Are you struggling to drive traffic to your eCommerce store website? Or perhaps you feel your traffic generation campaign is stalling? You’re not alone. According to a recent study by Startup Bonsai, 61% of marketers consider generating traffic and leads as their biggest challenge. Indeed, the same study shows that 53% of businesses spend over half of their marketing budget on traffic and lead generation.

Fortunately, you don’t need rocket science to update your marketing and bring more traffic to your eCommerce store. The following are eight cost-effective traffic generation strategies to help you generate more traffic without overspending.

Social media marketing

Social media is one of the easiest ways to get the word out about your new eCommerce store and products. For instance, you can regularly publish posts on Facebook or Instagram to remind your followers about the products you sell. Don’t forget to provide a CTA (call to action) so interested people can click to visit the store. You can also use social media to engage your customers and attract new followers. Consider sharing behind-the-scenes footage alongside promotional product posts to increase engagement.

Email marketing

Email is a more formal alternative to social media. It lets you privately engage customers, solicit their feedback, and advertise your products. Use lead capture forms to get email addresses and sign up with an email marketing provider, such as MailChimp, to send personalized messages. Studies show that it takes 4-6 emails to convert a customer.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a strategy where you pay various partners to refer customers to your site. You may also call it referral marketing. For instance, you can partner with bloggers to recommend your products on their platform in return for a small commission. You can also arrange similar programs with podcasters and social media influencers. Each partner has a unique link to your eCommerce store. This makes sales easy to track and credit to the right partner.

Product reviews

At least 93% of digital consumers say online reviews influence their purchases. Indeed, 60% read at least two customer reviews before purchasing an item. Therefore, reviews help to increase traffic and conversions. One way to generate more reviews for your website is to provide a review section and ask customers to leave feedback. Alternatively, partner with a review service provider like Angi.

Offers and discounts

Customers don’t always buy because they need a product. Sometimes they purchase because the deal is too good to pass up. This is also known as impulse buying. An excellent way to encourage impulse shopping in your store is by offering deals and discounts. For instance, a “50% OFF” discount can bring tons of traffic to your eCommerce store. Seasonal sales and buy-one-get-one-free offers are also good options to consider. When offering big seasonal sales, ensure you promote the sale in the weeks leading up to the date. This helps to generate excitement and build traffic.

Personalization

Always personalize your offers and content. For instance, we’ve mentioned email marketing and social media marketing among content marketing techniques to generate more traffic. But most importantly, you must ensure the content is personalized to suit the customer’s location, language, education level, and age.

Advertising

Many marketers and store owners shy away from paid ads because of the associated costs. But did you know that paid advertising generates more return on investment (ROI) than unpaid strategies? For instance, a standard Google Ad returns $5 for every $1 spent. Meanwhile, Facebook ads generate 185% ROI. In short, the investment is often worth it in the end.

Marketing automation

Perhaps you’re wondering how to achieve all the above yourself or without spending your entire marketing budget. The answer is – automation! Automation software can send your emails, and publish your social media posts. It can also manage your advertising, personalization, and promotional campaigns accurately and without a monthly salary. Finally, you can consider using chatbots to handle customer service.

Summary

Generating and driving traffic to your eCommerce store doesn’t have to be costly and exhausting. Though it’s sometimes complex, a few basic strategies, such as amplifying your social media campaigns and giving discounts and freebies, can bring thousands through your doors. Marketing automation, advertising, and personalization are other excellent traffic-generation tools.

Written by: Troy Rumfelt