With every marketing operation now conducted online, it can be difficult to discern between the numerous types of digital marketing used today. How does e-commerce marketing differ from other marketing practices such as social media, content, search engine optimization, and email marketing?
Digital marketing and e-commerce marketing do not exclude one other. E-commerce websites might feature digital channels to promote their goods and grow their companies.
Understand e-commerce marketing
e-commerce marketing is the practice of increasing traffic to your online company and e-commerce website, enticing consumers to purchase your goods or services. Usually, three strategies are combined in tactics:
- Traffic generation: Draw new customers to your store using a combination of paid and unpaid approaches, such as SEO, content marketing, social media platforms, paid ads, email marketing, and product pages.
- Conversion optimization: Personalization, intuitive website design, and special offers are all effective tactics for increasing sales and the average order value (AOV).
- Customer retention and loyalty: Keep existing customers satisfied with personalized offers, loyalty programs, and awards so that they continue to buy from your company and refer new customers through word-of-mouth marketing for your e-commerce site.
Types of Ecommerce Marketing Strategies
There are different types of marketing strategies in e-commerce:
- Content Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising
- Affiliate Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Influencer marketing
- Video Marketing
- Customer loyalty programs
10 Proven Ecommerce Marketing Strategies
Below are the best practices mentioned for successful e-commerce marketing. To increase sales and drive traffic.
#1. Content Marketing

- Personalization, smart website design, and special offers are all effective approaches to increasing sales and the average order value. Content marketing is a marketing tool to increase conversion rates and e-commerce sales.
- User-generated content is essential at all stages of the marketing funnel, including awareness, consideration, conversion, and post-purchase. It is also essential to implement many of the other strategies discussed in this article, such as social networking, email marketing, and SEO. It’s no surprise that 70% of B2C marketers use content marketing strategies for their ecommerce site.
- The term “content” is incredibly broad, encompassing everything from social media posts to blogs to webinars. However, from an e-commerce standpoint, some of the most useful content types are:
- Reviews and testimonials TINT found that 72% of consumers trust customer recommendations more than brand-written promotional messages. So you should encourage customers to post evaluations and promote your most glowing recommendations.
- Videos that tell stories Video marketing is an excellent platform for telling them the narrative behind your brand. When consumers hear brand tales, they have a more positive perception of the brand and are willing to pay higher prices for its items.
- Blog posts: Most people read blog entries to learn something new, so blogs are an excellent way to discuss current trends (and showcase relevant products in your store).
#2. Social media marketing
Unfortunately, many of us spend much of our “downtime” picking up our phones and going directly to social media. Marketers can target a captive audience by creating eye-catching promotional messaging that captures attention while scrolling.

Most social networks also have good built-in analytics capabilities, making it simple to determine which postings are producing impressions, traffic, and income. There are lots of ways to leverage social media in your e-commerce marketing strategy, such as:
- Showcasing your company’s values Four-fifths of consumers favor brands that share their beliefs, whereas three-quarters have left a company due to differences in values. So, utilize your social media posts to clarify who you are and what you stand for.
- Tap into trending topics. Joining current conversations is one of the most effective ways to increase the number of people who see your social media material without paying for it. Create a marketing calendar that highlights events and holidays relevant to your brand and target demographic, such as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, festival season, and spring break.
- Share your best reviews. 9/10 people check reviews before making a purchase. To increase sales, package your best ones and distribute them to your social media followers.
#3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the best ecommerce marketing tactics as it provides a phenomenal return on investment of $36. This is over 1.5 times more than SEO and 18 times more than PPC.

Today, almost every well-known e-commerce firm employs email marketing to promote specials and limited-time discounts, publish reviews and testimonials, support product launches, and increase ecommerce sales.
By adding UTM variables to the URLs in your marketing emails, you can instantly observe how much traffic and income your store receives from email subscribers. An email list can also be created and an email campaign can be started.
#4. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC for Ecommerce)
PPC advertising enables ecommerce brands to obtain qualified traffic quickly. To build a high-performing PPC campaign, you must nail three crucial elements, like ad copies and landing pages for an e-commerce brand.

Simba mattresses are “engineered for quality sleep” and provide a 200-night trial, making them suitable for those with severe backs, according to the advertisement. We can also see that they have an exceptional 4.7-star rating based on nearly 9,500 reviews. Get up to a 55% discount if you buy within the next seven hours. If you were seeking a new mattress and saw that ad, you’d probably click.
#5. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an e-commerce strategy in which businesses collaborate with third-party publications to promote their offerings. The strategy involves giving the affiliate a unique URL to promote the product, which they subsequently share with their audience. When a customer clicks on the referral link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.

E-commerce businesses can manage affiliate marketing through a variety of platforms and solutions. Shopify store owners, for example, can use apps like Refersion, ReferralCandy, and LeadDyno to handle their affiliate marketing programs. These applications enable you to track affiliate connections, manage affiliates, and automate payouts.
To use affiliate marketing as an e-commerce merchant, follow these steps:
- Determine a niche for your product or service.
- Join an affiliate network to connect with other affiliates.
- Set commission rates for affiliates that market your products.
- Provide affiliates with marketing materials such as banners and logos.
- Create terms of service that define the rules and policies for affiliates.
- Create a payment scheme for affiliates based on sales or leads.
#6. Search engine optimization (SEO)
Among the better e-commerce marketing techniques is e-commerce SEO. As SEM pointed out, most people won’t go past the first page of search results, so you want your website to rank close to top. SEO emphasizes natural search results, so it differs from SEM.
One of the best instruments you have at hand to increase your SEO and raise your search engine result rank is keywords. Invest some time ahead to see how others are discovering your website. See how people find you online using Google Analytics or another comparable tool and use those keywords.

Limit your keyword usage. Rather, arrange them logically across your website where they fit. For instance, keywords abound in product descriptions. Consider what someone seeking each product would search for and incorporate that term into the description.
Additionally improving your search engine ranking is regularly producing material on your blog and on social media. Get popular topic ideas by poll your audience or leveraging keywords from your analytics. Look at your rivals to find how the best websites draw readers.
#7. Influencer marketing
An increasing tactic among companies seeking to reach a particular audience through someone the community trusts already is influencer marketing. All sorts of markets and businesses have influencers. From tech review sites and YouTube channels to lifestyle items and TikHub channels, companies which employ influencers may connect with their consumers.

Especially this strategy can help companies launching new items. In return for reviews, promotions, a third-party opinion on the product and more brand awareness, companies might provide influencers free items. Although companies can interact with influencers in several ways, depending on the influencer’s terms they usually entail sponsorship or product expenses.
Influencer marketing is a great tool for an e-commerce marketing plan since it guarantees that influencers may offer a good review or promotion for the products and entails beneficial relationships with them.
#8. Use Video Marketing
These days, consumers much rather see video marketing as a format. Ninety percent of marketers actually say video generated leads. This highlights the significant impact video could have in e-commerce since it increases consumer interaction, converts visitors, and increases brand exposure.

These original ideas demonstrate how you may enhance your e-commerce strategy using video marketing:
- Create films that go beyond merely showcasing the product; enable viewers to interact with the content, clicking on portions of the video to learn more about certain features or view the products in many colors.
- Strategic application of video content on your website will improve SEO. Frequent video responses to often-asked client questions or providing useful advice will help guests stay on your page longer, indicating to search engines that your website provides valuable content.
- Place videos on key landing pages to lead visitors through your products and benefits. Try numerous video poses and techniques to see which most fits you and boosts sales.
- Driven by tales, create videos highlighting your brand, values, or way of life linked with your products. These films can allow your brand to be more personable and foster closer bonds with your audience.
- Using services like TikHub and Instagram Reels on social media, share brief, entertaining films that quickly grab user attention and effectively highlight key product features or brand messages.
#9. Customer loyalty programs
This e-commerce marketing approach rewards your top consumers for shopping with you, thereby helping you to keep them. Programs for customer loyalty let you interact with and inform your customers as well. Make it valuable to inspire sign-ups to your program.
To honor your greatest clients, present presents, unique promotions, early access to specials, points, and other benefits. Imagine a tiered program in which individuals receive prizes depending on their expenditure. This lets you provide your finest clients more special benefits than those of casual buyers.

Giving something extra to people who purchase with you most makes sense since a loyalty program is meant to let consumers know how much you value them. Once you have decided on a loyalty program, highlight it in several ways until you find the perfect fit for your clientele.
Certain people answer offers before they buy. Others are more likely to register for a loyalty program either during or following a transaction. Try it all and find which strategy generates the most sign-ups.
#10. SMS marketing
One reopening and expanding avenue for e-commerce marketing techniques is SMS texting. Marketing teams must overlook that consumers are most often on their phones, even as the mix of tactics includes producing relevant content, emailing and promoting through paid channels, social media or influencers.

Companies wishing to use an SMS marketing approach can gather consumer phone number information and then send regular, timely offers to prospects and customers.
Right now, among the most successful companies using SMS marketing are online shopping stores. This strategy can also provide special offers or promotions to boost more sales and offer cross-sell and upsell chances and abandoned cart recovery.
How to Write an Ecommerce Marketing Plan
Writing an e-commerce marketing plan allows you to codify how you want to drive traffic to your website, nurture store visitors, and convert them into paying customers (and, ultimately, devoted brand supporters). Thus leading to customer loyalty.
Given the significance of your marketing strategy, it’s critical to perform research before writing down all of your various ideas. Otherwise, you risk producing a disjointed plan with too broad a focus and little consideration for what your audience truly wants to hear.
Begin by answering these questions:
- What is the purpose of this company?
- What are you doing?
- What aren’t you doing?
- Who are your customers?
- Where do they live?
- How old are they?
- How much buying power do they have?
After you’ve determined your target audience, consider the goals you want to achieve. Your stated goal of increasing sales is not detailed enough. Set an attainable income goal, give yourself a date to meet it, and then work backwards to establish more specific KPIs and measurements.
How do I create an e-commerce marketing strategy for my online store?
If you want to develop an e-commerce marketing strategy for your online store, follow these steps.
Tips for E-commerce Marketing:
Define your target audience. The first step in developing an e-commerce marketing plan is identifying your target audience. Who is your ideal customer? What are their demographics, hobbies, and pain points? Once you have a strong grasp of your target demographic, you can modify your marketing messaging to appeal to them.
Set clear goals
What do you hope to achieve through your e-commerce marketing tactic? Do you want to increase your website’s traffic, sales, or customer retention? Set specific, quantifiable goals for your marketing campaign so that you can monitor your progress and make changes as needed.
Choose your marketing channels
Ecommerce enterprises can use a variety of marketing channels, such as email, social media, paid advertising, influencer marketing, and more. Consider which channels are most effective for reaching your intended audience and achieving your goals.
Plan your message
Your marketing messages should be targeted at your target demographic while being consistent with your brand’s values and goals. Create messaging that speaks to your ideal customers while emphasizing your online store’s unique value offer.
Content marketing is an e-commerce marketing tactic for acquiring and engaging new customers. Consider writing blog articles, videos, social media content, and other content that will benefit your target audience while promoting your products or services.
Optimize your website
Any website is the foundation of any e-commerce business, so it must be optimized for conversion. Make sure your website is easy to use, loads quickly, and includes clear calls to action that encourage visitors to buy.
Keep track of your results
Use analytics tools to track your marketing outcomes and determine what works and what does not. Use this information to make informed judgments about where to direct your marketing efforts and to fine-tune your strategy over time.
Conclusion
Whether you decide to enhance your marketing automation, switch marketing channels, or invest in predictive analytics solutions, you should start slowly. This entails deploying one marketing channel, plan, onsite promotion, or aspect at a time, then optimizing and modifying for peak performance before launching the next eCommerce campaign.
Finally, you must choose the best techniques for your individual eCommerce business, products, and target audience to ensure you accomplish the targeted ROAS. This is what distinguishes an old method from a successful eCommerce strategy that not only increases online sales but also improves client retention and loyalty.

Vijay Sood is a seasoned digital marketer with a passion for driving online growth and innovation. With a robust background in developing and executing comprehensive digital strategies, Vijay excels in leveraging SEO, content marketing, and social media to boost brand visibility and engagement. His expertise lies in transforming data-driven insights into actionable marketing campaigns, helping businesses achieve their digital objectives.