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In the first article in the E-commerce Management series, we talked about How to manage your online store to sell more and better. We covered the structure of the E-commerce Management Canvas and explained a bit about the simple process that allows the entire team, management, and suppliers to align around the same goal: selling more and better. By the end of this series, we will cover all the stages of the e-commerce funnel, and in this 2nd article, we will talk about traffic generation, or rather, activation.
If you haven't read the previous article, I recommend doing so before continuing with this article or downloading the E-commerce Management Canvas.
What is activation?
Activation is the process of activating your potential customers, that is, the stimulus created so that a user accesses your site (traffic). Remember, no one will access your e-commerce without activation actions. You need to develop actions that influence the user to access your site.
How do I activate my potential customers?
As we already discussed in the previous post, there are 3 ways to activate your store. The first is through actions that promote Free traffic, that is, direct, organic search, user content, etc. It is also possible to generate traffic through the store's Relationship with the market and customers, such as social media, influencers, press relations, YouTube channel, etc. Finally, it is also possible to generate Paid traffic, which uses channels such as Google, Facebook, native ads, programmatic media, OOH, etc.
Recapping the type of traffic
Not all traffic comes from Activation, as it is possible to generate traffic through channels such as email, remarketing, etc. To make it clearer how to generate traffic, we divide it into 3 categories: traffic you do not control, traffic you control, and traffic you own. Today we will only cover Traffic you do not control and Traffic you control, as they are part of Activation.
Free Traffic
Everyone wants to boost free traffic, right? The thing is that no one controls Free Traffic; they only influence it.
So, to generate Free Traffic for your online store, you need to develop actions for each traffic source, aligned with the brand and the needs of each source. Here we will cover 4 ways:
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Direct
When the customer types your online store's address directly into the address bar and accesses your e-commerce. -
Organic Search
When a customer searches on a search engine (Google) and clicks on one of the organic (free) results, which could be a product, a category, a landing page, or your online store's homepage. -
Recommendations
When your e-commerce is recommended to someone and they access your store through free traffic sources. -
User-generated Content
When your customers create content about your product and consequently attract new users to your online store. Very common with "Instagrammable" products or packaging.
Generating direct traffic
- Put your website address on digital channels
All digital touchpoints should have your website address visible and easy to find. Depending solely on cross-media makes it harder to generate traffic. - Put the address on offline media
The same applies to offline channels: business cards, newsletters, flyers, and other materials your company may distribute. - Choose an easy-to-remember address
If your URL is easy to memorize, the chances of being remembered are higher. Therefore, work on a good domain and consider acquiring others that may be similar or account for typos.
Generating organic search traffic
- Define your business keywords
Potential customers search for solutions to their problems using keywords. We have head tail, which is broad and competitive, and long tail, which is targeted and less searched. - Create quality content
Google has more than 500 algorithms to recognize what quality content is. - Invest in SEO
The technical structure of the page ensures on-page SEO, making it easier for search engines to index it. Off-page SEO is harder and consists of quality websites linking to yours.
Relationship Traffic
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Social Media
The social networks you already know and those you might not: Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, and so on… -
Referrals
When you actively run a campaign that promotes referring friends to buy in exchange for benefits. -
Influencers
When you hire digital influencers to create content and promote your brand to their audience on social media. Very common in recent years, it has been losing steam as content distribution algorithms reduce the reach of large accounts on social media. -
Press Relations
When newspapers, portals, magazines, and news outlets mention your brand, which consequently generates traffic to your site from readers. -
Affiliates
An affiliate program is performance-based, in which your online store rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought in through the affiliate's marketing efforts. -
Guest Post
When your brand publishes a guest post on a portal, reaching a new audience that did not know your brand/store until then. -
YouTube
No introduction needed, and it deserves an item all its own. Do you know why? YouTube is one of the few social networks that allows content creators to insert links in descriptions and even during the video, generating traffic to your e-commerce.
Generating traffic on social media
- Be present on the right networks
Have a presence on the networks where your audience is. Have an overall strategy while also working with the specificities of each social network to make the most of all of them. - Make sharing easy
Encourage your customers to share your links by adding share buttons or offering discount tools in exchange for promotion. - Interact with your audience
Social interactions involve speaking, but also encouraging the audience to contribute. This improves engagement and increases your content distribution. - Deliver little on Instagram and a lot in the store
You do not need to provide all the necessary information about your product or service through social media. Deliver some of the content and information on social media and encourage users to visit your online store to receive the rest, whether product information, campaigns, prices, or other details.
Generating referral traffic
- Write guest posts
Guest posts are content produced by your online store but published on external channels. These can be news outlets (Dino). Look for channels with credibility that are related to your product. - Become an authority
By creating quality content about your field, you become an authority in the market. This builds consumer trust, and other websites will link to the information you publish.
Paid Traffic
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Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads is Facebook's advertising platform. Through it, you can advertise in various placements such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network, Stories, and many others. -
Google Ads
Google Ads is Google's advertising platform. Through it, you can use Google's entire media inventory: display, search, Gmail, apps, YouTube, and much more. -
Native Ads
Native ads are content that blends in with related news on news portals. -
Programmatic Media
Programmatic media is a way to buy and sell advertising space for specific target audiences with the help of computer-driven decision-making. Through programmatic media tools (trading desks, DSPs, DMPs, SSPs), you can access even more websites on the internet with more precise targeting than Google and Facebook offer.
Generating traffic from display ads (images and videos)
- Choose the best channels
Google, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or LinkedIn. If you do not yet know which channel is best for your business, run tests considering the best ROAS. - Keep your goals in mind
What is the goal of the media? Generate leads, engage, position, or convert? The success of the campaign depends on the initial goal. - Landing Pages
Landing Pages focus on conversion. When advertising, ensure that your customer is directed to the landing page with content aligned with your ad. Use CTAs to direct your customer's action. The destination page will impact your ad's Quality Score, which can make it cheaper or rank it above the competition.
Generating paid search traffic (sponsored links)
- Define your business keywords
Just like with organic search, your potential customers search for solutions using keywords. Always calculate the ROAS to optimize and try to expand long-tail campaigns as much as possible. - Explore different formats
Paid search goes beyond sponsored links. You can use Google Shopping (PLA), Local Inventory Ads (LIA), and even search remarketing (RLSA). - Landing Pages
Landing Pages focus on conversion. When advertising, ensure that your customer is directed to the landing page with content aligned with your ad. Use CTAs to direct your customer's action.
Final considerations
Traffic generation is the starting point for a successful e-commerce store. With conversion rates around 1.5%, stores need to specialize in attracting users if they want to grow their revenue. It will be difficult to achieve a conversion rate of 10 or 30%, so knowing how to generate qualified traffic can be your store's biggest differentiator.
Put it into practice today and start exploring other traffic sources for your store. You cannot live on Instagram ads alone.
So good luck, and see you in the next article about Acquisition.
