What Is Ecommerce Marketing?

Ecommerce marketing is a method of increasing traffic to your online store and converting website visitors into customers. 

An ecommerce marketing strategy uses channels like social media, email, and SEO to build brand awareness, improve customer retention, and generate sales for an ecommerce brand. 

In this article, we’ll provide 13 tactics to enhance your ecommerce digital marketing strategy, strengthen your online presence, and convert more prospects into paying customers.

1. Focus on SEO

Focus on keyword research, structured data, and technical SEO to improve the visibility of your products in search engines like Google.

Keyword Research

First, dig deep into keyword research to discover what people search for and how they search for it.

Then, create content that answers the types of questions they’re asking. 

Here’s how: 

Use a tool like Semrush’s Keyword Overview. It compiles related keywords and topics you can use as a starting point. 

Type a keyword into the search bar. Let’s stay with the “running shoes” example:

You’ll then see relevant stats like keyword volume, keyword difficulty (KD), and search intent.

The “Questions” tab offers content ideas by showing you what people ask about the topic. So you could write a blog post about how often to replace running shoes, for example. 

Finally, there’s the “Related Keywords” section. 

For instance, say an athletic gear brand like Nike is looking for insights on the keywords “running shoes.” 

Keyword research can surface other comparable keywords to target. Such as "Nike running shoes," "running shoes for men/women," and “best running shoes.” 

Once you know what your audience is looking for, you can create valuable content that answers those questions. And help improve your brand’s visibility. 

Structured Data

A quick search for "running shoes for women" brings up the following search engine results page (SERP):

The panel at the top features relevant products from Google Shopping. Followed by sites for some of the biggest running shoe retailers.

Structured data (also referred to as schema markup) can help get your product listed in these visual areas on the SERP.

Product structured data are identifiers that make it easier for search engines to find and display information about your products in useful ways. 

In other words, it’s like a special language that tells search engines what each element on your site is and does. Then, they can show it to searchers.

Examples include reviews, product names, images, and others. 

Follow the steps in our guide to learn more about schema markup and how to implement it on your own site.

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions 

Finally, you’ll want to include meta descriptions and title tags on your pages.

The title tag is an HTML element in the head section that tells search engines what your page is about.

A meta description is a brief summary of your page. Google uses it to generate a snippet, or the descriptive text that appears in search engine results.

Let’s return to Nike's result in the Google search for women’s running shoes. 

Note that the meta description and tag are optimized for the keyword "women's running trainers and shoes.” This is a variation of the keyword used in the search. 

Nike's product pages also include everything a potential customer needs to know. For example, product descriptions, reviews, prices, plenty of images, and available sizes.

Those details also appear in the SERPs as rich snippets, showing extra details about your products like ratings and prices. 

All these elements combine to make up a successful ecommerce SEO strategy.

2. Create Blended Experiences with Social Commerce 

Social commerce is the process of selling products through social media marketing platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. 

Why is it a big deal? 

Simple—social commerce allows customers to purchase products without ever leaving the platform. 

For example, Oreo's Instagram page features a "View Shop" call-to-action (CTA) button. It allows visitors to view products and make purchases directly on the platform.

Cutting steps reduces friction and allows visitors to seamlessly complete a purchase. 

Blended social experiences and ecommerce transactions are powerful tactics in any ecommerce marketer’s toolkit. 

And the practice is taking off. 

In 2023 alone, sales via social media platforms across the world were expected to add up to $1.298 billion. 

Marketers looking to get started with social commerce have plenty of options. 

For example: 

• Adding shoppable videos to your content mix 
• Putting “Buy Now” buttons on social pages
• Adding native checkout options to your accounts

These additions create a seamless customer journey from discovery to purchase. Removing friction and reducing decision-making time.

3. Engage Potential Customers with Retargeting

Retargeting brings would-be customers back to your ecommerce website by sending time-sensitive notifications and reminders.

Abandoned Cart Alerts

You can use apps like Shopify’s SMSGo to retarget customers and recover abandoned carts.

Image Source: Attentive

Why try retargeting?

Because abandoned carts don't always indicate your customer found a better alternative.

It could mean they didn't have their card on hand. Or, they got confused by the checkout process. 

Research backs this up. 

For example, Barillance scored a 20.3% conversion rate by sending an SMS to would-be customers within an hour of abandoning their carts. 

Ad Retargeting

Another form of retargeting is web retargeting. These campaigns use cookies to display ads to website visitors after they’ve left the site.

Here's an example: 

Say you’re shopping for rings on the jeweler Lynyer's website. 

A day later, you see this ad on your Facebook feed:

This pay-per-click (PPC) retargeting ad is aimed at customers already engaged with the product. The "Shop Now" buttons simplify the process and make it convenient to complete your purchase.

4. Optimize for Mobile Shopping

Take advantage of mobile shoppers by ensuring your ecommerce business site is easy to use on smartphones and tablets.

For example, clothing retailer Zara’s mobile site has pinch-to-zoom images and scannable product descriptions. 

Some other things Zara gets right: 

• Effective overall design 
• High-resolution preview images
• The "scroll down" feature shows multiple views of the product from different angles

Many retailers also create a separate app to further personalize the shopping experience. 

A well-designed ecommerce app helps customers browse products quickly, make repeat purchases, and save checkout information for ease of use.

Insider Intelligence predicts mobile ecommerce sales will comprise over 40% of ecommerce sales in 2024.

Create a smooth mobile shopping experience for your customers by: 

• Reducing page loading times on mobile
• Simplifying forms and test layouts
• Optimizing product images for mobile devices

Mobile shopping represents a huge chunk of the overall ecommerce market. So, investing in the mobile experience is always a good idea.

5. Invest in Influencers 

Influencer marketing campaigns showcase your product in action and create a positive narrative around it. 

But influencers also build credibility. An Oracle study found that 37% of consumers trust social media influencers over brands. 

For example, Jasmine of @LifewithJazz is an influencer on TikTok and Instagram. She creates outfit inspirations for workwear and daily fashion.

Source: lifewithjazz on Instagram

Jasmine collaborated with the clothing company Madewell to highlight day-to-night spring staples from its latest collection. Then, showed how she would style them in her videos.

She also uses the hashtags #ad, #everydaymadewell, and #madewellpartner to transparently signal the collaboration to her followers.

Considering influencer marketing for your ecommerce brand? 

Try building partnerships with “micro” or “nano-influencers.” 

These influencers have fewer than 100,000 followers but a strong niche audience appeal. They also tend to have higher engagement rates. 

For example, nano accounts on TikTok (1K-5K followers) have an engagement rate of 15%. While accounts with over 1M followers average around 10%.

So, how do you find influencers and create a partnership?

Start by researching which influencers are popular with your target audience. 

You can use Google or Instagram to see which influencers your followers are talking about. Then, find ones that match your desired criteria.

Semrush’s Influencer Analytics can make this process even easier.

It helps you find niche influencers and tracks their performance by providing insights into the channels they use, their audience demographics, and engagement metrics.

You can filter influencers based on their subscribers, channel, country, price, and other criteria.

Once you find the right fit, pitch them.

In your pitch, explain what you expect from the partnership, such as user-generated content (UGC) or lifestyle photos with your product. You can offer an incentive like free products or money in exchange for their help.

Remember—influencers know their audiences. Give them the freedom to get creative, share insights, and make content that appeals to their followers. 

6. Create a Loyalty Program

An accessible and user-friendly loyalty program encourages repeat purchases throughout the customer lifecycle. It also positions your brand as a customer-centric business.

Loyalty matters because customer acquisition is much harder than customer retention. 

An Invesp study found the probability of selling to an existing customer is between 60%-70%. Compare this to 5%-20% for new customers.

Getting good value is the main reason people regularly buy from businesses. And a third specify it’s the benefits and rewards that come with a solid loyalty program. 

To create a successful loyalty program, keep these tips in mind:

Make It Personal

Offer personalized recommendations on products and sales. For example, the beauty company Sephora tailors its Beauty Insider program to each member.

Sephora's loyalty program doesn't rely on the "earn-and-burn" point systems that allow members to redeem points for discounts and rewards. 

It's a personalized loyalty program that integrates into the broader customer and brand experience. With product suggestions, exclusive offers, incentives, and birthday gifts.

Offer Exclusive Benefits for Members

Sephora also offers free gifts to members on their birthdays. This small act of personalization goes a long way to showing customer appreciation.

The brand also provides special access to customers on sales and events, which helps members feel valued and appreciated.

Why is this important?

Around half of the respondents in a Deloitte study said getting special recognition that others don’t is important to them. 

That’s one more way to keep your customers happy.

Offer Referral Perks 

Sephora recently held a sale where loyalty program members could share their discounts with friends.

Source: Sephora

Referral programs are a great way to turn your loyal shoppers into brand ambassadors. 

For context, 80% of the programs in the Deloitte study have shifted toward a mobile-first loyalty strategy. 

App-exclusive offers create a cohesive experience and encourage customers to download it. That builds momentum toward an omnichannel loyalty program.

7. Hyper-Personalize Emails

Customize emails to individual subscribers based on interests and behaviors to boost engagement and encourage repeat purchases. 

For example, Fashion Nova sends product recommendations based on past searches.

Source: Really Good Emails

The brand also provides a promo code right at the top to create an irresistible offer.

It’s the personalization that makes this strategy effective.

But email personalization isn't just about adding the recipient's name to the greeting or subject line. Instead, create a unique inbox experience for subscribers and make it about them. 

Think about it—the average person receives over 100 emails per day. What would make them open yours?

It could be:

• An attractive subject line
• A customized offer or sale
• New products you’d like (similar to previous purchases)

This strategy is taking off. 

Around half of marketers incorporated personalization in their email marketing strategy in 2022. 

And 76% of consumers get frustrated when companies don't bother personalizing interactions.

You can begin personalizing yours by segmenting your email list.

Dive into your client relationship manager (CRM) and sort contacts based on preferences and past purchases. 

Then create specific buyer personas from your customer base according to purchase history, demographics, and location. 

Segmentation is the foundation of this strategy. It lets you zero in on these personas and create personalized email campaigns for each group. 

8. Optimize for Voice Search 

Voice search optimization is the process of improving the visibility of your website in response to voice search queries. 

The best way to do that is to optimize your content for natural language searches.

Let’s say you ask Siri, "What are the top noise-canceling headphones?" 

Here, you get multiple roundup review results from websites like TechRadar and PCMag.

But what if you simply say, “Noise-canceling headphones”? In this case, Siri doesn’t suggest any result. 

Why?

Because the voice recognition function is programmed to respond to the way people speak—conversationally. 

Understanding search intent and how people phrase their queries can help your content turn up in voice searches. And it’s a critical component of successful ecommerce marketing strategies. 

Remember, half of the U.S. population uses voice search features daily. And more than one-third use them at least once a week. 

You want to ensure those users can find your products.

When typing a query into a search engine, people tend to stick to keywords. 

But with voice searches, they're more likely to phrase their query as a question. Or request with trigger words like "who," "what," and "where."

To get started with voice search, optimize for different queries and create content in an easily digestible format. 

You can also create FAQ sections to anticipate user queries and answer them in a conversational tone.

Voice search heavily depends on search intent and context. So optimize your website for natural language queries and play around with phrases to see which ones work best.

Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool can help. It provides commonly asked questions based on specific keywords.

Let’s stick with the “noise-canceling headphones” example.

The search brings up almost 2,000 questions about the topic.

So, you could write a roundup of the best noise-canceling headphones that shows up in voice search results and brings more attention to your brand.

9. Create a Strong Presence on Marketplaces 

Optimize your product listings in marketplaces like Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, and Etsy to help customers compare your products, read reviews, and shop in one place. 

Optimization includes using relevant, highly searched keywords in your product title and description. And adding engaging copy that highlights your product's benefits. 

Here's an example from Eucerin’s hand cream on Amazon:

The product description is in bullet points, which makes the section skimmable. Also, the copy doesn’t just list the features. It conveys the benefits that communicate the product’s value. 

You don’t just want your pages to rank in a marketplace search. You also want them to convert buyers. 

This process starts with creating unique descriptions of your product’s features and benefits. Your aim is to convince shoppers that your product is the one they’re looking for. 

Eucerin also includes plenty of high-resolution images in the listing. These additional angles of the product give shoppers a better idea of what they're getting.

Amazon and other ecommerce marketplaces sometimes use algorithms to provide suggestions for customers to purchase related items. 

Although you can’t set these recommendations directly, you can create opportunities for cross-selling by listing related and complementary products.

Eucerin’s listing groups a face & body cream and a healing ointment with the hand cream:

This combination widens the net and allows customers to purchase all three products at the same time.

10. Offer Multiple Payment Options

Set up your site to accept popular forms of payment to accommodate customers' different needs and preferences. 

That can include debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Google Pay, and other digital wallets.

For example, retailer Coach offers shoppers the option to use debit, credit cards, or PayPal.

But it also offers Klarna. 

Klarna uses an emerging payment method known as buy now, pay later (BNPL).

It helps customers split their purchase amount into easy payments to buy what they need and pay over time. 

This payment method is especially convenient, given rising inflation. By 2025, BNPL could account for 5% of global ecommerce payments.

Approximately 11% of customers abandon their carts due to a lack of preferred payment methods. 

Multiple options mean potential buyers should be able to find one that works. This choice makes the payment process smoother and reduces barriers to customer conversion.

11. Promote Quick Commerce

Simplify the shopping and checkout process to improve the chances of purchase. 

For example, requiring shoppers to create an account to make a purchase can be a major deterrent. 

Retailer H&M allows guest checkout to mitigate this friction point:

Instead of asking for tons of information, the brand allows people to make purchases with basic details for faster purchasing. Like name, phone number, billing and shipping addresses, and email address.

Research by the Baymard Institute highlighted that 17% of shoppers abandoned carts because of complicated checkout processes. 

Fast shipping also helps reduce friction during the purchase process and increases the chance of conversion.

That’s Amazon Prime's main selling point. 

Modern shoppers are busy, and they want their products quickly. 

In a 2021 survey, 69% of consumers said they were more likely to click a display ad that mentioned fast or free shipping. 

And 77% said they were more likely to purchase an item if it could be delivered to them in two days or less.

It’s a powerful purchase prompt. So, consider it as part of your ecommerce marketing plan.

Another popular time-saver is click-and-collect. In other words, buy online and pick up in store.

Between 2019 and 2021, click-and-collect grew by 106% in the U.S. alone. 

Why?

Because the feature eliminates the need to wander around physical stores looking for products. Therefore, it guarantees the in-person visit will be productive.

12. Create Video Content

Video content helps your brand connect with customers, increase sales, and promote products in action. 

NordicTrack creates a variety of video content to show how its products work. 

For example, this product explainer video of its new S22i Studio Cycle highlights the bike in action:

Its TikTok channel also shares helpful content like these post-run stretches.

Video marketing is a playground for telling stories that your audience cares about. It also provides insights into businesses and products. 

But that’s not all it does.

A study by Wyzowl also highlighted that 87% of marketers say their video marketing efforts increase sales.

To get started with yours, create helpful and funny videos that provide value to shoppers and build customer loyalty.

For example, explainer videos (brief, engaging videos that explain how something works) are a great way to highlight new products.

You can also use them to feature user-generated content, answer questions, or address concerns. 

They’re an effective way to connect with prospective customers. Around 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.

Helpful content like this provides value to shoppers and builds customer loyalty. 

When you go out of the way to provide useful knowledge, customers see you as an expert. You also increase the chance they’ll turn to your brand when looking for answers.

13. Use Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) creates immersive shopping experiences by helping people visualize your product in their environment. 

For example, IKEA Place allows customers to virtually place 3D furniture in their homes and check if it fits their space.

The app is true to scale and gives customers confidence in their purchases. Because it’s less likely the furniture won’t fit, or the customer won’t like it in person.

Implementing AR in your app or on your site offers customers the possibility of virtual try-ons, tours, or demos of your product. That’s why it’s especially useful in the interior design and real estate categories.

But AR experiences aren’t just for trying out furniture. Kits.ca allows customers to virtually try glasses and see how different frames look on them. 

A near-realistic try-on experience like this fills the gap between a physical store and an ecommerce store. Saving customers a trip and reducing the chance of returns.

AR gives consumers an enhanced sensory experience. 

They can place furniture or try on clothes in a virtual showroom, as in the above examples. Many AR tools also integrate with social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.

Business owners can even create interactive user manuals that show how a product works in the real world. 

Note AR hardware is expensive, and installation can be complicated. But if you’re ready to take your ecommerce to the next level, it’s a great option.

Use Semrush to Create a Cohesive Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

The best ecommerce marketing strategies integrate different digital marketing channels, consider trends, and create content that resonates with your shoppers. 

So, shift your focus from transactions to the customer experience.

That will help you maximize your conversion rate optimization (CRO) and improve customer loyalty.

Start with Semrush’s Topic Research tool to understand customers’ needs and preferences. 

That way, you can maximize your return on investment with data-backed decisions.