How To Promote Shopify Store Effectively Like A Pro
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Shopify is a big eCommerce platform, but just opening a store won’t guarantee sales. To generate revenue, you’ll need to build awareness and attract customers. In this article, let’s learn how to promote Shopify store in several ways to boost visibility and maximize profits.
How to promote Shopify store to increase traffic and sales
Once you have opened your Shopify store, you need to make customers aware of and attracted to it in order to make sales or increase revenue. There are many ways to promote your Shopify store, and some of the most popular strategies include the following:
Improve your Shopify store's search engine appeal
The foundation of any successful promotion strategy is ensuring your website is easy to find. For most stores, that means optimizing it to be discoverable by Google, as it's the most widely used search engine.
Before diving into optimization, it's essential to set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These free tools will help you track how your site is performing, identify any issues, and spot areas that need improvement.
The good news is, you don’t need to be an SEO expert to get this right. About 80% of SEO for eCommerce comes down to a few simple steps. Here’s how to get started:
- Keyword research
The first step in SEO is finding the right keywords - the words and phrases people type into search engines when looking for products like yours. Google’s Keyword Planner is an easy tool that can help you find keywords relevant to your business and show you what your competitors are targeting. Once you have your list of keywords, make sure they’re included in important areas of your site like: product page titles, product descriptions and URLs.
- On-page SEO
Shopify takes care of most of the technical aspects of on-page SEO, but there are a few things you can do to make sure everything is set up right. For example, your page titles should be clear and under 60 characters long. Meta descriptions (the short summaries that show up in search results) should be enticing and relevant to the content of the page.
You should also use internal links to connect related pages on your site. This helps both visitors and search engines navigate your site better.
Your store name can also affect SEO. If you store name is unique, catchy and easy to remember, your store will stand out when customers seach for you on Google.
- Building backlinks
One of the most important factors in SEO is backlinks - other websites linking to your store. Google sees these links as a signal of credibility and authority. Building backlinks can take time, but it’s essential for improving your rankings. Backlink building can feel slow, but it’s one of the most effective ways to improve your SEO over time.
Some ways to earn backlinks include: Creating great content that others want to link to, reaching out to bloggers or influencers in your niche to get reviews or mentions, and asking your suppliers or manufacturers to link to your site from their websites.
If you focus on these three areas - keyword research, on-page SEO, and building backlinks - you’ll set a solid foundation for your Shopify store to be discovered by search engines and potential customers. With time, your efforts will pay off, and your site will start ranking higher in search results.
SEO strategy is one of the most basic ways to promote your Shopify store
Promote your Shopify store using social media
Social media, with billions of active users every month, is one of the best places to promote your Shopify store and increase brand awareness. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok can help you build a loyal customer base.
You can choose to promote your store for free by posting organically, or you can use paid ads to reach more people. In fact, most brands do both. Organic social media takes time and effort but can lead to great results at no cost. On the other hand, paid ads can give you faster results and a good return on your investment if you use the right strategy. Here’s how to effectively use social media marketing to promote your Shopify store:
- Choose the right platforms: Not all social media platforms are ideal for every type of business. For example, if you’re selling visually appealing products, Instagram or Pinterest may work best.
- Content strategy: Share high-quality images of your products, post behind-the-scenes content to humanize your brand or use stories and reels for quick, engaging content.
- Engagement: Respond to customer comments, DMs, and mentions. Social media is a two-way conversation, and engagement helps build trust with your audience.
- Influencer marketing: Collaborating with influencers who align with your brand can significantly increase your store’s visibility. Choose influencers with an audience that matches your target demographic.
- Paid ads: Launch targeted ads on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to reach your ideal audience. Paid ads can help you reach a broader audience and promote specific products or sales.
Launch email marketing campaigns
Email marketing is a powerful way to promote your Shopify store. It allows you to send customized content to people who are already interested in what you offer. To start this campaign, you'll need to build an email list. You can do this by adding a sign-up form to your website’s header or footer, or by using pop-ups to grab attention.
Once you have subscribers, you should organize them into groups based on what they’re interested in. This way, you can send relevant emails instead of one generic message to everyone. People follow your store for different reasons, so it’s important to give them content that matches their interests. Here are some typical types of emails you can send:
- Announcements of new products.
- Newsletters with updates.
- Blog posts.
- Videos.
- Special promotions or discounts.
- Exclusive offers.
Personalizing your emails helps make your audience feel valued and engaged. When you send the right content to the right people, you’re more likely to keep them interested.
Email marketing is also great for remarketing. This means reaching out to people who have already visited your store or made a purchase. This strategy works well for Shopify stores, as more than 50% of customers tend to make repeat purchases.
Email marketing is a traditional but still an effective strategy to promote your business
Spend on paid ads
Paid advertising is a great way to increase sales for your Shopify store. Platforms like Google and social media offer different types of ads to help you reach customers. For example, search ads can place your store at the top of Google search results for keywords that people are looking for.
This is especially useful for targeting people who are more likely to buy, but it can get expensive, especially when competing with big brands like Amazon. Google Shopping ads are another option. These ads show your products to customers who are already searching for items like yours, giving your store more visibility. They appear at the top of search results, above organic listings, which helps you stand out.
You can also use display ads, which appear on other websites your potential customers visit. This keeps your store in front of them as they browse the web.
A major benefit of paid ads is remarketing, which targets people who visited your store but didn’t make a purchase. This can help bring them back and increase sales.
To get the best results, you’ll need a solid strategy. Make sure to use high-quality images, set up negative keywords to avoid wasting money on irrelevant clicks, and define your target audience carefully. Your ads should also link to well-designed landing pages to increase conversions.
Paid ads help customer find your shop easily when looking for the products
Work with influencers
Influencers are people who have built large followings on social media and can boost visibility for your products. Influencer marketing is a powerful way to get your brand noticed.
There are several ways to collaborate with influencers to promote your Shopify store. For example, you can reach out to them through email or social media, send them free products to try, or collaborate on paid posts.
These partnerships work well because influencers already have strong connections with their followers, and you can tap into that trust to build connections with potential customers. Here are a few tips to help you find influencer partnerships that can grow your business:
- Look beyond your niche: Don’t just focus on influencers whose audiences match yours perfectly. Try to expand your reach to a larger audience.
- Consider micro-influencers: Influencers with smaller followings (1K - 10K) often have a more loyal and engaged audience. Plus, they may be willing to promote your products in exchange for free items.
- Maximize influencer-generated content: After an influencer creates content for your brand, share it on your product pages, social media, and even in ads to get the most value from it.
Influencers can advertise your products effectively to their followers
Collaborate with similar brands and media platforms
Brand partnerships are a great way to connect with new audiences who are similar to your ideal customers. It’s an easy strategy to use, starting by finding a brand that complements your products, but make sure they don’t sell the same items. Then, team up for different marketing campaigns.
For example, you can work together on a social media contest or giveaway. A successful Shopify store like Bulletproof uses this approach. You can also create joint email campaigns and send them to both of your email lists to reach more people.
Create a referral program
One of the simplest ways to promote your Shopify store is through referral marketing. This means asking your current customers to recommend your store to their friends and family. It works well because people trust suggestions from people they know.
It is estimated that over 92% of people trust personal recommendations more than ads from brands. So when you encourage your customers to refer others, they’re more likely to do it.
To make your referral program effective, offer a reward to both the person making the referral and the new customer. For example, you could give both of them 30% off their next order. This motivates your current customers to refer others, and the new customers will want to shop because they get a discount on their first order.
Referral program is a simple way to help your store reach new customers
Use web push notifications
It is calculated that only about 8% of website visitors make a purchase on their first visit. This means it's important to bring back visitors who didn't buy right away. One of the most effective ways to do this is through web push notifications, a method used by many successful eCommerce brands on Shopify.
To use web push notifications, you first need to get permission from visitors. This is usually done with a small prompt or pop-up that appears when they visit your site for the first time, asking if they want to receive notifications.
Once they agree, they’ll get notifications from your site whenever they’re online. These will show up in their web browser if they're on a desktop or in the notification bar if they’re using a mobile device.
The advantage of web push notifications is that you can reach potential customers even when they're not on your website. You can send them updates about new products, restocks, sales, or even remind them about items they looked at while visiting your site.
Another benefit is that push notifications can get past ad blockers, unlike paid ads, which users can block. This makes push notifications a cost-effective alternative to paid advertising. Here are a few tips for using web push notifications to promote your Shopify store:
- Always ask for consent before sending notifications.
- Write attractive messages to encourage visitors to sign up for notifications.
- Don’t send too many notifications at once to avoid annoying users.
- Monitor your results and make adjustments to improve your campaigns.
If you use notifications, make sure it won’t annoy your customers
Attend offline events
While online marketing is powerful, it's not the only way to drive sales. Offline strategies can be just as effective. For example, attending trade shows and events can help spread the word about your store. Look for events that attract people similar to your target audience, and set up a booth to showcase your products.
Local events also offer great networking opportunities. You could meet other brands and potentially form partnerships that benefit your business. Plus, being involved in local events can help build your brand’s reputation and even earn backlinks from local websites or blogs.
Other offline methods, like using posters, banners, or branded merchandise, can also promote your Shopify store. You can partner with local stores to display your materials. Adding a QR code to your banners or posters makes it even easier for people to visit your website directly.
How to choose the best marketing strategy for your Shopify store
When promoting your Shopify store, the first step is developing a solid marketing strategy. This is important because while all the marketing tactics mentioned can be helpful, some may work better for your store depending on your situation.
For example, SEO (search engine optimization) is a great way to drive traffic, but if you’re starting a store in a competitive market, like selling coffee machines, it can be tough to rank for popular keywords. Big companies like Costco or Nespresso have already invested a lot of money and effort into ranking for those terms.
A key part of promoting your store is testing different marketing strategies to see which ones work best for your products and customers. Here are some questions to think about as you plan your marketing:
- What products am I selling, and how do people usually find these products?
- Where does my ideal customer spend most of their time online? (e.g., Instagram, Reddit, trade shows)
- What is most important to my audience? (e.g., price, eco-friendliness, convenience)
- How should I communicate with my audience? (e.g., through email, ads, social media)
- What are my competitors doing to promote their stores?
Experimentation is key, so don't be afraid to test different marketing approaches and see what resonates with your audience. By answering these questions, you'll uncover the most effective marketing opportunities for your business.
Another helpful tip is to sign up for your competitors’ emails, click on their ads, and see what they’re doing. If they’re successful, they’ve likely tested many strategies to find what works. There's a lot to be learned by watching their actions.
You can try to see what your competitors are doing to promote their stores
Wrapping up
From the article above, you've learned how to promote Shopify store using several popular marketing strategies. Depending on your store’s characteristics and your target audience, you should consider choosing and combining the tactics that best fit your needs. Don’t forget to share with us when the campaign you choose is successful!
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