Boost Traffic To Your Site in 2018

Boost Traffic To Your Site | Ecommerce Roundup

February 08, 2018 - Ben Froedge

The rules of eCommerce evolve every day. And to maintain competitive advantage, you need to stay informed especially if you want to boost traffic to your site, the kind of traffic that’s happy to part with their hard-earned cash.

A new year brings new rules, new challenges, and new opportunities for eCommerce stores when it comes to generating traffic.

We want to give you a leg up on your competition in the new year. Our latest eCommerce roundup provides actionable insights on how you can boost traffic to your site this year, and more importantly, ready-to-buy traffic.

Boost traffic to your site with Facebook

Facebook has flipped the table for advertisers after coming under heavy scrutiny over recent months from politicians, news media, and their user base. As the company and their ad revenue have grown, there was a distinct shift in the kind of content users saw in their daily feed.

Recent anger over ads and paid content have caused Facebook to take a step back. The company says they will return the timeline to a more family-and-friends focused experience. Causing panic for businesses that depend on Facebook advertising as a significant source of traffic.

Discussing the impact this has on businesses, CEO of social analytics platform Shareablee said: “Brands and media content companies are still welcome in this more intimate space, provided that their content enhances the time spent on Facebook and adds value to the experience of the average user. The onus is now on creators to think through that lens, rather than with the lens of purely driving business value on themselves,”

Below, Mojca Žove of Super Spicy Media gives you the truth about what you should do about the “Facebook Apocalypse”.

Source: Super Spicy Media

If you depend on Facebook ads for traffic, you should evaluate your ad strategy to focus on providing value and adding to the overall user experience. Here are some resources to get your Facebook ad strategy refocused on the new reality:

Now you have the chance to strengthen your social strategy and profit, while your competition is scrambling to figure out what happened. Those who lived purely on cheap and easy traffic without contributing anything will find themselves in deep trouble.

Helpful content and genuine, non-automated engagement with buyers will allow you to step in and fill the void. Something you probably should have done from the start. If you’re a business that relies on Facebook, it’s time to rethink your strategy if you want to boost traffic to your site.

Boost traffic to your site with Instagram

Instagram has always been a great place to build a brand identity and connect with customers. With the addition of new shopping integrations, it’s time for brands to start monetizing the Instagram love they’ve built.

Shopping tagged posts allow you to boost traffic to your site, sending customers from Instagram posts to your product page.

Shopify and BigCommerce are early adopters, with direct integration for the new Instagram features. Although participation is still somewhat limited, more and more categories are being added, and some businesses are seeing huge returns. A study by BigCommerce on some of their first participants show a 1,416% growth in Instagram traffic with product tagged posts.

2017 may have been the year of easy money from Facebook ads, but early adopters of tagged Instagram product posts could see a massive boost in traffic to your site and an increase in sales. Product visuals that allow click-through is proving to be a powerful tool. And, by the look of things, IG is just getting started.

buy traffic to your store through Instagram shopping

Source: Visual Amplifiers

Want to know more about how you can boost traffic to your site by selling on Instagram?

Boost traffic to your site with Shopify Apps

Shopify apps don’t just make it easier to reprice products or get retail-ready product photos. These are some of the best apps for driving more wallet-out traffic to your store.

Tools in Shopify's app store to buy traffic

Source: Shopify’s App Store

Loyalty Apps

Referral Candy & Loyalty Points, VIP, Referral Programs by Smile.io. Create customer loyalty and VIP programs, as well as easily giving referral rewards for customers who send their friends to you. There’s no more effective way to get traffic that is sure to buy than getting repeat customers and referrals.

Google Shopping

Google is the dominant search engine on the planet by far. The name is synonymous with searching for something on the internet. Don’t believe me? Google it. So when there’s a Shopify plugin that lets you put product listings right into Google Shopping search results, you should take advantage of that. This app will make that easier.

Facebook Product

Facebook stores are a way to get your products in front of Facebook users, (and you have to have it to use Shopify’s Instagram shopping integration. With Facebook having billions of users, it might not be a terrible idea to get your products in front of them, using Facebook Product.

Product Reviews

Product reviews stand out in Google search results pages. You get a star rating, price, voting literally in the search result, but only if its formatted in an SEO friendly way. The Product Reviews plugin lets you create that automatically while adding product reviews to products in your store.

KIT

A free digital marketing virtual employee, Kit helps boost traffic to your site through Facebook and Instagram. It also integrates with other traffic-boosting apps. Think of Kit less as a standalone app, and more of a way to make the entire Shopify platform easier and more efficient.

SEO Manager

SEO is essential in helping your products rank higher in online searches. The problem is that SEO work is almost as dull as it gets and can be incredibly time-consuming. SEO Manager integrates with your Shopify store to help you get better SEO results fast.

Shareable Discounts

Shopify is also offering shareable discount links. You can create discounts for people without having to waste time with discount codes. Making it simpler than ever for discount holders to make a purchase. No more fumbling and forgetting codes. The link you send is their ticket to a discount on something they want.

Boost traffic to your site with inbound marketing

The best way to generate more traffic is still the same as it always has been: create content that your audience will love. Great content is one of the most welcoming ways to attract buyers to your site. By creating valuable content, you attract visitors to your site for more than just hitting the buy button. It might seem counterintuitive in a way, but it’s a tried and tested method.

People buy when you get their attention, offer them something valuable in return for their interest. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook provide a great way to get in front of people. But, you still have to be able to maintain their attention. You want them to keep coming back, and they want to be entertained and informed.

There are a lot of different ways you can use content to boost traffic to your store. Traditionally, everyone thinks content means writing blog posts, but there are lots of other creative options.

Videos
Podcasts
Infographics
Articles
Guides
Images
Templates

Whatever format your audience seems to prefer, that’s the format you should be focusing on. Will you have visitors who just consume content and leave? Of course, you will. But they might end up referring someone, sharing your content on social media, or coming back for more at a later stage.

Want to know more about how you can boost traffic to your site using inbound marketing?

Bonus tips to help boost traffic to your site

Here are a couple more guides for you. Use what you learn to create a strategy to boost traffic to your site and make 2018 your best year yet.

What is your most profitable source of traffic? What’s your biggest traffic challenge? Let us know in the comments or get in touch with us through our Twitter or Facebook. We want to hear from you!