Steps To A Winning Ecommerce Inbound Marketing Strategy
Many customers have specific questions about eCommerce marketing. How do I hire someone to build my links? “
But, most online store owners do not have an inbound* strategy. They confuse the forest (how everything works) for the trees.
*Inbound marketing is a term that refers to marketing that emphasizes your customers for them to “naturally” purchase from you. This is in contrast to outbound which focuses on cold-pitching, interrupting, and finding customers.
This inbound marketing strategy is what eCommerce professionals recommend to every client and reader I have ever worked for. While our focus is on eCommerce, 80% applies equally to all businesses.
Business Goals & Definitions
It is essential to understand your market, who you are targeting, and what you want to do with it.
This part of the strategy can be frustrating for some people. This can cause people to slow down.
There are three things you need to know. It is possible to do them all simultaneously or in a different order. Have a clear overview of your product offerings and marketing personnel.
Product
What are you offering? Who are you? How can you make your brand stand apart?
You’re defining your product offering, not your life purpose. Be different than your competitors.
Swimwear that isn’t attractive and affordable should not be sold. Instead, sell swimwear that is comfortable in the water.
Personas
Marketing is built around personas. Although you can find extensive guides about personas, it’s also possible to keep it straightforward.
You need to describe the likes and needs of your target audience. You can search online for the stores and websites they visit (if you need more inspiration, see this span>
Target 2 to 4 people. A global brand doesn’t necessarily mean you have to market to everyone.
Your initial target market/persona is simply your first market.
Your product can help define you.
Let’s continue with the light swimwear example.
Revenue
It is important to set realistic money goals. You should also determine which marketing spend gives you the highest return.
Structure, Analysis, and Data Collection
Now that you know your marketing goals and who you want to target, as well as what the marketing will achieve, it’s time to lay a foundation.
This is similar to setting business goals and definitions. It can slow down the process. You can remember the end goal as long as you keep your eyes on it, which is:
To measure conversions (aka sales), to finance and improve product offerings, people, and revenue.
Set up your website
To sell an item online, you need a website. Your brand won’t be built if you don’t track conversions accurately.
Shopify is a high-quality eCommerce platform. We also recommend creating an eCommerce website with WordPress and WooCommerce.
These options provide a technical foundation and an easy way to set up a website. When the time is right, you can create a store on an existing platform and then implement a customized design.
Set goals
Analytics is the most crucial part of setting up a website. Options are numerous, but Google Analytics is the best.
It’s important to have an eCommerce checkout. Make sure that everything works properly.
You should also link Google Analytics and Google Ads. You can also set up a retargeting audience with Google Analytics. A retargeting cookie (audience pixel) can be placed on your website. This can be used in conjunction with any other tracking pixels you may have.
I’ll tell you why later.
Setting up Focused pages
To make sales, landing pages are necessary for your Privacy, FAQ, Home, and About pages.
Do not confuse “landing page” with something too complicated. These pages are meant to “harvest” any demand that is already there that matches either paid search or organic search.
Why?
This tip is not something that many website owners are willing to admit. Your homepage should be for people who don’t know you but are browsing the internet.
You can use landing pages to convert new visitors to your website (or returning customers).
Persona specific – These pages are about the benefits of your product to a particular person. “
Specific – These pages are focused on product information. For example, the “Blue Stripe Lycra Two-Piece Swimsuit”. They could also serve as a landing page for specific categories or bundles. “
The goal of this section is to sell to people at the bottom end of the marketing funnel. These are the most likely to convert.
These are people who already know what they want and are ready to buy it.
This idea also applies to SEO. This idea was also discussed in our post on keyword mapping.
Traffic Acquisition
Get people to visit your site.
Marketing channels can be slow or fast. This is because they are all different. It all boils down to how you combine them.
For example, the Aircraft Carrier Group of the US Navy is the main warning unit. This group consists of a variety of ships of different types that do different things at different speeds.
Many eCommerce entrepreneurs want to start with SEO or develop a social strategy.
A bad idea. Battleships, also known as SEO, and Aircraft Carriers (aka Social), can take forever to move and turn. Don’t spend so much time or effort if you don’t think SEO and Social will work.
Choose channels that can change direction, speed up and slow down as you wish.
Direct Outreach
Direct outreach is the name of this channel. Some people may call this direct outreach.
People can message and email people on Facebook. They can go to your landing pages to subscribe or purchase an email list (for discounts, etc.
Paid traffic
Inbound Marketing is often used to get people to visit your website for free.
Search marketing is not an exception, we believe. Inbound marketing is where customers will be when they are most interested. Google is the only one who can get you there first.
Google Ads can be expensive but provide great returns on your investment. This is true, especially for keywords close to conversion.
Data is being bought. * Lots of data. It’s better to spend a little more on data than you would for an eCommerce strategy.
You can also purchase data from your competitors by signing up for a PPC Advertising Research Tool like SEMrush.
You should take a few steps to ensure your new traffic is successful.
- Take time to look at the keywords driving sales.
- See which landing pages drive sales.
- Optimize your landing pages.
- Review the ad copy for the best messaging.
- Get free shipping and other ideas.
- Test related products to increase your average order value
- Retargeting campaigns should be set up. This guide will show you how to redirect some of the paid budgets to Facebook.
- Take a look at your audience online after you have set up retargeting programs
- Improving your ad campaigns in general
Now you need some direction and sales data.
Organic Search (SEO), Traffic
Although paid traffic is not the only way to get organic traffic (SEO), it may be the best option.
Website owners know the value of Google organic search. All they have to do is execute the right context.
Google processes over 3.5 million queries each day.
We are passionate about HTML.
When you are creating your inbound marketing strategy, it is important to understand how to drive organic traffic to your eCommerce site.
SEO consists of 3 components
The first component of technical SEO.
It’s about making sure Google/Bing can crawl your website efficiently. This Technical SEO is for Nontechnical Marketers.
Most technical issues can be solved by using a platform like Shopify, or a self-hosted shop that uses WordPress + Woocommerce.
An audit of your technical system is worth it if you already use another platform. A standalone technical audit that includes recommendations to an SEO specialist might be worthwhile if you use a proprietary platform such as Volusion.
To get started, install WordPress SEO by Yoast. Next, check out our guide on how to use it efficiently.
Shopify is an excellent tool to solve technical problems. This is the second aspect of SEO.
SEO’s second component is on-page optimization and content. This involves “targeting” keywords and making sure your website is well-organized for search engines and visitors to understand.
We previously wrote about keyword mapping, and basic SEO concepts (like meta descriptions, title tags, and Google Search Console).
There is a lot of content you can use to drive people to your eCommerce website.
According to Jeremiah Smith
“The goal of this project is to cover all aspects of your business with the information you have created and solve the problems of customers. “
You should have the ability to attract new customers and help them sell. Write authoritative content that addresses their market’s problems, questions, or other needs.
Semrush is a tool that can cut down on manual labor if you have a tight budget. You can get ideas by dropping keywords and competitor pages.
If you don’t have the budget for KWfinder, you can use their great product for the same purpose. However, they don’t bundle PPC Research as Semrush.
Great content about your product is the best part of SEO. It will help drive off-page factors.
Pro-tip – This is a great resource to help you create on-page content.
SEO is the term for obtaining links. The third component of SEO is “Off-page factors”.
Websites can get damaged by poor links (the kind you get for $5). Quality links from well-known websites will help you rank higher in search results.
There are many methods to get links. I’ve found the best ways to get links to eCommerce sites:
- It’s all about creating unique content and then promoting it.
- Hustle PR Promotion. Find their blogs. Research and follow each one until you can craft an email pitch.
- Semrush and SiteProfiler by Mangools are cheaper alternatives. It will display the links of your competitors, and you can use them to search for more.
Social Traffic
SEO is your battleship. Social media is your battleship.
Some social media experts consider social media science. You don’t need to know everything about your business.
You don’t need to be everywhere your audience is on social media. Direct interactions are what makes social media work.
While you can claim all social media networks to place your branding and have an impact on sales, awareness, and links, only a handful of them will be significant.
Automatically create profiles that are present even if they’re not active.
It is possible to pay to be at the top of social media.
Next steps
This inbound marketing strategy is for online stores.
The 80/20 principle is the final rule. In every case, each metric is 80/20.
- 20% of all sales are made through products.
- 20% of content drives 80% of organic search traffic.
- 20% advertising spend generates 80% revenue
It’s crucial to focus on the 20% that is important in each step and keep expanding your potential.
More information about this concept can be found in the 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch, and the follow-up 80/20 for Sales & Market (by Perry Marshall).
Shopify can help you build your online store.
Next steps: Identify your product offerings, personas, and revenue goals.
h/t Jeremiah Smith’s piece and Noah Kagan’s piece that provided inspiration and resources for this post.
