With each passing day, e-commerce sales are increasing rapidly. Although online retailers spend almost 76% on shopping ads, yet half of it is wasted.
However, if you do not have the adequate budget to spend on shopping ads or want to curb down the cost of paid search, few ways can help you drive more traffic into your e-commerce store without having to buy ads.
Before anything else, let’s take a look into the ongoing e-commerce scenario.
Present e-commerce framework
After the Covid-19 attacked the entire world, the reports of McKinsey say that consumers are increasingly expecting a significant impact to the respective routines & finances. Moreover, most of them report income reduction.
According to WordStream, there have been a 21% drop in the conversion rates on average (as of April 2020). That is why 69% of companies have decided to reduce their expenditure on ads.
The two predominant types of e-commerce markets include:
- Brands who are planning to reduce their budget
- Brands who are willing to take advantage of the low CPMs and enhance their growth
Both the markets can benefit greatly from the strategies provided below to cut down the cost of shopping ads.
Can traffic be boosted without buying ads?
Every year, the e-commerce market is growing by 23%. Here, the credit goes to the availability of the internet and mobile devices. However, there is a misconception that none can surpass their competitors without spending a single penny on advertising. There are plenty of ways to drive traffic without having to burn your pockets.
1. Referral marketing
An e-commerce store is not worthy of being run if you lack a referral program. The buying decision of 81% of consumers is largely influenced by recommendations from family, friends or neighbors.
Instead of presenting anything elaborate, you can ask your customers to check out the reviews and testimonials as well as suggest your brand to others.
Why is referral marketing important? Because when you gain a customer through referral marketing, his chance of being a permanent one increases by 25%.
2. Buyable pins
An innovative feature offered by Pinterest is to allow its users to look for the relevant product and purchase them straightaway from the site of Pinterest. However, these buyable pins are:
- Free for online retailers
- Simple for consumers to find
While the active Pinners have a 9% rise in their income than non-users, 87% of Pinterest users have bought products on the basis of something that they have already pinned.
3. Upsell
What most smaller e-commerce stores tend to ignore most of the time is ‘upselling.’ Again, people have a wrong notion that upselling is not worth the effort. However, the truth is, keeping the present customer base intact, upselling one can help in enhancing one’s sales to 4%. This has a positive impact on the entire revenue gathered.
When Amazon tried upselling for the very first time, they were elated to announce a 35% rise in their sales.
4. Write with an angle
When writing content, always include the USP or Unique Selling Proposition of your brand into it. This USP is what makes your brand different from the others. Your competitors can offer the same product or service but not in the way you do.
No visitor spends more than 15 seconds on a website. So, it is your duty to utilize every second and try to prove the worth of your brand over others.
5. Keep an eye on your speed
When a site takes more than three seconds to load, it loses at least 50% of its potential visitors. Unfortunately, after facing loading issues, none of the visitors are likely to come back. Use various tools to check whether your site is performing at an adequate speed.
6. Provide social proof
While 70% of the visitors rely on a recommendation from a complete stranger, 92% of consumers trust a recommendation from a peer. Having social proof means showing customers that their peers trust a brand worthy enough to be considered. Take a look at how Amazon makes use of social proof on each and every page in the form of customer reviews.
7. Go mobile-friendly
Today, 60% of consumers purchase products online through their mobile devices. So, if you have a mobile site of your e-commerce store, make sure you have the following features:
- Looks clean and user-friendly
- Fits the screen
- Easy to use the search bar
- Large visible buttons
- One-directional scrolling
Conclusion
So, developing and taking a brand forward without spending too much is absolutely possible only if the above-mentioned strategies are followed. With your competitors try to surpass you, you need to create something innovative to stay and head the market.
