Top 5 Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Ecommerce Website

When you’re selling a product or service online, the most important thing you can do from a sales and marketing perspective is clear—drive more traffic to your site! The more traffic you attract, the more likely you are to make a sale. There are several steps you can take to draw more visitors to your site. Some may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many of these ideas are overlooked by site owners and builders.

drive more traffic to your e-commerce site

So, in case you’ve forgotten or never knew to begin with, here are the top 5 ways to drive more traffic to your ecommerce Web site starting today:

Killer headlines and minimal text

You’ve no doubt experienced this yourself when you’re shopping online for a product or service, or maybe even just researching a topic online – you run across a Web site that seems to be exactly what you’re searching for, only to click on the home page and be overwhelmed by wordy, dull headlines and too much text. If you’re like most people, your immediate response is to move on to the next site.

Keep headlines short and to the point. The trick is to keep the customer interested and engaged. Focus on how your services will benefit the potential client. Whatever you do, always remember what will be most important to your future customers. Keep it short – always 10 words or less – and highlight something you can provide for your client that sets you apart from your competitors.

Here are a couple examples:

Just okay: “Our cutting-edge security equipment provides excellent security”
Much better: “Your home is safe, no matter what”

Just okay: “Our cookware lasts for years and years”
Much better: “Cook up some family memories with XYZ Cookware”

Just as wordy, ineffective headlines can hurt your Web site, so can too much text. Give the potential client the information in as few words as possible, using bullets whenever you can.

A picture is worth a thousand words

We’ve all heard that old adage. But when it comes to effective Web sites, it has never been truer. People respond to images, so find some stunning photography for your Web site. This is particularly crucial for your Home page and About page, but it’s important to include compelling, attractive images throughout your site.

The subject matter of your images depends on your preference. If you sell security systems, for example, maybe you’d like to include photos of the state-of-the-art surveillance cameras and alarm systems that you sell. Alternatively, you may decide to include photographs that are related to the services you provide – a shot of a family relaxing at home, for example, secure in the knowledge that your company is keeping their home safe and protected.

And don’t underestimate the power of video. We’ve already established how images can make a difference. Now, multiply that by a factor of ten (at least) for the power of video! That is evident by the unprecedented popularity of YouTube. If you can, incorporate video on your own Web site – either as a marketing tool or as a way to educate your customers about your products or services.

If you’re looking for some nice images to use, check out www.fotolia and www.shutterstock.com

Do whatever is necessary to decrease your bounce rate

Remember your reaction to Web sites with headlines that are too long or that are too text-heavy? You immediately move on to another site. That’s what’s referred to as a “bounce.” There are several ways of decreasing your bounce rate, some of which we’ve already discussed – techniques such as improving headlines, reducing text and using eye-catching images helps.

But you can take other actions as well that will reduce your bounce rate – creating multiple landing pages with unique keywords, organizing the site in a logical way so that different topics are easy to locate, and utilizing Web site design (colors, fonts, images, etc.) to attract clients’ attention and hold onto it.

Another tactic is to employ heat maps. A Heat Map measures how visitors interact with your website. It will show you where visitors click (and where they don’t). By studying your heat map, you can learn what areas of your website visitors are drawn to and you can place products or sign up buttons where they’ll get the most notice from visitors.

Go to www.crazyegg.com and check out your site on their heat map!

Crazyegg.com confetti heat mapping for click analytics.

Improve navigation and performance in your site

Come at it from a potential customer’s point of view. Are topics easy to find? Are they presented in a logical sequence? Do the links make it obvious where visitors can locate the information they’re looking for?

Also, make sure to optimize your page-loading speed. Boring headlines, lack of graphics, too much text and disorganization may be deadly, but so is a site that keeps customers waiting too long for the next page to load.

www.gtmetrix.com is a good site that will provide you key stats on whether your site is zippy or whether it needs work.

GTmetrix for application and server level breakdown of page performance.

Become an answer guru for your industry

Start a blog or a forum on your Web site. Pose interesting questions or dilemmas and invite clients to do the same. Then – and even more importantly – provide good answers and resolutions to the questions asked. Take your newly formed position as answer guru beyond your own Web site, and offer answers to questions asked on sites such as Yahoo Answers or Quora.

And one more tip…

Be all over Social Media!

Most of us already understand the importance of Facebook and LinkedIn to spread the word about your products or services. But, if you haven’t done so already, now is the time to take social media marketing to the next level. Become a member of industry and join LinkedIn and Facebook groups. Better yet, start your own Facebook or LinkedIN group, providing answers to questions of potential clients. Be sure to include links back to your About page. Consider adding a Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest feed to your site. If you thought some of these visually oriented social media options were just for selling jewelry and sharing recipes, think again! Remember the power of images – that holds true no matter what you’re selling. All the while, offer helpful advice and guidance for your customers and potential clients.

When it comes to Ecommerce, nothing is more powerful than your own Web site. Fortunately, attracting more visitors to your site isn’t nearly as daunting a task as it may seem to be. Simply follow these few simple steps to increase your Web site traffic and your list of new customers!