Guest post: How to get high-quality traffic to your site and retain customers

In this guest post, Yasleen Trinidad, Digital Content Manager at Blueswitch, lists some ways you can differentiate your store in the competitive age of Amazon. 

In the age where online retail giants like Amazon exist, it’s hard for ecommerce retailers to compete on price and logistics. But, all hope is not gone, our simple how-to-guide can guarantee that you’ll be driving traffic to your site in no time. We’ll be taking you through ways to increase conversion with the help of:

1. Social media
2. Paying attention to where your audience is
3. Brand ambassadors
4. Social media advertising
5. Blogging
6. SEO
7. Email marketing
8. Loyalty programs
9. Ecommerce hacks
10. Staying cost-effective

1. Be social

Be proactive about your business. Chances are you’ve already invested in social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Linkedin. It’s time to amplify it.

2. Be where your audience is

Sure, it’s great that your business is active on all platforms, but, if you have a B2B business, is advertising on Instagram, where the majority of users are under 25? Is this driving significant traffic over sites like Linkedin, where users tend to respond better to B2B content?

Social media has proven to be one of the best tools out there, but before getting carried away, research and prioritize which platform works best for your business.

3. Customers to brand ambassadors

With so much competition it’s hard for consumers to love your products enough to post about it. That’s why it’s important to deliver an awesome customer experience to gain brand awareness. Doing giveaways, implementing loyalty programs, and humanizing your social platforms are just some of the ways consumers gladly become advocates.

4. Invest in social media advertising

The truth is, to take your ecommerce business to the next level you need to invest in your digital presence. Working with marketing pros can help guide you in the right direction with a strategic marketing plan that’s sure to increase your reach, gain brand awareness, and most importantly, get a significant ROI. They do the hard work for you, without the trial and error.

5. Up your blog game

Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the power of blogging. Blogs give you the chance to plug your site with keyword-rich content and build brand awareness. But, you shouldn’t stop there! Guest blogging on other reputable sites can increase your traffic exponentially. By having your brand on another site, all of their users will funnel to yours. Inviting guest bloggers to post on your site begets similar rewards. In the end, not only will you have promoted your site, but your name is opened to a multitude of new users through different platforms.

6. Slay SEO

Building your website’s content around the right keywords to generate qualified traffic is essential. Research keywords that generate good search volume, and are highly correlated with your product and services.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to go after competitors. Mimic the keywords your competitors are using for their content to potentially tap into their existing audiences, chances are they’ll be interested in your products too.

7. Don’t skimp on email marketing

In the rush to curate the greatest content, many businesses forget another crucial element that drives traffic back to their site, email marketing. Email marketing is a traditional method that proves its success time and time again. Even a simple sales campaign can do wonders for potential customers to take another look at what you offer. We caution against bombarding your email list, but, find the sweet spot when it comes to sending out weekly email campaigns to ensure you maintain and further expand your email list and subsequent site traffic.

8. Get loyal

We touched on loyalty programs above, but let’s get straight to the facts: Selling to existing customers is important to attract new ones. The magic of loyalty programs is to retain customers through repeated purchase behaviour, this works to increase customer experience and show that you aren’t only interested in their business, but to grow a lasting relationship.

9. Loyalty programs proven success

Any ecommerce owner who aims to grow their business can tell you that increasing customer loyalty is the easiest way to ensure success.

Loyalty programs create an incentive for new clients to repurchase and ensure existing clients feel valued.  How many times have you purchased a product or service from an online store and tell others about your experience with the company?

On our piece on ecommerce growth hacks, we highlight the importance of customer testimonials and reviews for website visitors. Loyalty programs motivate consumers to share their experiences, which leads to increased sales, company validation, and brand reputation.

With so much competition, word-of-mouth is more important than ever in ecommerce.

10. Cost-effective

We get it, you probably think putting money towards a program that you aren’t certain will result in success is risky. But, according to an article published by Forbes, it cost five times more to attract new customers than to nurture existing ones. Increasing customer retention rates by just 5% increase’s profits by 25% to 95%.

Now we’re not suggesting that you don’t market to new customers; We’re suggesting investing in your existing clients to increase satisfaction thus increasing revenue.

For more tips and hands-on advice, contact BlueSwitch today to turn your site into a hub of sales and high-quality traffic.

About the author

This blog post was written by Yasleen Trinidad, Digital Content Manager at BlueSwitch. BlueSwitch doesn’t just build websites, they build businesses. Their expert team of developers, designers, project managers, and marketing extraordinaire will take your new or existing business to another level of success. Guided by their project management team, they will help build a website that engages your customers and drives sales.