How Can I Increase Traffic to My eCommerce Website?

With over 2.64 billion people shopping online in 2024, it is more important than ever to attract high-potential visitors to your eCommerce website to drive sales and revenue. 

However, the question is how to drive traffic to your eCommerce store. Because right now, you may be experiencing search engine ranking issues, a lack of traffic, or your potential customers aren’t noticing you. 

So, if you are looking to increase eCommerce traffic and Googling “how to drive traffic to your online store?” 

Here are seven proven ways to attract high-potential customers and boost traffic to your online store. 

1. Optimize Your Website for Search Engines

How will a potential customer find your online store? By searching for your product and services online. Therefore, it is essential that your online store is visible in the top search results of major search engines like Google and Bing for relevant, targeted user queries. 

To increase ranking and visibility on Search Engine Result Pages (SERP), and attract high-potential visitors, you need to optimize your website so that it has everything search engines are looking for. This practice is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

We highly recommend you opt for professional eCommerce SEO services, as they will ensure:

• Relevant keywords on every page (homepage, category pages, meta descriptions, URLs, and more). 
• Clear headlines and CTAs to make the user journey smoother and easier.
• Product page and Navigation optimization.
• Seamless checkout process to increase conversions. 
• Easy to find Contact, Return Policy, and Shipping pages. 

eCommerce SEO can also increase your conversion rates. For instance, with effective SEO, we boosted the conversion rate for Couture Candy by 53%. 

During the optimization process, we conducted a thorough heatmap analysis, enhanced the product page UI, and added a BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) option at checkout. 

Before optimization, their conversion rates were hovering around 20%

2. Invest in Sponsored Listings (Paid Search)

While SEO for eCommerce will increase organic traffic over time, sponsored listing is a great way to quickly make your online store visible and attract traffic. In paid search, businesses pay search engines to get featured in search results. 

Since, Google is one of the biggest search engines, it is worth investing in Google Ads. 

Also, you can target customers by location, demographics, keywords, and even devices. 

The most commonly used type of sponsored listing is Pay Per Click (PPC), where you only get charged once someone clicks on the ad. We ran a well-planned PPC campaign for Model Chic to boost their ROAS – revenue earned for every dollar spent on a campaign. The result? +520.38% increase in the conversions and +56.50% increase in the ROAS.

Pro Tip: It is best to invest in paid search during a promotion or high-demand period for your product or services.

 

3. Stay Active on Social Media

Engaging your existing and potential customers on social media is an excellent way to attract more traffic that will convert. By consistently posting, commenting, and responding to users, you grow your visibility. 

Moreover, by regularly monitoring your social channels, you can pinpoint the exact opportunities to post or respond for maximum engagement. 

Airbnb is the best example of this. It is active on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook and has a high user engagement rate. On average, Airbnb’s Instagram post receives over 10,000 likes, while 200,000 users like their top posts. 

Additionally, you can utilize paid social media ads to increase your reach. 

4. Collaborate with Influencers

Working with credible, influential people in your industry can significantly increase the awareness of your online store and gain the trust of potential buyers.

Begin by researching for popular influencers relevant to your product or services. After you have a list of potential influencers, reach out to them and work on building a genuine connection before talking business. 

Did you know that 49% of customers have had their purchasing decisions influenced by influencer marketing? All the more reason to collaborate with influencers. 

Boohoo Group is a master of influencer marketing. While fashion retailers struggled after the COVID-19 pandemic, Boohoo’s sales were up by 45%, thanks to clever social media usage and the power of influencers.

Also, note that influencers will be more interested in collaborating with you if your product or service interests their audience.

5. Write Informative Blogs and Articles

In addition to providing quality products, publishing unique, original, and informative content in the form of blogs or articles can establish your eCommerce business as a reputed source of information as well. 

You should aim to write educational content, such as: 

• How To Guides 
• Best Practices
• Top Tips 

And more.

This way, you can ensure that people researching specific products visit your website and convert into customers. 

Additionally, you can post your blogs and articles on other websites or platforms like Medium to expand your reach. Guest posting is another excellent way to establish your presence and attract a newer audience. Like, here we did a guest post for Trusted Wedding Dress Preservation on Bespoke Bride to boost visibilty and traffic. 

6. Re-engage Your Customers

Using retargeting display ads is a great way to grab the attention of your customers who visited your website but didn’t buy anything or people who added items to their cart but left without making a purchase. 

These ads work by using a pixel, a snippet of code that collects and records data about visitors to a website, such as page views, clicks, and purchases. Retargeting ads can appear on different platforms to re-engage your customers. 

However, do keep in mind that these ads can get pretty expensive.

7. Leverage Email Marketing

Email was and still is the most popular means to communicate with customers. You can use email marketing not just to promote upcoming sales or discounts on your online store but also to welcome new customers, notify them about abandoned carts, and highlight your most-selling products. Also, did you know eCommerce email marketing provides the highest ROI? 

Moreover, you can automate these emails to connect to customers at different points in their user journey. 

Additional Practices to Boost Traffic to eCommerce Website

In addition to the above-mentioned ways, you can also use the following practices to increase traffic to your online store. 

Affiliate Marketing 

You can also partner with credible websites and publishers so that they promote your products. Keep in mind that this type of marketing is performance-based, i.e., your affiliate partner will earn a commission on sales generated by links on their websites. 

Public Relations 

It is another way to boost your brand awareness. By getting featured in reputed publications, you can increase your reach. 

Rewards and Referral Program 

Rewarding your current customers is a great way to retain them for longer. Additionally, make your customers share your business with a referral program to gain further exposure and conversions. 

Offer Free and Fast Shipping Options 

Granted, free shipping may not always be a viable option, especially if you are starting out. However, you can offer free shipping for a limited period of time or over a certain cart value to provide value to your customers. As for fast shipping, you can simply opt for big brand strategies like Amazon Prime. 

Things to Avoid that Decrease Traffic to Your eCommerce Website

While it is important to utilize your resources to build practices that boost traffic and conversions, it is equally important to pay attention to things that may decrease the number of visitors to your eCommerce platform. 

Complex Checkout Process

Users want a seamless checkout process. Even a slight complication can make them lose interest and choose your competitor. Not allowing guest checkout is also a huge problem. For instance, Zara used to frequently face abandoned cart issues from new customers. They added a “continue as a guest” option to mitigate this problem.

If you have similar issues, professional eCommerce SEO can fix that.

Slow Website

This is a major factor that deters visitors from becoming customers. Not just the entire website but a few bad-performing pages can reduce traffic and increase bounce rates. 

Not Optimizing for Mobile Devices

With over 6 billion mobile phone users globally and an increasing number of shoppers visiting online stores on mobile devices, not optimizing websites for mobile devices is a big no-no. It will not only lower your traffic but also bring down your SERP. 

No Social Proof

Not having authentic customer reviews or case studies can decrease trust in your business, especially for new visitors. 

Poor Customer Support

A bad customer service experience can result in the permanent loss of a customer. Take Sephora, for example. Make sure you have a dedicated support team to resolve any issues your customers face. Additionally, you can implement AI Assistant in your eCommerce store to ensure round-the-clock support. 

Focus on Traffic that Converts

Ultimately, your goal as an eCommerce store is to boost conversions. A higher CRO means you are getting the best ROI. 

By implementing the mentioned tactics, you can ensure that your eCommerce site begins growing. Also, stay clear of the bad practices that bring down bounce rates.