17 Effective Strategies to Drive Traffic to Your Online Store

Attracting customers to your online store is essential for generating sales and growing your business. Without a steady stream of visitors, your online store will struggle to make sales and reach its full potential. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking that any website visitor is a good one, but in reality, sending low-quality traffic—people with no interest in what you sell—can negatively impact your conversion rates. To attract customers who are actually interested in buying from your online store, you need to implement effective strategies that drive targeted traffic. Here are 17 strategies that work:

1. Optimize your social media bios: Social media is a powerful tool for driving traffic to your online store. Use tools like Linkpop to create a landing page that diverts people to your most-viewed pages, such as product pages of bestselling items, popular item category pages, your brand story, lead magnet landing pages, and other social media profiles.

2. Partner with creators and influencers: Run influencer marketing campaigns to leverage popular social media users’ existing audiences to drive website traffic. Find creators and influencers whose target audience overlaps with your own and collaborate with them through sponsored content, free gifts, or affiliate partnerships.

3. Run flash sales and promotions: Offer discounts, limited-time sales, free shipping thresholds, and product bundles to attract customers to your online store. Promote these offers on social media channels and in Facebook Groups dedicated to ecommerce customers in search of deals.

4. Write optimized blog content: Use search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to create blog content that targets keywords your target audience is searching for. Optimize your blog posts with keywords, internal links, and backlinks to improve your search engine rankings and drive organic traffic to your online store.

5. Optimize your product descriptions: Write product descriptions that resonate with your target customers, address their pain points, and include keywords they are searching for. Take the time to create unique product descriptions that provide valuable information and differentiate your products from competitors.

6. Start a free quiz: Personalize your content at scale by creating a free quiz that engages visitors and collects their email addresses for future retargeting. Use tools like Octane AI to create interactive quizzes that drive traffic to your online store and convert first-time visitors into paying customers.

7. Create YouTube videos around trending topics: Take advantage of YouTube’s potential by creating videos around trending topics that appeal to your target audience. Use YouTube SEO best practices to optimize your videos for search and increase your chances of reaching potential customers.

8. Land press coverage: Pitch journalists directly or respond to requests from platforms like Help a Reporter Out to land press coverage on industry news sites. Share interesting stories about your brand, products, or collaborations to attract attention and drive traffic to your online store.

9. Build an email newsletter: Grow your subscriber base by offering lead magnets like free quizzes, coupon codes, or downloadable PDFs in exchange for email opt-ins. Use email marketing to communicate with potential customers and drive them back to your online store with targeted campaigns.

10. Use SMS campaigns: Collect mobile phone numbers from customers and run SMS marketing campaigns to drive traffic to your online store. Use SMS to promote flash sales, subscriber-exclusive offers, new product alerts, and provide customer service to improve your website conversion rate.

11. List your store on free advertising sites: Reach potential customers by listing your online store on free advertising sites like Craigslist, Google Business, Trustpilot, and Yelp. Create profiles, upload product listings, and write compelling descriptions to attract customers searching for products you offer.

12. Run Google Ads campaigns: Reach shoppers on Google by running Google Ads campaigns that target keywords related to your products. Experiment with different types of Google Ads, including search ads, display ads, and video ads, to drive targeted traffic to your online store.

13. Host a referral marketing program: Build a referral marketing program using apps like Referral Candy, Yotpo, or Bloop to reward customers for referring new customers to your online store. Encourage happy customers to do your marketing for you and drive traffic through word-of-mouth referrals.

14. List your business on review aggregator sites: Collect customer reviews and list your online store on review aggregator sites like Trustpilot, Google Business, and Yelp. Build trust with potential customers by showcasing positive reviews and ratings that influence their purchasing decisions.

15. Go local: Attend local events like craft fairs, trade shows, and pop-up shops to attract in-person shoppers to your online store. Hand out business cards, QR codes, or incentives to drive attendees to your website and process sales through your online store.

16. Host a giveaway: Engage with your audience on social media by hosting giveaways that encourage likes, shares, and follows. Use giveaways to attract attention, collect email addresses, and retarget participants with future marketing campaigns.

17. Run retargeting campaigns: Retarget previous website visitors who have shown interest in your products but haven’t made a purchase. Use retargeting campaigns on platforms like Facebook to remind visitors of products they viewed and encourage them to return to your online store.

By implementing these 17 strategies, you can attract targeted traffic to your online store, increase conversions, and grow your business. Experiment with different tactics, track your results, and optimize your marketing efforts to drive sustainable growth and success for your ecommerce business.