The ecommerce industry is massive. With millions of online retail sites across the globe, it shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, ecommerce sales are expected to grow to over 77% in Canada in 2025.
However, there’s no denying that opening an ecommerce site means you’ll face some stiff competition. Again, there are millions of live sites selling products, and it’s essential to find a way to stand out from the start if you want to be discovered and successful.
If you have a great product, service, or idea, you’re already one step ahead. But that’s only half the battle when it comes to having a successful online business. You have to wear multiple hats at once, including marketing your business to your target audience so you can build a loyal customer base over time.
Even if you have a fantastic business with great products to offer, it won’t make a difference if you’re not getting noticed and drowning in the sea of other ecommerce sites.
Thankfully, there are several strategies you can implement to boost your online discoverability. You don’t have to be a tech wizard or a marketing guru to get your site noticed. With a few creative tactics, you can take your business to the next level and find ecommerce success as the industry continues to grow.
Make Your Business More Than a Hobby
One of the best ways to stand out from your competitors and others in your industry is to have a unique product that only you can create. For many people, the best place to launch those one-of-a-kind products is Etsy. It’s a fantastic platform for creators interested in selling their handmade items to people across the globe.
But, for many, selling on Etsy is either just a hobby or a side gig. That’s fine if you’re only interested in making a bit more cash each month. However, if you want to turn your hobby into a full-fledged business, you’ll have to be more strategic. Etsy might not be feasible for a long-term business with growth in mind. You can expand your brand more freely and keep more of your profit with your digital storefront. But don’t hesitate to start on the platform to find your footing.
First, make sure you have the space to create your product. You might need to transform an area of your home into a workshop to keep up with demand. An efficient workspace will keep you on track and help ensure that your customers receive high-quality products promptly.
Keep in mind that the company charges both listing fees and transaction fees to their sellers. Although, you can adjust your price points based on this so you’re not losing out.
To get noticed, you’ll need to customize every aspect of your online storefront. This is your first opportunity to develop branding for your business.
Account for Growth
It’s also important to plan for growth. Looking toward the future will help you realize what expansions you might need to eventually make. That could include things like more space, new equipment, and even hiring employees. Those are things you might not have considered when you were creating hobby products. However, having a viable business requires growth, and you need to be prepared for it.
As you start to grow, make sure you’re doing things the safe and legal way. Register your business as a sole proprietorship or LLC, depending on your needs. Each state has different registration requirements, so do your research to determine the type of licenses you’ll need to sell your products legally.
If you’re just starting out, selling on a platform like Etsy will help you eliminate the need for a business license right away. However, depending on what you're selling, you might need a permit from the municipal, county, state, or federal level. If you sell using your own ecommerce storefront and live in a state with sales tax, you’ll need to get a seller’s permit—unless you live in Florida or Missouri.
Source: Unsplash
Optimize Your Site
Whether you choose to start your store on Etsy or jump right into an ecommerce storefront with your own website, the best way to get noticed is to know how to optimize your site for search engines. Several factors can influence your optimization and help you get attention, including:
- Using the right keywords;
- Having a site with quality photos;
- Positive reviews;
- Site load time.
It’s also essential to think about how people will be viewing your site. Much of today’s ecommerce is done via mobile. People have the power of purchase in the palm of their hand. Keeping this in mind while you optimize your site for all mobile devices directly affects the average searcher experience. This process includes a variety of actions, like picking photos and pop-ups that will fit a mobile screen.
Inevitably, you’ll also need to adjust your content—avoid using lengthy paragraphs or sentences that users will need to scroll through. With these actions, you’ll be more competitive and create faster conversions.
Other things to keep in mind as you optimize your site for more views and clicks include providing your contact information, creating call-to-action points in your online content, featuring your best products, and offering a personalized experience as much as possible.
As more people start to visit your site, you can utilize user data to your advantage and generate more leads. You’ll begin to get a better idea of your target audience so you can utilize things like:
- Custom landing pages;
- Targeted social media ads;
- Personalized emails.
Lead generation is important to get people not only to visit your site, but to make purchases. When your personalized content reflects the things your audience is already interested in, they’re more likely to not only buy your products once, but become loyal customers. These strategies will improve your overall targeting and segmentation, which boosts the customer experience and can turn your most loyal customers into brand ambassadors.
Understand Your Target Audience
To personalize your site and its online content, though, you must know your audience first. If you’re new to the industry, an easy way to start is by researching your competitors. Who are they marketing to? What’s the demand for your product or service? Most importantly, what gaps can you fill in that your competitors are missing? Being able to offer something unique will help you stand out and get ahead.
It’s also a good rule of thumb to create buyer personas. These are profiles of imaginary people who are your ideal target audience. Buyer personas can include things like:
- Age
- Job title
- Educational level
- Income level
- Marital status
- Hobbies
- Habits
These buyer personas can help you determine the types of personalization you should be doing through your various marketing channels. You’ll also have a better idea of which channels will best fit your business needs, as certain demographics tend to respond better to specific platforms.
Keep in mind that discovering your target audience once isn’t enough. It’s something you’ll have to consistently test and refine. Your business may change and shift over time. The needs and wants of your audience might also change. You might also want to consider who you will be marketing to as your business expands.
For example, if you have products specifically designed for young people, how will you shift your marketing as your initial audience starts to get older?
Keeping your loyal customers interested while maintaining your voice and appealing to your upcoming audience is a balancing act, so being flexible enough to tweak your techniques as things change is important for growth and longevity.
Utilize Social Media
Today’s consumers are eager to form relationships with the brands they buy from. Social media is a fantastic way to accomplish that. While your sales will come directly through your eCommerce site, your social media platforms will help to get your target audience there.
You can utilize social media to boost your eCommerce presence by integrating your storefront into different platforms. For example, Facebook and Instagram allow you to either load your product catalog or link to your eCommerce platform. Whenever you share a post, you’ll be able to tag your specific products. When viewers click on them, they’ll be directed to your website, where they can make a purchase.
Source: Shutterstock
Social media also allows you to get personal and develop a unique brand voice. As the name suggests, you’re supposed to be social–even if you’re a business. Sharing things, like behind-the-scenes photos or letting your audience in on the inner workings of your business, can go a long way in building trust and loyalty.
Going social makes it easier to take advantage of the latest marketing trends, including video marketing. Creating relevant, useful content for your audience will help keep them engaged and interested in your business. It will also help humanize your brand and can boost loyalty.
Nowadays, anyone with a smartphone can create decent videos to publish online. But, if you want to go the extra mile, consider hiring a professional for your video marketing strategies. The quality won’t go unnoticed.
It’s okay to have some fun on social media. If someone interacts with any of your social media activity, respond! They’ll know you’re paying attention, and you care about their comments or concerns. Again, this helps to build loyalty and can even boost your word-of-mouth advertising. Ask any marketing professional, and they’ll tell you that kind of publicity is worth its weight in gold.
Creativity is the name of the game when it comes to boosting online discoverability. It can be difficult in today’s saturated ecommerce market, but it’s certainly not impossible. If you have a product or service you believe people need, combining unique marketing techniques with tried-and-true SEO methods is the best way to get discovered quickly.
If you have any questions about digital marketing, don’t hesitate to call us at 866-208-3095 or contact us here.
