Why Most Online Stores Fail (And How You Can Succeed)
Shopify says that by the end of the first year, more than one fifth of E-Commerce businesses go out of business. By year 5, nearly 50%. And most of them have great products.
But running an online store isn’t just about having great products—it’s about getting those products in front of the right people. Many online businesses struggle because they lack a clear marketing strategy.
This guide will walk you through 3 proven E-Commerce marketing tactics that can skyrocket your online sales.
Master SEO to Increase Organic Traffic
If your store doesn’t rank on Google, you’re losing sales. They’ve now found your competitor and have bought from them.
Google is the forefront of buyer intent. Anyone that has intent in buying something looks for it on Google. And you want to be the first person they see.
Follow these SEO practices to get your website ranking on the first page:
– Use long-tail keywords (A phrase made by 3-5 words, sometimes more) that match search intent. They generally have less search traffic but that also means the competition is generally less. (Use Ahrefs free keyword research tool to find some examples)
– Optimize your images & Page Speed to improve your rankings and keep customers on your site. We’ve all clicked on a link and it didn’t load in 3 seconds so we clicked off, don’t let that be the limiting factor to you making sales. Google also likes to rank sites with better load speed higher as well.
– Write compelling product descriptions to make your products seem less generic (like using the manufacturer content), and make it stand out! Not only will this improve your rankings by using keywords in your description, but it will create a more unique view of the product in the customers head and make it more likely for them to buy!
Leverage Paid Ads
Google Ads, Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads can bring in thousands of potential buyers—if done right.
Paid ads are essential, bringing in people who have no idea who you are and converting them into life long customers. But you need to do it correctly and with a strategy. Taking a stock photo of your product and making a headline like “Our New Product” will make your CAC so high after the first month you’ll have to resort to your old efforts.
Instead, you need to “Pattern Interrupt”, meaning when people are scrolling mindlessly like zombies, you need to stop them in their tracks. You need a visually appealing and mentally stimulating ad to take them from scrolling mindlessly into being sucked in by your ad. Search up “Best Facebook Ad Creatives” or use the Facebook Ads Library to find some examples. Also remember that Videos and Carousel Ads (Multi-picture slideshow) perform much better than static images, with Facebook claiming they can have a 30-50% lower cost per conversion, and 20-30% lower cost per click than static picture ads.
Now, you need to run retargeting campaigns (especially abandoned carts using email), and recatch those prospects and throw them back to your site where they buy. Use Meta Ads to bring people back to your site Email Marketing (Covered in the next section) to remind them to buy what they were interested in before.
Utilize Email Marketing
When running an E-Commerce store, email marketing is an essential.
Whether you run paid ads, influencer marketing, or any other combination of first level marketing, email has to be a part of your second and third level strategy. It’s the most efficient and cost effective way to recapture past customers, or remind customers who forgot to check out/abandoned their cart to buy.
Here’s how to implement it:
– Have an account signup on your checkout page
– Capture emails through account signups, and throw them into an organized list
– Have tracking setup for abandoned carts
– Send a weekly email to your list about featured products/deals you have that week
– Make an automation reminding customers who forgot to checkout/abandoned carts to return and buy
Quick Tip: If you’re not sure about your ability to write email copy, use ChatGPT to make an outline/email for you and then revise it as you see fit.
Just implementing email marketing as a remarketing strategy is a power tool that will skyrocket your sales.
Your Next Steps: Put These Tactics Into Action
These tactics will skyrocket your sales. Implement at least one of these things (doing research before) and your sales will go up, as long as you do them correctly, continually test, and actively try to learn these skills using YouTube and maybe a course or two.
If you want it done for you instead of testing it on your own, request your free 30 minute consultation below to get our proven strategies to boost your E-Commerce sales and scale your business.