AI-powered search results and the oft-delayed demise of third-party advertising cookies may push ecommerce marketers towards alternative forms of content marketing.
E-commerce stores rely on website visitors to make sales. Without shoppers, there are no orders. Two worrying trends could put a strain on storefront site traffic.
A dual challenge
The first challenge is a familiar one: Web browsers will soon remove advertising cookies that track shoppers across websites.
Cookies help ad networks learn about consumers and display more relevant ads – ads that are more likely to be clicked, which can lead to lower costs per click, better return on advertising spend and increased sales.
As Tracking cookies disappearAs more and more people use their mobile apps, ad networks may lose signal, making ads less effective and more expensive. The impact of this signal loss could be similar to how Apple changed how it tracks consumers across mobile apps in 2021, leading to a relative decline in the effectiveness of social media ads. E-commerce marketers may have to spend more to acquire paid traffic.
Organic traffic may also be an issue. After May 14, 2024, Google AI Overview This feature is available in many web searches — Bing has a similar feature called Copilot — and some in the industry believe these search summaries will dramatically reduce organic site traffic to many websites — research firm Gartner estimates that they could cause a 25% drop in organic traffic within two years.
E-commerce marketers need to find ways to make up for the decline in paid and organic visits, and alternative content marketing techniques are one possible solution.
AI search summaries may reduce the amount of organic search traffic to your website.
Content Substitution
For many marketers, content marketing is Search Engine OptimizationThese people see blog posts and even product detail content as a way to rank in search engines.
But when you look at content marketing from a broader perspective, focusing on three options can reap benefits beyond organic search.
Editorial Newsletter
For many people, email newsletters are New Blog It is also a significant source of traffic.
For example, consider an online garden center store.
The shop could start a newsletter called “Gardening This Week.” Every Thursday, it emails five gardening tips (three of which are handpicked from the web). The other two link to the garden shop’s blog, which used to get a lot of organic search traffic. Shops could “sponsor” their own newsletter and include links to their products.
This newsletter will have at least three positive impacts.
- It provides an alternative source of site traffic.
- If you know the email address, Abandoned Cart Recovery.
- Featuring one “sponsored” product in your editorial content can help boost sales.
Podcasts
In 2017, an Idaho-based farm and ranch retailer (where I was the director of marketing and e-commerce) launched an editorial podcast that eventually ran to 191 episodes.
The show was available on all major podcast platforms and aired on three local radio stations. At its peak, it reached 800,000 monthly listeners. Every time a product was featured on the podcast, sales of that product increased.
By 2024, it will be easier to monitor podcast performance, and using podcasts for content marketing could benefit ecommerce marketers in both traffic and sales.
Here’s how to do it:
Imagine an online wine retailer Start a podcast We interview sommeliers, winemakers and industry experts.
Episodes will be posted on popular podcast platforms and social media sites such as YouTube, and the host will encourage listeners to visit the store’s website and will also provide discount codes for wines mentioned in the interview.
On YouTube, the episode description will include a direct link to the wine retailer’s website and their offers for the week.
course
Some vendors sell products that require assembly or instructions on how to use them, and this is an opportunity to educate your customers. Through the courseA form of content marketing.
Imagine you have an online store selling knitting supplies. The shop can launch a comprehensive knitting course teaching the basics of how to hold knitting needles and how to create advanced patterns. This course can be posted on your shop website, a playlist on YouTube, or a dedicated portal such as Skillshare.
In each lesson, instructors can include a materials list with direct links to the store.
relief
Marketing performance is never certain. Part of that uncertainty is around advertising effectiveness and organic search traffic. Marketers interested in mitigating these challenges can try alternative forms of content like newsletters, podcasts, and courses.
