eCommerce Inbound Marketing: 17 Ideas That Still Work

Inbound Marketing can generate 3x more revenue and costs 62% less than outbound marketing. 

In today’s blog, we’ll take a look at the entire inbound marketing lifecycle with proven examples from eCommerce brands. 

This post covers:

What you need to get started 

Inbound Marketing Tips for eCommerce Growth 

• Attract 
• Convert
• Close
• CRO
• Delight

What you need to get started 

1. Buyer Personas based on the BOM framework 

You might have come across various ways or methods to create the ideal persona, but these three make a good starting point. 

a) Behavioral Motivators 

Behavioral Motivators include the customers’ goals, what are their aspirations, and the customer journey undertaken to find your business. 

b) Barriers to purchase 

This includes all the hesitation and barriers such as pricing, returns, poor customer experience, and the ability to examine products. Find out how all of these affect brand perception and decision making. 

c) Mindset 

What’s the inherent belief and attitude of the customer? Are they purely price driven or experience-driven? This varies according to high-involvement vs low-involvement products. 

2. Define key eCommerce metrics driving inbound growth 

While driving growth using inbound marketing, in eCommerce the metrics differ since the growth and financial objectives differ: 

Here’s a list of metrics you’d need to measure:

• Average Order Value(AOV) 
• Conversion Rate 
• Cart Abandonment Rate 
• Revenue per Visitor(RPV)
• CLTV
• Retention rate
• CAC 

Inbound Marketing Tips for eCommerce Growth 

The eCommerce Inbound Marketing journey consists of four stages: 

• Attract 
• Convert 
• Close 
• Delight 

Here’s a detailed inbound marketing guide for each of the stages. 

Attract 

In the Attract stage, customers are looking for products and don’t know what they want. This is the time to build awareness and brand recognition. 

1. Optimize for SERPs(outline value) 

38% of eCommerce customer journeys begin with a search engine. Connect the problem to its solution in your H1 tag. Booty Bands outlines its value proposition in its SERP. 

To persuade customers to click, mention the reason why customers should from you. In this case, it's 15 minutes a day. Next, eliminate apprehension by giving a money back or easy returns guarantee. Use this real estate to make sure how you will do it, in the above example, its 3 step program. 

Take a step further and feature your popular categories to drive awareness. 

2. Intuitive above the fold 

Above-the-fold is where users spend most of their time. In a study by Nielson Norman, the above-the-fold portion was viewed 102% more than below-the-fold. 

To make sure your above the fold makes user experience smooth: 

• Leave enough space between elements to make it easy for customers to click, especially on mobile devices 

• Use search with a microcopy to provide a sense of direction for users. For example, what are you looking for?

• The best size for the hero image is 1200 px with a 16:9 ratio

• For category thumbnail images, 70 x 70 px works across all devices 

• Feature the returns policy in the header. 49% of customers check the same before making a purchase

• Feature a product recommendation quiz to enable product discovery. Ask objective questions and images to help customers provide quick answers

3. Paid Ads based on a lookalike audience 

With the average CPC for search and display ads being $1.16 and $0.45 for eCommerce, paid ads can help build awareness and recognition. 

To make sure your reaching the right audience in through paid ads: 

• Target audiences based on LTV, past purchasers, high cart value, add-to-cart events, product page visitors, and website engagement 

• Use search terms from search data such as SKUs, model numbers, high-converting, and medium converting searches

• Use negative keywords to ensure only your target audience sees the ads

• Optimize your ads for mobile by ensuring faster load times, native ads that translate to any device, and ad placement 

• Ad copy should be simple—headline and description 1 must match search intent 

• Avoid using the exclamation mark, improper capitalization, and incorrect punctuation 

4. Social media (Work with nano influencers and micro-influencers)

Social commerce is on the rise and one of the leading causes for this development are nano influencers (1 to 10k followers) and micro-influencers (10k to 100k) followers. 

This works because both types of influencers have hyper-focused audiences with specific interests. They are seen as credible and trustworthy because of their authenticity. The reason why both types have higher engagement while being affordable. 

Convert 

In the Convert stage, visitors are looking for products that solve their needs and drop off in case of factors like pricing and alternatives. They can abandon their journey from search, category, and while browsing. 

5. Product catalog optimization 

In simple words, Product catalog optimization refers to organizing products under relevant categories so the product data is accurate. This helps in accessing information across all sales channels by filtering, sorting, and searching using fields like product title, description, price description, and SKUs. 

The first thing is segmenting your products according to the 80/20 rule:

• 80% of revenue comes from 20% of your products 

• 80% of revenue comes from 20% of your customers 

• 80% of sales come from 20% of your target location

• 80% of your ROI comes from 20% of your marketing campaigns

Finding your top 20% can be done by identifying your top—locations, products/categories, traffic channels, and landing pages.

The same goes for product categories, traffic, and landing pages—identify the top 10 sources and use them to segment your high-converting products. 

Also read: 10 Sure-Shot Ways to Boost Your eCommerce ROI

6. Product category page - that nudges visitors to purchase 

Product category pages rank for 19% more keywords compared to product pages driving brand awareness. To make product pages optimized for conversions, start: 

• Listing the product benefits to increase the perceived value 

• Show real-time stock updates to drive impulse purchase

• Using product badges to increase conversion rate by 55% 

• Feature color swatches to show options 

Brooksrunning has an ideal product category page you might want to follow. 

7. Product Page 

The average conversion rate for product pages is nearly 8%. Visitors who land on specific product pages convert better. 

To make your product pages convert well, focus on: 

• Using product images with white background to eliminate distractions 

• Adding shadows to give a realistic and professional look 

• Displaying before and after images so customers have a reference point to evaluate 

• Addressing a specific problem and its solution while writing product descriptions

• Writing the most important information first because mobile shoppers have low attention spans 

• Using bullet points to enable readability along with spacing 

• Showing reviews with objective questions for insights 

• Showing user ratings with specific ratings for different aspects 

• Featuring your actual customers wearing products to build credibility 

• Including trust signals such as price match guarantee, easy returns, 100% vegan, and FDA certified that rule out apprehensions and nudge customers to buy 

• Showing certifications from third-party and federal agencies to establish legal credibility 

Ritual uses a variety of trust signals to drive conversions on its product page. 

8. Pop-ups to persuade customers to stay 

Pop-ups convince your customers to stay by offering incentives such as discounts. They help in collecting emails to re-engage users back into the funnel. It can reduce cart abandonment rates while having an average conversion rate of 6%. 

Exit-intent popups have been a lifesaver since they pop up just when customers are about to leave the site. One of the ways is to provide a limited-time offer, valid for 24 hours. 

To make sure your pop-ups convert well: 

• Use a single-form field to make it less intrusive 

• Give options to choose from if you want more insights 

• Use drop-down to avoid taking up too much space 

• Use uppercase in the CTA to grab attention 

• Display the image on the right and the text on the right to enable cognitive ease 

• Offer save-for-later pop-ups to reduce cart abandonment 

• Provide dual discounts to get access to email and phone number 

9. Wishlist optimization

Wishlist is a collection of saved items by customers with a later intent to purchase but not immediately. Optimizing wishlist pages help in reducing cart abandonment while allowing customers to create a more personalized collection.  

Here’s how you can make the most of it:

• Wishlists help in regaining sales with back-in-stock emails, having an open rate of 65.32%

• Use wishlists to gauge the reason why customers are not buying—lack of information or are they looking for offers?

• Allow customers to share wishlists with their contacts to help new user acquisition at no extra cost 

• Dig through the wishlists to find your high selling and low selling products 

• Use wish list to build email lists for your re-engagement emails  

10. Drip Email Campaigns 

A drip email campaign is a series of personalized, perfectly-timed messages that are sent to customers automatically, triggered as per their behavior. Here are a few actionable tips for your drip campaigns: 

a)  Browse abandonment emails

For best results:

• Send browse abandonment emails at least half an hour after the visitor has left the site 

• Limit the browse abandonment emails to once a day or week depending on the behavior and activity 

• Include the product image and plus description that leads to the customer developing a perceived interest in the product

• Use a single layout format for a better experience on mobile 

b) Category abandonment emails

For best results:  

• Category abandonment emails should ideally be sent an hour after the visitor leaves the site 

• The next best time is 24 hours later or within 72 hours 

• Offer early access deals and products and use reviews to establish authenticity 

c) Search abandonment emails

For best results: 

• Send limited-time offers only and include a countdown timer in search abandonment emails as they can increase conversions by 400% 

• Send first-time offers for customers based on products searched 

d) Cart abandonment emails

For best results:

• Send a minimum of 3 cart recovery emails to achieve an open rate of 26% or higher 

• Free shipping, purchase without account creation, and return policy in your cart abandonment emails can lead to higher conversions 

11. Push Notifications 

Push Notifications are a potent medium to drive engagement, traffic, and sales. Cart abandonment push notifications have a click rate of 16%. All in all, push notifications have an ROI of 3500%. 

• For personalized push notifications, price drop alerts can lead to higher open rates 

• Send push notifications by geo-targeting according to the user’s timezone 

• Run location-specific campaigns for effective targeting 

• The clickthrough rate remains the highest from 12 noon to 6 PM 

• Send push notifications on Wednesday between 3 to 4 for highest conversions 

• Open rates can be improved by 20% using emojis while industry-relevant send times mark a 40% increase

Close 

The penultimate stage of inbound marketing, Close involves customers who have shown strong intent to purchase and are ready to checkout. 

You must read: Finding The Right Target Audience In eCommerce: 16 Proven Strategies

12. Improve the checkout experience 

17% of customers abandon checkout due to the extremely long and complex checkout process. Here’s how you can reduce it: 

a) Improve checkout flow 

Checkout flow refers to the series of steps a customer takes to make the payment. It can be as simple as including a link to your return policy, including delivery dates instead of delivery speed. 

Other steps you must take is to allow customers to edit their order and not show additional costs such as shipping, taxes, etc. 63% of customers leave the checkout page due to this reason. 

b) Customize the checkout page for usability 

According to Baymard, checkout flow varies from checkout effort because the number of form fields is a hindrance to usability. Choosing between one-page and one-click checkout is a great way to start customizing your checkout page. 

c) Feature security certifications 

Displaying an SSL 128-bit  encryption that contains a TLS(transport layer protocol) protects the sensitive data of both customers and merchants, one of the solutions to minimize checkout abandonment. 

d) Offer guest checkout alternatives 

Guest checkout helps in faster conversions but what they don’t do:

• Give access to important information like email address and other contact details 

• No access to abandoned carts 

• No access to order history for analysis 

This provides a compelling reason to provide guest checkout alternatives. 

e) One-click checkout 

One-click checkout reduces the checkout effort since customers have to fill in the details only once. This can be accessed with a simple tap on the checkout page. 

f) Try new ideas to optimize the checkout rate 

Include FAQs, single page checkout, free shipping progress bar, gifting options, etc. to increase checkout rate. 

g) Offer headless checkout 

Headless checkout allows buyers to make purchases from virtually anywhere by separating the checkout and payment experience from online stores. It helps align customer checkout history across all channels. 

h) One-page checkout  

A one-page checkout is a compressed version of a normal checkout page where the checkout process happens on a single page. Form fields such as shipping and billing information, order summary, payment methods, etc are present on a single page. 

CRO 

Conversion Rate Optimization(CRO) can help you improve your inbound marketing strategy as it helps understand your customers better, improve your SEO efforts, and lower your drop-off rate. All this is possible as it identifies the conversion pathways and takes care of everything analytics. 

Here’s how you can get started:

• Personalize your homepage for every visitor by categorizing the audience by intent 

• Allow users to find navigation fast by using familiar icons and use cues to let users know they’re clicking on something

• Focus on the information first, and CTA second. Use rounded CTA buttons as it indicates openness 

• Feature transactional elements in your above-the-fold header such as primary navigation and hamburger menus to help customers find products faster 

• Use vertical navigation as it naturally translates to mobile 

• Offer one-click checkout and multiple payment options 

• Offer a free shipping progress bar to nudge customers to checkout faster 

• Use the number of purchases on the product page to drive purchase decisions 

Delight 

The delight stage is the stage where you focus on converting customers into advocates of your business. The objective is to provide a smooth post-purchase experience to increase CLTV and reduce the CAC. 

You might also like: Hiring a CRO agency: 12 *Key* Considerations (and Expert Advice)

13. Gain valuable feedback using post-purchase surveys 

Post-purchase surveys can help you uncover the problem points hindering buying experience. Here are three open-ended questions you might want to ask in your survey: 

• How would you rate your overall experience?

• What can we do to improve the experience? 

• What did you love the most about the experience?

• What almost stopped you from completing your purchase?

14. Be quick with your delivery confirmation emails 

Once the order has been placed, send your confirmation emails consisting of order confirmation, shipping confirmation, etc. These are transactional emails that make the post-purchase customer experience favorable to turn customers into repeat customers. 

Any delay might compel customers to cancel the purchase. These can also help you with upselling and cross-selling opportunities. 

15. Offer captivating incentives to encourage repeat purchase 

Customers will be more than willing to make repeat purchases if you offer incentives such as 10% off the next purchase, $10 off on referrals, make personalized recommendations based on order history, and offer promo codes for future purchases. 

Send emails featuring clearance, limited-time offers, flash sales, etc. Reserve early bird pricing for your coming soon or pre-launch products. 

16. Reach out to them for reviews 

The right time to send a review is at the end of the entire buyer journey, anywhere between 7 to 30 days depending on the type of product. 

When sending review emails, keep in mind to: 

• Make it low-effort by making it a one-click effort 

• Include links to third-party websites and social media 

• Offer customers to feature on your website and social media 

17. Invite them to Loyalty Programs 

Loyalty programs can help reduce customer churn and retain customers. They help in capturing zero-party data which can help in personalized marketing for members. 74% of customers state that they would recommend brands with good loyalty programs.  

Bottomline 

Your inbound marketing strategy will finally bring relevant traffic to your eCommerce website. Unfortunately, there’s a problem. 

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything. 

Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors. 

And this is the problem ConvertCart solves. 

We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions. 

How we can help you: 

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.