5 Lead Generation Tips for eCommerce Businesses

Lead generation may feel a bit self explanatory. After all, isn’t lead generation any activity that introduces leads to your business? While this is true to a certain extent, the true art of lead generation lies in being able to drum up quality leads. A quality lead could be considered any interested buyer with the resources and eligibility to make a purchase from your business. This can be tricky for eCommerce businesses, as a good number of leads will not meet these criteria.

To help you sort through the muck and identify high quality leads, the following tips can help your eCommerce business in its lead generation efforts. From store locator software to help tap into the local market to exploring related blogs and competitor accounts, it is possible to identify the right kind of leads for your eCommerce business that will develop into loyal, long-term clients. 

1. SEO Is Still King

There has been a lot of talk in recent years that SEO is no longer worth the investment. And to a certain extent, the sentiment has some merit. There are so many businesses that try their hand at SEO but don’t have any clear idea of what works and what does’t work. And with millions of competitors in a global marketplace, coming to the top of search results can feel like winning the lottery for these businesses.

Nonetheless, SEO is still the way to go when generating leads for an eCommerce business. With approximately 5.6 billion Google searches each day, it is clear that no matter how fierce the competition, there is a market to fill everyday human needs for products, information, and entertainment.

To help optimize your website and see your eCommerce business come to the top of search results, adhere to the following tips:

• Align your content with search intent - get inside the mind of customers and preemptively answer consumer questions with helpful content
• Use relevant images - the proliferation of Instagram should leave little doubt that a picture is worth a thousand words. As such, be sure to break up your content with high quality images to improve user experience and increase click through rate
• Embed authoritative backlinks - search engines view backlinks as a vote of confidence. If customers continually follow backlinks from your website, you are sure to shoot to the top of searches  

2. Implement Branded Local Pages

Even though your eCommerce business theoretically has a worldwide market, a staggering 70% of online shoppers say that they prefer giving their online dollars to local businesses. As a result, it is critical to have a strong local presence on your business website.

One way to achieve this is by implementing a wordpress store locator on your where to buy age. Using this software, you not only put customers in contact with your nearest local vendor, but you provide a platform for featuring local photos, showrooms, and contact information so that customers can keep their eCommerce dollars local.

3. Be Valuable to Your Leads

Modern day customers are really good at spotting spam. In fact, right-click, delete is almost an instinct for people in 2022. 

With this in mind, you are not going to establish a connection with any quality leads by creating a busy, overly salesy website. You need to give customers something before asking for their business. And in the internet era, there is no better way to do this than through fresh, relevant content. 

Offer free webinars and instructional videos. Tell client stories and feature them prominently on your homepage. Regularly update your company blog with updated content that addresses contemporary concerns. 

4. Set Up an Email List

Speaking of spam, you may be concerned about the viability of email marketing. However, if you use the same SEO best practices and send valuable content with each click, email marketing can be the most cost effective means of lead generation.

For big-ticket items, consider sending out emails with explainer videos, client stories, and other types of tutorials to demonstrate the value you can provide clients. If you are selling smaller scale products, don’t be afraid to send emails with coupon codes or time sensitive offers.

5. Comment on Related Blogs and Social Media Accounts

Commenting on related blogs and social media accounts can serve a number of useful purposes for lead generation:

• It grows your network, as you immediately become visible to all of the followers of the account you commented on
• It can establish you as an authority in your field (assuming you post well-crafted, insightful responses)
• It demonstrates a level of empathy, showing that you are willing to engage in a larger conversation within your field and are not focused exclusively on those actions that directly lead to profits

Therefore, it is well worth your time to scour the internet to find related accounts and add to the conversation. Don’t be afraid to join the conversation of a direct competitor. If you acquit yourself in a professional, competent manner, it can be a beneficial practice for all parties involved. 

5 Simple Lead Generation Tips for eCommerce Businesses

Lead generation is all about identifying those quality leads that have the potential to develop into long-term customers. By leveraging modern SEO efforts, implementing branded local pages to your website, offering yourself as a valuable asset to customers, taking advantage of email marketing, and commenting on related blogs and social media accounts, you can put yourself in a strong position to maximize your lead generation efforts.