Running a Business from Home | Home Business Magazine

An Introduction to Marketing Your Store Online

No matter how wonderful your products are, finding ways to encourage consumers to buy from your online store can be a challenge.

With so much competition out there – especially if you’re competing against a big retailer – means you need to always be focusing on ways to get more traffic to your online store.

Here are 3 ways to grow your online store:

1. Create Compelling Content

Publishing content that is valuable to your consumers is an ideal way to attract people to your website. Potential customers are more willing to buy from a retailer who posts genuine blogs, reviews and articles.

A study done by Gartner, a leading research and advisory company, found that 84% of millennials have used user-generated content to make a purchasing decision.

Plus, if you provide your readers with fresh content, they’re more likely to return to your website and potentially buy from you more than once.

2. Focus on SEO

When creating organic content your readers will enjoy, it’s essential to keep SEO in mind if you want to grow your online store. Organic traffic means visitors finding your website in a way that didn’t require you paying for that traffic to find you.

For example, if you have written a book on relationship advice you want to promote, you could create articles containing keywords such as "relationship tips" and "love advice."

You also need to expand your SEO campaign to:

• Include keyword descriptions on product images

• Create a sitemap and submit it to search engines

• Write page titles and meta descriptions

You’ll have to do your keyword research first, however, and work on targeting keywords with low competition that still get enough traffic to make your efforts worthwhile. This is where an SEO expert can really come in handy.

3. Use Google AdWords

Google AdWords is a pay-per-click advertising program that can really help you generate traffic and leads.

The cost per click varies, but even an entrepreneur on a limited budget can afford to pay for at least a small campaign.

For an Impressions Campaign, you only have pay for an ad when someone clicks on the ad, calls your business or views your video, so it’s a cost-effective way to get more traffic.

There are a few ways to use Google AdWords:

• Show up in Google search results

• Promote banner ads in Gmail or websites

• Create a video ad for YouTube targeting your audience based on specific criteria

You’ll have to be skilled enough to manage your campaigns, measure results and make changes, or else it won’t help you grow your online store and could end up being very costly. If you’re not sure, seek out a professional who can help you grow your online store through paid traffic.

Like most marketing strategies, getting traffic to your online store takes continuous effort. Your competitors are likely focusing on the same techniques you are, so stay ahead of the game by measuring your results and changing what doesn’t work.