Best Online Marketing Strategies for eCommerce Websites in 2020?

The eCommerce sector has become a highly competitive online industry. Whether selling sports gear, jewelry, clothing, or books, there are countless competitors in the internet marketplace, all vying for customers and clicks.

Online retail now accounts for over $3.5 trillion sales around the world, and it’s an industry that’s growing incrementally year-on-year. As technology improves, there are fewer barriers to prevent people from entering this sector, and so more people than ever before are going online to realize their self-employment dreams.

While there is a world of opportunity out there for those who are keen to exploit the potential of online retail, it’s also a tough arena to compete in. New businesses enter the marketplace each day, and it’s only those who are prepared to work extra hard to stand out from the crowd who will rise to the top.

So, what are the secrets to gaining more conversions and higher revenue? From optimizing underused papers to obtain more customers and creating a smart email flow for abandoned shopping carts to nudging visitors who are still sitting on the fence at just the right moment, there are techniques and methods available that you can employ to help you excel in the eCommerce sector.

Previously we have published the best strategies for 2019. Now let’s find out what are the best online marketing strategies for your eCommerce website for 2020.

Standing out from the crowd

Not all visitors who land on your business homepage will become loyal customers, but it’s certainly possible to nudge prospects down the sales funnel through the use of the correct strategies at the perfect moment. For anyone running an eCommerce business, finding ways to stand out from the crowd is imperative, and so finding the best online marketing strategies for eCommerce websites is imperative. When marketing strategies such as SEO and social media are harnessed, it’s possible for an online store to build up greater brand awareness and so to drive sales and thrive in a highly lucrative sector.

It’s all too easy for eCommerce businesses to fail, even in today’s increasingly online world, and utilizing the power of online marketing strategies holds the key to success.

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Using SEO to the full

For anyone running an online store, ensuring that customers can find the site is imperative. Many companies find they struggle to rank in the search engine results, and this is because they are failing to use SEO or search engine optimization.

SEO involves identifying then targeting phrases and keywords that customers will use to find products and, thus, to increase the number of interested shoppers visiting the site. SEO for eCommerce businesses makes it simpler for customers to find the site and browse it, while also improving user experience.

Using PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

Although ranking organically for keywords is important for any eCommerce site, PPC or pay-per-click advertising can also be helpful to generate more traffic while organic rankings are still being established.

Harnessing the power of social media

3.8 million people use social media, so there’s an excellent chance of reaching an eCommerce business’s target market with sites like YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook. Social media platforms represent a great chance to publicize eCommerce promotions, events, and products, and this makes it a highly recommended eCommerce marketing strategy.

Social media can also be used to encourage customers to give feedback and so to build up a base of followers. When customers like products, they will share content via social media platforms and this can help to position an eCommerce site as a trusted and valuable source, with great reviews increasing trust in customers.

Content marketing – A useful tool

Creating valuable content and sharing it online is vital for any eCommerce company. Search engines rank quality content highly to bring the site within sight of more customers. There are many types of useful content, and blogs are a popular choice. Yet, supplementing that content with downloadable guides or engaging infographics can be extremely beneficial. When visitors find a site’s content useful, they are more likely to become a loyal customer and share the content with other interested parties to grow the brand’s reach.

“A lot of eCommerce brands have mastered the art of content marketing. With quality content in place, you’ll find it easier to raise awareness and improve brand reach. Besides, you’ll also be able to gain better search result visibility, translating to more organic traffic for your website.” – as mentioned by Jon Rettinger in one of his articles when discussing the eCommerce content marketing to use it on our website.

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Using email marketing strategies

Email marketing strategies go hand-in-hand with content marketing. Email represents an ideal way of sharing posts and updates as well as advertising new products and services, offering coupons or holding contests. It’s simple to add a registration form to an eCommerce website and visitors will be encouraged to leave their email and receive updates.

Converting empty carts

In a perfect world, a customer would land on your company’s homepage, choose a category and product then move immediately to the checkout. However, we live in the real world, where buyers’ journeys aren’t so linear.

If a prospective customer lands on a page that is under-optimized, they tend to end their buying journey then and there. There is a way to harness the power of the empty shopping cart, though.

Rather than simply allowing the empty shopping cart to go unnoticed, you can greet your customers with a message that recommends other products from your range and that includes a Call-to-Action that drives customers back to the homepage to begin a fresh buying journey. This may be a simple strategy, but it’s highly effective in guiding your website visitors in the right direction and bringing them back on track.

How can you harness this potential? Write some assertive or amusing copy for your empty cart page, then add some social proof by including customer testimonials. You then create a site popup to showcase popular products and show it to those visitors whose carts are empty. This is a tactic you can put to good use quickly, and you’re sure to reap the benefits.

Turning purchasers into subscribers

You’re almost certainly familiar with how effective upselling can be and how it can boost your revenue. A number of online retail stores use cross-selling and upselling already to increase the value of average orders, however, only a handful are currently experimenting with exciting new ways of maximizing their revenue further.

One exciting new method to boost revenue is to offer two different pricing options – a regular price and a special price for site members. When customers are ready to purchase one of your products you can offer them a membership upgrade so they can benefit from a lower item price and, perhaps, other advantages such as free shipping. When highlighting the savings between the standard cost and the membership price, it becomes easy for the customer to see why they should opt for a subscription.

You can turn customers into subscribers by displaying clearly the benefit of becoming a site member on your product pages and by showing price comparisons between the cost of items for non-members and members. When subscription options stand out clearly in your site design you can convert many more casual shoppers into long-term customers who will continue bringing in revenue over an extended period.

Converting wishlists

If your site offers a wishlist function, this is another feature that you can harness to boost your revenue. Many shoppers add items to their wishlist but then fail to look at them again. Don’t overlook the wishlists that your prospects make – they hold high conversion potential. After all, visitors have added items to this list specifically because they’re interested in buying them. How can you make sure that you nudge them in the right direction to ensure they do choose to make a purchase?

One way of reactivating those old forgotten wishlist items is by sending reminder emails. Displaying customers’ wishlist items clearly and simply along with a powerful Call-to-Action will help encourage visitors to reconsider making a purchase. You can also increase the chance of conversions by adding exclusive wishlist discount codes to your reminder emails. This will make it even more likely that potential customers will be swayed to make a purchase and increase your revenue.

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Why is eCommerce website marketing important?

It’s clear that eCommerce website marketing represents an essential strategy for any online business, helping to distinguish the brand from its rival sites. Without any online marketing strategies, competing companies will likely rank more highly in the search engine results, regardless of how user-friendly or eye-catching the website may be.

Driving traffic to an eCommerce website is vital to ensure its success, so drawing up and implementing an effective online marketing strategy for any online business is the best way to boost online leads and increase the number of conversions.

Online eCommerce marketing helps potential customers to not only buy goods and services but also to find a website in the first place. With an optimized site, the business will be more likely to appear in the search engine results for the keywords that are most relevant to the company’s offerings.

With no strategy online marketing plan or search engine optimization, it’s impossible for any eCommerce business to achieve its goals and to grow its business in this highly competitive sector. Therefore, utilizing these outlined methods is the best way to ensure the best possible chance of success.

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