If you have an eCommerce store, you’ve come to the right place. Today we will share five cornerstone strategies to add to your eCommerce marketing strategy to help to generate profitable and consistent sales via digital channels.

Spend time optimising product pages

Information conveyed on your product pages is of critical importance. This information is not only necessary for converting customers who are browsing your site. It is also vital for both paid and organic traffic generation.

Paid – Scraped by Google/Facebook for use with Shopping and Catalogue campaigns

Organic – Crawled by search engine bots for influence with SEO rankings

As you can imagine, the volume of traffic that can be taken advantage of here is huge, as poorly setup product pages lead to low rankings on search engines, and small traffic volumes via paid ads.

The question you are probably asking now is “how do we ensure that product pages are set up correctly”? The answer is actually fairly straightforward:

Product Copy – It is important to use a product title that has high levels of search volume, and a description that succinctly communicates both the features and advantages of your products. Include reviews on every page, and push all customers to leave a review post-purchase.

Product Visualisation – Image optimisation is crucial, and you should use unique images that are clear, clean, and taken from multiple angles. Videos are also becoming more important and can lead to large increases in conversion rates.

Use a good shopping cart

Two key players hold the lion’s share of eCommerce store shopping carts. These are Shopify and Woocommerce. Both platforms are great, and you can’t go wrong with either. But it is important to weigh up their strengths and weaknesses before deciding on which platform to use.

Shopify is great if you are building a new business website from scratch, as it is an all-in-one package that allows you to easily build your own store at the same time as your website. There are also some very handy apps for integrating with advertising and analytics platforms.

Woocommerce is a plugin for use with WordPress websites, which makes up an astonishing 35% of all websites. The Woocommerce plugin is easy to configure and helps turn your website into a fully-fledged eCommerce store.

We recommend that you use Shopify If:

  • You need to build a new eCommerce website from scratch
  • You value around the clock support assistance
  • You value automatic, high-quality website security
  • You have limited website building/design experience

We recommend that you use Woocommerce If:

  • You use a pre-existing WordPress site
  • You have a background in website development, and can comfortably work inside a CMS
  • You want to avoid purchase fees, as Shopify Payments charges a small fee per transaction

Split test Shopping / Dynamic Product Campaigns

Within today’s retail advertising landscape, Facebook and Google are the leading platforms competing for your hard-earned marketing budget. Both of these platforms are worth testing against each for driving traffic and generating conversions. Both work well, and there are many variables at play when it comes to achieving success with either (i.e. competition/consumer awareness/testimonials/creative).

Google’s Shopping campaigns consist of a website Product Feed that is linked to a Merchant Center account, which is then linked to a Google Ads account. Sound complicated? It can be initially, but Google offers some very helpful support guides for getting things set up.

Once set up, these Shopping campaigns appear on the top of Google’s search results, when a user searches for keywords related to your products, and more recently across the Google Display Network (which consists of over 2 million websites).

As a result, these ads are intent-based and depend on users actively searching for what you are selling.

Facebook Product Ads, on the other hand, advertise your products to selected audiences on the Facebook network. This can be through any manner of Facebook targeting, from past website visitors to Lookalikes of previous customers, or broader interest-based targets.

In order to set up a Facebook Product Ads, you’ll need to create a product feed within your website, and link it to the associated Product Catalogue within the Facebook account.

Facebook can dynamically serve products to users based on their browsing history, so that ads are served showing product(s) that each individual user is more likely to be interested in.

Both of these platforms have the power to generate an eye-watering return on investment, and we advise that you test both thoroughly before either picking between them, or running both in tandem. Always let your eCommerce sales data dictate where to best spend your marketing budget.

Optimise your shopping ads

Both Facebook and Google eCommerce marketing campaigns require ongoing optimisation. It is necessary to ‘tighten the net’ in terms of audience reach so that our campaigns generate the highest return on investment possible. Here are some quick optimisation tips for both platforms:

Google Shopping Ads

  • Check the search terms report and regularly add negative keywords
  • Check how product categories / specific products are performing, and pause where necessary
  • Test different bid strategies – i.e. Target CPA / Maximise Clicks / Maximise Conversions
  • Assess competitors via the Auction Insights Report and adjust product prices where necessary
  • Add observation audiences to the campaign (i.e. remarketing / interest groups), and adjust bids based on revenue data

Facebook Product Ads

  • Test different ad formats against each other. I.e. Carousel vs Single Image
  • Test different styles of ad copy. I.e. Testimonial vs Unique Selling Points vs Special Offers
  • Test different audience targets. I.e. Lookalikes vs Broad Interests vs. Remarketing
  • Test different payment strategies. I.e. CPM vs CPC
  • Test different bid strategies. I.e. Lookalikes vs Broad interests vs Narrow Interests vs Remarketing

Automate email marketing

Email Marketing automation is arguably the single most important marketing investment a business can make. If you are spending large amounts of money driving new traffic to a web store, it is critical that you also have email automation integrated with every aspect of the purchase journey. Here are some segments that benefit massively from tailored email marketing campaigns, and promotions that are generally most successful:

Users who subscribe to the website mailing list

  • SALE campaigns
  • New Products added to the store

Users who complete part of the purchase funnel but fail to enter payment details

  • SALE campaigns
  • Coupon Code for finalising previous purchase
  • New Products added to the store

Users who have purchased from you in the past

  • SALE campaigns
  • Accessories related to previous purchases
  • New Products added to the store

Hopefully, you’ve found the above tips helpful for setting up a successful eCommerce store. If you run into any issues along the way, feel free to reach out to the team at Sprocket Digital.

Author: Josh Sexton – Digital Performance Director at Sprocket Digital

Grow Your 
Business Today

Taking the first step is the easiest part with Sprocket Digital. Simply describe your company and schedule a free no-obligation consultation to find out how we can help scale your business and increase your revenue.

    What best describes your business?

    How long have you been operating?

    What is your current monthly turnover?

    What Services Are You Most Interested in

    How much are you willing to invest in online marketing per month?

    How Soon Do You Want To Start?

    To schedule a free no-obligation consultation, simply enter your details below and one of the team will be in touch!

    Where did you hear about us?

    What Our Clients Say About Us

    With well over one hundred 5-star Google reviews, its safe to say we are the real deal. Client relationships and demonstratable results are our priority. If you'd like to know more, we'll even let you talk to some real clients.

    Nudi Point ★★★★★ FINALLY... a digital marketing company that actually gets the results. This is the 5th business I have dealt with in the last 7 years - and the only business that has proven results. Our sales have increased hugely and it's only been 1 month. Harry is amazing to work with and the whole team at Sprocket Digital know exactly what they're doing. The results speak for themselves. Highly recommend!Maggie from Astound Smile ★★★★★ We have worked with a couple of other agencies that did not deliver and I'm impressed with the level of service, support & results we get from Sprocket. Within a few weeks of working with Sprocket, we can see immediate improvement on our sales. Harry and the team has taken the time to understand our business and continue to work on delivering results. We look forward to continue working with Sprocket to grow our business. If you are looking for a result-focused agency, you can't go wrong with Sprocket!Beautiful You Holidays ★★★★★ Covid lockdowns meant complete operational shut down for our small NZ owned business. However, in the last few months we have finally got back up and running again with the help from Josh and his Sprocket team.Their understanding, resources and communication has been unwavering in this process and we have seen measurable results month on month. Trust plays a big role in digital marketing and I believe their formula is full proof.Sprocket has had a big role to play in getting our small business back on it's feet. I couldn't recommend this company enough!NZ-Online-Pharmacy ★★★★★ The results speak for themselves. Our website has been lifted to the next level, in both hits & resulting translations into physical orders. Thanks Kieran & Team!Ketaki Rasmussen ★★★★★ Sprocket has experts who can take your digital marketing to the next level, and you get personalised service with a dedicated account manager to help you achieve growth. Great to deal with.Speednation ★★★★★ Outstanding, the team at Sprocket have been tremendous, and taken our store to the next level. Ronnie and the team are on to it and get things done quickly to a high standard. If you are looking for a marketing team, this is your one stop shop for all your marketing needs!Team at Speednation.co.nzcam scott ★★★★★ So far all of my requests from Sprocket Digital have been handled very professionally and timely. I am really enjoying the level of communication and how easily approachable the team is.Andrina Shieffelbein ★★★★★ Sprocket has been amazing for my small buisness! Can't recommend enough if you want results from your advertising!Meelee Joe ★★★★★ Great working with the team at Sprocket Digital! We found the company friendly, accomodating, and they helped us to develop our knowledge of the business analyticsLance Metz ★★★★★ Sprocket has been an incredible digital marketing partner, helping us grow our monthly turnover. They are extremely helpful and are quick to respond to any needs we may have. I would highly recommend for any company looking to take on a digital transformation journey.Matt Boylan ★★★★★ This is the second time I have used Sprocket Digital in my role as Marketing Manager for small to medium sized businesses. Given our marketing team is very small and we don't have a specific digital marketing resource internally, it gives me peace of mind knowing that all our digital needs are being outsourced to Sprocket. On both occasions of working with Sprocket, the team have very quickly got up to speed on our business. The setup is seamless and my regular meetings with the team help to identify opportunities for us to leverage. The entire team are really knowledgeable and down to earth even though they have some very experienced people working on our account. I would highly recommend Sprocket to any other business who wants expert advice and guidance on their digital marketing with an accessible and down to earth approach.Dylan Carter ★★★★★ Sprocket Digital is the real deal! They have turned our company around in our initial month of working with them and I could not recommend them more.The team is super helpful always making the time to have meetings with us and answer our endless amounts of questions.We are looking forwarded to working with them for the long term!Richie Stott ★★★★★ It has been a seamless transition to Sprocket and they have delivered on the goods. Very happy with the service and results. Our account manager, Kieran is great to deal with.Chris Sinclair ★★★★★ Great team to work with, we've experienced growth from day 1 and we're still going! Thank you team Sprocket DigitalMegan Blincoe ★★★★★ We are a new Client of Sprocket and I cannot fault them! Especially Ethan, he has been so available and clearly knows what he's talking about. He has been very patient with us and has thoroughly updated and explained every part of the set up and progress to date. Highly recommend using Sprocket DigitalAlastair Pope ★★★★★ Harry and the Sprocket team have been amazing in connecting with and successfully converting a new audience for our business. During these challenging economic conditions, the additional revenue they've generated has proven to be invaluable. Their professional, transparent, and data-driven approach has rekindled my confidence in the agency model.Josef Arnet ★★★★★ Sprocket Digital has been great to work with and has provided great inside and addition to the digital side of our business (Kitchen Things) their SEO team is fantastic and Harrison their Email marketing specialist is an absolute savant when it comes to knowing how set up email campaigns, templates as well as automatic email flows and the logic required to make them impactful and effective for a business. They always continue to impress with the work they do.Gabi Metz ★★★★★ Working with Sprocket has been so easy! Like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders. And the results so far have been fantastic!Sheree Palmer ★★★★★ Great Team to work with, communication is great and they are actively engaged with working with you.js_loader

    THIS IS SPROCKET

    Client Testimonials

    Louvretec

    Sprocket Digital manages all of Louvretec’s digital advertising across Australia and New Zealand, focused on gaining a higher volume of quality leads and standardising advertising creatives across all their locations.

    knowledge Hub

    Tackling the Challenge: How to Respond to a 1 Star Review on Google My Business

    5 MIN READ

    How to Identify Phishing Scams on Facebook Messenger

    MIN READ

    AT SPROCKET, 

    WE’RE GEARED FOR GROWTH

    0800 365 413

    Level 1/694 Great South Road, Penrose, Auckland [email protected]
    Sprocket Digital
    5.0
    Based on 126 reviews
    js_loader
    storemenu