Do you get frustrated, looking at your Shopify store analytics? With a globally booming eCommerce market, you need to figure this out. Does it seem impossible? Before you judge, have a look at these 16 Shopify hacks that will pull in your traffic, customer engagement, and your revenue.
16 Shopify Hacks to Double Your Online Sales in 2023
- SEO-driven content and store optimization
- Product page optimization
- Choose the right Shopify template
- Set the right pricing strategy
- Be present on various social media platforms
- Create a shoppable Instagram feed
- Feature user-generated content
- Collaborate with Influencers
- Launch contests and giveaways
- Create a loyalty program
- Create a referral program
- Promotions, discounts, and a competitive pricing strategy
- Get more reviews
- Send cart abandonment emails
- Use an upsell
- Partner with a charity
#1 SEO-driven content and store optimization
As a startup store on Shopify, you might only have a handful of products, which means you just have a couple of pages that can potentially rank in Google.
But, when shoppers can quickly and easily find what they’re looking for, they’ll most likely spend more time on your store and view more pages, which increases your search engine rankings.
Similarly, creating SEO-optimized valuable content means higher chances for ranking on Google and more significant and free, organic search traffic.
How to implement this strategy
Optimize your store structure
Organize your content on Shopify using one of these structures:
- Homepage–> Category Pages–> Product Pages
- Homepage –> Category Pages –> Sub-Category Page –> Product Pages
Improve user experience
- Fast, mobile-responsive design
- Small, keyword-optimized images
- Get rid of any apps you’re not using
- Avoid using sliders
Find the right target keywords
- Refer to your buyer personas
- Use forums to find related search keywords.
- Check social media hashtags.
- Look at what your competitors are using (titles, alt-texts, meta descriptions, etc.)
Optimize your product pages
Consistently use your target keywords, for example:
Keyword 1 – Shop for Keyword 2 – Store name
Macbook Marble Cases – Shop for Marble Macbook Cases Online – Your Store Name
Content Marketing
Create valuable content pieces with your target keywords to educate your potential customers on their problems and on how to use your products to solve these problems.
Related: Complete eCommerce SEO Guide and Checklist – Free Download
#2 Product Page Optimization
Image Optimization
In SEO, a picture is not worth a thousand words unless you optimize it. Why does it matter for your Shopify? Because it has an immediate impact, and it’s super easy to do.
Optimize your Shopify images for SEO in 4 steps:
1. Compress the images
It is true that high-quality images can significantly slow down your website, but this doesn’t mean you have to stick to grainy pictures, though!
Shrink your images without compromising quality with the help of tools like TinyIMG, GIMP, Photoshop, or other image editors.
Aim at having your files in the 70-140KB range to boost load speed and enhance user experience.
2. Choose proper dimensions
Shopify allows users to upload images of up to 4472 x 4472 px and recommends 2048 x 2048 px for square images. Just keep in mind that the image must be at least 800 x 800 px if you want it to be zoomable.
3. Name files properly
Image optimization starts with correctly naming image files. Instead of IMG_7736.jpeg, use relevant keywords, as Google crawlers will take them into account.
4. Optimize Alt-texts for your images
Together with the filename, Google uses something called alt attributes to understand what your image is about.
Alt attributes are alt tags and alt titles. Alt tags show if an image doesn’t load, while Alt titles are less crucial to have, and they appear when users hover over the image.
When writing alt tags, keep in mind the following:
- Avoid generic keywords (sales, offer, etc.)
- Be descriptive: Sometimes, users can be very specific in their search queries.
- Write for the user: Use your keywords as coherently as possible.
- Write alt tags only for your products, not for decorative elements.
- Create a separate sitemap for your images, especially if you have many images/carousels.
Product descriptions that sell
For you to maximize your sales, you need to prioritize user experience. Instead of letting products speak for themselves, write useful and customer-focused descriptions.
1. Highlight the key features
Most of the time, online shoppers are in a hurry, which is why they just scan your products. To grab their attention, skip general introductions, focus on unique selling points, and list your products’ key features that address their pain points.
2. Use plain language
Whether your target customer is a teenager or a professor, keep your words simple and straightforward so they can grab the idea at a glance.
3. Be informative
Avoid praising your product and try to be informative rather than deceptive. Stay away from phrases like “best-selling”, “most demanding”, “top ranking,”, etc. as they can harm your business rather than do any good.
Add keywords strategically
Stuffing your keywords without providing value is going to hurt your ranking. SERPs can remove your product page if they scan your keyword 2-3 times in a 200-300 word document and consider it spam.
Here are few tips for you to consider:
- Do not stuff your keywords
- Use Latent Semantic Indexing
- Place your keyword in the headline, subheadings, and body content of a landing page.
- Optimize images by inserting keywords in the file name, ALT tags, and image description
- Write an informative and valuable description first, then optimize it for SEO.
Customer Product Reviews
Now you have your product page up and running; it is time to generate real reviews of your product. They help you build credibility, as 91% of online shoppers claim to trust online reviews and contributes to your search result. Apps like Stamped and Yotpo provide features like social Q&A, photos, and check-out reviews.
#3 Choose the right Shopify template
Although it can be quite tempting to choose and install a Shopify theme that is eye-catching and trendy, if this was at the expense of user experience, then all your efforts will fall flat.
Many beautiful-looking designs can significantly slow your eCommerce site’s loading speed, and when this happens, users abandon the page and the cart altogether.
In fact, just a second delay in loading can cause a 7 percent reduction in conversion rates.
Other important attributes that you should consider when choosing an SEO-friendly theme are:
- Responsiveness: Look for fully-responsive themes so your site can be accessed from any device.
- Cross-browser compatibility: Choose a cross-browser compatible theme, so you don’t narrow down your search in case shoppers use Firefox, IE, Opera, and Safari.
- Customer-friendly navigation: View your theme in the live demo before installing it to make sure the navigation is convenient and user-friendly.
- Drag and drop editor: This feature is no longer a luxury but a necessity. It helps you build new pages and enrich your site with multiple design elements.
#4 Set the right pricing strategy
If your prices weren’t competitive, they wouldn’t convert potential customers. If your prices limit you from offering the same value as other online stores, existing customers will look for alternatives. And, if your prices won’t allow you to make a profit, your whole business will fail.
Your prices on your Shopify store are much more important than you might think. However, if there was a single rule for setting a pricing strategy, selling online would be really simple. Luckily, different marketplaces have different algorithms, and we’ve got your back when it comes to Shopify.
Before jumping straight into the pricing strategy you want to adopt, you first need to consider what you can afford. Take your time to calculate the following costs.
- Product costs (including fees and charges)
- Fulfillment costs (warehouse rent, insurance, shipping, etc.)
- Business costs to run your Shopify store (domain name, marketing, staff, software costs, etc.)
If you can’t make the minimum profit threshold, then either your pricing strategy or your costs need to change.
Shopify pricing strategies
With hundreds of Shopify pricing strategies available, here are four examples along with their advantages and disadvantages:
1. Price matching
Matching your prices with that of your competitors allows you to stay competitive without being in a price war. However, with this strategy, your competitor’s prices might make you end up with negative profit margins.
2. Dynamic Pricing
It is also known as price wars, which involves pricing your products below that of your competitors’. You can attract price-conscious shoppers, which increases your conversion and customer acquisition rates. However, you will be risking your long term profits and your store’s reputation.
3. Bundles or subscriptions
This strategy involves selling multiple products at a reduced rate, which is great for slow-moving stock, introducing new products, or increasing the average order size. However, you will be risking the perceived quality of your products, which can affect sales.
4. Free shipping
This is a powerful pricing strategy that involves reducing the perceived product price by offering free shipping. It makes customers feel like they are getting a deal, which increases the average order size. But, if you don’t make it prominent, it may go unnoticed by customers.
#5 Be present on various social media platforms
Social media is a prime real estate and completely necessary. Different social media platforms work differently for various industries and products.
How to Implement this Strategy
Diversifying your presence among the platforms in the first stage allows you to test them and narrow down your options.
Platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have analytic tools to help you find which work best for your products.
Facebook specifically is a great destination for Shopify marketing. It allows store owners to create dedicated stores within their business profiles. They can drive sales using Facebook shop and leverage Facebook ads.
All you have to do is connect your Shopify and Facebook accounts to link your store products automatically.
#6 Create a shoppable Instagram feed
65% of Instagram users say that they use their Instagram feed to get inspiration on what to buy and discover new brands.
But, if they found a product they like and decided to buy, they will need to exit Instagram and go to the online store through the browser.
Will they be willing to take all these extra steps every time?
We don’t think so.
So can you imagine the number of missed sales?
Turning your Instagram into a shoppable feed can be a game-changer.
How to Implement this strategy
Some apps can help turn your Instagram bio link into a shoppable feed where customers can purchase products featured on your IG page (e.g., Snapppt). On the other hand you can hire eCommerce marketing agency that provides specialized services for promoting your store through Instagram, Facebook and even Snapchat.
#7 Feature User-Generated Content
Another way social media can help boost your sales is by allowing users to create content for you. Having people create messages using your products not only plays a significant role in SEO but increases your audience engagement and create a buzz around your products. This is exactly the type of content that goes viral.
How to implement this strategy
One of the easiest ways to encourage users to create content featuring your products is by offering an incentive. This content can be literally anything, from selfies to videos to write-ups.
One brand that nailed this strategy in 2009 was Burberry. Their Art of the Trench campaign encouraged people to post photos of themselves wearing Burberry’s trench coat. The result was a 50% increase in sales and over a million new Facebook followers.
#8 Collaborate with Influencers
Who are influencers?
They have a big audience on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. These people can drive huge amounts of traffic and sales simply because they have recommended your product to their fans.
How to implement this strategy
As a startup, you do not want to wait for it to happen organically. Look for opportunities to work with relevant influencers and get them to promote your products to their audience.
This can be through a sponsored post/story/video about your product, feature them in advertisements, or a collaboration.
Sponsorship
You can send influencers free products or pay them to review your product in front of their audience. This can be done by posting a picture, video, story, or a Youtube video.
For example, Calvin Klein had a viral campaign on Instagram by getting celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Iggy Azalea to post selfies with the brand’s underwear and the hashtag #mycalvins.
Within two weeks, the brand had 13,000 new fans on Instagram and 38,000 on Facebook.
Today, there are over half a million Instagram posts with that hashtags.
Feature them in your ads
Although bigger brands use this for TV ads, you can promote the influencer’s content using Facebook Ads as a startup. This way, you use them as models for your advertisements.
Collaboration
You can also consider working on a product together with an influencer. You can get them to name a new product you are launching, design it, or name the line after them.
An example of this type of collaboration is between Kanye West and Adidas to produce the shoe, Yeezy’s. Adidas’s increased its sales by 14% and net income by 10%.
#9 Launch Contests and Giveaways
Who doesn’t love freebies?!
We all do! Contests and giveaways are some of the easiest and time-tested methods to build brand awareness.
How to implement this strategy
The trick to a successful giveaway is to offer products valuable enough for your audience, so they want to enter the competition and win them. Invite users to like your page(s), share the giveaway post, and tag new friends. These are the main steps but feel free to add more, keeping in mind not to complicate stuff discouraging users from joining.
In their “Get Electric with UD” contest, Urban decay asked participants to create a Pinterest board featuring images of their favorite festival looks. The prize was winning tickets to Coachella, the biggest music festival in the country. In two months, Urban Decay’s Pinterest page received over 50,000 new followers.
#10 Create a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program is a strategy that encourages customers to continually re-purchase from your store by providing incentives. It can come in the form of a membership points system.
The more they spend, the more points they collect and the more rewards they get to redeem. Alternatively, it can be something like “buy 2 and get 1 free”.
Sephora’s Beauty Insider program follows this system. They offer tiers and rewards like exclusive products to keep their loyal customers coming back for more.
Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ CEO, revealed that Starbucks Rewards’ loyalty program is their primary business driver for profit gains and brand loyalty.
How to implement this strategy
If a loyalty program sounds complicated, there are many apps out there that can take care of your loyalty program. Use an app like Smile.io and you are good to go.
#11 Create a referral program
Word-of-mouth will always be the best marketing strategy that never fails to get you more customers. But, the bad news is that only a small percentage of satisfied customers would tell their friends about your product.
Why?
Because they’ll most probably forget!
Setting up your own referral program will solve this.
How to implement this strategy
A referral program offers incentives for customers who share your products with their friends to purchase from you. Creating this infinite viral loop influences the word-of-mouth process and continually sends traffic and sales to your store.
You can create a referral program using a custom-built solution or use Shopify apps to get it going.
Dropbox’s story might be very similar to yours and other startups. In its early days, the lack of users was becoming the reason for failure. For this reason, they turned into referral marketing, which produced phenomenal results. Dropbox grew their user base in just 15 months from 100,000 users to 4,000,000!
#12 Promotions, discounts, and a competitive pricing strategy
Who doesn’t like to shop in a sale? We all do, but some customers will even shop more because of the sale. Slicing your prices a bit can definitely boost your sales.
But, another method that can do wonders is the competitive pricing strategy. We know that pricing is one of the most important factors when it comes to online shopping. For that reason, shoppers are more than happy to swap stores when they see others selling similar products at cheaper prices. A competitive pricing strategy allows you to fix your price based on competition rather than costs and demands.
How to implement this strategy
The key to this strategy’s success is automation. Manually tracking all prices before you fix yours is a huge waste of time. Instead, use software to help you automate this process so you can focus on analysis and decision making.
Apps like Prisync display the products that should be monitored with their links so you can act on these insights.
#13 Get more reviews
Even if your prices were super competitive, customers would ALWAYS research before they hit the “Buy” button. And who will they trust whether or not to buy from your store?
Reviews.
It could be a review on Amazon, a blog post, or a comment in a random forum. Customers will be eager to dig for this info and check out whether your product is worth purchasing.
How to implement this strategy
Easy. Ask for it!
People will never forget to leave a bad review, but a satisfied customer will tend to forget. A call-to-action featured on your website can encourage them to do so, or some apps like Yotpo can help you with this. Similarly, if you already have a referral program, you can make leaving a review an awarded action.
Amazon features a bar with the latest reviews for every product they have, and they’ve gone further at their physical stores. Alongside the products, they’ve printed out and displayed customer reviews to encourage customers to buy products.
#14 Send cart abandonment emails
68.63% of customers are more likely to add your product to their cart and forget about it.
What does that mean?
If you fail to find a way to get them to complete their purchase, you’re losing a ton of sales.
A cart abandonment email is automatically sent to remind customers who add your products to the cart and leave without purchasing them.
How to implement this strategy
Tons of apps on Shopify can help you set up trigger-based cart abandonment emails (e.g., Omnisend). Read more about email automation in our article How To Use eCommerce Email Automation [Examples + Checklist]
#15 Use an Upsell
Most of the above tips will help you attract more customers to buy more often, but what about increasing every customer’s average order size?
An upsell can help you with that!
An upsell can be anything that makes customers increase their order—for example, selling a product that complements what they just bought— a laptop case for someone who just bought a laptop.
How to implement this strategy
A tempting upsell will depend on the kind of store and products you sell. Examples:
- A discount for buying more
- An upgrade on a current product they are purchasing
- A bundle deal
- A complementary product
- An extended warranty
- Purchase faster shipping
#16 Partner with a charity
Partnering with a charity makes customers associate your company with goodwill, encouraging them to purchase. Besides driving more sales, it helps build brand awareness, boosts your reputation, builds customer loyalty, and gives you access to numerous network opportunities.
TOM’S charitable campaign “One Day Without Shoes,” which donates a pair of shoes for each purchased one, made them sell 27,435 pairs in just one day in 2017.
3 Shopify plugins to optimize your eCommerce store
The functionality and the custom features Shopify offers is another reason why people love this platform. Here are 3 top plugins that can help you improve customer engagement and pull in more sales and revenue.
WishlistPlus
It offers a convenient solution for customers to keep track of the products they’re interested in. They don’t need to log in, and they can sync their wishlist across multiple devices.
One-Click Social Login
A major reason why customers abandon their carts is having to create an account. One-Click Social Login is the perfect solution to this problem. It provides users with automatic signup using popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram.
Socialphotos
This is another simple plugin with a brilliant concept. It gathers top photos of your products from popular social networks and creates an album of them on your e-commerce store via a widget. It is an easy way to display user-generated content and boost your store’s credibility and sales.
Now, your turn to implement these Shopify hacks
Which of the above 16 Shopify marketing hacks will you implement right away to get more traffic and sales?
Word of advice – always follow the Omnichannel marketing approach to make sure you’re marketing your products to your customers everywhere they go.
