Want To Boost Your E-Commerce Traffic? Here’s How.
There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed peoples’ buying habits, with more consumers shopping online than ever before. There hasn’t been such a rapid shift in consumer behavior in quite a while.
Now, as more and more people are starting to receive their COVID vaccines and venture outside, we’re on the cusp of another behavioral shift. Pent-up demand for things like clothing and makeup will cause those verticals to take off in the near future.
In fact, according to a recent report from eMarketer, U.S. sales of apparel products are projected to increase by 18.9% in 2021. Likewise, sales of beauty products are set to grow by 16.1%. But that doesn’t mean that people will be start shopping at the mall again. Instead, industry experts expect that consumers will stick to their e-commerce habit.
The bottom line is that e-commerce is now the de-facto way to shop for most types of products.
For online merchants, it’s more important than ever to remain competitive in an increasingly crowded space. How can you ensure a continual influx of high-quality, converting traffic to your site? Today, we’ll tackle this topic with three key points of advice:
1. Micro-Influencers
Selling online is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you have the potential to reach lots of potential buyers. On the other hand, you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Thankfully, the internet is home to endless communities that you can tap into.
Micro-influencers are a great way to reach your target audience. These social media personalities produce their own content – mostly in video format on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. The term “micro” comes from the fact that these particular influencers cater to a niche audience, normally under 100,000 followers.
Micro-influencers tend to be more cost effective to work with than world-famous internet personalities. This is due to two factors. First, they have a smaller audience, so the cost of a sponsored campaign probably won’t be exorbitant. Second, their audience is laser focused on a specific subject. If you command the attention of such a fervent audience in your vertical, sales will come much easier.
2. The 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule, more formally known as the Pareto Principle, dictates that 80 percent of outcomes result from 20 percent of inputs. This phenomenon has been observed in many different contexts, from software development to sports to health care.
What does this mean for your e-commerce business? Around 20 percent of your website visitors are responsible for 80 percent of your sales. If you can identify where those 20 percent of customers are coming from and focus your marketing efforts on those channels, you’ll be poised for success. Of course, this is easier said than done. But it’s certainly a strategy worth pursuing.
3. Native Advertising
While the channels for native ad placements have changed over the years, the format itself is as effective as it’s always been. It may surprise you to learn that native ads have been around since the late 1800s in print magazines. Since the advent of the internet, native ads have grown to cover many publisher sites encompassing lots of different audiences and topics.
Native ads are so successful because people prefer to learn about products by consuming content, rather than looking at traditional ads. In fact, 70 percent of internet users prefer content-based ads, as reported by Inc. Magazine. That figure alone should give you pause.
Naturally, the MediaGo crew are big fans of native ads. If you’re just getting started and want some first-time guidance, check out our previous posts on the subject.
As always, we hope you found this post useful in your digital advertising journey. Check back in on the MediaGo blog for more advertising advice, and feel free to get in touch with our team at the link below.