15 eCommerce Marketing Strategies to Boost Sales in 2024

Digital Marketing
15 eCommerce Marketing Strategies to Boost Sales in 2024
Article by Bisera Stankovska
Last Updated: December 01, 2023

eCommerce retail sales present a significant opportunity for businesses and eCommerce development agencies and are projected to grow up to $8.1 trillion by 2026. To get a slice of this pie, businesses that sell online are bound to use the best eCommerce marketing strategies to compete against other brands on the market and stand out.

This is your guide to the proven eCommerce marketing tactics that boost sales in 2023.

What Is eCommerce Marketing?

eCommerce marketing is the process of promoting your online store and products through a variety of marketing channels.

Depending on what stage of the sales funnel your audience is in, your goals may differ. You should incorporate eCommerce marketing tactics to:

  • Generate brand awareness
  • Educate consumers about a new product
  • Drive traffic
  • Increase the number of prospects
  • Convert more leads
  • Boost the number of sales
  • And more

The market is saturated and highly competitive, which is why it's important to find the top eCommerce marketing agencies to work with. This type of marketing is the key to achieving your objectives and outperforming your competition.

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15 Best eCommerce Marketing Strategies for More Sales in 2023

These are some of the best strategies to boost your online sales this year. Each strategy is backed by research, so you can start using them with confidence right away.

  1. Use High-Quality and Unique Content for Powerful and Cost-Effective Lead Generation 
  2. Utilize Retargeting to Entice Leads
  3. Personalize Emails to Reengage Your Online Shoppers 
  4. Establish Social Media Presence for a Successful eCommerce Marketing Strategy 
  5. Expand Your Market and Reach With eCommerce SEO 
  6. Use Affiliate Programs to Increase Awareness and Sales 
  7. Leverage Google Shopping as an eCommerce Marketing Channel 
  8. Promote User-Generated Content (UGC)  
  9. Leverage the Power of Influencers 
  10. Hold Online Contests 
  11. Target Audiences With Local Marketing 
  12. Use PPC Advertising 
  13. Maximize Upsell Emailing Tactics  
  14. Embrace AR/VR Technologies  
  15. Optimize Voice Search Functionality

Strategy #1: Use High-Quality and Unique Content for Powerful and Cost-Effective Lead Generation

The primary goal of using an eCommerce content marketing strategy is to educate potential clients about your products or services and generate brand awareness. However, sharing high-quality and unique blog posts, photos, videos, and infographics on various platforms can also engage your prospects with your brand.

Content is a product itself. Once you provide your audience with something valuable, you will create a meaningful relationship that will result in a traffic increase.

So, make sure you provide your leads with useful guides, answer their questions, talk about their biggest problems, etc. For instance, if you sell healthy food, you can post content on nutrition, give tips on losing weight, talk about different body types, and more.

Once consumers find something meaningful they will establish a connection with your brand, which will ultimately result in higher lead generation and conversions.

Here's how the top lead generation agencies implement this eCommerce marketing strategy:

  • Think about what type of content you want to create
  • Consider your audience’s needs
  • Use your target market’s language
  • Focus on user experience
  • Incorporate visuals
  • Distribute your content on various channels

By all means, your content should be unique and of high quality. So, only use the content of your competition as an inspiration. Never copy them because consumers want to see something authentic.

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Strategy #2: Utilize Retargeting to Entice Leads

69.57 % of online shopping carts get abandoned. (Baymard Institute)

Although consumers show interest in your products, there might be several reasons why they never complete their purchases. Whether it is the high price or the shipping cost, retargeting is one of the best eCommerce marketing strategies to make your leads return to your store and buy what you sell.

This is one of the simplest eCommerce marketing tactics, which includes running retargeting ads on different platforms. With the help of AI, you can understand what certain prospects are interested in.

Then, you create a tailored ad that runs on various channels to remind them of your brand and products, as well as to drag them back to the checkout process.

Strategy #3: Personalize Emails to Reengage Your Online Shoppers

49% of users prefer to receive promotional emails from retail brands they like weekly. (Statista)

Email marketing is one of the best eCommerce marketing strategies to reach your target market. Consumers enjoy reading fresh content and receiving promotional emails, special offers, sales, and discounts from their favorite brands, especially if they are personalized.

The top email marketing professionals that do it right produce a consistent return on investment. In fact, research shows that for every $1 you invest in this type of marketing, you can expect an average ROI of $42.

To get started with email marketing:

  • Build an email list
  • Decide on the types of content to send
  • Incorporate personalization
  • Use automation
  • Analyze results

Combine written and visual content and nurture your email marketing list to generate higher traffic, close more deals, and boost your profit.

eCommerce marketing strategies: the type of emails users prefect to receive

Strategy #4: Establish Social Media Presence for a Successful eCommerce Marketing Strategy

66% of Facebook users like or follow a brand on the platform. (SproutSocial)

Social media marketing can be one of the most effective online strategies for eCommerce websites. This is mostly due to the fact that channels like Facebook and Instagram allow targeting specific audiences and linking to specific pages on your site.

It means that by using the right social media eCommerce marketing tactics, you can attract the right consumers to your online store and connect them with their favorite products. So, utilizing the power of social media, you can engage potential customers, generate higher website traffic, and make more conversions almost for free.

Before you start implementing this eCommerce marketing strategy, make sure you:

  • Learn as much as you can about your audience: Understand who are you trying to connect with by learning where your target market lives, how old they are, what languages they speak, and what their likes and dislikes are.
  • Choose the platforms to promote your brand on: To find out which networks are the right ones for your business, look at their demographics. Learn the number of users they have, their users’ age, location, and more. But also, do research to understand which platforms offer the biggest advantages for eCommerce businesses.
  • Keep an eye on your competition: Discover what your competitors are doing on social media. Try to find out what eCommerce marketing tactics they use, what they post, how often they post, which networks they use and how they engage users.

This will help you create online marketing strategies for eCommerce websites and get you started with social media. Then, once you actively start sharing posts and making campaigns, use data to determine the best posting times and the number of desired posts.

Also, measure the results of your campaigns to adjust your eCommerce marketing tactics the right way. Social media platforms have their own built-in analytics for business profiles, so make sure you read data on impressions, reach, website clicks and profile visits to understand user behavior.

Social media is crucial to your eCommerce marketing strategy, so you can also employ the help of the top social media marketing agencies to ensure success.

the number of Facebook users who follow a brand on the platform

Strategy #5: Expand Your Market and Reach With eCommerce SEO

87% of consumers now conduct online searches for products. (Retail Dive)

One of the most important eCommerce marketing tactics for boosting your sales is optimizing your website and products for search engines.

For your online store and products to be visible and to show up in the SERPs when users conduct specific searches, you need to optimize them for the exact keywords. In other words, you should understand your audience and find out what terms they use when they look for similar products or services to the ones you offer.

Then, you should implement the best search engine optimization practices and fully optimize the exact keywords your audience is searching for. To optimize your product pages for SEO:

  • Determine your target keywords: To pull the right key phrases, you can count on the help of SEO tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz.
  • Use your keywords appropriately: You should include your keywords in your products’ title tag, meta description and short URL.
  • Create unique product descriptions: Make sure you describe each product in terms of size, shape, color and features to provide consumers with a pleasant shopping experience.
  • Include customer reviews: Reviews are an excellent way to generate keywords naturally. Every next comment left by your clients will keep your content fresh.

To implement the best online marketing strategies for eCommerce websites, make sure you also make your store mobile-friendly, make it fast to load, and keep it simple and easy to navigate. This will improve user experience and increase dwell time on site.

Some aspects of SEO require expertise, so it will be wise to also consult some of the top SEO agencies.

the number of people who conduct product searches online

Strategy #6: Use Affiliate Programs to Increase Awareness and Sales

An eCommerce marketing strategy wouldn’t be complete without a successful affiliate program. It can increase your reach faster and distribute your brand message to a wider audience.

To implement affiliate marketing, search for influential affiliates who can promote your products on different platforms. This is also one of the most cost-effective digital marketing strategies for eCommerce websites because it is performance-based. It means that you will only pay your affiliate partners as much as they deliver.

When implementing this eCommerce marketing strategy, make sure you:

  • Focus on providing your audience with value
  • Don’t overuse links in emails
  • Promote high-quality products
  • Focus on building a meaningful relationship rather than just selling
  • Are helpful
  • Provide users with value

Strategy #7: Leverage Google Shopping as an eCommerce Marketing Channel

Google Shopping ads generate 76.4% of retail search ad spend. (Adthena)

Google Shopping is also among the best eCommerce marketing strategies in 2023 because of its ability to bring better-qualified traffic and higher conversions. By displaying images in search results, Google puts your physical products directly in front of the eyes of potential customers while enticing the users to engage and take action.

What’s great about this eCommerce marketing strategy is that brands that appear in the SERPs appear credible even if customers are often not familiar with them. So, whenever Google matches your products with the phrases users search for, the chances that they will trust your brand enough to make a purchase are higher.

To use Google Shopping, you should:

  • Create a Google Merchant Center account
  • Optimize your product pages
  • Link your Google AdWords account
  • Create a campaign

The percentage Google Shopping ads generate of retail search ad spend

Strategy #8: Promote User-Generated Content (UGC) 

UGC is one of the best marketing strategies for eCommerce. Since UGC showcases real-life experiences from real people, 50% of consumers think that UGC has better recall than brand-produced content.

Additionally, 69% of them have bought an item they saw on social media, and 92% trust online content from family and friends more than other forms of brand messaging.  

UGC can be anything that customers share about a product or service based on their personal buying experiences, decisions, and opinions of your brand. It can be photos and videos posted on social media pages as well as online reviews and recommendations.  

This is especially essential for startups and smaller enterprises whose name recognition is rather limited.   

You can collect UGC through after-purchase emails where clients include reviews and images in response to an email requesting reviews and testimonials. You can also use reviews and photos posted on your website and research social media posts related to your products utilizing branded hashtags. 

Strategy #9: Leverage the Power of Influencers

According to Businesswire, 61% of customers find recommendations from social media influencers more trustworthy than branded online content.  

You do not have to tap the promotion of expensive mega-influencers with millions of followers that seem to be out of reach. Working with micro-influencers whose follower number is less than 100,000 can generate a higher engagement rate and return on investment (ROI) than top macro-influencers. They are also more affordable and can take freebies in exchange for mentions and advertisements instead of monetary compensation.  

It is essential to identify influencers with high-engagement activities. Collaborate with those you genuinely believe in your product or service offers and whose values are aligned with your brand messaging.  

Nurture a lasting business relationship with high-performing content creators whose influence is far-reaching, long-term, and most favorable for your business. 

Strategy #10: Hold Online Contests 

Running giveaway content is another one of the interesting eCommerce marketing idea that attracts and engage audiences.  

To build more brand awareness, generate a buzz around your eCommerce business, and ultimately, increase sales, you can hold these online contests:  

  • Follow, like, share, and comment to win 
  • Instagram photo challenge 
  • Tag your friends in contests 
  • TikTok hashtag challenge 
  • Recurring raffle draws 
  • Sign up to win 
  • Voting or poll 
  • Photo caption challenge 

Strategy #11: Target Audiences With Local Marketing

Local marketing does not only apply to brick-and-mortar businesses. It is also an excellent eCommerce marketing idea to implement for online brands with ties to the local community where you are based.  

70% of consumers buy from local enterprises through online shopping or a combination of online and in-store shopping. Moreover, Gen X consumers and millennials choose to support local businesses.  

That is why you should consider the surrounding communities of your warehouses or office. Run locally-targeted promotional campaigns to inform people that you are a brand operating in their vicinity. You can post ads in newspapers and run them on local radio stations.  

Another local marketing strategy is to participate in online community groups and events where like-minded entrepreneurs converge. 

Strategy #12: Use PPC Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great way to capture search traffic. It is an excellent strategy to pair with optimized website content run for organic traffic.  

50% of smaller enterprises with less than 50 employees use PPC, while 74% of them with over 50 employees invest in PPC. It is popular among small and medium businesses for boosting brand awareness because of its efficiency and affordability. You only pay if a user clicks on your ad as it shows up on search engine results pages. 

Strategy #13: Maximize Upsell Emailing Tactics  

An upsell email is sent to existing clients to encourage them to buy more than they previously intended. This means persuading them to purchase related items or upgrade to a product or service variation with a higher price tag.  

Product recommendations account for 10 to 30% of eCommerce website revenues. Hence, there is great potential for upselling to work for your brand, too.  

Consider these tips when sending effective upsell emails:  

  • Include recommendations in order confirmation emails. 
  • Add social proof to your emails and highlight customer reviews and testimonials with photos. 
  • Personalized upsell recommendations based on a client’s interests, online activities and search history. 
  • Follow up on abandoned carts and include upsell suggestions. 

Strategy #14: Embrace AR/VR Technologies  

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have paved the way for limitless possibilities in eCommerce marketing. These technologies create a more memorable buyer’s journey and a more immersive experience, helping consumers view products in a new light.  

Moreover, it is projected that AR/VR devices will increase by 800% in 2026. Hence, now is the perfect time for marketing specialists to innovate their strategies and experiment with emerging trends.  

You can leverage AR and VR functionalities by visualizing 3D images of products and product customizations and placing these virtual objects in a simulated environment. This is an inviting way to exhibit the actual use of items. 

Strategy #15: Optimize Voice Search Functionality

Voice search usage has grown at a drastic rate. Smart speakers, such as Siri and Google Home, continue to impact online shopping.  

Voice-based shopping accounted for a whopping $40 billion in retail sales in the US and UK in the past year. This entails that you should capitalize on this upward trend by optimizing your eCommerce website for voice search.   

You can utilize these effective voice search SEO strategies:  

  • Providing brief yet to-the-point answers to customer inquiries 
  • Leveraging long-tail conversational keywords reflecting how people talk 
  • Using simple content that eliminates complicated words that may confuse voice assistants 
  • Implementing speed improvements on your web pages so Google can pick them up more easily 

Takeaways on eCommerce Marketing

eCommerce marketing is the key to success for all businesses that sell online. It helps you generate brand awareness, increase the number of conversions and boost your sales.

To stand out from the crowd and outperform your competition in 2023, make sure you implement the best eCommerce marketing strategies we've listed above. Remember that you can also invest in high-end eCommerce marketing services to help you accelerate business growth.

eCommerce Marketing Strategies FAQs  

1. How to market an eCommerce business  

When marketing an eCommerce business, you should keep up with emerging trends in your industry. Some of the most efficient ways to implement these trends are:  

  • Creating and posting unique, high-quality, and informative content 
  • Retargeting audiences 
  • Email personalization 
  • Running social media campaigns and contests 
  • Practicing SEO 
  • Using affiliate programs 
  • Leveraging Google Shopping 
  • Employing UGC 
  • Influencer marketing 
  • Local marketing 
  • PPC advertising 
  • Upselling 
  • Supporting your shop with AR and VR technologies 
  • Optimizing for voice search  

2. What’s the difference between eCommerce and digital marketing?  

E-commerce and digital marketing are complementary processes. The former refers to your online shop where consumers can buy products or services, while the latter is the strategy you use to drive traffic to your online store and increase revenues. 

3. What makes eCommerce attractive?  

E-commerce saves time and money on transportation. It does not require a buyer to visit a brick-and-mortar store. Buying online also offers a wider range of product and service choices. Plus, it enables people to purchase from anywhere in the world. 

 

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