Internet advertising is currently the best way to reach potential customers. It allows you to use many channels that can be tailored to your needs and expectations. Nothing prevents you from investing in several forms of Internet advertising at the same time – such a multifaceted approach may increase the chance of achieving sales success and allow you to optimize your activities.

SEO – a way to reach the top of the search engine

Advertising for an online store begins with the presence of a website in the search results. Statistics show that web users choose mainly those websites that are on the first page of the search engine, less often on the second. If the online store is located on other pages, it is practically non-existent. That is why it is so important to reach the top – preferably TOP 10.

SEO helps in achieving such effects – a number of activities related to the optimization and positioning of the website. The first step is to optimize the store, which includes, among others meta tags, category descriptions, product descriptions, content.

The key activity in positioning is providing valuable links – in line with the chosen strategy. It is also no less important to create a friendly structure of the website itself for Google’s web robots that index the page. Moreover, many positioners believe that content is of key importance – its high quality, intriguing content and responding to the needs of the customer group we are interested in. Such a thesis makes sense considering the fact that the foundation of the Google search engine is the fact that it feeds on content and responds well to content that is attractive to its users.

You can take care of website positioning yourself. However, since positioning takes a lot of time and training, many companies decide to entrust work on improving visibility in the search engine to specialized agencies or freelancers.

It is also worth bearing in mind that positioning is a long-term process and requires attention. Of course, situations in which the website climbs upwards are common (a lot depends on the budget and competitiveness), but more often you have to wait at least a few months for the results. A lot of companies, however, invest in positioning because in the long run it is the cheapest method of advertising their website and also increases the value of the website itself.

Google Ads – the perfect advertisement for an online store?

Positioning an online store is a long-term process, so you have to wait for the results. To speed up customer acquisition, you can opt for Google Ads – it’s a paid advertisement for an online store.

The most frequently chosen form of Google Ads are sponsored links. It is about displaying the ad above the organic results after the user enters certain phrases (and sometimes also under). By clicking on the link, the internet user will be redirected to the online store or website with the service offer.

The Google advertising platform also allows you to run campaigns on external websites. Advertising for the online store will appear in the form of banners which, after intriguing the Internet user, will transfer him to a given page. This is the so-called Google advertising network, which basically brings together all relevant websites or blogs.

The third option – especially eagerly chosen by online stores – is Google Shopping. It is a tool that allows you to promote specific products directly in the search engine. How does it look in practice? When the user enters the name of the product in the search engine, your store’s offer will be displayed in a special box – along with the price and photo.

Paraphrase-Online.com customers are more and more willing to invest higher and higher budgets there, which speaks for itself – businesses invest where it is most profitable.

Google Ads also allows you to run Youtube ads that replace traditional TV ads. They offer much cheaper reaching better defined groups. Thanks to them, you can also create very wide-reaching campaigns and still save a lot of funds compared to other forms of brand advertising.

Okay, why is Google Ads the most-chosen form of advertising on the Internet? And why is it considered to be basically perfect?

First of all, it allows you to target your audience very well. The better selected group, the more effectively invested funds. If you spend $ 100 in a wrong group, you can get, for example, one client. Similarly, $ 100 spent in a group potentially more interested may result in acquiring, for example, two or 3 customers, which will reduce the cost of acquiring a customer by 50 or 66% – each optimization change of this type allows therefore to allocate the budget more sensibly, and Google Ads thanks to detailed options to reach it allows it.

Second, Google Ads is measurable. You know exactly how much it cost you to acquire a given client and you know where he came from and what led him to do so. Thanks to the connection with Google Analytics, you can even know how he traveled the page to finally decide to buy.

The third feature that makes Google Ads so valued is the form of settlement – most often in the CPC model, i.e. per click. Therefore, you do not pay for the fact that someone saw your ad, but for the actual click and redirection to your website. Honest.

Advertising on Facebook

While there are many social networking sites out there, advertising for an online store on Facebook – especially in certain industries – is the most popular. Thanks to it you can:
– conduct image communication with recipients – this allows for building and maintaining long-term relationships,
– acquiring leads – obtaining data from potential clients,
– advertise products directly.

The basis is to create a fan page, but even the best and most interesting entries will not allow you to reach a wide group of potential customers. Paid campaigns, which are distinguished by considerable flexibility, can be of help.

You can choose from:
– sponsored posts,
– Messenger ads,
– remarketing banners.

An interesting option is the so-called collection (carousel) going to the main section of a potential customer. Thanks to it, it is possible to present many specific products. Among them, there are often those that a potential buyer was looking for.

Facebook is attractive to advertisers because, like Google Ads, it allows you to reach selected target groups, but also allows you to interact with users. Ultimately, it can engage more than Youtube.

Content marketing – for better recognition

Content marketing is marketing activities that focus on different content. This is not a typical advertisement for an online store, because it most often complements other promotional channels and, for example, is an important element in the process of website positioning.

The essence of content marketing is to provide valuable content – useful from the point of view of the recipient. These are most often expert articles published on external websites, but also articles published on the company’s blog.

Such activities help build a positive image and increase brand awareness. In addition, they help in obtaining valuable links, which is important in the context of positioning.

In fact, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When thinking about content, we must have a huge range of possibilities at the back of our heads that are not only based on content but also form. The task of the content department may therefore be to create webinars, guides, trendbooks, lookbooks, infographics, books for children and whatever your heart desires. Each form used should be adapted to the expectations of a given group.

Advertising for an online store – what to decide on?

It is difficult to clearly identify specific channels that allow to achieve the best advertising results. It all depends on many factors – including your expectations, the needs of potential customers, the way the campaign is run and the industry.

Remember that the effectiveness of advertising for an online store is influenced not only by the type of selected channel, but most of all:
– correct determination of the target group,
– precise specification of the purpose of the campaign,
– systematic monitoring of the results.

The last point is especially important, because based on the results achieved, you can modify the ads – so that they bring even better results. Constant control allows you to simultaneously increase / decrease financial outlays for specific channels.

Advertising campaign – alone or with support?

If you are just starting to carry out activities aimed at promoting your online store, it will be difficult for you to implement the campaign yourself. It is possible as long as you have the appropriate knowledge – it is crucial, among others to precisely define the target group or to correctly configure specific ads.

If you want to be sure that the money invested in specific channels will not be wasted, rely on the support of professionals. Experts in the field of internet marketing will choose the right tools to make the process of promoting your store on the Internet more efficient. This will increase the chances of achieving the assumed goal, e.g. increasing sales, building brand awareness, acquiring leads.

Creating an online store is extremely hard work – even if you limit yourself to running it in a dropshipping model. However, despite everything, even the best designed and made online store will not become visible to search engines or recognizable among customers overnight. You need advertising for this to happen. There are no shortcuts here. It is worth emphasizing immediately that the effects of e-shop promotion are best visible in the long term and you often need to be patient. But this patience pays off – especially if the campaign is conducted in a thoughtful and consistent manner.

Where is the best place to advertise an online store?

Are you wondering how to approach the topic of online store advertising? First of all: before you act, plan what you will do. Especially that in the virtual world there is a lot of tools waiting for you that can be used to advertise an online store. However, if you rashly invest in advertising, without first specifying the basics, you may find that instead of gaining … you will only lose the funds spent on the campaign.

How to avoid it? Specify precisely the assumptions of the campaign before proceeding to the selection of channels through which the promotion will be conducted, as well as the content of messages that are to “go out into the world”.

What exactly needs to be specified before advertising?

A. What is the target group of your customers?
Who are you addressing your offer to? Are they recipients in a specific age range? A specific gender? With specific interests and lifestyle? Or maybe you want to reach a very wide group of customers? The more precisely you define your target, the easier it will be for you to plan communication and the better you will invest your funds. For this purpose:

– create personas representing the target audience of your products – give them symbolic names and surnames, specify their approximate age, needs, interests, expectations and possible objections, and even add sample photos,
– think about how the products you want to sell are supposed to solve their everyday problems,
– think what type of communication style will be appropriate in the advertisement – is it more “official” and neutral, or maybe “laid back” and bold?

B. brand DNA
Do you know what and to whom you want to sell? You still need to define what image your brand will have. What associations should the recipient build? What is it supposed to be associated with? With prestige? Or maybe with low prices and fast delivery? With high-quality products? Or maybe with “exotic” goods unavailable in USA in a stationary way? This will translate into both the manner of advertising and selected communication channels.

C. Objectives of the advertising campaign
What will be the aim of the conducted promotional campaign? If you are just starting your business in the e-commerce industry, first of all, you need to make potential customers aware that you exist on the market, and in the next step to build their trust. Only then will the campaign move towards promoting specific products and lead directly to the conversion. Most often you have to go through all these stages in order to gradually start to expand your portfolio of clients – not the one-time ones, but those who will come back again and again and recommend your services to friends.

So start by identifying a key campaign premise. Once that’s done, it’s time to define your specific goals. This can be, for example, an increase in traffic on the store’s website, obtaining sales leads, or strengthening the sale of a specific product. What course of action you choose will depend on what tools and channels will be used during the campaign.

D. Budget
How much money can you spend on an advertising campaign? Remember: it is not worth limiting expenses for promotion, because it is … very apparent savings. Why? Take a moment to consider where are you buying? In stores whose offers are readily available and visible in the palm of your hand, right? This visibility will not build itself! If you don’t tell the world about your store, nobody will hear about it and find it.
Nevertheless, there is no such thing as an unlimited advertising budget. It is worth knowing in advance how much money can be invested in the implementation of a specific campaign.

How to promote an online store?

Do you already know why you will advertise your e-shop, who do you want to contact and for how much? Now it’s time to choose the tools with which you will conduct the campaign. The decision is not easy at all because – as we mentioned – the number of options is really solid. Important hint: you don’t need to use all the available options during one campaign. Choose those that will match the assumptions of the promotional campaign or choose those that, with a limited budget, can potentially turn out to be the most sensible.

How? For example, a very large online store, which cares about huge ranges, may think about advertising using ATL channels, e.g. press, radio, and even television. However, this is a solution primarily for the largest players on the e-commerce market. Those who operate on a slightly narrower scale will focus on promotion mainly on the Internet.

So where to promote? The basic rule that is always worth having “at the back of your head” is: be where your customers are. Where? Here is an overview of the tools that are good to consider.

The advertising system provided by the Mountain View giant is the absolute basis of Internet advertising. Why? Simply put: because we all use Google, and the platform offers extremely wide opportunities to promote ourselves. What more can you reach for?

Sponsored Links
Where are the recipients looking for the products they want to buy? They very often start their hunt by entering a search term into the Google search engine, and then… they click on the first search results. However, sponsored links appear above them. The presence of your store in this section will increase the chances that its offer will be checked in the first place. Customers rarely distinguish an ad from organic results, and even so, these ads are very well targeted, and advertisers want the person who clicked on them to make a purchase. If the ad is set wrong, they will just blow your budget.

Google Shopping
In recent years, Google has improved its advertising tools and today one of the most interesting proposals for e-commerce is a “carousel” of products displayed in the search results – with photos and product prices. Such a mini catalog with promoted stores’ offers increases the probability that the recipient will click on your ad and then make a purchase!

Outdoor advertising
Google Ads is also advertisements displayed on various external portals – in the form of banners. This format, discredited some time ago, if only due to the fact that many internet users blocked banner ads, is now back in favor. For two reasons. First of all, more and more websites are introducing technological solutions to prevent ad blocking or asking their users to display them (it works!). Second, remarketing ads are widely used and are much more effective. What’s the thing? In remarketing campaigns, the recipient on the banners sees personalized ads that show, for example, the products he has previously viewed. Such constant reminders can be very persuasive!

Google Ads tools – as long as the campaign is run by a specialist with appropriate qualifications – can bring very good short-term and long-term results. Although the configuration of the campaign is seemingly very simple, in fact, specialists should watch over its course – they will make sure that every dollar invested in the promotion earns itself and brings the expected ROI. In the case of Paraphrase-Online.com, campaign optimization is entrusted not only to a specialist, but also to our self-learning algorithms that introduce even thousands of changes a day. This campaign optimization ensures that you invest resources in the time and place most appropriate for it.

Social media

If e-commerce advertising on social media is of course Facebook first. The portal founded by Mark Zuckerberg has today become a source of information, entertainment and inspiration. That is why it is worth being here and promoting your e-shop. How?

First, use the full potential of free solutions. So, first of all, run a fanpage of your e-shop. Regular, engaging posts will allow you to build a specific audience that will grow over time.

But that’s not all. On Facebook, you can use a wide variety of advertising tools. There are, among others:
– post promotion – so that they are displayed in the news feed of people from your target group,
– classic banner advertising,
– advertising in the form of a carousel of products – redirecting directly to the e-store,
– video advertisement, displayed during the presentation of film materials on the portal.

It is mainly these tools that the online store will use. Like Google, Facebook also allows you to set the purpose of the campaign and conveniently configure other details. It’s also easy to track the results your message is getting. Regular monitoring of the results allows you to implement any corrections in the campaign or draw conclusions for the future. Depending on the industry, remarketing on Facebook can also turn out to be very effective and it is worth to complement the activities carried out with Google Ads at least in the basic scope.

Remember that advertising an e-shop on social media is not necessarily just Facebook. Depending on the profile of your business, you can also reach your potential customers, e.g. on Instagram (especially in lifestyle industries), and even on LinkedIn (especially if you sell products intended more for business customers). Where is the best place to advertise an online store using social media? This question will be answered by e.g. an internet marketing specialist.

YouTube

Is YouTube a good promotion channel for an online store? In many cases, yes. And how to promote yourself in this medium? One of the options is to publish video ads that will be displayed during videos watched by users. However, it should be remembered that here you need to focus on short, several-second messages – especially since visitors to the portal most often “click” ads whenever possible.

But that’s not all. An increasingly common solution used by online stores is the so-called influencer marketing. In a nutshell, it is about starting cooperation with the creator running a popular YouTube channel and placing the store’s brand in its material. For example, online stores with cosmetics operate in this model. Collaboration can take many forms. An influencer can:
– mention in the material about the current promotion in a given e-store,
– recommend purchases on the site,
– offer your recipients a special discount code obtained in the affiliate program,
– link products used in the published video and available on the e-shop website.

A skilfully and unobtrusive campaign can result in a quick and significant increase in traffic in the e-store. However, it should be remembered that in order for such effects to last long-term, cooperation with influencers should be repeated regularly.

Another option offered by YouTube is … running a video channel through the store itself. What could happen to him? In the case of an e-shop, specific industry guides will work best. Valuable films will reach a wider audience, thanks to which they will work in the field of image and sales.

Are the places where it is best to promote the online store the only channels you can use? No! There is also a whole range of inbound marketing and PR tools that are worth paying attention to. One thing is certain: the campaign strategy should be developed and implemented wisely, preferably under the supervision of specialists. Then it takes place in an orderly, not chaotic manner, and above all – translates into the desired conversion.

We left the positioning of online stores for the very end. In the long term, it is usually the cheapest method of acquiring new customers. However, among all forms of advertising, it is also the most “investment” nature. By investing funds today, you can feel it only in 3 or e.g. 6 months. Therefore – even though most people do not set up stores to operate, for example, only for a year – most of them decide to position themselves only after some time. It cannot be clearly stated that this is a mistake. Every investor wants to achieve returns as quickly as possible and can do it with e.g. Google Ads. However, if at the beginning you have a slightly larger budget for advertising, then it is definitely worth conducting your marketing in two ways and in addition to what is “now”, think about what “later”. The sense of investment in positioning – in relation to your budget and needs, will also help you determine the specialist – in this case, the positioner.

First things first: don’t expect an instant return on investment from your online store. As in any business niche, e-commerce takes time to develop your business and guide your customers through the marketing funnel. However, if you think it is taking too long and your results have not flickered for a long time, you do need to do something about it. You cannot “add to business” endlessly. So what to do?

Look objectively at your e-shop activity

What aspects are worth taking into account?

The quality of customer service
What was the process of servicing customers who so far decided to use the services of your store? Was everything smooth and without problems? The ordered products reached the addressees on time, and the buyers received the goods as described? Or maybe there are some reservations and complaints? If so, how did you react to them?

There is a lot of competition in the e-commerce world. Today, you win not only with the lowest price, but also with the highest quality of customer service. If there are clashes and negative reviews follow, the chances of staying in business with a good result decrease.

If you notice that the sales process can be improved and streamlined – be sure to implement these changes! The more satisfied the customer with the cooperation, the greater the probability that they will recommend your store to their friends. The power of such recommendations can be very long!

Communication channels used
To increase the visibility of your e-shop, you need to be where your customers are. Is your e-shop present on social media, e.g. on Facebook? If so, is your profile active there? How often do new posts appear on it? Do you answer customer questions? What are you posting? Are there other customer reviews? These elements may be important because activity in social media builds awareness of your brand and creates its image.

Also remember that social media is a great place to promote e-shops. More about it in a moment.

Ranges
Take a look at how many people visit your e-shop each month. Combine this information with competition data. Why is the number of visits important? Because the number of transactions also depends to a large extent on it. Although it is obvious that not everyone who visits your e-store will automatically become its customer, each visit brings you closer to conversion, and the better the targeted group, the greater the probability.

In addition, the larger the ranges, the more valuable the page becomes in the eyes of Google’s algorithms, and thus – the higher its position in search results.

Take a closer look at your advertising strategy

Advertising is a trade lever – this well-known saying is more than just an empty phrase. It works very well for an e-commerce niche. With a huge number of online stores, you have to advertise. A well-thought-out, coherent and well-implemented campaign is the foundation of success.

So how have you advertised yourself so far? Did you only use free tools, e.g. ran a Facebook shop profile without even investing in advertising on this website? Or maybe you spent a lot of money on marketing, but it did not translate into return on investment?

In the latter situation, there may be many reasons for the failure of the campaign – from the wrong selection of the target group, through an inadequately formulated message, to incorrect setting of campaign parameters. This could happen, for example, if you did all these tasks yourself, and you are not an expert in digital marketing.

In theory, setting up an advertising campaign is simple. Exactly. In theory. In practice, not necessarily. Without a good action plan and its precise implementation, the advertising budget may go away, not even increasing the number of visits to the store, let alone conversions. Therefore, it is extremely important to optimize the campaign, i.e. target it so that it invests funds in groups where it is most profitable.

Does this mean you need to cut your advertising budget and focus on other aspects of your business? On the contrary! Money well spent on marketing will translate into the expected results and will allow you to finally spread your wings.

Effective advertising in e-commerce, which is what?

Marketing in the world of e-commerce can go two ways: outbound and inbound.

Outbound marketing is all tools that focus on actively looking for customers and convincing them to take advantage of the offer. Inbound marketing is based on inbound traffic – that is, conducting activities in such a way that the customers come to the company themselves.

A good strategy for an online store should include tools in the area of both of these strategies – so that you can achieve short-term goals (e.g. quick increase in sales in connection with a promotional campaign) and long-term (i.e. acquiring customers who will come back more than once, and even promote your business). The question is, what exactly to do?

There are tons of advertising tools you can use. One thing is certain: it is worth focusing on direct advertising, PR activities and SEO tools. Let us discuss them one by one.

Online store advertising

There are many advertising tools on the web. And so, e-commerce campaigns can be conducted, for example, using:
– Google Ads, such as product ads – it is worth making sure that products from the store appear in the advertising section in Google search results. Currently, the search engine presents a “carousel” of products above advertising links and from organic results. This is where you want to be!
– banner advertising – advertising banners, presenting, for example, the latest promotional campaigns and discounts, should go to, for example, portals whose content is identical to your offer.
– remarketing advertising – it can take many forms, but the rule is simple: if the customer has already visited your online store, the ads displayed on the banners will directly relate to his visit. For example, he will see specific products he has been browsing with a proposal to reduce their prices. This strategy works very effectively!
– ads in social media – on Facebook, these are ads redirecting to the store, placed in the news feed, as well as in the side panels of the website.

Large online stores also advertise in traditional media – on the radio and even on television. However, you can only afford it if you plan very large ranges and are sure that you can handle them logistically.

Remember: advertising, especially the banner one, is primarily used to achieve short-term sales goals. It is aimed especially at consumers who are already potentially interested in your offer and need an impulse to take action.

Image is important

Take care of it especially in the world of e-commerce. How to do it?

– Run profiles on social media – be where your potential customers are and interact with them. Which social media should you choose? Of course, Facebook is a must, also when you operate in the B2B area. Instagram and LinkedIn can also be useful.
– Join consumer feedback programs – give customers the opportunity to review your store and try to get as many authentic, positive recommendations as possible. Such an opinion may be encouraged by, for example, an additional discount on subsequent purchases.
– Think about working with influencers – especially if you want to sell on a large scale.

Increase your visibility

The reason why an online store may not be profitable may be that… it is invisible to Google’s algorithms. And if it’s not there, it may be harder for the customer to reach it. How to change it?

– optimize the content on the e-shop website – if you use product descriptions from their manufacturer, get rid of them. Such plagiarisms are poorly received by search engine robots and lower your rating. However, unique texts on the home page, as well as those containing categories, subcategories and specific products will strengthen your position;
– think about sponsored articles that will combine SEO and image functions. Thanks to them, you will gain valuable linking and engage customers at the same time,
– make sure that the e-store meets the applicable standards – it is, among others, o responsiveness of the website, as well as the loading time of the start page or smooth operation of the entire store,
– consider running a shop blog – it will serve as a guide for a potential customer, and will also be a great tool for long tail positioning.

Acquire valuable leads

When does a client become a client? Once he knows your brand, trusts it, is aware of your products and the need to purchase them. However, in order for him to be able to go all the way through the marketing funnel, you must first get in touch with him – so that you can stay in it for a long time.

The best way? Acquiring e-shop newsletter recipients. It’s quite a simple task – especially if you offer a 10% discount on purchases for entering your address. It’s worth it!

A long mailing list with the addresses of potentially interested people is a real gold mine. In well-matched e-mails in terms of content and graphics, you can:
– recommend new texts on the company blog,
– inform about current promotions and discounts,
– remind you about the products you offer.

This way you will stay in touch with the client and build a long-term relationship. And what next? Conversion is on the horizon!

There may be more reasons why your store “does not sell” – for example, a terrible website layout, difficulty in making a purchase (generally bad UX), or, for example, poorly selected payment or shipping options. It is worth auditing such a store to gain a holistic knowledge of what can be better in it.