The number of online stores is growing, driven by the increased interest in online shopping. For you, as an e-commerce owner, this means you need to launch extensive advertising campaigns if you want to reach new customers or retain existing ones. Wondering where to start and which channels to focus on? Find out which online store advertising method yields the best results!
Online advertising is currently the best way to reach potential customers. It allows you to take advantage of multiple channels that can be tailored to your needs and expectations. There's nothing stopping you from investing in several forms of online advertising simultaneously – such a multifaceted approach can increase your chances of achieving sales success and allows you to optimize your operations.
SEO – a way to reach the top of the search engine
Advertising for an online store begins with the website's presence in search results. Statistics show that web users primarily choose websites that appear on the first page of search engines, rather than the second. If an online store is located on further pages, it's practically nonexistent. Therefore, it's crucial to reach the very top – ideally, the TOP 10.
SEO—a series of activities related to website optimization and positioning—helps achieve these results. The first step is store optimization, which includes meta tags, category descriptions, product descriptions, and content.
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A key element of SEO is providing valuable links—in line with the chosen strategy. Equally important is creating a user-friendly website structure for Google's crawlers. Furthermore, many SEO specialists believe that content is key—its high quality, intriguing content, and its ability to meet the needs of the target customer group. This makes sense considering that the foundation of the Google search engine is its ability to thrive on content and respond well to content that appeals to its users.
You can handle website positioning yourself (you'll find plenty of resources online, for example, at our Verseo Academy). However, because positioning takes a significant amount of time and training, many companies choose to outsource the work of improving search engine visibility to specialized agencies or freelancers.
It's also worth remembering that SEO is a long-term process and requires attention. Situations where a website climbs quickly are certainly common (much depends on budget and competitiveness), but more often than not, results take at least several months. Many companies, however, invest in SEO because, in the long run, it's the most affordable way to advertise their website and also enhances the value of the site itself.
Google Ads – the perfect advertisement for an online store?
SEO for an online store is a lengthy process, so you'll have to wait for results. To accelerate customer acquisition, you can opt for professional Google Ads campaigns – paid advertising for online stores.
The most frequently chosen form of AdWords campaign is sponsored links, also known as search engine advertising. This involves displaying an ad above (and sometimes below) organic search results after a user enters specific phrases. By clicking the link, the user is redirected to an online store or service offering.
The Google advertising platform also allows for the running of AdWords campaigns on external websites. Advertisements for online stores will appear in the form of banners that, once they engage the user, will redirect them to the desired website. This is the so-called Google Display Network, which brings together virtually all relevant websites in Poland – for example, wp.pl and onet.pl, as well as smaller websites and blogs.
The third option for professional Google Ads campaigns—particularly popular with online stores—is Google Shopping . This tool allows you to create a different type of search engine advertising—promoting specific products. What does this look like in practice? When a user enters a product name into the search engine, your store's offer will be displayed in a special box—along with the price and image.
Verseo customers are increasingly willing to allocate higher budgets to Google Shopping, which speaks for itself – businesses are investing where it's most profitable. Here's the proof:
Google Ads also allows you to run ads on YouTube, which are replacing traditional TV ads. They offer much more affordable access to more targeted audiences. They also allow you to create highly reachable AdWords campaigns and still save a significant amount of money compared to other forms of brand advertising.
Okay, so why is Google Ads the most popular form of advertising on the internet? And why is it considered essentially ideal?
First, it allows for very effective audience targeting. The better the group selected, the more effectively the investment. If you spend 100 PLN in a poorly selected group, you might acquire, for example, one customer. Similarly, 100 PLN spent in a group of potentially more interested people might result in acquiring, for example, two or three customers, reducing the cost of customer acquisition by 50 or 66%. Each such optimization change allows for more sensible budget allocation, and Google Ads, thanks to its detailed targeting options, allows for this.
Secondly, Professional Google Ads campaigns are measurable. You know exactly how much it cost you to acquire a given customer, and you know whether they were attracted by a search engine ad, a banner ad, or, for example, a YouTube video. By connecting to Google Analytics , you can even see how they navigated the website before finally deciding to make a purchase.
The third feature that makes Google Ads so valuable is its payment method – most often, the CPC model, or cost-per-click. Therefore, you don't pay for the mere fact that someone sees your ad in a search engine, but for the actual click and redirection to your website. Fair.
Facebook advertising
While there are many social media platforms, advertising for your online store on Facebook is the most popular—especially in certain industries. It allows you to:
- conduct image communication with recipients – this allows you to build and maintain long-term relationships,
- acquire leads – obtain data from potential customers,
- advertise products directly.
The foundation is creating a fan page, but even the best and most engaging posts won't reach a wide audience of potential customers. Paid campaigns, which offer considerable flexibility, can be helpful.
You can choose from, among others:
- sponsored posts,
- ads on Messenger,
- remarketing banners.
An interesting option is the so-called collection (carousel), which appears in the main section of the potential customer. This allows for the presentation of many specific products. Among them, there are often those that the potential buyer has been searching for.
Facebook is attractive to advertisers because, like Google Ads, it allows them to reach selected target groups and also allows for interaction with users. Ultimately, it can generate more engagement than YouTube.
Content marketing – for better recognition
Content marketing is marketing activities that focus on various content. It's not typical advertising for an online store, as it often complements other promotional channels and, for example, constitutes a crucial element in the website positioning process.
The essence of content marketing is delivering valuable content that's useful from the recipient's perspective. These typically include expert articles posted on external websites, but also articles published on a company blog.
Such activities build a positive image and increase brand awareness. They also help acquire valuable links, which is important for SEO.
In reality, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When thinking about content, we need to keep in mind a vast array of possibilities, based not only on content but also on form. The content department's role could therefore include creating webinars, guides, trend books, lookbooks, infographics, children's books, and anything else your heart desires. Each form used should be tailored to the expectations of the target audience.
Advertising for an online store – what to choose?
It's difficult to pinpoint specific channels that will achieve the best advertising results. It all depends on many factors, including your expectations, the needs of potential customers, the way you run your campaign, and your industry.
Remember that the effectiveness of advertising for an online store is influenced not only by the type of channel chosen, but above all by:
- correct definition of the target group,
- precise definition of the campaign's goal,
- systematic monitoring of results.
The last point is particularly important, as based on the results achieved, advertising can be modified to achieve even better results. Continuous monitoring also allows for increasing or decreasing financial outlays on specific channels.
AdWords advertising campaign – alone or with support?
If you're just starting out to promote your online store, it can be difficult to run professional Google Ads campaigns on your own . It's possible, provided you have the right knowledge – it's crucial for precisely defining your target audience and properly configuring specific ads, among other things.
If you want to ensure that the money invested in specific AdWords campaigns won't be wasted, rely on the support of professionals. Internet marketing experts will select the right tools to make the process of promoting your online store more efficient. This will increase your chances of achieving your goals, such as increasing sales, building brand awareness, or generating leads.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- how SEO activities help stores reach the first page of Google,
- ways to reach customers using Google Ads,
- how Facebook supports the promotion of an online store,
- creating content that strengthens the brand image, increases awareness and supports SEO activities,
- selection of advertising channel for the online store,
- when to start advertising activities on your own and when it is better to rely on the support of an agency or specialist.
