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The number of online stores is growing, driven by increased interest in online shopping. For you – as an e-store owner – this means you need to start extensive advertising efforts if you want to reach new customers or retain the ones you’ve already won over. Wondering where to start and what channels to bet on? Find out what kind of online store advertising produces the best results!
Online advertising is currently the best way to reach prospective customers. It allows you to take advantage of multiple channels that can be tailored to your needs and expectations. Nothing prevents you from investing in several forms of online advertising at the same time – such a multi-faceted approach can increase your chances of achieving sales success and allows you to optimize your efforts.
SEO – a way to get to the top of the search engine
E-commerce advertising starts with the presence of your website in search results. Statistics show that web users primarily choose those sites that are on the first page of a search engine, less often on the second. If your online store is located further down the page, it is practically non-existent. That’s why it’s so important to get to the top – preferably to the TOP 10.
SEO – a series of activities related to search engine optimization and positioning of the website – helps achieve such results. The first step is to optimize the store, which includes meta tags, category descriptions, product descriptions, and content.
The key activity in SEO is to provide valuable links – in accordance with the chosen strategy. Equally important is to create a friendly structure of the site itself for Google bots, which index the site. In addition, many SEO experts believe that content is key – high quality, intriguing and responding to the needs of the customer group of interest. Such a statement makes sense given that the foundation of Google’s search engine is that it feeds off content and responds well to that which its users find appealing.
You can take care of the positioning of the website yourself (you can find plenty of information on this topic on the Web – for example, on our Verseo Academy). However, since SEO takes a lot of time and further training, many companies choose to entrust the work of improving search engine visibility to specialized agencies or freelancers.
Bear in mind that search engine optimization is a long-term process and requires attentiveness. There are situations in which a site quickly reaches the top (a lot depends on the budget and competitiveness), but by far more often you have to wait at least a few months for results. Plenty of companies invest in SEO because, in the long run, it’s the cheapest method of advertising their site and it also strengthens the value of the site itself.
Google Ads – how to promote online stores?
Search engine optimization of an online store is a long-term process, so you have to wait for results. To speed up customer acquisition, you can opt for professional Google Ads campaigns – this is paid advertising for an online store.
The most common form of Google Ads campaign is sponsored links, otherwise known as search engine advertising. It’s about displaying an ad above the organic results when a user types in a certain search query. By clicking on the link, the Internet user will be redirected to an online store or service offer page.
Google’s platform also gives you the ability to run Google Ads campaigns on external sites, thanks to Google Display Network. Advertising for your online store will appear in the form of banners that, once an Internet user is intrigued, will take them to the page in question.
The third option for professional Google Ads campaigns – one particularly popular with online stores – is Google Shopping. This is a tool that allows you to create a different type of search advertising – promoting specific products. What does it look like in practice? When a user types a product name into the search engine, your store’s offer will be displayed in a special box – along with the price and a picture.
Google Ads also allows you to fire off ads on YouTube, which are displacing traditional TV ads. This is because they offer a much cheaper way to reach better targeted groups. You can also create very reachable Google Ads campaigns with them and still save a lot of money compared to other forms of brand advertising.
Well, and why is Google Ads the most popular form of advertising on the Internet? And why is it considered basically perfect?
Firstly, it allows you to target your audience very well. The better matched the group, the more effectively invested the funds. If you spend EUR 100 in an ill-chosen group, you can get, for example, one customer this way. Similarly, EUR 100 spent in a group of potentially more interested customers may result in winning, for example, two or three customers, which will reduce the cost of acquiring a customer by 50 or 66% – any such optimization change allows you to invest your budget more sensibly, and Google Ads, thanks to its detailed outreach options, allows you to do exactly that.
Secondly, professional Google Ads campaigns are measurable. You know exactly how much it cost you to acquire a particular customer, and you know whether they were attracted by a search engine ad, a banner ad, or a YouTube video, for example. With a connection to Google Analytics, you can even know how they traversed the site to make the final purchase decision.
The third feature that makes Google Ads so valuable is the form of billing – most often in the CPC model. So you don’t pay for the mere fact that someone saw your ad on a search engine, but for the actual click and redirect to your site.
Advertising on social media – Facebook Ads
Although there are many social networks, advertising on Facebook – especially in certain industries – is the most popular choice. It gives you the opportunity to:
- conduct image communication with audiences – this allows building and sustaining long-term relationships,
- acquire leads – get data on prospective customers,
- directly advertise products.
The foundation is to create a fanpage. Even the best and most interesting posts, however, will not reach a wide range of prospective customers. Paid campaigns, which are distinguished by their considerable flexibility, can help.
Your choices include:
- sponsored posts,
- Messenger ads,
- remarketing banners.
An interesting option is a carousel going to the main section of the prospective customer. With it, it is possible to present many specific products. Among them, it is not uncommon to find those that a potential buyer is looking for.
Facebook is attractive to advertisers because, like Google Ads, it allows you to reach targeted groups, but also allows you to interact with users. Ultimately, it can engage more powerfully than YouTube.
Content marketing – for better visibility
Content marketing is a marketing effort that revolves around a variety of content. This is not a typical online store ad, as it most often complements other promotional channels and, for example, is an important element in the search engine optimization process.
The essence of content marketing is to provide valuable content – useful from the viewer’s point of view. These are usually expert articles posted on external services, but also articles published on the company’s blog.
Such activities help build a positive image and increase brand awareness. In addition, they help in acquiring valuable links, which is important in the context of SEO.
In fact, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When thinking about content, we need to have in the back of our minds the powerful array of possibilities that are not just based on content but also on form. Content specialists can create webinars, tutorials, trend books, lookbooks, infographics, children’s books and whatever the heart desires. Any form used should be tailored to the expectations of the group.
Online store advertising – what to opt for?
It is difficult to clearly identify specific channels to achieve the best advertising results. It all depends on a number of factors – including your expectations, the needs of prospective customers, how you run your campaign and your industry.
Remember that the effectiveness of advertising for an online store is affected not only by the type of channel chosen but most importantly by:
- correctly identifying the target group,
- accurately specifying the purpose of the campaign being conducted,
- systematic monitoring of results.
The last point is especially important, as you can modify your ads based on your performance – so that they bring even better results. At the same constant control gives time to increase/decrease funding for specific channels.
Google Ads campaigns – alone or with professional support?
If you are just starting out in your efforts to promote your online store, it will be difficult for you to implement professional Google Ads campaigns on your own. This is possible, as long as you have the right knowledge – it is crucial, among other things, to accurately specify your target audience or correctly configure specific ads.
If you want to make sure that the money invested in specific Google Ads campaigns will not be thrown down the drain, rely on the support of professionals. Online marketing experts will select the right tools to make the process of promoting your online store go more smoothly. This will increase the chances of achieving your goal, such as increasing sales, building brand awareness, and acquiring leads.
