Running a business online is a challenging field with its own rules for attracting customers. An online store can bring monthly revenue and visitors only if it ranks in the top positions for relevant search queries. Online sales grow every day, so store owners promote their products themselves or with the help of specialists to attract a solvent audience.
Common mistakes in promoting an online store
Most beginners make mistakes when building a store website. In many cases it’s either no promotion at all or obvious issues that prevent growth:
- Too many pages with unnecessary information — a store’s job is to sell, not force customers to read (information should be useful and to the point).
- Complex navigation — if you sell a wide range of products, navigation must be convenient and products shouldn’t be duplicated across sections.
- Weak security — beginners often forget about store security, which leads to crashes and connection issues.
Most serious issues can be avoided during the build stage by working with an SEO specialist. Early on, it’s important to choose a platform (“engine”) that can handle the load and stays convenient to manage. An SEO specialist helps define a promotion strategy, build the semantic core, and fill the catalog with useful information.
Building a strategy
A promotion strategy for an online store not only simplifies work and attracts visitors — it also helps you reach the top‑10 results, which brings a steady flow of buyers. Strategy development usually includes these stages:
- Competitor analysis — identifying strengths and pain points to address in your own product.
- Developing the store concept.
- Defining the market niche.
- Building a semantic core (keyword set).
- Creating and buying ads (ads, landing pages, banners, social media).
Strategy development can take from one month up to six months. Depending on demand, brand awareness, and competitors, the timeline may decrease or increase. During this time, a specialist studies the market, monitors site behavior, finds mistakes, and tests several strategy versions. A well‑built strategy can help a site reach top positions in a few weeks.
How to promote an online store
Competent promotion ensures success and strong profit. Not only the strategy matters, but every small detail of the site. Poor structure or confusing product pages can push buyers away and lead to negative outcomes.
Core SEO basics
Online store promotion in organic search should match search engine requirements and user expectations. The site must be free of errors — both internal and external. To promote a store, you need to:
- Create unique product cards.
- Create meta tags: title and description.
- Use schema markup (structured data).
- Remove duplicate pages.
- Plan coupons and discounts.
- Add key info about contacts, returns, delivery, payment, pickup, etc.
- Add unique content.
The ad budget also plays a major role: if ads resonate, buyers come; if not, they pass by.
Site structure
At the start, avoid overly complex structure. Customers prefer simple, intuitive navigation where it’s easy to find products. A simple structure also helps admins when adding new products, pages, and content. During development, consider:
- Section names — clear, short, and relevant.
- Grouping products by type and brand.
- Filters for additional search.
- The ability to go back.
- A menu with store information.
Structure should make product discovery and browsing easier. For extra promotion, use relevant keywords — in product descriptions or the company/about section. Your unique value proposition should be placed in a prominent spot: it explains why customers should stay and buy here instead of another store.
The speed of promotion depends on many factors — from site quality to communication with customers. When promoting a website, you should never pause store operations or forget about promotion. Promotion is a long and costly process that pays off with the right approach.