LinkedIn are platforms that encourage community building for your target audiences.
5) Video Content
Your target consumers may be consuming content in different ways. One such successful way to push your message to your target customers is to add video content to your website. Creating and scripting short videos for your brand is a proven way to grab attention from your existing database and also new prospects.
Videos also tend to get reposted more than posts with texts and pictures. However, you have to be mindful to keep your videos short and precise. Viewers tend to absorb videos of shorter durations rather than extensive ones. As per Hubspot, 55% of viewers watch the entire video till the end. Among all the content, this is the most reliable indicator to see what works for your audience.
6) Influencer Outreach
Building a strong influencer strategy is also a very powerful way to increase your website traffic. Identifying and then collaborating with the right type of influencers or bloggers in the same industry space can allow your business to leverage its fan/follower base to read about your brand and website.
Some effective and easy ways to do this can be:
Create a list of potential influencers who align with your brand
Construct a strategy around the message you want to convey while leveraging the influencer’s creativity
Design strategies that support multiple content formats such as Q/As, LIVE videos, contests, sponsored posts, etc.
Reward your influencers for their marketing efforts to anchor on earned content.
7) Email Newsletters
Websites with effective email marketing strategies also receive high-quality traffic. An excellent method to boost qualified leads is by sending out individualized, targeted emails highlighting current industry developments and including visual insights like infographics and charts that solve pain areas.
Creating an email list of current and potential prospects who will gain value from the website's content is important for an email strategy to be effective. To promote urgency, the repeated educational emails must also contain optimized Call-to-Action buttons.
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Additionally, email marketing is a successful strategy for retargeting and maintaining contact with your clientele. In the case of abandoned cart emails, where roughly 30% of abandoned orders are retrieved by these emails, this is particularly true.
Abandoned carts will always be something that e-commerce website owners will have to cope with. Setting up an automated email directly to the customer is a common and highly efficient strategy.
Here are some important practices to keep in mind while designing an email strategy:
Insert clickable links to other website content such as blogs or guides for readers can access more content about your brand.
Emails should be responsive to mobile devices. Given that 46% of emails that are opened take place on mobile devices, links should be simple to notice.
Use personalization strategies by including the subscriber's name.
Make use of professionally designed templates to give the email a pleasing aesthetic appearance.
Run A/B testing to understand which email versions get more opens and clicks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are some ways to increase website traffic fast?
Publish long-form content
Leverage social media
Content consisting of high-potential keywords
2. What are the different types of websites?
CMS
Static
E-Commerce
3. What makes a good guest post?
Here are a few things to keep in mind while writing a guest post:
Align with the essence of the brand you are writing for
Place continual emphasis on their website
Add sufficient inbound links and CTA’s
4. What are some low-budget ways to increase traffic?
Regular social media posting
Cold calls/emails
Guest posting
Increase page speed
Ensure your content is mobile optimized
Experiment with content formats
5. What are a few different sources for paid traffic in 2022?
LinkedIn Ads
Facebook Ads
Google Adwords
Twitter Ads
YouTube Advertising
6. What are some popular e-commerce platforms?
Wix
Shopify
BigCommerce
SquareSpace
GoDaddy
About the Author
Ian David started his career in brick-and-mortar retail management, which quickly included eCommerce and digital marketing as well.
He is an avid reader and a self-taught expert in SEO and content marketing. He writes for several publications on a variety of digital marketing topics. Recently, his focus has been on using influencer and affiliate marketing to drive more conversions.
LinkedIn | Number One Resource For Digital Marketing | Shane Barker
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