It is not enough to just create a site and add products. Competitors’ online stores, entertainment, news and other websites compete for the user’s attention. Your web resource should not only be visible on the network, but also encourage you to buy. Next, we will tell you how to develop an online store, avoid common mistakes and lay a reliable foundation for further development.
The main ways of promoting an online store
Attracting customers to the site is a complex process that combines various methods and tools. Including:
SEO promotion; advertising in the context-media network and directly in “search”; active use of social networks; email marketing; placement on price aggregators; advertising in teaser networks.
Let’s analyze each method in more detail.
Read also: Technical site optimization: common mistakes and their elimination
SEO promotion of the online store
SEO optimization is the foundation of your website development. It is desirable that the online store was created already taking into account technical tasks from an SEO specialist. That is, the web resource must have the correct structure, a high-quality semantic core, logical linking, etc. In addition, SEO promotion of an online store is an ongoing process that includes work on the internal pages of the site and building external links.
Internal site optimization
A set of works aimed at improving the website itself. It includes:
Improvement of the technical features of the online store (loading speed, error elimination, extensive micro-markup). Expansion of the semantic core (a set of keywords selected according to the topic of the site). Creating relevant content. Technical optimization of the online store
It is better to start SEO work with an audit of the web resource. More details about the audit and its types were written in a separate material.
After a detailed analysis of the site, it becomes clear what should be worked on first:
low loading speed and non-optimized (outdated, low-quality, incorrectly displayed) images; broken links and redirect chains; absence of Title, Description, headings and subheadings H1-H6; incorrect filling of robot and sitemap files. no SSL certificate. Expansion of the semantic core
Working with keywords is an important component of seo promotion of an online store. Keys, that is, the semantic core, are words and phrases that users use to search for your site on the Internet. An SEO specialist groups keywords by relevance and distributes them between website pages.
It is also necessary to remove irrelevant queries (minus words). For example, products you don’t sell, mentions of competitors, the words “free” or “cheap” if they are not true.
Optimization of the structure of the online store
You can distribute semantics between website pages with the help of a well-thought-out structure and navigation. The logic of building a site affects not only the convenience of users, but also the speed of page scanning by search engines.
First of all, an optimized structure is important for large online stores, where many products in different categories are presented. The path to the target page from the main page should not take more than 3 clicks, and access to the shopping cart should be done from any web page.
For online stores, a tree-like structure is most often used: main — categories — subcategories. It is recommended to regularly check the website for the absence of empty categories and duplicates by name, content, as well as for inconsistency of the product category. In order not to complicate the structure, add filters – by characteristics, colors, cost.
Promotion of the online catalog and the store as a whole through content
With the advent of tools based on generative AI, the impact of quality content only increases. Comprehensive website content directly affects its visibility in search results.
What should be added:
High-quality photos and videos of the product. Full product descriptions that include keywords. Product availability and current prices. General texts for each category and subcategory. A blog is an opportunity to write detailed articles, advice on the subject of an online store. Still, it’s useful and expert content that Google loves.
The texts must be unique, useful for site visitors and at the same time well structured for search engines.
Read also: What is content marketing: how to use the power of the word to the fullest for your business
External SEO promotion of the online store
The external optimization of the site consists in gradually increasing links to other web resources on the Internet. This process is also called link building. Simply put, the more links, the better. But this theory actually has important nuances:
Build links gradually. A sudden increase in the number of Google backlinks can be perceived negatively. Choose high-quality, relevant web resources for placement. To increase the “representation” of an online store in the network, use crowd marketing. Distribute external links between different pages on your website that you want to drive traffic to.
External and internal optimization can be done independently or ordered from an SEO agency.
How to promote an online store using contextual advertising?
Contextual advertising is an advertisement that is shown to the user in the search results or in the Google advertising network based on his request.
Several types of ads can be used to promote the online catalog:
Search ads are text ads that are placed immediately below the search bar labeled “ads.” They correspond to the user’s search queries and are displayed above the organic search results. Google shopping — product ads that Google shows on the search results page and on partner network sites. The advertisement consists of a photo of the product, description and price, and contains a direct link to the online store. Banner ads in the media network — ads of various formats on Google’s partner sites. They are text, in the form of a static image and video. Websites for advertising can be selected by topic, geography, interests, etc. The advertiser has the option to add or remove websites from the list manually. Video advertising — advertising videos on media network sites and applications, including YouTube. Ads in the mobile app store are used to promote mobile apps. You can place such ads on partner network sites, in other applications, and in search engines.
Promotion of the online store through social networks
Another indispensable tool for promotion is social networks – that is, SMM. Conventionally, the process is divided into targeted advertising and organic promotion, which are better used together:
Start by developing an SMM strategy. Choose the platforms with which you will work primarily – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and others. Define your target audience. Work on branding. Create a content plan. Think at least a few posts in advance, for example, using ideas for Instagram. Analyze user activity, regularly respond to comments, follow bookmarks. Use the advertising capabilities of each platform to attract new customers with targeted advertising. Previous articles talked about automatic Meta Ads rules, and how to use Facebook, TikTok and other social networks to increase sales.
Email marketing in the strategy of promotion of the Internet catalog
Email is another tool for interacting with your audience. Email marketing solves the following problems:
promotes return to abandoned baskets; stimulates repeat sales; informs about current promotions and novelties; maintains interest in your online store.
Email marketing can be effectively used after collecting the email database of your users from other channels. For example, after registering on the website, for bonuses in social networks, etc.
Read also: Facebook advertising rules: why an advertising account can be blocked and how to prevent it
How to promote an online store on price aggregators
The price aggregator is a platform that collects data about goods from various online stores. Usually, products can be compared by price and other characteristics. To make a purchase, a potential customer must go directly to the website of a store that offers a certain product. In Ukraine, price aggregators are Hotline.ua, Price.ua, Sravni.ua, ek.ua and others.
For new online stores, this is a good way to attract the attention of users on a level with large websites, as well as increase the amount of traffic and the number of sales. However, in certain niches, competition can be quite high, and the only available method of influencing buyers is price. Therefore, it is recommended to consider price aggregators only as an additional promotion tool.
Should you use teaser ads to promote your online store?
Advertisements with clickbait images and intriguing texts, which are placed on the partner sites of the teaser network, are called teasers. Advantages include low cost compared to other types of advertisements, high audience coverage, and minimal content requirements.
But there are enough shortcomings. One of the main ones is low-quality traffic. It is difficult to really come across your CA even with the help of settings. In addition, the adjacent teaser may have too flashy a headline or content that is unacceptable to your audience.
Read also: Targeted advertising audit: why conduct it and what to pay attention to
How to avoid the main mistakes when promoting an online store
Promotion of an online store is a painstaking and long process. Time, knowledge, experience and money are required for successful SEO promotion, launching of advertisements, use of additional channels.
At the initial stage, many entrepreneurs make similar mistakes.
Lack of a general strategy, how and where to move. The optimal solution is to form a long-term plan with a breakdown into smaller periods. Problems with the content of the site – low-quality content, inconsistency of the actual availability of the declared, non-optimized images. Try to fill the online store as quickly as possible, immediately create appropriate images, generate texts taking into account the keys. We also recommend checking the checklist of commercial ranking factors. Work with only one promotion method. Combine several tools at once. SEO promotion gives stable results in the long term, and the effect of contextual advertising is usually visible immediately. These methods do not replace, but complement each other. Lack of analysis of the work performed. Track results in Google Analytics, connect CRM to capture sales and other conversions. Summarize each month or quarter. So you will see what has changed and whether you are moving in the right direction. Wrong choice of contractor. Many aspiring entrepreneurs do everything on their own in the initial stages. But later it becomes impossible to cover the entire volume of work. You can hire specialists of the appropriate competences in the staff, cooperate with freelancers or contact an agency. Here we talked about the advantages and disadvantages of each format.
If you want to avoid common mistakes in the promotion of an online store, contact professionals. Specialists will conduct an audit and prescribe a general strategy, how and where to move forward.
