Ecommerce marketing is the engine that fuels growth for online stores. It’s the coordinated efforts that bring shoppers to your site, convince them to click “Buy,” then keep them coming back for more.
This comprehensive guide walks you through:
- Some quick fundamentals on ecommerce marketing
- Today’s most effective channels
- Tomorrow’s emerging trends
Let’s jump in!
Scoping the Big Picture: What Is Ecommerce Marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is the practice of promoting an online store and its products across the digital channels your audience uses. But it’s about more than just getting seen. It's about creating smooth, intuitive experiences for your shoppers—from the moment they search for a product to the second they click “buy” (and beyond).
It could be a one-click impulse buy or a carefully researched investment; either way, your job is to make every step of the journey as frictionless as possible. That means using the right mix of channels to attract, convert, and retain customers.
Core Ecommerce Marketing Channels
A healthy ecommerce engine blends multiple channels that work together to bring in visitors, turn them into customers, and keep them coming back. Here’s how the core channels break down.
Channels That Attract
Before you can win customers, you have to get their attention. These channels help you build awareness, drive discovery, and bring new shoppers in.
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Why it matters: Shoppers often begin their journey on Google. Learning and ranking for the phrases they type into the search bar delivers a steady, passive stream of potential customers.
Product and Collection Page Optimization
For ecommerce, SEO isn’t just blogs—it’s your product and collection pages too. Clear, benefit-focused titles and descriptions help both search engines and shoppers understand what you sell. This also makes it easier for you to show up in Google Shopping results.
Technical SEO
Behind the scenes, things like page speed, mobile responsiveness, and site structure help ensure Google can properly index your site. Of course, that also translates to shoppers sticking around your fast, user-friendly website.
Link Building
Internal and external links help build your authority and guide shoppers to related products. They also increase the chances of your pages ranking well.
Schema Markup
This bit of code adds extra context to your site content for search engines. When done right, it can enhance your product listings with rich results (like price, availability, and reviews), making your listings more eye-catching and informative in search.
Local SEO
Local SEO efforts are a way to optimize your site so it shows up in location-based searches. Whether you have an online-only store, physical stores, or offer local delivery, local SEO helps nearby shoppers find you faster, especially through Google Maps and local packs.
2. Paid Advertising
Why it matters: Paid ads bring a steady stream of visitors to your site, especially when targeted precisely. With retargeting tools and user data, you can ramp up media spend when returns are high and dial back as needed.
Google Shopping & Search Ads
Google Shopping and Search ads place your products in front of shoppers actively searching for what you sell. Visibility here is great for driving immediate, purchase-ready traffic, and they work best when you prioritize your most profitable or competitive items.
Meta & TikTok
These platforms are built for visual storytelling. Paid social ads grab attention, drive traffic, and can generate a strong return—if your creative hooks your audience.
Dynamic Retargeting
When someone browses but doesn’t buy, dynamic ads can remind them what they left behind and help nudge them over the finish line.
Audience Expansion
Tools like Meta’s lookalike audiences help you find new shoppers similar to your best customers. It’s a smart way to scale without starting from scratch.
3. Social Media Marketing
Why it matters: Social platforms help shoppers discover new brands. With the right content, you can connect emotionally and build trust early.
Organic Storytelling
Think of your feed as your brand’s voice. Post consistently, share real stories, and show the lifestyle your product supports—not just the product itself.
Paid Amplification
When a post performs well, boosting it gets more eyes on it. It’s an easy way to stretch the impact of content that’s already resonating.
Influencer & UGC Partnerships
Influencers and everyday users can lend credibility and spark interest. Partner with people who genuinely fit your brand to create content that feels real, not like an ad.
Social Shopping
Platforms like Instagram and TikTok now let users buy without leaving the app. When set up right, you can turn casual scrollers into buyers.
4. Content Marketing
Why it matters: Good content answers questions, removes doubt, and makes shoppers feel more confident about completing their purchase.
Buying Guides
A solid buying guide helps customers make informed decisions by:
- Addressing their objections and pain points: Research and address common challenges your audience faces to build trust with upfront value
- Comparing competing choices: Guides can highlight key differences between products to simplify challenging choices
- Simplifying information with visual aids: Infographics, charts, etc.
Tutorials & Demos
Show how your product works or fits into their life. Quick, visual demos build confidence and help reduce returns.
Blogging
Blogs aren’t just about traffic; they’re a chance to connect, educate, and link visitors to the right products. Plus, they boost your organic search visibility when done right!
Channels That Convert
Once someone lands on your site, your job is to make it easy—and compelling—for them to buy. These channels are focused on reducing friction and increasing the likelihood of a purchase.
1. SMS & Mobile Push
Why it matters: Texts and push alerts pop up on a customer’s lock screen seconds after you hit “send,” and you get the advantage of really impressive open rates.
Timing
Well-timed texts reach shoppers when they’re most likely to act. The best strategies should consider scheduling sends during high-attention windows, and this can vary depending on your industry.
Flash Deals
Limited-time texts with a strong offer can help you drive quick action. For example, “Only 200 pairs left” plays to FOMO and helps clear aging stock without deep discounts.
Transactional Updates
Order updates via SMS create a great experience. They reduce support questions and keep customers in the loop.
2. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Why it matters: A single-percentage-point lift in conversion can unlock six-figure revenue without raising ad spend, making CRO one of the highest-ROI levers. Even small wins compound year-over-year.
Visual Insights
Heat maps and session recordings show you where shoppers get stuck or distracted. Fixing these pain points keeps the purchase path smooth.
Remember, users behave differently on mobile vs. desktop. It’s important to know what works on a big screen versus what experience is preferred on a small one.
Checkout Streamlining
Speed matters. The fewer steps and clicks, the more carts turn into conversions.
Page Speed
Slow sites lose sales. Especially if you’re expecting a surge in traffic to your site, your site needs to be able to handle and accommodate the engagement. This protects trust among users who already know and love your brand, and gives new visitors a strong first impression.
Channels That Retain
The sale isn’t the end of the journey—it’s just the start of the relationship. These channels help you keep customers engaged, encourage repeat purchases, and grow lifetime value. Loyalty marketing plays a big role here, too. By rewarding repeat buyers, personalizing follow-ups, and making customers feel valued, you can turn one-time purchases into lasting relationships.
1. Email Marketing
Why it matters: Email is one of the highest‑ROI channels in ecommerce because it engages your existing customer base at a near‑zero marginal cost.
Welcome Series
The welcome series helps you set the tone early with emails that introduce your brand and build trust without hard-sell tactics. These sequences are particularly important for big-ticket items that take deeper consideration.
Abandoned Cart Sequence
Abandoned carts are a consistent bane to ecommerce owners, representing hundreds of billions in lost revenue across the U.S. and E.U. markets.
An abandoned cart email series helps recover lost revenue by allowing you to send gentle nudges with product reminders, reviews, or limited-time incentives.
Post‑Purchase Journey
These types of emails are great for keeping your business top of mind after the sale. You can send product tips, reorder reminders, and upsells to keep the relationship going.
2. Affiliate & Influencer Partnerships
Why it matters: Partners extend reach and enhance your brand with third‑party trust and social proof.
Affiliate Networking
Affiliate networking can be a great partnership opportunity. Here, individuals promote your products in exchange for a commission on sales. It expands your marketing force without increasing overhead.
Influencer Tiers
Influencer marketing can be broadly divided into two tiers: macro and micro. Appropriately tapping into both can quickly drive brand growth and exposure.
Macro influencer marketing tends to target affiliates with large audiences of one million or more followers. These partners are best for creating buzz and rapid awareness.
Micro influencer marketing engages smaller, niche audiences in the order of tens or hundreds of thousands. These content creators often emphasize authentic relationships and sustained sales rather than large, isolated spikes.
Combining both strategies allows you to engage a more diverse audience.
Claim Your Free Marketing Audit
Need clarity on which channels will deliver the fastest growth for your store? Request a no‑obligation channel audit, and one of our strategists will show you quick‑win opportunities.
Ecommerce Marketing Trends (for 2025 & Beyond)
Marketers everywhere are barely keeping their heads above the near-constant stream of updates and changes to the way consumers shop. Here are a few we think are worth really keeping an eye on.
AI Visibility
Artificial intelligence (AI) now influences a much bigger piece of the online shopping space. For example, ChatGPT’s new shopping integration now helps site visitors ask natural questions, get real-time product suggestions, and compare their options. Brands that lean into the shift towards AI will be better positioned to compete and stay ahead.
Social Commerce
Social storefronts are becoming full-funnel sales channels: TikTok Shop alone is on pace to surpass $20 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV), thanks largely to its seamless “watch-and-buy” experience.
Early-stage brands report that social commerce already accounts for a meaningful share of first-time orders, proving the channel can introduce shoppers who might ignore traditional ads.
Voice + AR Commerce
Online shopping is being reshaped by voice assistants and augmented reality (AR). Plenty of people already reorder goods using voice commands, and AR allows them to visualize products, like trying on clothes or placing furniture, using their smartphones.
Brands that understand how to use these tools in a way that fits their audience are in the best position to stand out as commerce trends continue to evolve.
Building a Resilient Ecommerce System
Great ecommerce marketing isn’t about doing everything—it’s about doing the right things well. Attract with SEO, ads, and content. Convert with CRO, SMS, and smart design. Retain with email, partnerships, and great post-purchase experiences.
Put these pieces together and you’ll build a system that grows, adapts, and keeps your store moving forward. Here’s a quick overview of how to bring it all together.
- Prioritize channels: Before implementing new marketing tactics, identify and address the weakest point (or points) in your sales funnel. Focus on optimizing the channels that are underperforming or causing the most significant drop-off in customer progression.
- Budget by ROI + testing: Allocate your marketing budget strategically.
- Dedicate the majority to channels and tactics with a proven track record of high ROI.
- Invest a smaller portion in optimizing existing strategies to improve their performance.
- Reserve a smaller segment for experimenting with new channels and approaches to identify potential future growth opportunities.
- Pull in experts when needed: Recognize when external expertise can accelerate your growth. Consider partnering with specialized ecommerce marketing teams—like Human—to implement omnichannel strategies while you concentrate on product development and your core business operations.
Our ecommerce marketing approach follows this simple but powerful framework: fix the weakest link in your funnel, double down on what’s already driving results, and test new ideas in smart ways.
Dive into the Human Method to learn about how our proven methodology can secure sustainable growth for your brand.
Or, start with a free channel audit to get actionable insights straight from our team!
