31 Creative (Yet Economical) Ways To Drive Traffic To Your eCommerce Store

Using Google Ads, SEO, Reddit, and Pinterest are all excellent ways of driving traffic to your eCommerce store, on a shoestring budget.

But, what you really need is a continuous stream of new traffic – as well as returning traffic.

This is why we have brought you 30+ ways to get traffic to your eCommerce website, FAST, with your:

• SEO
• Content
• Influencers
• Socials
• Discounts
• Emails
• Ads
• Omnichannel strategies

Let’s go!

31 Brillant Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Online Store

SEO

1. Make sure your personas are correct before generating traffic

‘Defining who you want to target’ is what a persona does—right down to the nitty-gritty details like ages, locations, and behaviors (like which kind of songs they vibe to).

23.6% of most eCommerce sales come from organic traffic – defining personas is the first step.

Believe it or not, defining personas helps you reduce customer acquisition costs – get up to a 50% bump in search traffic – and, almost a 100% jump in conversions. 

Ideas on how to use personas to increase traffic to your eCommerce store:

✅ Better content on your site that caters to the persona – an example of this: showing relatable/region-specific/cause-specific models in product images – like showing Asian androgynous models for Asia-based brands that support LGBTQA+ causes

✅ Personalize the shopping experience by leveraging the Barnum effect (a generalized statement that feels relatable af) – for example, “hand-printed by hands that know your art, just like you do”

✅ Create targeted experiences on key platforms – like knowing which platforms to guest post on or partner with – or knowing which social media creators a persona may identify with

Mistakes to avoid while creating personas for your eCommerce platform:

Most brands go all out when creating personas – and try to define every type of customer – which is why we recommend going a bit ‘broader’:

✅ Define 3 to 5 personas (max) by interviewing your existing customers – if you’re just starting, base personas on people who have interacted with your competitors’ socials

✅ Ask the right questions – find what topics and platforms your ideal customers are interested in – like what websites/influencers act as research material for buying decisions (along with other buying patterns) 

✅ Define who you don't want to target (negative personas) – just define some critical demographic or psychographic behavior for example, you don't want to target existing customers or people who just won't buy your products – like car owners who don’t own a bike for biking accessories brands

2. Do your keyword research really well for a strong site architecture

SEO has evolved over the years – and so have brands you are competing with (they may be expanding bases as you read this). 

But, here’s an interesting stat: the 1st result on a SERP gets about 27.6% CTR – and the #9 and #10 results almost share the same CTR. Not being in the Top 3 is the same as losing out on 88% of clicks. 

Want to grow organic traffic to your eCommerce store?

Here's what you need to think about: how to position keywords across your site – remember that your pages should:

→ ‘fit’ the intent of the searcher

→ make sense to search engine crawler bots and your users as well 

→ build topical authority

Ideas for building a solid eCommerce site architecture for SEO growth and traffic:

✅ Use your buyer personas wisely –  for example, the ideal customer for an organic food brand may research diets on Google depending on their need, using keywords like “gluten-free diet for IBS”

✅ Choose keywords that have grown in search volume yearly – these keywords will go on to become evergreen keywords – and if you do manage to create content that fits the intent, you will keep getting traffic

✅ Build pages on keywords around subtopics of a parent category – for example, if you sell air filters, try covering angles that are navigational, transactional, informational, and commercial:

FURTHER READING: eCommerce Website Optimization: 28 Improvements You Can Make Today

3. Structure your page copy for better rankings (and conversions)

What does it take to be #1 on a SERP? The answer’s in #1 result for this long-tail keyword with high intent like “organic chemical free tshirts for men”: 

Rawganique doesn't make SEO mistakes, most eCommerce sites make, like:

❌ Thinking category page descriptions are only necessary for SEO 

❌ Adding in distractions like overly long product titles

❌ Creating duplicate content across pages

Ideas for structuring your page for better rankings, traffic, and conversions:

✅ Create a subtle (but sound) reassurance from the first fold – note how Rawganique plugs variations of keywords throughout the headings, paragraph text, and the product display grid:

✅ Reaffirms its support for its cause with unique keywords – note the “providing organic products which are chemically free” section

✅ Adds in breadcrumbs and reviews at the bottom of the page – which ensures ZERO distractions on the category page – and keeps with SEO best practices:

Quick Tip: Other than this, you can enhance your page with schema markup – like aggregate rating or product schema – this enhances how search results appear.

4. Check if your site is fast enough to handle large amounts of traffic

Most search engine bots test your site for its ability to serve multiple users. Most crawlers won’t index a page – if it doesn’t load up under a specified amount of time. 

It not only affects your SEO efforts – but also indicates that your site is unusable under load. 

Best practice checks you should perform before driving traffic to your store:

✅ Your loading speed under large loads – which means you check how fast your site is loading when there are a lot of people using your site – consider investing in load testing

✅ The size of your images – if your images break (or don’t load) – you’ll be getting traffic that’ll leave in no time – consider using webP images to cut the load

✅ Time to make the layout interactive – how soon does it take for elements like buttons, banners, and icons to become fully visible and interactive

You must check out: Getting Traffic But No Sales? 21 Reasons Why (+ How To Solve)

5. Focus on mobile UX first – make sure your site is shareable

Assuming that you have a strong web copy, matching visuals, and a really powerful value proposition (that solves a problem), people will want to share. 

Stats show that more than 70% of all online purchases in the US started from smartphone devices – with laptops coming in second. 

However, you can never know how tech-savvy a person is – especially on mobile. Which is why it's important to create a store that's extremely usable on mobile devices.

Tips for increasing discoverability and shareability for your eCommerce store on mobile:

✅ Increasing interactivity by using elements that perform better on mobile – like adaptive design with auto-scrolling image carousels or videos on the first fold

✅ Ensuring your website is usable on mobile by crawlers – like passing the Core Web Vitals test (which helps mobile search rankings)

✅ Add a clear share button to share on messaging platforms – on pages like product detail pages and category page listings – this makes sure that your pages can easily be shared

FURTHER READING: 35 Tactics to Increase Mobile Conversion Rate in 2024

6. Optimize your search listings for visibility (and sales)

Google is at such a stage that it serves Google Merchant Center listings for product keywords – and if you do this right, it becomes quite easy to get past giants like Amazon, on the SEO front. 

All you need to do is make sure you are optimizing your listings for the right keywords – and information, to get ranked (which helps with traffic and sales):

What should you optimize within your Search engine listings?

✅ Your product review feed – from your product page or from Google customer reviews

✅ Latest discounts and codes – create a promotion feed – or manually update them as needed

✅ Checkout on the SERP itself – make sure you are providing key information like Minimum Order Value, stock levels availble to search engines

✅ Keyword rich, functional product titles and descriptions with key info – like size, ingredients, manufacturing policies, and keywords 

You might also like: How To Increase eCommerce Sales: 23 Immediately Actionable Ideas

7. Make sure your pages are set for technical SEO

Technical SEO is all about making sure that crawler bots see your website as users do. Get it right – you’ll see quality traffic pouring in. Get it wrong – only a fraction of your store will be visible on search engines.

Tips for improving your traffic with Technical SEO:

✅ Make sure your pages link internally and contextually to make the site hierarchy clear – for example, a 20 X 20 disposable air filter product page should link to the disposable air filter category and 20X20 category pages along with necessary ‘DIY’ or comparison blog pieces

✅ Keep a check of parameters for your filters or searches – ensure there are no zero results which essentially are on the same level as 404 errors 

✅ Block the correct parameters in your robots.txt – block tracking parameters “sid” and “cid” – this will help your site’s crawl budget (and help index popular searches) – keep reading about eCommerce SEO best practices here

✅ Use faceted navigation on your category pages – this helps create more indexable URLs – while making your site search functionality more natural – but, don’t block search query parameters (use canonical links instead) 

✅ Add an image sitemap for more interactive search results – check how the Harry Potter Store does this:

FURTHER READING: 3 eCommerce SEO mistakes to avoid and get more conversions

8. Stop trying to build backlinks for traffic

The hardest-to-achieve backlinks bring in actual traffic and sales. 

Think of it like this: would you trust a Wikipedia recommendation for your hair color or something you read on Reddit? 

What you can do instead is show that you're legitimate – try doing the following:

Ideas for building legitimacy, credibility, and backlinks for your eCommerce store: 

✅ Open up a Google Business Profile – encourage reviews, post regular updates about drops or sales

✅ Get listed on platforms that matter to your audience – like Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Reddit, etc. 

✅ Try getting certified for causes/manufacturing standards – doing this helps increase trust (and some backlinks as well)

✅ List yourself on coupon finder sites – like “dontpayfull.com” or “rakuten.com”to get customers lurking for a discount

Remember: It takes multiple touchpoints before a customer even ‘adds to cart’. Therefore, your sole focus should be following these stages:

• 1st stage: getting a base set for receiving traffic and sales 
• 2nd stage: getting the word out
• 3rd stage: proving your worth – as you continue expanding your base
• 4th stage: nurture, retain, and attract customers

This leads us to the next part – or, the second stage – getting the word out:

CONTENT

9. Create super helpful blog posts (and get them to rank)

People are actively searching – it's up to you how you deal with their intent.

Take inspiration from how big tech companies like Apple and Microsoft do content. It doesn’t always have to be about your products – it can be the following:

Ideas on how to create helpful and rank-able blog posts to drive traffic for your eCommerce store:

✅ Create helpful instead of salesy blogs – create blog content like DIY guides, comparison blog posts, tips, and solutions to problems – products shouldn't be the sole focus

✅ Visually interactive content to stop the scroll – it can be as simple as an emoji in a headline or using a B&W photo of your product – or an embedded video from your or creator socials

✅ Make blogs uncluttered and easily found – you just have to make sure users can easily access them – add categories for your blogs as well – and maybe consider showing blogs in your site search as well

✅ Plan for topical authority – use  your content calendar to build topical authority – for example, The Bearded Chap builds posts with titles such as “Ultimate Men’s Hair Care Guide”, “How to use men’s hair styling powder”, and “Men’s hair products guide”

✅ Update your content – check which search terms your blogs are appearing on – and where you're getting clicks – reassess and update with SEO best practices

10. Repurpose live streams into podcasts for better reach

This content marketing technique may seem questionable – however, podcasts are THE place for product discovery (and no, not all podcasts have to be on Spotify).

Ideas for repurposing live streams into podcasts to drive traffic:

✅ Edit your live streams by grouping them on themes – like decorating your dining space with episodes like “EP3: How to NOT choose the wrong kind of paint for your dining space?”

✅ Create a series of videos – which you can publish as a podcast playlist on YouTube – and podcasting platforms like Spotify

✅ Keep repeating this process to distribute to other podcast platforms – and make sure that you are targeting the right keywords in the Title, transcripts, and other meta information

✅ Cross-post on your socials to make sure your audience knows – pickup may be slow initially – however, using the right hooks can help you generate the desired result – and build links 😉

11. Create thought leadership videos to educate, engage, entertain

The content matters more than your video quality. Going in front of the camera to educate, engage, and entertain does something wonderful. 

It shows that you know your stuff – you understand the problems your customers face. Forget personas, or anything that holds you back from speaking your mind. 

The best part is that you don't have to use your brand's channel at all – you can use your personal or your employees’ socials to push videos that can bring traffic to your eCommerce store.

Ideas on how to bring traffic with thought-leadership videos:

✅ Research what topics your products cater to – come up with various angles like why you got into the business – and how you've been doing so far

✅ Create a topic calendar – and start writing rough scripts – for example: “how to use {product name} for {pain point/opportunity/goal}” – or how you handle daily failures – like how you handle stuff that's been returned

✅ Create content for your LinkedIn as well – like “how you deal with anxiety while running your business” –  this will help you build the thought leadership that gets you quality stakeholders

✅ Shoot, edit, and publish your videos on various platforms and formats – long-form videos should go to YouTube – short form should go to reels

✅ Share, assess, and ask for feedback from your customers, employees and stakeholders

Quick Tip: Don't forget to embed your keywords as well – and once you have performing videos – embed them on product pages. 

INFLUENCERS

12. Ask your own people to give your store a share :) 

Your network is exactly what you need to launch your initial shares. Why: you have the most influence on them.

When they do share: they share with those, they influence. 

So, don’t be that guy, who asks people to buy stuff – be the guy, who asks for a share.

Ideas on how to leverage your network to drive traffic to your eCommerce site:

✅ Share your store over WhatsApp groups you’re active in – ask for feedback or start with your story and incentivize for shares by saying "share with your close ones –and tell them you opened this store! Send us their reply – best reply wins $XX of merch FREE"

✅ Introduce yourself in Insta/Facebook groups you’re a part of – use your personal profile for this case – instead of directly linking your store, introduce a problem – check the replies (which brands are mentioned), engage, and introduce yourself

✅ Create a LinkedIn company page with your website linked to it – and share it over your social profiles and newsletters

13. Stand up for a cause – increase your reach and fans

You become relatable when you stand up for a cause you truly believe in. It’s worth remembering that causes don’t have to be grand – they just have to be authentic. 

For example, if you sell organic t-shirts, show how you make that possible. If you sell beauty products, a cause like breaking unrealistic beauty standards through unedited photos can bring interest, visibility, and high-intent customers. 

Tips to increase traffic through cause marketing:

✅ By partnering with or advocating for people larger than yourself – who’ve been long-term advocates of the cause you’re supporting

✅ Consider sharing why you chose the cause – use effective storytelling across your social media, key pages on your website, and emails

✅ Feature people on your socials and your store – share inspiring stories and achievements from customers/experts/employees

✅ Decode critical problems with your “About-Us” – present the problem and explain how you’ll be solving their problem. Here’s how Herman Miller does it brilliantly:

You must also read: 12 eCommerce Brands Acing Cause Marketing in 2024

14. Get some authentic publicity – think strategic partnerships

Driving traffic consistently and going viral, isn’t all that hard if you can build up your authenticity with strategic partnerships, as Luxy Hair does 😉.

Luxy Hair partners with experts like @owengould to get their products on celebrities:

The catch here is that Luxy Hair doesn’t directly get celebrities to promote their products – but it still allows them to feature those celebrities wearing their products. The best part is that this kind of content works across all channels – even on LinkedIn. 

But, is this how Luxy Hair keeps growing its traffic?

Absolutely not – Luxy Hair consistently does these three things:

→ Partners with creators and experts – which fuels publicity

→ Authors captivating articles with videos from socials of creators or experts – which fuels their topic wise authority

→ Drops seriously helpful videos on their YouTube channel – which builds new audiences, year on year– while catering to existing customers

Quick Tip: Authentic PR is great for boosting traffic; but, it’s mostly short-term – and requires a base. The biggest pro is that you build unbeatable social proof – but, again, partnerships of this scale can take quite some time to get where you need to be. 

Which is why it’s time to consider this as an alternative:

15. Create strategic content with micro-creators

Micro-creators are focused on a niche or cause – while having a slightly lower (but growing follower count compared to micro-influencers). 

They are way more authentic (which will help you align them better with your goals) – and are economical, as well as, trustworthy to more than 82% of buyers for product recommendations with an average engagement rate of 3.86% on Instagram.

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 39% of consumers are watching more creator-driven content – meanwhile, only about 22% watch studio-produced content.

As of 2024, the quality of content across the funnel is of greater importance than video quality – and, this is a challenge growing eCommerce brands struggle with. 

The fix? Operate on the principle of quid pro quo with micro creators. The Tile Shop does this by creating a customer gallery feed from collaborations or customer-generated content – which, is shown as inspiration to anyone visiting the site:

Case in point, @nikkichuhome, a micro-creator specializing in the interior designer niche, endorses home decor items like tiles, and furniture. 

They directly co-create with The Tile Shop to share their experience, which fellow creators, brands, and customers find useful. The direct result is that the post ends up bringing traffic to the brand’s profile – and vice-versa:

Ideas for your social media content with influencers to drive traffic:

✅ Strategic product reviews by vetted industry experts – in exchange for an interview/feature/commission

✅ “How-to” content from budding micro-creators and customers – in exchange for a flat rate or features or products

✅ Partner collaborations in exchange for samples/free products – for the content, try out taste tests or unboxing videos

Don't forget to check out: 36 Powerful Instagram Strategies to Drive eCommerce Sales (+Tips & Trends)

SOCIALS

16. Build your social media profiles like landing pages

A landing page can have a lot of goals – it all starts with nudging a visitor to go deeper into your brand – here's how Anthropologie does it: 

Remember, your social media profile is a haven for traffic generation – with landing page like features, it's can be used for middle of the funnel traffic – i.e., people in the research and the consideration stage. 

Ideas on how to drive traffic to your website through your social media profiles: 

✅ Keep your username on-brand and consider getting verified – this helps maintain consistency and make you easily discoverable

✅ Use story highlights on Insta (or playlists for TikTok) to act as FAQ’s – this helps bring customers to the most informative content, fast

✅ Use Product stickers to make your stories shoppable – this helps drive window shoppers lurking your story or story highlights to your store

✅ Pin posts that highlight your best products – and ongoing sales – ensure you change them from time to time

✅ Ask your viewers to click the link in the bio with your bio text – tag your other profiles as well, like your founders or partner brands

FURTHER READING: TikTok eCommerce: 40 Brilliant Ideas (With Examples) For 2024

17. Create share-worthy content on your socials

Two truths ✅ and a lie ❌:

• Your social media feed should communicate who you are as a brand ✨
• Your social media feed should be customer-centric 🤗
• Your social media shouldn’t contain self-promotional content 🙅‍♀️

The thing is all three are truths – if you know how to connect with your audience. For example, 84% of the customers opine they were convinced to purchase a product or service by watching a video about a product. 

Videos work because they tell a story – solve a pain point with proof – and sell relatability. One-minute videos work well in driving organic traffic to your eCommerce site. Anthropologie created a one-of-a-kind story campaign called #MyAnthropologie featuring their clothing and mobile accessories sported by their Instagram followers. 

It stands out because it features images of actual customers and not models. Discarding the conventional norm of using “perfect” catalog images, it uses life-size imagery which is bound to perform well. 

Finally, it helps customers flaunt their purchases all while tagging the brand, thereby creating brand awareness and valuable organic traffic:

Content ideas to increase shares and traffic to your eCommerce store:

✅ Feature giveaways – ask users to create explainer videos on how they use your product

✅ Get your products reviewed by micro YouTubers – preferably within your niche (people with 2k to 100k subscribers)

✅ Team up with larger creators to put your products up to the test – publish results through videos—don’t forget to tease the collaboration 

✅ Create a challenge for creators to test your claims – in exchange for rewards

✅ Do a handle takeover with a micro-influencer – build the hype through your stories and posts 

FURTHER READING: 16 Brilliant Ideas to Convert Organic Traffic Into Customers for eCommerce Stores

18. Don't try to get traffic out of every single platform (all at once)

Sure, extra coverage will ensure max reach. However, it doesn't always mean maximum traffic – what you need is consistency:

Ideas for driving traffic consistently with your social media marketing strategy:

✅Make sure you start with posting on one platform – and slowly automate the posting across platforms – for example, you can connect your Instagram and Pinterest accounts to sync posts – or use social media automation platforms like Buffer 

✅ Focus on creating a funnel that generates traffic as well as sales – just make sure you are creating content that helps users make decisions—it all starts with connecting your efforts (like connecting your social shop products to your posts)

Tl;dr: Automate and edit later – schedule stuff. Focus on spreading first, and then editing 

19. Leverage social shops across platforms to maximize your presence

Social commerce is already a BIG thing – and will likely grow to 8.5 trillion USD by 2030. 

Social shops are basically organic catalogs, like a Google Merchant Center for social profiles – allowing people to check out within the platform itself – or on your website (depending on platform policies). 

The best part? They are awesome for driving impulse purchases – and if you are regular on those platforms – sky’s the limit 😀! 

You can even sync your influencer collabs to feature shoppable products across platforms. 

So, which platforms should you focus on first? The answer may surprise you, but it's Facebook.

Almost 20.6% of all digital shoppers in the US deemed FB as the top social media platform for shopping – with Insta and YouTube in close quarters. 

You should also read: 17 Top eCommerce Mobile Site Examples (Not Your Usual Brands)

20. Have a heart-to-heart over live streams on socials

Livestreams are what Webinars are to the B2B space – they help build a cult following – and bring high-quality traffic (and leads). 

Ideas on creating live streams to bring traffic to YOUR eCommerce store:

✅ Group ideas from keywords – find common themes like “choosing the right tools for beginner DIY mechanics” or “crafting beer at home” 

✅ Invite strategic experts to weigh in – make sure to include them in your cover and title like “Fall Trends 2024: straight from {expert}’s wardrobe x {your brand}”

✅ Create a buzz from your email and socials – use your stories or your emails in a streamlined drip – make sure you are using lead forms to keep active viewers hooked 

Quick Tip: Just make sure you are sticking to a theme – or mixing it up with a larger picture in mind (getting more traffic and building shareable content).

21. Use Pinterest & Reddit (or any niche forums) like a pro

Reddit, Pinterest, and Quora are all Mo-Fu – these platforms are great for digging up dirt.

So, as an eCommerce brand, growing traffic can be easy – if you skip the self-promotion – and open up to feedback from highly niche forums or creators.

Ideas on how to generate traffic from Pinterest/Reddit/Quora:

✅ Ask creators to check your mood boards via comments – it's best if you reach out to creators on related niches – for example, if you're a jewelry brand, comment on popular pins of fashion influencers 

✅ Link products to your every pin – this makes them shoppable and interactive – Pinterest’s visual search engine will do the rest

✅ Ask for a review on subreddits – for example, ask for a ‘review my store’ on entrepreneur forums like “r/reviewmyshopify”

You must read: 10 Questions to Ask When Hiring An eCommerce Email Marketing Agency

DISCOUNTS

22. Use flash sales as a trigger for getting traffic and sales

24-hour flash sales have proven to be successful,  no matter the industry – they work for visibility, sales, clearing inventory – or bringing traffic to your eCommerce site. But, how long should your flash sales be? 

As a rule of thumb, a 24-hour sale is ideal but shorter flash sale campaigns create the urgency to act. As per an Experian study, 2-hour flash sales lead to a 14% increase in email open rates, which is higher than average – while, a 3-hour flash sale-results in 59% higher than average email open rates. 

Black Diamond takes a specific approach by targeting one key product for a particular time. However, there is a world of ideas you can explore to bring (and convert) traffic.

Ideas to create winning flash sales to get traffic:

✅ Bring in existing customers on the action: ‍Flash sales are great for driving first-time visitors – but, you need to consider existing customers as well, for driving referrals – try tiered rewards like “refer and earn upto $X for every $X sold”

✅ Use inventory levels to drive sales from traffic: Flash sales fail if your customers are purchasing but you run out of inventory – make sure to limit inventory for every customer

✅ Run frequent flash sales just before or after the holiday seasons: don’t run campaigns that annoy them – avoid flash sales fatigue at all costs

✅ Don’t let poor delivery and return policies hinder sales: ‍While you might believe that throwaway prices offer an exceptional customer experience, late delivery infuriates your customers – even return policies need to be just and not exploitative

Quick Tip: Retarget website visitors with push notifications – this personalization hack can bring back existing visitors who’ve signed up for notifications on your site 

FURTHER READING: 31 insanely powerful Online Sales Promotion ideas for eCommerce

23. Drive traffic through rewards and referral discounts

Referrals can be your lead magnet other than a way to reward your loyal customers – and is a proven low-cost customer acquisition channel. Take a leaf out of Harry’s milestone referral campaign that helped them collect 100,000 emails. Sounds too good to be true? 

Harry’s created a two-page microsite clearly explaining their product in all of 5 seconds. 

‘Respecting the face and wallet since like right now’  is a crisp way of communicating pocket-friendly razors which is every man’s concern. The page simply asked for emails arousing curiosity with the line ‘Be the first to know.’ After submitting their emails, the subscribers were asked to refer their friends to win prizes:

Here’s the milestone they had to accomplish to win a prize- 

• 5 friends referred  = free shave cream
• 10 friends referred = free razor
• 25 friends referred = free premium razor
• 50 friends referred = free shaving for a year 

The outcome? 77% of emails were collected which means about 20k people referred about 65k friends. 

Ideas for driving referrals and traffic:

✅ Offer simple cash rewards: Start by simply offering cash in exchange for referrals. The reward you offer is entirely based on the business model. Take care not to burn cash in the process. Julep offers $15 credits for every referral made for its Maven subscription box. It got 5x referrals from its promotional campaigns by using an omnichannel strategy: 

✅ Provide a premium upgrade: Premium upgrades serve as an alternative to cash rewards.  Access to premium features, new products, and other miscellaneous benefits

✅ Take the perks route: Drive traffic by providing perks to existing customers based on the new customers they bring in. A handy perk will incentivize customers to refer your eCommerce product to their friends and family

Recommended reading: Finding The Right Target Audience In eCommerce: 16 Proven Strategies

EMAILS

24. Use strong triggers to get email subscribers (like a swipe page)

Strong lead magnets like discounts, flash sales, or referrals like Harry’s, to bring in email subscribers. This leads to customers bringing in traffic and subscribers continually – and eventually, sales.

Ideas for lead magnets to bring in email subscribers (and traffic):

✅ Use a link-in bio within your social profiles – leave a hook like “sign up and get $X of merch FREE” or “sign up to get your FREE sample”

✅ Use your exit intent pop-up smartly to capture traffic – show a welcome discount in exchange for an email like “First-time shoppers get X% off”

✅ Offer app download discounts to a limited number of customers – like “First 1000 users get 30% off”  

✅ Run a pre-order with discounts to tease product launches – and get sign-ups – here’s an example of a pre-order Glossybox that you can take inspiration from:

‍

Quick Tip: Use the framing effect to convey your messaging with greater effect – note how Glossybox does this “Worth at least £50 delivered to your door from just £11.75” is a great way to convey discounts instead of the usual percentages. 

25. Send ONLY inspiring content to your email list

There’s a ton of content on how to build an email list but resources are few and far between when it comes to writing email copy. These strategies apply to subject lines and email body content. 

Tips to help you create inspiring emails that bring in traffic to your site:

✅ Use numbers to incite curiosity and urgency – by using social proof and a bit of controversy:

✅ Taking the customer’s name works like a charm – address the problem – with a solution in hand:

✅ Create scarcity – retarget people within your list who viewed a particular product or added to cart:

✅ Get the visuals right – use smart formatting to lead the eyes – Dollar Shave Club does this right with a dark brown and black-white color combination – which makes it incredibly soothing to the eyes (and on brand). The visual image complements the copy and the orange CTA button makes heads turn: 

FURTHER READING: 30 Amazing eCommerce Email Templates (from 6 industries)

ADS

26. Serve your ads in the right locations – and timings (and people)

What's the point of serving ads at 3 AM, if they don't drive conversions – or showing your ads to existing customers?

Tips on taking better control of when and where your ad serves:

✅ Day-parting: involves taking into account which time of the day gets the lowest conversions/clicks

✅ Geo-targeting: showing ads to hyper-targeted locations – also includes excluding locations (like sparsely populated areas)

✅ Using a frequency cap: limiting the number of times someone sees an ad within a day (keep it 2 times as a minimum)

✅ Using custom audiences: you can build and include/exclude audiences out of people who’ve already interacted with your brand

Do check out: eCommerce Bounce Rate By Industry (+Tips To Improve)

27. Match your product/landing page copy to your keywords (this gets better traffic)

There are N number of ads out there in 2024 – all ads that perform have one thing in common: a match between the promise and the proof.

In simple terms, all you need to do is: find what makes your product THE thing to buy (and the center of conversation) – is it something loved by thousands of customers? 

Or, does it solve a really critical problem like “odor-free boxers” – check how this Mack Weldon Google Search Ad does this:

Addressing your target persona with ‘you’ catches a first-time visitor's attention. Using “like nothing you’ve ever worn” is an emotional trigger (and a challenge) – and, if you’re curious, you’d not be able to resist clicking the ad. 

Once you're inside the landing page, you'll see how various elements within the product pages across the underwear category, back up the ad's claim:

And, that’s how you create an irresistible value proposition that drives, matches, and converts traffic.

Checklist for your eCommerce copy to grow your traffic and sales:

• Does the copy align with the tone of the brand? 
• Does it communicate benefits over features? 
• Does it contain rational triggers that inspire? 
• Does it explain the product in a nutshell? 
• Is your content skimmable? 
• Is it fueling your SEO efforts? 

FURTHER READING: Boost eComm landing page conversions: 12 scientific strategies

28. Run targeted ads to get some UGC (and sales)

Your social feed needs social proof – especially if you’re starting a new store. The quickest way to do that is invite existing customers and creators into creating content for you.

Tips on how to get UGC, sales, and traffic:

✅ Bring back existing customers who haven’t left a review – use a cross-channel custom retargeting campaign on email and ads

✅ Incentivize them to create a video on themes – like, “how do you wear our {product}” or “how do you maintain our {product}”

✅ Offer one-off incentives that stand out – think custom promo codes, gifts, or special access to VIP sales or features on socials

✅ Create a contest on your organic socials (which you can promote on ads) – target all visitors who visit your profile or people who left your site

OMNICHANNEL STRATEGIES

29. Run affiliate programs but make it easy

Loyalty, referral, and affiliate programs have a lot in common – except that affiliate programs pay a flat commission each time a sale is made. However, affiliate programs have custom codes/links, which ensure affiliates get recognized for bringing in traffic and sales.

All of this is hard to implement for brands and affiliates. This is why it’s easier to create an ambassador program from your customer base – where you manage the links – and ensure that the participants have a stake. 

Take inspiration from Ztylus, a smartphone accessories brand that created a referral program where customers earn a 10% commission if a friend purchases using a coupon code:

You can also consider creating a micro-influencer program. Glossier uses its micro-influencer program to offer individuals with a certain social media following, product discounts and non-monetary incentives in exchange for posting videos featuring products they like. 

30. Build a support team – that gets customers talking

What’s the easiest way to drive traffic to your eCommerce site without using social media or running ads? Create a level of service that gets people talking about you (in a good way).

The caveat here is existing customers or traffic. Therefore, an initial ad spend may be required to get your first-ever sales. If you’ve already got that covered, you can go ahead and implement this strategy to drive traffic by:

Ideas for building Word of Mouth and traffic through your support team:

✅ Asking for feedback within emails – in exchange for an incentive like loyalty points or “FLAT X OFF on your next purchase”

✅ Remembering customer choices when they come back/land for the first time – like showing relevant content according to user IP or product recommendations by browsing history

✅ Showing your policies subtly across the site – like showing your returns policy below your CTA button as microcopy or above the notification bar

✅ Being available on Live Chat – as a personal shopper guide – or as a chatbot that helps people find products

31. Go out of home – participate in an event – get a traffic boost

Every step of your eCommerce journey doesn't have to be online. Participating in trade expos and participating in local drives for causes you support is a great way to build a buzz.

The best part is you can call on active participants through webinars, live streams, and more.

Ideas on how to use offline events to grow traffic to your eCommerce site:

✅ Create videos on your experience at events – like a vlog on YouTube, or a reel on Instagram

✅ Offer live try-ons and ‘event’ exclusive offers – make sure your audience knows about it (if required, run an ad around the dates and location of the event)

✅ Plan a drip for your emails during the days leading up to the event – this ensures that your customers are looped in – and if required, create a custom sign-up page for the event

✅ Collect first-party data during the event and send something special – like a custom thank you email to all your attendees 

✅ Retarget over SMS/WhatsApp channels – bring back attendees – and inform non-attendees a sneak peek on what they missed out on

Quick Tip: You can also use webinars to educate, build relationships, and help out people. Harry’s organized a set of webinars with its CEO Andy Katz-Mayfield as the host. The theme of the webinars was to help students stepping into accounting as a profession. It aimed to teach students to assess risk, find resources, and handle the development of major change initiatives. 

BONUS: Should you just be measuring website traffic?

When your goal is driving traffic to your eCommerce website, you’ll most likely be measuring visits or sessions. But you shouldn’t be limiting yourself to just these metrics to measure the effectiveness of your eCommerce traffic generation efforts.

You should also consider the following KPIs:

• How much time did the visitors spend - It doesn’t make sense to usher in huge volumes of traffic if they leave soon. Hence metrics such as bounce rate and time on page can act as good indicators of user behavior.

• How many shoppers made a purchase - Again, your primary goal is to get the right traffic and not just any traffic. So unless your visitors are actually making a purchase, there won’t be any profitability in spending to get more eCommerce traffic. So conversion rate is an important metric to measure in this case.

• How expensive is it to get visitors to your site - Building website traffic can involve both organic and paid efforts. So the cost per acquisition (CPA) is another important metric to measure here. When you match that with your average order value (AOV) you can figure out how to adjust your ad spend to maintain profitability.

Website traffic is a great starting point, no doubt. But you’ll also have to figure out ways on how to retain those visitors and convince them to make a purchase.

Recap: How to drive traffic to your eCommerce store?

SEO:

1. Make sure you get the persona right before trying to generate traffic

2. Do your keyword research really well to build a strong site architecture

3. Structure your page copy for better rankings (and conversions)

4. Check if your site is fast enough to handle large amounts of traffic

5. Focus on UX first – especially on mobile – make sure your site is shareable

6. Optimize your search listings for better visibility (and sales)

7. Make sure your pages are set for technical SEO

8. Stop trying to build backlinks for traffic

CONTENT:

9. Create super helpful blog posts (and get them to rank)

10. Repurpose live streams into podcasts for better reach

11. Create thought leadership videos to educate, engage, and entertain

INFLUENCERS:

12. Ask your own people to give your store a share :)

13. Stand up for a cause – increase your reach – turn visitors into fans

14. Get some authentic publicity – think strategic partnerships with experts

15. Create strategic content with micro-creators

SOCIALS:

16. Build your social media profiles like landing pages

17. Create share-worthy content on your socials (giveaways, collabs)

18. Don't try to get traffic out of every single platform (all at once)

19. Leverage social shops across platforms to maximize your presence

20. Have a heart-to-heart over live streams on socials

21. Use Pinterest & Reddit (or any niche forums) like a pro

DISCOUNTS:

22. Use flash sales as a trigger for getting traffic and sales

23. Drive traffic through rewards and referral discounts

EMAILS:

24. Use strong triggers to get email subscribers (like a swipe page)

25. Send ONLY inspiring content to your email list

ADS:

26. Serve your ads in the right locations – and timings (and people)

27. Match your product/landing page copy to your keywords (this gets better traffic)

28. Run targeted ads to get some UGC (and sales)

OMNICHANNEL STRATEGIES:

29. Run affiliate programs but make it easy

30. Build a support team – that gets customers talking

31. Go out of home – participate in an event – get a traffic boost

Wrapping Up 

Which of these creative ways are you going to use to drive traffic to your eCommerce store? Before you go try these, not everything is going to work for you. Do a test run and see what works for you. 

If you’re not sure why your website is converting, sign up for a free audit from Convertcart.