Josh Meah & Company Can Help Implement these 10 Powerful Strategies
An ecommerce marketing specialist is a digital marketing expert with a focus on B2C and B2B ecommerce. We spoke with Josh Meah and tried to tap into his knowledge of ecommerce marketing. Here’s what we found out in the interview and how his ideas become ecommerce marketing strategies to help online sellers boost traffic and revenues.
What is Ecommerce Marketing?
Ecommerce marketing involves the use of technology, tactics, and strategies to drive qualified customer traffic from search engines, social media, email, and other online marketing channels -- with the goal of converting web visitors into buyers and repeat customers.
The Job Description of an Ecommerce Marketing Specialist
An ecommerce marketing specialist is responsible for developing, managing, and maintaining online stores. They are also responsible for devising and implementing online marketing strategies based on the needs of the business and review of business analytics.
Best Ecommerce Marketing Channels
Marketing an ecommerce business today requires undertaking marketing efforts on multiple channels simultaneously. Multichannel or cross-channel marketing delivers more traffic and sales by synergizing the impact of marketing on individual channels. Top-performing ecommerce marketing channels include Google, Facebook, LinkedIn (particularly for B2B), and email -- taking care to make sure that marketing efforts are optimized for mobile devices.
10 Most Impactful Strategies Ecommerce Marketing Specialists Recommend
At JoshMeah & Company, we have achieved outstanding results for our ecommerce clients by deploying the following strategies.
#1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for Ecommerce Stores
Are you all stocked up and ready for customers? This can happen if you have developed your ecommerce website without paying attention to search engine optimization, aka SEO. SEO is the practice of elevating your website’s rank in search-engine listings. Here are the tips from Josh Meah to get your website to reach the top of search results.
Research your market to learn more about your customer’s intent and the keywords they use to search for your products
Use keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, AHREFS, or Wordstream to find more keywords related to your product or service
Categorize your keywords into coherent groups and use this data to structure your web store in an easy to navigate, SEO-friendly way
Include keywords in your page titles, Meta descriptions, on-page content, and Alt text (for image SEO)
Optimize site speed by consulting Google’s page speed insights and following Google’s recommendations
Implement SSL and shift your entire store from HTTP to HTTPS protocols
Publish high-quality content and build incoming links from high-authority domains
#2. Google Ads PPC (Pay per Click) Advertising
SEO is an ongoing process -- it takes time to produce the best results. PPC or pay-per-click advertising is the shortcut to the top of search results. PPC advertising works more quickly because it shows your ads to people already searching for products or services like yours. They are likely to have a high buying intent when they click on your ads and visit your website. Here are a few tips to get the most from Google’s PPC advertising.
Optimize your Google Ads account by arranging your target keywords into coherent Ad Groups
Make sure your select the correct keyword match type for each keyword
Include a mix of long-, medium-, and short-tail keywords in your campaign
Use Google Ads Extensions to showcase important areas of your product such as price, reviews, and more
Keep monitoring the performance of your campaign using Google Analytics and other digital insight tools
Remove low-performing keywords and increase your bids for the keywords that deliver more traffic and conversions
#3. Google Display Advertising and Remarketing
Display ads feature your products on Google Display Network (GDN), a group of more than 2 million websites, apps, and videos. That means your ads can potentially reach over 90% of internet users. Display ads allow you to include photos and videos and are great for creating brand awareness. Our ecommerce marketing specialist offers the following tips:
Start your display campaign with remarketing ads, which are also accessible from your Google Ads account
Remarketing shows your ads to lost visitors—people who came to your web store but left without making a transaction—as they visit other places on GDN
Use multiple ad formats including custom display ads, responsive ads, animated and non-animated image ads, AMPHTML ads, and HTML 5 ads
Follow the KISS principle -- Keep it Simple and Straightforward.
#4. Google Shopping Ads for Ecommerce
Technically speaking, these are not adverts, at least as far as the US market is concerned. Last year, Google introduced free listings under the Shopping tab for users based in the United States. Local businesses that also sell online can appear in these listings for free. Paid listings continue to exist and appear as before on top of the search results. Here are the steps Josh Meah recommends.
Configure your Google Merchant Center including your shipping settings and taxes (US only)
Link your Merchant Center with your Google Ads account
Create your product by following Google’s Product Feed Specification—an exhaustive list of essential and optional attributes for each individual product that you include in your feed
Submit your feed to Merchant Center by navigating to Feeds and clicking the big + sign
After your submit the feed, Google takes an average 3 to 5 days to approve or disapprove products for Shopping Ads
You can start your Shopping campaign after some of your products have been approved
Go to your Google Ads account. Select your linked Merchant Center account and start by creating a Standard Shopping Campaign
#5. Facebook and Instagram Marketing for Ecommerce
Now that you’ve gotten on top of ecommerce marketing on Google, it’s time to swing your attention toward social media. Facebook is the obvious first place for ecommerce businesses to start their social media marketing. We’ve included Instagram marketing in this section because Instagram has amazing response statistics and is owned by Facebook.
Create a Facebook business page and an Instagram business profile in consultation with an ecommerce marketing specialist
Complete your profile by uploading your logo and cover image and filling out your business details, including address, phone number, email, description, working hours, and other relevant fields
You can even set up shop on Facebook and sell directly using Commerce Manager, which allows you to have a branded storefront and sell your inventory on both Facebook and Instagram
Follow a posting schedule and share posts which rely mainly on images and videos. Video is forecast to account for 82% of all internet traffic this year.
Follow the 80/20 rule while posting. Use 80% of your posts to entertain and educate and only 20% to promote your products.
Use Facebook advertising to promote products and offers on Facebook and Instagram simultaneously
#6. LinkedIn Marketing and Advertising
LinkedIn is arguably the world’s largest networking platform. It is strictly focused on business and corporate, which makes it ideal for B2B ecommerce marketing. There are 55 million companies on LinkedIn, which is one of the reasons why 96% of B2B marketers use the network. Here are some of the steps an ecommerce marketing specialist takes to get your business up and running on LinkedIn:
Create a compelling LinkedIn company profile that appeals to your audience
Write an attractive company description; add a professional logo, your current contact information, website address, and other details
Use video on your profile page to make it more engaging
Share engaging updates regularly to build and grow your fan base
Add connections by following LinkedIn suggestions for inviting contacts and friends from your Facebook
Use LinkedIn live streaming to cover product launches and demonstrate your services or software
#7. Email Marketing for Ecommerce
Building your email list and connecting with customers via email is one of the most effective marketing strategies an ecommerce business can use. Email marketing gives you an edge by enabling you to market your products or services directly to a unique set of audience your competitors don’t have access to. Follow these tips from our ecommerce marketing specialist:
Implement lead capturing on your website, social media, and other online properties
Give an incentive, such as a discount, to encourage people to subscribe to your mailing list
Set up an appropriate email management program such as MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, or Klaviyo and automate email marketing
Some of the must send emails include abandoned cart emails, up sell and cross-sell emails, special offer emails, and loyalty emails
Write interesting emails that offer value to your subscribers(whatever you do, don’t be boring!)
#8. Mobile Marketing for Ecommerce
You are statistically more likely to be reading this post on your mobile rather than desktop. If youlook at your Google Search Console, you would see the majority of your traffic now comes from mobile devices. Mobile traffic has higher conversion rates than desktop, which is why most ecommerce marketers invest in mobile ecommerce or M-commerce. M-commerce sales were forecast to account for 54% of all ecommerce sales this year. Proceed as follows to set up M-commerce for your business:
Create buyer personas for your mobile customers and determine the best ways to reach and engage them on mobile
Optimize your website for voice searches as they already account for half of all searches, according to ComScore
Publish mobile-friendly content and optimize site speed to make sure your site delivers a great mobile user experience
Get into text message marketing as text messages have a 300% higher open rate and a 750% higher response rate compared to email
Use YouTube, Instagram and Facebook videos to engage your mobile customers who consume video at a ravenous rate
Use mobile search and display ads to boost store traffic and drive brand awareness
Depending on the response you get, develop a custom mobile app for your brand to stay in the minds, and mobile phones, of your customers
#9. Influencer Marketing for Ecommerce
Influencer marketing is an inexpensive yet very effective marketing strategy that an ecommerce business can use. Influencers are social media personalities trusted and followed by a large number of people. If you can find influencers whose followers match your audience and get those influencers to recommend your products, many of their followers are likely to try your product. Here’s what to do:
Find influencers on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other social media networks that you’re targeting
You can search for influencers manually using hashtags and social media search or you can use influencer marketing platforms such as Upfluence, HypeAuditor, Crowdfire, and others
Small- and medium-sized ecommerce companies should start with micro influencers who have from 1,000 to 10,000 followers
Short list the influencers most relevant to your business. They should have high engagement levels and their tone of voice and audience should be that same as those of your brand.
Reach out to those short listed influencers using email or social media messaging. You can find email addresses in their social media profiles or using tools such as Mailbiz or Voila Norbet.
Negotiate the rates and start marketing with influencers that align with your goals and budget
#10. Conversion Optimization for Ecommerce
The strategies we have discussed so far can drive qualified customer traffic to your web store. However, that traffic is of little use unless your visitors convert into paying buyers. That’s where conversion optimization comes into play. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) refers to the use of techniques and technologies that increase the number of conversions on your website. CRO is often an ignored area in digital marketing, with companies spending an average $1 for every $92 they spend on customer acquisition. Josh Meah suggests the following steps:
Write detailed product titles and descriptions and include your main keywords without compromising the readability and impact
Use high-quality images and video on your product pages or landing pages. Having a video on your sales page can boost conversions rate by 80%.
Collect customer reviews through your website, social media, and third-party sites such as TrustPilot. Feature the best reviews on your product pages to make it easier for your customers to trust your business and buy your products.
Display trust badges such as SSL certificate, Free Shipping and Returns, Satisfaction Guarantee, payment method badges, and industry memberships and certifications
Create a sense of urgency by showing limited stocks, limited-time offers, or a countdown timer. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a powerful buying trigger.
How Josh Meah Can Help as an Ecommerce Marketing Specialist
Josh Meah and his ecommerce marketing team can help you create and implement a robust ecommerce marketing plan that includes all of the strategies we have covered above, and more. Contact Josh today and discuss your ecommerce business in a free strategy session.
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