We've all heard the saying "just because you build it, doesn't mean they will come."
There's no better example of this than when you're building an online store. Despite pouring hours into getting your site ready for business, there's no guarantee that buyers will magically appear.
Fortunately, there are many tried-and-true ways to get people clicking on your store. Crack open this quick guide to learn how to drive traffic to your online store.
Just starting your business and getting your feet wet in eCommerce? Explore all of Wix’s helpful tools, including its eCommerce website templates, store name generator and eCommerce website builder.
But first, is your eCommerce site optimized for sales?
Whether you’re just building your eCommerce website or have been in eCommerce for a while now, it’s always a good idea to periodically check that your site is still easy to navigate and optimized for sales. No matter how ingenious your marketing campaigns may be, a site that’s clunky or outdated can scare off customers faster than you’d think. To this end, here are several things to look out for:
Organize your site with a clear structure and CTAs: Make sure shoppers can easily navigate your site and find what they’re looking for. If your product catalog isn't displayed directly on your site’s homepage, add a prominent “Shop Now” or “Start Shopping” button that leads customers to the right pages.
Speak to a specific target audience: Think from your customers' shoes when you're writing your product descriptions, designing your homepage and/or setting your prices. If customers don't feel that your brand is tailored to them—chances are, they'll exit your site as quickly as they entered.
Remember that photography is king: We’re living in a visual age. High-quality product photography is a must-have, allowing customers to envision themselves using your product. Aside from static product photos, include product videos and/or user-generated content that can serve as powerful social proof.
Don't skimp on product details: Make sure that your product descriptions are detailed and accurate. The last thing you'll want is for customers to shy away from making a purchase because they have more questions than answers after looking at your product listings—or, if they do make a purchase, you'll want to avoid an influx of returns due to "item not as described."
Offer a seamless checkout process: An overly complex checkout process is one common cause of abandoned shopping carts online. Simplify the checkout process as much as possible while also accepting various forms of payment. By using Wix Payments, as an example, you can accept everything from major credit cards to Apple Pay to BNPL solutions, for accepting payments online.
Make sure your return policy is easy to find: More than two-thirds (67%) of shoppers want to see a return policy before they complete a purchase, according to Invesp. Hence why you'll want to make your return policy easy to find so that shoppers can enjoy some peace of mind while they shop.
How to drive traffic to your online store in 9 ways
Once your site is ready to receive visitors, experiment with the following tactics and strategies to maximize your reach.
01. Attract customers with a sales campaign
A well-planned discount pricing strategy can draw attention without draining your wallet. The key is to find a strategy that makes your customers feel that they've gotten a good deal, while avoiding a situation where you're competing on price alone.
To get you started, here are some campaign ideas that you can implement:
Offer a competition or giveaway. Incentivize visitors by offering free shipping or a coupon towards their first purchase if they sign up for your mailing list. This not only entices your customers to take a chance on your brand, but also provides an avenue for you to stay in touch with them.
Create a coupon for online use only. Whether you offer a percentage or fixed amount off the final price, an "online only" coupon can draw people to your site. Extend this offer to your existing contacts and shoppers who visit your brick-and-mortar store (if applicable). You can create a coupon directly from Wix eCommerce, applying the coupon to a specific product or collection of products if desired.
Create a sense of urgency. Whether you announce a flash sale, limited-time free shipping or a blowout holiday sale, creating a sense of urgency can get people rushing to your store. You could even add a countdown clock on your website to build excitement around an event or sale.
BOGO (buy one, get one) deals. Incentivize shoppers to try multiple products from your store by offering a buy-one-get-one 50% off (or free) deal. BOGO campaigns are especially useful if you're trying to liquidate certain products. You can also create these directly within Wix.
Note: Creating an enticing sale is only step one. Without a proper promotion plan (e.g., ads, email marketing or social promotion), you run the risk of no one seeing or hearing about your deal, so make sure to bake that into your plan as well.
02. Target your audience on Facebook
With more than three billion monthly users, Facebook is the world's most active social channel. There are a plethora of ways to use Facebook to your advantage, including:
Create a Facebook page. As a first step, set up a business page for your brand where customers can look for crucial store information. This is also a good place to publish and promote any content that links back to your website, such as a sales campaign, a blog post or a product announcement.
Run Facebook ads. Create pay-per-click (PPC) Facebook ads that help you to reach new consumers with relevant interests, browsing habits and backgrounds. Choose from a variety of ads and adjust your campaign according to your business goals. If you’re looking for an easier way to manage your ads, use Wix’s Facebook Ads tool, which leverages AI to A/B test your ads, track sales and locate the ideal audience for you to target.
Integrate Facebook shop. Let customers browse your products when they're on Facebook, then direct them to your site to check out. If you’re using Wix, you can integrate Facebook shop with your eCommerce site in just a few clicks. Your inventory can be managed from your site’s backend, and any updates you make to your product listings will automatically appear on your Facebook shop.
03. Show off your business on Instagram
Depending on your business, Instagram can be a valuable asset for increasing traffic to your website. Use it to cultivate your brand and to give people an authentic look into your business.
Kaekoo (pictured above) uses its Instagram page to to show the face behind its brand—Kaekoo founder, Kae. The brand flaunts more than 158,000 Instagram followers, many of whom have fallen in love with Kae's creativity and personality.
Take a page from Kaekoo's book and take these steps on Instagram:
Optimize your Instagram bio. Make sure your Instagram bio is optimized for your business by including a link to your store, alongside other contact info and perhaps some witty content. Use a link-in-bio tool like Hopp to get even more mileage out of your Instagram bio and direct your followers to various pages and products within your site.
Utilize videos. Your Instagram page shouldn't be a replica of your product catalog—rather, it should feature engaging content that expresses your brand's personality. As an idea, show behind-the-scenes footage that highlights your products or team members via Instagram Stories and/or Reels. If you're creating a story, use "link" stickers to direct visitors to a webpage, where they can browse your products or make a purchase.
Integrate Instagram with your site. Sync your Instagram feed with your online store so that customers can shop your products directly from Instagram. Similar to Facebook shop, this feature lets customers find the product they love on your social media channel, then click on the image in order to see more details and check out.
Run Instagram ads. Target potential customers based on their preferences and online habits. Pick from a range of formats like photos, videos, carousels or Stories to create ads that align with your goals. Wix’s Facebook/Instagram Ads tool can help streamline this by using AI to create different ad variations and identify your ideal audience.
Read also: Ecommerce website examples
04. Experiment with other social channels
Branch out to other social media channels that may be appropriate for your brand. For example, if you run a fashion or beauty business, you might be eyeing TikTok—where you can hop on popular video trends, open a TikTok Shop and/or run TikTok ads (which can, in turn, be connected to your Wix product catalog).
Or in the case of Kangaroo—a brand that specializes in 100% recyclable, heavy-duty hangers—TikTok affords an opportunity to connect with environmentally conscious shoppers. One of the brand’s earliest TikToks amassed more than 2 million views within just a few hours, leading to a surge of preorders on its website.
If TikTok doesn’t match your vibe, you’ve got other channels like YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Threads, Reddit and X (formerly Twitter). As a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to diversify your social media strategy so you’re not overly dependent on one channel, but avoid spreading yourself too thin.
“By some grace of luck, I had my website already set up “and I had preorders available.” - Angus Willows, founder and CEO of Kangaroo
Use tools like Wix’s AI-powered social media tools to quickly design custom videos, images and captions for various channels—and schedule things ahead of time so you’re not feeling overwhelmed. As you build up your social following, you can drive that traffic back to your website and turn their interest in your content into sales.
05. Lean into email marketing
Although eCommerce email marketing may sound outdated in a world full of TikToks and heated Threads, email still boasts the highest return on investment (ROI) of all, with an average of $42 for every dollar spent. As one of the most successful ways to direct your customers to your online store, it’s worth taking seriously.
The first step, of course, is to grow your email list. One way to get people to sign up for your emails is by adding a lightbox to your site that offers a discount or gift card as a reward for subscribing. You can additionally include a signup form in your site’s footer so that shoppers can opt in at any time.
As you start building out your email list, think about the types of emails you want to experiment with. Do you need to automate essential emails, like order confirmations, shipping updates and abandoned cart emails? Are you looking to start a weekly or monthly newsletter? Do you want to highlight an upcoming sale or product launch? What kind of content will convince visitors to shop your products, both in the short term and long term?
Learn how to set up abandoned cart emails in Wix.
As you seek the answers to these questions, keep the following tips in mind.
Choose your eCommerce email platform wisely. Pick a platform that’s simple to use and lets you customize templates, easily sync contacts and track your performance. If you’re already on Wix, you can tap Wix’s AI email tools to craft and automate clever email campaigns. Alternatively, you can explore other options in the Wix App Market, such as Klaviyo, that can help you get even more out of your email marketing.
Test various subject lines. Your subject line is arguably one of the most important elements of an email, with the power to attract or repel your customers before they've even seen the full message. Make sure you keep your subject lines short, punchy and provocative—while still keeping them relevant to the content inside.
Keep written content short and sweet. Don’t overdo it with the text. Make sure every word you write is useful and geared towards getting visitors to click on your main call-to-action (CTA).
Mix it up. Avoid inundating your email subscribers with content that's 100% promotional. Instead, send emails that offer value in the form of helpful content, inspiration or other material that'll help subscribers feel more connected to your brand.
Don’t neglect your branding. Make sure to align your email images, copy, etc. with your store branding. By keeping these elements consistent across your various properties, you can create a brand that's easy to recognize, no matter where shoppers encounter it.
06. Optimize your site for SEO
Your potential audience is most likely googling products like yours already. It's your job to make sure that your website appears in the first few results of these searches by implementing a smart eCommerce SEO strategy.
To ensure that your SEO plan is effective, get familiar with critical SEO terms, like "keywords" and "metadata." Each of these elements (among others) influence your site's rankings on search engine result pages (SERPs) and help search engines discern when and how to showcase your products.
Each page of your site needs to be optimized individually. That said, you can simplify your work by using Wix's built-in SEO tools, which can recommend ways to optimize each page and even generate the metadata for you. Pair this with Wix’s AI tools for product descriptions to create fully optimized copy.
Bear in mind that even when SEO is done correctly, landing on page one of a SERP can take time, so you’ll need to be patient. You can supplement your organic efforts with paid placements, such as Google Ads. These types of ads can immediately put you at the top of SERPs while driving more traffic to strategic pages; this, in turn, can send positive signals to Google if it observes that a lot of people are finding what they’re look for on your site.
07. Utilize content marketing
If you’re a newer company trying to compete with bigger brands, or if you’re trying to increase your brand recognition, content marketing might be the key to growing your website traffic.
Clearly map out a content marketing strategy that identifies a specific target audience. Remember that when it comes to content, the immediate goal isn’t necessarily to get people to buy a product. Rather, you want to stimulate interest in your brand by presenting it as a trustworthy, knowledgeable player within your industry.
Some of the most common forms of content marketing include:
Blogs: When you're learning how to start a blog, it becomes pretty evident that a blog is a long-term investment. If done well, a blog can attract quality leads to your store and help you rank for keywords throughout the eCommerce customer journey. You can use your blog as a way to provide insights within your field, inspire customers to use your products or even receive backlinks from larger publications. If you need help with writing or editing content, Wix’s AI tools for blogging can lend a hand.
Videos: Create short, engaging video content that’s related to your field of expertise. You can use videos to answer frequently asked questions about your business, explain how to use your product or just provide interesting information.
Infographics: What knowledge does your team hold that you can pass on to your customers? Publish key insights and stats in a visually compelling way by creating infographics. Aside from attracting potential buyers, infographics can help you earn backlinks from journalists or other publications in your field. Make sure that your infographic is well-branded, complete with your business’ logo and a URL to your site.
Note: Creating high-quality content is just half the battle. The other half involves distributing your content so that it’s seen by the right people. This is where a strong email or social media marketing strategy comes into play. Use these channels to promote and repurpose your content for multiple audiences.
08. Engage influencers or brand partners
Stepping out of your network into someone else’s is a great way to gain traffic for your site and reach new, relevant audiences. By working with credible influencers or brand partners in your space, you can more easily gain the trust of potential buyers.
Start by researching your social platforms and looking for popular accounts related to your industry. If you’re on Instagram, Webstagram can help you analyze profiles related to your line of business.
After you’ve identified a few potential influencers or brand partners, reach out to them. Get to known them at a more human level. Confirm that they’re a good match, both personality and content-wise, before negotiating business terms.
Familiarize your partners with your brand by sending them product samples, alongside enough information about your business to help them speak confidently about your products and mission. Consider passing along special discounts or gift cards that they can distribute exclusively to their followers. Or, offer a commission for every customer or order they help to attract.
You could create an affiliate marketing program to automate this process and work with a larger number of influencers. Affiliates can help you create social media content, videos and/or blog posts that link back to your site and can thereby drive traffic to your online store.
09. Advertise on Google
Whereas with SEO, you garner traffic organically, Google Ads enable you to gain traffic through paid placements. Google Ads let you target your customers by location, device, demographics and/or keywords.
Aside from providing a space to promote and link to your site, you can use ads to highlight special discounts or sales. You can additionally use Google Ads to quickly understand who’s clicking onto your ads (and therefore landing on your site) from a particular search query. You may discover that certain keywords are better than others for attracting people with an intent to shop, or that certain messaging is better at getting people to engage.
These learnings can then be applied to your organic marketing strategies. You can also use Google Ads to re-engage people who’ve visited your site before through remarketing campaigns.
There are various ad types that you can choose from, including:
Search ads: Text-based ads that are displayed at the top of Google search result pages
Shopping ads: Ads that showcase your product at the top of Google search result pages, the Shopping tab, partner websites and Google's Display Network (note: shopping ads use product data, not keywords, to target the right people)
Display ads: Ads that feature text, images, videos and/or rich media and are shared across Google's Display Network
Video ads: Video ads that are displayed across YouTube
Discover how Google Ads with Wix can simplify your work by automatically connecting your Wix catalog to your ads, setting up your campaigns and more.
Drive traffic to your online store FAQ
How can I drive traffic to my website for free?
There are several free ways to drive traffic to any type of website, including but not limited to:
SEO: Make sure your website is search engine-friendly by using relevant keywords, improving site speed and creating quality content. This helps your store rank higher in organic search results.
Social media: Post your products and special offers on platforms like Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Use engaging content, like behind-the-scenes videos or customer testimonials, to grab attention and drive followers directly to your site.
Blogging: Writing articles related to your products or industry can bring in traffic over time. You can share tips, stories, and how-to guides that link back to your store, drawing in visitors through useful content.
Referral programs: Encourage your existing customers to refer others by offering incentives like discounts or free products.
Online communities: Participate in forums or groups (like Reddit, Facebook Groups or niche forums) where your customers hang out. Share your expertise and link back to your store when it’s relevant.
Email marketing: If you already have a list of subscribers, sending regular newsletters with updates, new products or special offers can help drive repeat traffic to your online store.
Email signatures: Include your website link in your email signature for additional visibility.