E-commerce has become one of the most important ways that customers buy goods and services now. However, traditional marketing strategies do not work for e-commerce companies, as the way in which customers engage with them is drastically different from a traditional brick-and-mortar shop. Therefore, e-commerce companies should use alternative marketing strategies to reach their customers, some of which are described below.

Produce Original Content

The content for an e-commerce website is the first step that companies should focus on. High quality, original content is very important for such websites, because that is what many consumers will look for while exploring potential websites to transact with. It also helps in retaining the consumer and ensures that they come back for repeated visits. Creativity and originality are key while producing content for e-commerce websites. It is a very worthwhile investment for companies to create compelling content for their website.

Optimize the website layout

Once the website is launched, an essential step is the testing of the website’s layout. Consumers should find the website easy to navigate, as a complicated interface can very easily drive potential consumers away. Everything from the fonts used on the website, the graphics, and the placement of the elements on the page is important.

There are many analytic tools which can help with optimising the layout of the website. Softwares like Mouseflow create a heatmap which reveals consumer behaviour on websites, and how their mouse moves on the page. It shows the most engaging and least engaging parts of the website, and this information can be very useful in improving the website’s layout.

Content Marketing

Marketing through means other than simple advertisements is a great way to generate more attention and interaction, and can also help in bringing customers back to the website. Blog posts, videos, newsletters, etc. related to the goods or services being sold on the website are a lot more engaging that straightforward advertisements.

Social Media Marketing

It is safe to assume that any one who is willing to engage in e-commerce transactions will have a social media presence. Thus, social media marketing can be a very powerful tool for e-commerce websites. It provides a direct line of communication to potential customers, and can be utilised to generate engagement and interaction, and also increase the size of the customer base.

A solid knowledge of the various social media services, and what content does better on each different service, is key. Since all the services operate differently, companies must invest in finding out how they can gain the most engagement from each service.

Social media marketing also allows for extremely accurate targeted advertisements. If a company chooses to advertise on a social media site (such as Facebook or Instagram), it can choose to display the ad to those people who will be interested in it, and this is a much more effective advertising strategy than just showing a blanket advertisement to the entire user base.

Email Marketing

E-mails are still one of the most popular form of electronic communication in the world. A database of customer e-mails is one of the most valuable asset an e-commerce company can have. This can enable them to reach their audience effectively and provide them with useful and engaging content.

E-mails can be used to inform customers about upcoming sales, any upcoming events that the company might be hosting, or new products, among other things.

The Google Analytics Dashboard is a great service which can provide companies with insight into how consumers are engaging with their emails.

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Search Engine Optimization

Since an overwhelming majority of people will head to a search engine like Google to find something on the internet, it is essential that companies optimise their site to show up in search results. This process is understood as Search Engine Optimisation.

The website should contain detailed information about the products it is selling, and the information should be relevant to what potential customers might look for. The use of keywords throughout the website is a great way to ensure that is shows up in search results.

Pay-Per-Click Marketing

Pay-per-click marketing is a service where the advertiser will pay a fee to the ad hoster each time their link is clicked. Examples of this can be seen all over the most popular sites on the Internet. Google search results always have one or two PPC ads right at the top.

The main elements to any such campaign are – the ad, the offer in the ad, and the page the ad leads to. All three elements must be interlinked for such campaigns to be effective. If the ad is misleading or the landing page is too complicated, potential customers can quickly lose interest. The most important thing for these campaigns is to keep the attention of the customer till they decide to engage in the transaction.

Optimize Marketing Efforts for Mobile Devices

Now, a large percentage of internet users access the web through mobile devices. Therefore, it is highly important that an e-commerce site works on mobile devices just as well as it does on a computer.

A good user experience on mobile devices is necessary in today’s world, and consumers do not want to be redirected to another version of the website every time they want to buy something.

The data gained from mobile users can also be helpful in advertising efforts. Targeted ads based on location can be shown to customers which use the GPS data from their phones.

Retargeting

Customers who have already made a purchase from a website are more likely to use that site again. Therefore, it is important to isolate those customers and advertise to them specially. An advantage of this is that the company now has some data on the customer’s behaviour, and therefore can tailor its ads more specifically. For example, ads for a certain product can be shown to a prior customer which are related to something they bought on the website earlier.

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BY - SHIVALIK CHANDAN