Tips To Drive Traffic To Your Online Store Without Paying For Ads

Have you considered making money online?

Do you want to start your eCommerce shop, or perhaps you already have an online store?

Well, now is the time to start marketing it to the public to make some money. Just imagine all the freedom you could have with an online store bringing in the bucks while you sit back and enjoy watching it.

But before you start rushing off to buy your overseas tickets, there are some fundamental things you have to do to get your business noticed, especially in the super crowded online world where everyone’s trying to compete for the same customers. One of the fastest ways to drive a reasonable amount of traffic to the site is with online Ads, whether it’s Google shopping ads or ads through social media channels. Ads are amazing, but they are very costly (especially on Google). So what happens if you want to drive traffic to your website but you want to avoid paying those exorbitant ad fees? Well, there are other ways to get a decent amount of traffic and eyeballs on your website, and I’ll share my best e-commerce tips to help you start ringing the sales bell without spending a single cent on paid ads.

1) Optimise your eCommerce site for Organic SEO

The most critical aspect of any online marketing strategy is finding the keywords users search for. Keyword research identifies your products’ leading names and ensures they are in each web page’s title and description. Having the correct name will help people find your product on Google, but remember to keep it generic. For example, if you are trying to sell red tennis shoes and your product has a complicated name, simplify it to what users are searching for. There is no point in flogging a product no one has heard about or cannot find online.

Remember these essential tips, too:

• Optimise your eCommerce site for the user experience. A site with the correct structure that is easy to navigate and buy from will make all the difference in the check-out shopping cart. Many sites are too complicated, with far too many buttons and calls to action, which can distract customers from the primary reason they came to the site in the first instance: to make a purchase.
• I always tell my clients at SEO Sydney Experts to publish highly quality informative content through blogs, product updates, or product specials to keep the site refreshed and updated and keep people coming back to see if there is anything new or hot deals where they can grab a bargain. Also, change the main banner image to reflect seasonal specials, holiday deals, or new exciting things you have to offer. Quality, new content gives tremendous value to consumers who are loyal to your brand and helps with your SEO rankings. And most importantly, make sure your content is optimised for SEO purposes.
• The most important ranking factor is to get your SEO agency to buy the best-in-business high-quality backlinks, which will help push your Google rankings. Link building is a serious area that must be implemented to the highest standards, and if not, there can be critical consequences for your website’s rankings and online traffic flow. Most customers I speak to have been through a few SEO agencies, and when I conduct a link-building audit, I can see why their sites are not ranking as well as they could be because of the poor efforts of their previous SEO providers. Again, I cannot emphasise this aspect of your eCommerce marketing strategy enough; link building will either make or break you, simple to that! For more information about all ranking factors, Backlinkinfo has a top article called Google’s 200 Ranking Factors: The Complete List, and it is worth a read, especially if you have never done SEO in the past and are keen to learn what works and what doesn’t.
• Stay on topic and ensure that each product page has relevant, critical information about that product. Mention key specifications and descriptions and a link to your returns and shipping policies so the user has all the information at their fingertips and will be more inclined to hit the buy now button.
• Always look at your Google Search Console and Analytics to determine what people have searched for to get to your site, key statistics, website performance, and site speed, and then make educated, realistic web changes based on this data. Successful eCommerce websites implement data-driven amendments monthly to help improve rankings.

2) Know your customer

Sounds simple, right? But you would be surprised how many businesses (especially online start-ups) don’t clearly understand who their customers are. If you don’t know who your customers are, how will you market effectively to them? Knowing where your customers come from and what search terms they use (all this data is provided via Google Analytics) will help you create web pages that resonate with them. Make sure you know what’s in a buyer’s mind when looking for your product and what motivates them (price, quality, luxury, etc.), and target these buying signals. In their article Content Marketing Statistics for 2024, Forbes states that 90% of marketers include content in their marketing strategies. Now, I know that it might be hard to craft content for certain products, but you need to at least have a couple of sentences at the top of each page outlining the product and creating this copy to appeal to your customer. For example, if you have a luxury brand, the content, images, and CTA’s should all appeal to the higher end of the market.

3) The Best On-Page User Experience

Google tells us that having the best On-Page User Experience is a massive ranking factor, and understandably so. It makes perfect sense that Google would rank pages that people find easy to use and navigate over those that are clunky, complicated, and problematic. We can also add the whole mobile user experience into the mix.

More On-page elements include:

i) Core web vitals, including page loading times. You can check your page speed here at Pingdom. Many eCommerce web owners often ignore site speed but as a rule of thumb. Pingdom tells us that websites that take more than 3 seconds to load will lose out on potential customers. The following statistic should ring alarm bells for people with slow web load times. Beyond the 2-3 second mark, every 1 second leads to roughly 20% customer dissatisfaction. And for a good reason: as your finger slowly moves to the back button, you must wait for a site to load. Think about your buying behaviour online and know how impatient you become when a page takes ages to load. Almost 60% of your visitors will buy from your website based on its loading time. So make sure you optimise your website for super-fast load times.  

ii) User-friendliness is crucial as people buy from you online and want an easy buying process. Making it complicated with sign-ups and email registrations can affect the buying process, so eliminate all of these hurdles.

iii) Clear and easy navigation points and buttons will help people quickly find what they are searching for. Also, consider adding a search button so users can go directly to the product, which is excellent for big online sites like Bunnings, Coles, or Rebel Sport. Getting lost on your website (especially if you’re on a mobile device) will eliminate all chances of making the sale.

iv) You can write all the excellent copy you like, but if it’s not in a logical, ordered sequence with correct titles, structured paragraphs, bullet points (take this blog as an example), highlighted headings, correct H1, H2 and H3 headers and hi-resolution images then what’s the point of having this page as no one will read the information. Glancing over content and skipping important points can lead to consumers making the wrong decision and buying the wrong product, which leads down the rabbit hole of so many issues like unhappy customers, bad reviews and goods returned. Keep your copy concise and easy to read, and help users navigate the buying path.

v) Clear call-to-action buying or inquiring buttons make all the difference and should be easy to find. Let them stand out with a striking colour like red so users can hit that button easily. Whether users are buying, inquiring, or signing up for your special deals newsletter, all CTA’s need to be front and centre of the main product pages.

iv) Other nifty features, such as an online chat feature where customers can chat with a customer service person. Or, if your business is small, you can personally interact with your customers.

4) Leverage Email Marketing Strategically

According to MailJet, for every $1 spent, there’s a $40 return—a massive ROI that cannot be ignored. Email marketing campaigns are super powerful, and the figures don’t lie. Let’s take a look at a few of these, which should be enough to convert you into a dedicated email campaigner.

1. Business can be personal: 60% of marketers rank personalisation as a top engagement tool. So, make sure your newsletter targets your audience directly. For example, if you have a travel website and want to market to Australians travelling overseas to escape the winter, spell this out clearly in the email. Creative imagery, specific dates, and anything special for this period must be clearly detailed.

2. Make your emails engaging: Video content increases CTR by over 300%. Never waste an opportunity to add a fabulous video and even make it fun. With mobile phone technology at your fingertips, there’s now no excuse to create a cool video.

3. Email audiences love consistency: over time, they get used to seeing your daily, weekly or monthly email, so capitalise on this dependence. And remember, 51% of consumers like weekly emails. Email marketing platforms like Mail Chimp offer an unsubscribe feature, so you can always opt out if your email intake becomes too much.

4. Seventy per cent of consumers say email is their preferred channel for receiving information from companies or businesses they like. For example, I love travelling, so I’m more than happy to receive an email from Jet Star or Virgin.

5. Re-engage cold leads or customers who didn’t make it to the final check-out. Once you have their email, reach out to them with juicy new hot deals, new products, sales items, and whatever you have that will excite them to return.: 20% of customers claim to open and click on abandoned cart emails.

6. Promotes customer loyalty and brand awareness. Building your email list lets you keep customers updated with the latest news and offers. Rest assured that your competition is doing this, so if you want to remain in the race, utilise all the email addresses you’ve collected. Plus, and this is an essential point: by building brand awareness, you also engender trust, which is a critical factor online when there are so many scams going around. If they buy from you once and get what they want in a timely manner, then an email from them will entice you to return and perhaps snoop around and see what else they offer.

To build an email list, try these effective strategies:

• Offer a reasonable discount (5 to 10%) for customers who sign up for your email list. You can put a small sign-up box at the check-out phase near the acceptance of your terms and conditions. Once they hit the subscribe button, the automatic discount is applied.
• Have an exclusive vibe to your email by only offering it to customers on the list, not the general public. You’ll be surprised how many people will forward this to their friends to sign up if there’s a terrific deal on offer.
• Create hype about your upcoming newsletter on social media channels like Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. Set a date for the email blast online and give people enough time to sign up.

5) Milk Your CTAs for all they’re Worth

Wordstream tells us that the average landing page conversion rate across industries was 2.35%. You might be surprised by this low figure, but it’s true: online browsers are the culprit as they trawl the web from one site to the next, getting the best deals and information or just finding facts. So, knowing that only 1 out of 50 people who land on your website will buy from you means that you have to milk all your CTAs for all you can get out of them. Grabbing email addresses is the classic example of what a call to action can do on the buying funnel because even though they might not buy from you now, you can still market to them in the future. Experiment with all your CTAs and determine whether they are working. Slight amends, like the colour of your CTA, can make all the difference. There’s some great software online that allows you to see where people are going on your site. Called Heatmaps, you can see if users are clicking on your CTA’s, and if not, perhaps consider moving them higher up the page, changing the shape, wording and even the design.

6) Streamline Your Check-out Process

Don’t you hate it when you want to buy a product online and have to sign up, agree to newsletters, and fill in extra fields? Well, a shopping cart abandonment is huge, and more people will not buy from you at the check-out than hit the buy button. The reasons for this vary, according to Statista. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

• Prices are too expensive
• Lengthy or costly delivery times
• Didn’t trust the website
• Not able to view prices or pay in one’s currency
• Not able to view final cost at check out, which included GST
• Didn’t offer preferred payment options
• Unclear return policy
• Far too complicated check-out process

Based on these points, the check-out process is more complex, and you need to continually update and refine it to make it as easy and seamless for your customers as possible. Don’t make them sign up; try eliminating any roadblocks or hurdles that will turn them off.

7) Add Internal Links to Your Site

Organic SEO rankings are crucial to driving traffic to your eCommerce store, and one ranking signal Google uses is internal linking. Websites without a proper internal linking structure may not rank as high as sites with well-thought-out internal links. When your site pages interconnect and you direct people to pages they are searching for, it offers users a better experience. It also tells Google that you are a leader in your niche with valuable, informative content.

Here are a few handy tips for adding internal links:

• Identify core important pages—these are essential pages on your website and will most likely be your main product pages, returns policy, delivery information or testimonials page that you are confident your users will need to see. What you need to do is add links from other pages to point to these core pages.
• Your product pages should include links to similar products. If you sell surfboards, for example, you could link to other surfing equipment, such as wetsuits and other surf gear.
• Use “breadcrumbs” in all the navigation to help users quickly navigate back to core pages. Breadcrumbs are often overlooked but are vital to finding your way around the site without getting lost, especially if they are decent-sized sites.
• Make sure the anchor text in the links is easy to read and gives users a clear indication of where they will be going. For example, if you are linking to a page about garden tools, the anchor text should include words like ‘best garden tools’.
• Don’t forget about internal links in the footer. Placing important critical pages in the footer gives users a second chance at finding them. The footer is also a good area to place other important links to all your social media accounts, Google reviews and links to tour privacy policy and terms and conditions.

8) Make Your Product Pages Appealing

Did you know your product descriptions could lose money and potential customers? Want a quick and easy way to make those product pages the best in business and a quick fix? Yes, you can include all the essential information like materials, dimensions, colours and size, but shoppers want to know how the product can help and benefit them. Make these benefits the centrepiece of your product description. For example, suppose you are selling holiday villas on the Gold Coast. In that case, you should add features like how much you could make on your yearly returns and how easy they would be to rent in the future and easy to manage instead of just listing the number of bedrooms and location.

Tips for creating killer product description pages:

• Declutter so your customers can focus on all the essential points.
• Use clear, concise call-to-action buttons to guide visitors down the buying pathway journey.
• Ensure your product pages are easily read and navigated on a mobile phone.
• Use high-quality product photos.
• Add social media proof and reviews to build customer trust. Reviews are a great way to promote a product. Even negative reviews can be massaged to your advantage if you offer a reasonable explanation.

9) Upsell to Existing Customers

When customers are ready to buy, it’s the perfect opportunity to upsell other products. Many small eCommerce businesses ignore this golden nugget opportunity and miss extra revenue. Just look at Jetstar or Virgin and how they try to upsell you before you can buy your air ticket. Upselling, however small the revenue may be, will increase revenues over time and help your bottom line.

Here are a few tips to increase upsells:

• Offer similar product sections on your product pages.
• Offer free shipping for orders over a certain amount, say $50 or $75, to encourage people to buy more to reach that free level.

10) Optimise for Mobile Shoppers

Believe it or not, most of the traffic to your website is from users on their mobile devices. As you can imagine, we all have smartphones and are constantly on them, so it makes sense that your customers will buy from you on their phones. For your eCommerce site, ensure that:

• It’s fully responsive, so users can easily navigate from their phones.
• You offer alternative pay options like Apple or Google Pay.
• Optimise the check-out process so users can easily navigate it and pay quickly and with minimal fuss.
• Use compression tools like Smush for WordPress sites. These tools compress all image sizes, ensuring fast web load times. Plugins like these are mostly free and easy to install, so they are well worth it.

11) Work On Your Social Profiles

Whether you like social media or not, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are here to stay, and there’s a whole generation whose daily diet consists of nothing but scrolling these social media platforms. And, if you are not here for your business, then truth be told, you will be left behind. According to Datareportal, 28 million Australians, 78.3% of the total population, are active on social media, showing how essential social networks are to Australians’ online habits. Scrolling is the new norm, and if you are discovered through social media, then consumers are more likely to buy from you than your branded website. If you are creative and can think slightly outside the box with exciting videos, consumers will engage online. It’s so easy to hit that click-and-buy button if something catches your eye. Also, social media is the nucleus of influencers to whom you can reach out to promote your product. Some influencers have a massive following, which is a fast and efficient way to reach a global audience. Think about it. One post by one person could have a huge positive impact on your business. If you have an eCommerce business, try it and see what works best. In 2024, Instagram is the place to be, offering users a seamless buying experience.

12) Create Social Content People Want To See

Creating social media, especially for Baby boomers, might be hard, but you must start working on your social media and creating content your audience will resonate with. To do this effectively, you must clearly understand your customer base and what they can relate to. For example, if you have a fashion brand, you’ll be looking at creating some content that highlights your clothes, whether stylishly or kids’ clothing, you’ll have a childish edge to it. Knowing what your customers will enjoy will encourage them to share it with their mates, creating a small viral effect that pushes your name and brand online. Consider publishing giveaways and promoting contests or specials with which your customers will engage. Think about a cosmetic brand and all the juicy giveaways they could offer for sign-ups to their newsletter. Once you gather all their email addresses, you’ve built a solid database of ready-to-buy consumers you can market to. Also, look at videos rather than pictures, as this will have a bigger impact, according to Forbes. Obviously, you’ll need a top video animator like Lilis Nurlaela, who offers top value and can create incredibly slick videos for your eCommerce store. And the best part is this doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

13) Backlinks are a powerful tool

Backlinks are a great way to boost your site’s trust, authority, and Google rankings. The best part is that you can quickly do it. Register your business on Google My Business to begin with, and then follow this up by registering on local directories like Yellow Pages Online, Yelp, and some niche directories representing your product. If you rely on Google for online traffic, you must start looking at a backlinking campaign to get more quality high-domain authority links to help boost your website. But remember, the internet is packed with backlink spammers, so choose wisely before committing to any SEO agency. Other quick wins to garner backlinks include writing articles for well-known press release sites or trying to get published in the local paper by creating something newsworthy, like giveaways or new products you might have on the market. I want to add here that getting your website high on the Google search can be highly challenging, especially if you are in a competitive niche, so do not place a huge emphasis on this. Instead, use it as part of your marketing arsenal. Spreading your marketing is wise as you do not want to rely on Google’s fickle algorithm changes, constantly shifting, changing and unending your business plans and making for an unreliable source of leads.

14) Work On Your Blog

If you want your eCommerce store to be perceived as a leader in your industry, then ideally, you want as much relevant, informative content all over Google so that when someone is looking for your product and does their research, they will find your page. The best and most efficient way to do this is by regularly publishing content on your blog. Remember that you don’t want to make each blog page the same and make it sound like one long sales pitch, but you have to be creative in your writing. For example, if you are selling gym wear online, you should write a blog article about: tips for looking great for summer. Or if you are selling building supplies online like Tramin, then a blog idea should be about handy tips for renovating a bathroom. No worries if your website doesn’t have a blog already and you want to explore this option. Most e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce and Squarespace have a built-in option. 

15) Create a Sense of Urgency

Most visitors to your site who fail to purchase will likely never make that buy even later on down the track – even with remarketing programs in place. Placing a sense of urgency and creating a fear of missing out is a great way to help potential buyers make the sale. Airlines and travel websites are great at doing this by saying there are only 2 or 3 places left at this price. I know that seeing this is a considerable buying trigger because I feel that if I’m not buying this ticket or room now, I’ll never get it at that price again.

Handy tips for creating a sense of urgency or FOMO (fear of missing out):

• Use popups to show other customers who have made purchases recently.
• Send “last chance” emails.
• Add a shopping cart timer.
• Display the number of products left at this price (like Jetstar)
• Display sale end timer or sale ends on a particular date.

16) Effective Use of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing, according to Wikipedia tells us that known as influence marketing is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organisations with a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. And, if you can get a widespread influence to promote your product, you’ll be able to reach a whole new, wider audience of people you would probably never reach. It’s a fabulous way to push your brand, sell more products, and establish or highlight your business as a hip, great new, and next-best thing. Getting to influencers is via social media channels like Instagram and Snapchat. Try to reach out to them, offer your products to them and see if they’ll promote it. You might have to offer them some money or a lot of freebies, but it’s worth it if the influencers have a solid and loyal following. You might even get a few influencers reaching out to you for some products, so keep an eye out for this, but in order for this to happen, you will need to create your social media accounts. Obviously, you won’t get a Kardashian who would cost you a mint, but start small and see what happens.

17) Add Real Customer Reviews

Let the consumers who have used your products do the selling for you. People trust what other people have to say, and yes, there will always be fake Google reviews, but a great way around this is to add a third-party review platform like TrustPilot where people can leave authentic reviews. You might also like to add reviews people leave in the products section, as most people will read and believe reviews from other happy customers. Again, there’s always the risk of a few bad reviews, which adds to the authenticity of the whole review process. I would also encourage customers to leave a review and offer them something in return, like 10% off their next purchase, as a friendly gesture.