Why Your Online Store Isn’t Selling (And How to Fix It)

Your Blueprint for Effective Ecommerce Digital Marketing

Ecommerce digital marketing is the process of using online channels like SEO, paid ads, email, social media, and content to drive traffic to your store and turn visitors into buyers. It's about attracting the right people and guiding them on a journey that ends in a sale.

Quick Answer: What Makes Ecommerce Digital Marketing Work?

• SEO gets you found when shoppers search for your products.
• Paid ads (Google Shopping, Meta) put you in front of ready-to-buy customers fast.
• Email marketing recovers abandoned carts and brings people back.
• Social media builds trust and showcases your products where people spend their time.
• Content marketing answers questions and positions you as an expert.
• Personalisation & AI create custom shopping experiences that convert.
• Testing & tracking ensure you're spending money on what actually works.

You've built a beautiful online store with great products and competitive prices. But the sales aren't coming in as you hoped.

The truth is, with 12 to 24 million ecommerce stores competing for attention, a website alone isn't enough. You need a smart, multi-channel approach to get found, stand out, and convince shoppers to click "buy now."

When you get your ecommerce digital marketing right, the results compound. More visibility leads to more traffic, which leads to more sales and better data to help you optimise even further.

I'm Kerry Anderson, co-founder of RankingCo. I've spent over 15 years helping businesses scale with strategic ecommerce digital marketing, turning underperforming stores into revenue-generating machines. Let me show you how to fix what's not working.

Running an online store is like running a physical shop. You need to attract people, show them your offers, and encourage a purchase. In the digital world, this requires a well-thought-out ecommerce digital marketing strategy where multiple tactics work together.

Attract Ready-to-Buy Customers with SEO & PPC

Getting noticed online is step one. We use two powerful tools to put your store in front of customers: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. Think of it as having your shop on the main street (SEO) with a prominent billboard (PPC).

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) SEO makes your store more visible in search results. When someone searches for "women's yoga pants," we want your products to appear at the top. This is crucial, as the first organic result is 10 times more likely to receive a click than a page in the 10th spot.

Our SEO approach includes:

• Keyword Research: We find the exact words your customers are using, including long-tail keywords that show high purchase intent.
• On-Page SEO: We optimise your product pages, categories, and blog posts with compelling titles, descriptions, and high-quality images to tell Google what each page is about.
• Technical SEO: We ensure your site is fast, mobile-friendly, and secure. We also fix technical issues like broken links that can hurt your rankings. Learn more about our Technical SEO solutions.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising While SEO builds long-term visibility, PPC delivers immediate results through paid ads. Google Shopping Ads, for example, show your product images and prices directly to shoppers who are ready to buy.

PPC's advantages include:

• Instant Visibility: Your ads can appear at the top of search results almost immediately.
• Precise Targeting: We can show ads to specific demographics, interests, or even people who have visited your site before.
• Impressive ROI: Google estimates its pay-per-click advertising offers an ROI of $8 for every $1 spent.

We manage your Google Ads and Ecommerce Ads Management campaigns to ensure you get the best results. From our headquarters in Brisbane, we help businesses scale their operations worldwide.

Build a Loyal Community with Content & Social Media

Once customers are on your site, we want to keep them engaged. This is where content marketing and social media shine by providing value, not just selling.

Content Marketing Content marketing involves creating valuable resources to attract and retain your audience. Great examples include:

• Blog Posts: Educational guides or product comparisons that answer common questions and build trust.
• Buying Guides: Detailed resources that help customers make informed decisions.
• Video Content: A game-changer, as 62% of consumers favour video to learn about products. Product demos, tutorials, and testimonials are highly persuasive.

Social Media Marketing & Advertising Social media is where your customers spend their time. With 63% of the global population active on social media , it's an invaluable channel for ecommerce digital marketing .

Here's how we leverage it:

• Community Building: We engage with customers, respond to comments, and foster a loyal following to build brand love.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage customers to share photos and videos using your products to provide authentic social proof.
• Targeted Ads: We run highly targeted campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Check out our services for Facebook Ads: Ecommerce and Instagram Ads: Ecommerce.
• Influencer Marketing: We connect you with influencers whose audience aligns with your target market. Over 80% of marketers find influencer marketing highly effective.

Convert Visitors and Recover Carts with Email Marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools in your ecommerce digital marketing arsenal. It's a direct line to your customers, free from social media algorithms.

Benefits of Email Marketing for Ecommerce:

• High ROI: A staggering 87% of marketers use email marketing, with many citing it as having the strongest return on investment.
• Direct Communication: You own your email list, giving you direct access to your audience.
• Personalisation: We can segment your audience to send highly relevant messages based on their behaviour and purchase history.

Best Practices:

• Automated Welcome Series: Greet new subscribers and offer a first-purchase discount.
• Abandoned Cart Recovery: Around 70% of shoppers abandon their carts. We set up automated emails to remind them of forgotten items, often with a discount to encourage completion.
• Product Recommendations: Send custom suggestions based on past purchases.
• Promotional Campaigns: Announce sales, new products, or seasonal offers.
• Post-Purchase Follow-ups: Request reviews or suggest complementary products.

By implementing a robust email strategy, we help you nurture leads and drive repeat purchases. Learn more about What is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and how it impacts sales.

Improve the Buyer Experience with Personalisation & AI

Today, the entire shopping journey needs to be enjoyable and intuitive. This is where optimising the buyer experience with personalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes in.

Tactics for an Improved Buyer Experience:

• Seamless Site Navigation: We ensure your website is easy to browse, so customers can find what they need in three clicks or less.
• Mobile Optimisation: Your site must be fast and responsive on all devices.
• High-Quality Product Pages: Detailed descriptions, stunning images, and customer reviews build trust. 50% of online shoppers say images helped them decide what to buy.
• Live Chat & FAQs: Offer instant support to answer questions quickly.

The Role of Personalisation & AI: Customers expect a custom experience. In fact, 65% of customers expect companies to adapt to their changing needs. This is where AI shines in ecommerce digital marketing .

• Personalised Recommendations: AI analyses customer data to suggest relevant products.
• AI-Powered Chatbots: These can handle routine inquiries 24/7, guiding shoppers and providing instant support.
• Dynamic Content: AI can adjust website content and promotions in real-time based on user behaviour.
• Predictive Analytics: AI helps anticipate future trends and customer needs, allowing for proactive marketing.

At RankingCo, we integrate advanced AI to analyse market trends. This allows us to create effective, personalised campaigns for our clients, helping them grow their businesses worldwide.

The Key to Ecommerce Digital Marketing: Track, Test, and Optimise

The digital world is always changing, so your ecommerce digital marketing strategy must be dynamic. Continuous testing and optimisation are non-negotiable.

Why Continuous Testing is Crucial:

• Identify What Works: A/B testing allows us to compare two versions of a webpage, ad, or email to see which performs better.
• Maximise ROI: By continually refining campaigns based on data, we ensure your marketing spend is working as hard as possible.
• Stay Ahead: Regular testing keeps you competitive and helps you adapt to evolving customer preferences.

Essential Data Points to Track: We focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure success:

• Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who make a purchase.
• Average Order Value (AOV): The average amount spent per order.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): How much it costs to acquire a new customer.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total revenue a customer is expected to generate.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
• Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page.

We use data from Google Analytics, your ecommerce platform, and our CRM tools to make informed decisions and continuously improve your strategy. Learn more about How to Improve Your Website Conversions.

Choosing the Right Ecommerce Digital Marketing Channels

Navigating the landscape of ecommerce digital marketing can feel overwhelming. The trick is to be where your customers are and use channels that align with your business goals.

Main Types of Ecommerce Digital Marketing Channels:

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): For organic visibility and long-term traffic.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: For immediate, targeted traffic and sales.
• Content Marketing: For building authority and engaging customers.
• Social Media Marketing: For brand awareness and community building.
• Email Marketing: For nurturing leads and customer retention.
• Affiliate & Influencer Marketing: Partnering with others to promote your products.

The Power of an Omnichannel Strategy: Consumers today engage with companies across an average of eight different digital channels. An omnichannel strategy ensures a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints, from social media ads to your website.

A well-rounded ecommerce digital marketing strategy brings immense benefits. You can expect increased traffic, higher sales, stronger brand awareness, and improved customer loyalty.

No matter which platform you use, from Shopify to any other system, we can help. Our team integrates these channels into a cohesive plan. If you're on Shopify, you might find our guide on Shopify Marketing Made Simple by RankingCo helpful.

Get Expert Help and Watch Your Business Grow

We hope this guide helps explain why your online store might not be selling as you'd like. More importantly, we hope it shows you how to fix it.

We get it. Running a business is a full-time job, and becoming an expert in SEO, PPC, and AI-driven personalisation is a huge task.

That's where we come in. At RankingCo, we specialise in targeted advertising through Google Ads, Meta Ads, and Microsoft Ads. We combine this with exceptional SEO services designed to boost your visibility and drive sales.

Although we are a Brisbane-based agency, our expertise is global. We help businesses scale in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and beyond.

We integrate advanced AI technologies to improve our digital marketing strategies, allowing us to analyse market trends accurately and create effective campaigns. This technological edge ensures we keep pace with rapid changes in the digital landscape.

Ready to take your online store from struggling to thriving? Let's turn those browsers into buyers and those one-time customers into loyal fans.

Take the Next Step to Online Success

Ready to stop guessing and start growing? Our team is here to help. We offer comprehensive digital marketing services tailored to your business needs.

Contact us today to build a winning strategy for your online store.