4 Essential Digital Media Methods Every eCommerce Should Master

For small businesses, eCommerce (also known as Electronic commerce) has drastically changed in recent years. A decade ago, eCcommerce was a game that only mid-sized or big businesses could effectively play. If a mom-and-pop business or entrepreneur wanted to sell products online, they were limited to doing it on eBay, unless they had thousands of dollars to invest into Web development and marketing.

Today, affordable and powerful eCommerce shopping cart software is abundant…there’re many eCommerce software solutions on the market that I would not hesitate to recommend. The solutions range from free open-source software, to paid SaaS (software as a service) software. (check back for an upcoming blog article with my eCommerce software recommendation.)

The purpose of this article is NOT to help you determine which eCommerce software is best for your business, the purpose is to touch on a digital marketing formula that will enable you to maximize sustainability and profitability of your eCommerce business.

For most of the previous decade (2000 – 2010), I spent my time operating my own eCommerce business  and consulting several other eCommerce business owners. During this time, I learned the essential process of marketing an eCommerce business and how to systematically grow it into a profitable operation.

Digital Channel Number One

Search Engine Optimization, also known as, SEO. The number one key ingredient for an eCommerce website to organically grow it’s visitors and online presence with SEO. You must optimize every single web page so that it is search engine friendly.

Digital Channel Number Two

Search Engine Marketing, also known as, SEM. The number two key ingredient for an eCommerce website is to drive traffic to it’s product pages. In order for you to sell products online, your customers have to be able to find your products. The quickest way to gain exposure is to modestly invest in pay-per-click advertising on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, or other ad platforms.

Digital Channel Number Three

Conversion Rate Optimization, also known as, CRO. The number three key ingredient for an eCommerce website (and perhaps the most critical) is to analysis, optimize, test and manage the user interface, SEO and SEM campaigns. CRO is the method of enhancing the user experience of your eCommerce website, with the goal of increasing the percentage of visitors that convert into paid customers.

Digital Channel Number Four

Last but not least, Email Marketing is crucial for eCommerce websites to master. It’s the channel that can produce instant and consistent sales.

SEO, SEM and CRO is not the only marketing an eCommerce web business should focus on, but it is a good start. I also highly recommend integrating lifecycle email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, and online PR programs. In my experience however…SEO, SEM and CRO should be the foundation of growing your traffic and converting it into sales.

If you found this blog post useful or would like to add something, please leave your comments below. If you need assistance with creating a SEO, SEM and CRO program for your eCommerce business, please email me your questions.

All the best,

Anthony