9 ways to drive more eCommerce store traffic without buying ads

How to drive e-commerce store traffic without buying ads Instamojo
(Last Updated On: May 23, 2023)

Did you know that over 65% of your customers visit your eCommerce store and leave without buying anything or leaving an email ID?

Let’s end that.

eCommerce traffic does not rely solely on attracting customers to your online store. It’s also about their activity once they begin growing your landing page. Several startups spend more than they need to on an advertising budget – and that’s mistake number one.

In this blog, we will show you:

  1. How to use content marketing to increase eCommerce store traffic
  2. Use mobile marketing to drive eCommerce store traffic
  3. How to run referral programs to run eCommerce store traffic
  4. The Instamojo store’s LIVE chat feature

7 ways to drive more eCommerce store traffic without buying ads

We are assured that half your customers have shifted online, especially since a worldwide pandemic forced shutters down on brick and mortar stores.

Which means, it’s no longer enough for eCommerce businesses to ‘attract’ customers to their store, you need to collect leads, and get them to convert.

How can you do so, without spending big bucks on paid marketing?

Hear us out.

How to use content marketing to increase eCommerce store traffic

According to a study by neilpatel.com, eCommerce is growing at 23% every year, and will top at $2 billion this year alone.

E-commerce Store traffic Image via Neil Patel -
Source: Neilpatel.com

Content marketing is a forgotten tool with startups and businesses who want to see quick results. With effective content marketing strategies, you do not simply attract customers to your site and leave them alone to buy something. You send a clear message which emphasises on how your product/service can solve their problems!

Key to great content marketing – consistency!

A study by DemandMetric shows that content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates 3 times as many leads.

Here are the top content marketing strategies you can start with:

  1. Blogging
  2. SEO
  3. Generate custom content
  4. Video content
  5. Guest blogging
  6. Infographics
  7. Ebooks and webinars

Let’s explore the most popular content marketing tools to drive eCommerce store traffic.

1. Blogging

Let’s stress the importance of blogs with an example – this blog. You, being our audience, would want to know how to get customers to find your store easily and convert on your site. Therefore, you land here and go through our blog.

Now, you do the same for your customers. Write long-form content for your customers. Content should always be written with one key motto – ‘how will this provide value to my customers?”

Here are 3 quick tips to drive website traffic using blogs:

  1. Post regularly. This helps you figure out what your customers like to read. Watch out for comments, shares and feedback on your content.
  2. Foster urgency in your short-form content. For example: “ Limited stock, place your orders now” or “ Sale ends at 12:00! Only 4 more hours to go” will also spur a sense of urgency for customers to purchase from your website.
  3. Optimise your blogs with SEO. UTM every interlink, add CTAs to your website or other landing pages. For example – we had customers post increased queries on how to add a product to their premium online store, so we published a guide to assist them with the process.

2. Video content

Speaking of ‘how-to’ guides, did you know that YouTube is one of the most popular sources of traffic for eCommerce traffic?

NeilPatel states that over 67% of Youtube viewers want to see product reviews before making purchase decisions. Uploading YouTube videos is free, and let’s be frank, your customers would rather see a quick helpful guide that provides value over an annoying ad that keeps popping up in between videos!

How to drive e-commerce traffic to your store
All Instamojo product tutorials( video content) seek to provide unique value to customers who want quick, visual solutions.

How mobile marketing Drives eCommerce store traffic

Over 60% of your customers will purchase from a mobile device.  In India, over 400 million phone users own a smartphone. Imagine, with the right mobile marketing tips, you reach a much wider audience. Here are 3 quick tips to help your drive eCommerce store traffic:

3. Build a user-friendly app

Apps can help increase eCommerce conversions without running ads. Here’s a quick guide to help you understand how to build a mobile app.

4. Send SMS and email campaigns

If you use the Instamojo premium online store, you can send unlimited SMS campaigns to your customers.

5. Easy checkout process

Customers spend less than 15 seconds on a website that has a complex checkout process, and even lesser on a mobile app. Allow customers to enter shipping information easily and pay online in 2 steps.

For this, you need to choose an eCommerce platform where you can create a website with these in-built features.

6. Using social media marketing to increase online store traffic organically

We sound like a broken record, but one of the most surefire ways to generate traffic to your site is to showcase your brand on social media.

However, this is how you can use social media marketing a little differently to drive traffic:

  1. Use social media for testimonials. Leverage social proof to gain your customer base.
  2. Repost or share customer success stories with your audience. Give your brand a human touch with maximum engagement.
  3. Run a poll on Instagram and Twitter regularly. Ask customers questions, and provide links to help them navigate your brand via social media.
  4. Distribute video content across your social media. Use relevant hashtags, tags and leverage on comments.
  5. Use social media to spy on competitors activity.

It all starts with creating the right content for social. To get you started, here’s a list of post ideas for Instagram businesses.

How to run referral programs to boost eCommerce store traffic

Once your business is up and running, run referral programs for your customers. You can go about it by:

  1. Request your customers to share their favourite products/tag you on social media along with a friend
  2. Run competitions and incentives them for your customers. Provide a coupon code for referrals and offer discounts on products for every successful referral signup.

Example: QuickRide, a carpool app, offers a free first ride to anyone who joins the apps via referral code.

How to drive e-commerce store traffic to your online store

7. Send promotional emailers to customers

Send abandoned cart emailers to customers who just dropped by, added items to cart and left so rudely! Email is a sure-fire way to collect leads and increase conversion rates.

Add links to your emails redirecting customers to your store.

Send customers an email every time you run an event, a product update or even a new website. Keep them informed!

Related read: The complete email marketing guide for every small business 

8. Brand partnerships with micro-influencers

Instead of spending big bucks on traditional marketing, invest in micro-influencers marketing. For example: Here’s how Cosmix India grew its customers’ traffic to their page by asking micro-influencers across India to talk about the benefits of their product.

View this post on Instagram

Hiii everyone! 🙋🏻‍♀️ CosMix fam has grown to 10k+ and we couldn't be happier! ♥️🎉💃🏽 Personal care and body care have always been focused on physical attributes and beauty focused attributes. CosMix came into existence to challenge that thought by talking about holistic care and development. We want to make simple, straight forward, plant based solutions accessible to people who want to boost their nourishment from within and shine a light on health and beauty from the inside and out. We aim to educate people on how to use what nature has to offer us; incorporating adaptogens and superfoods in our everyday lives 🌱✨ We thank all of you for believing in this cause of ours, for being a part of this amazing journey so far, and for your constant love and support 🙏🏼💛 Here are some of the cutest pictures of you guys who lovee using CosMix regularly! Tag yourself and your CosMix buddies below so the entire CosMix community can come together to mark this special milestone ✨ #peopleofcosmix

A post shared by CosMix (@thecosmixway) on

9. The Instamojo online store’s LIVE chat feature

Did you know 77% of online shoppers want to talk to the seller or someone on the website before making a purchase? The Instamojo ‘live chat’ for your Instamojo online store – a feature of the Leads Manager app that can improve your online sales drastically.

Why you need the LIVE chat feature on the Instamojo online store:

  • Why respond over mail when you can just chat with them?
  • Having a LIVE chat on your online store doesn’t just make you seem more professional but also gives you a competitive advantage.
  • Looking for a cost-effective customer experience tool? THIS IS FREE.
  • Increase your sales
  • Save time resolving customer queries

Instamojo online store LIVE chat


Set up your online store

2 comments
  1. Still, some people are not preferring to buy online. They are scared of buying products online. Please write an article on this. And give them awareness about online products.

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