What matters when it comes to web traffic?
So much of being successful online is a complex numbers game. Opening a new store on the web is like opening a store in one of the remote reaches of the planet, putting a sign on the door, and then expecting customers to show up—ain’t gonna happen. Without advertising, there is no way anyone will find you. There are some free sources of traffic, but SEO is a long game and you pay for “free” social media advertising with time. Advertising is the time-honored way to get eyeballs but it is expensive. So what matters?
Volume
Size matters. Sheer numbers work the way knocking on more doors worked a hundred years ago. Get more people to your website and you’ll get more sales. So the most simplistic form of the sales equation looks like this: Sales = Traffic X Conversion rate. If the conversion rate remains constant, then more traffic means more conversions.
Target Audience
If you want to increase the conversion rate, you need traffic that is likely to be interested in what you are selling. This is where advertising, SEO, and Social media all act as magnets to bring in the right customers. AI is changing how this all comes together. SEO is moving from keywords to content and engagement. Here’s a post on that if you want to understand why AI is going to destroy keyword search. AI determines which people will be interested in your wares, and it predicts this better than the experts can. Privacy is coming into play with AI, but we are so connected that, using AI, Google and Facebook know what you’re in the market for and what you’re going to be in the market for.
If you post that you are expecting a child on Facebook, you can also expect to see a sea of baby-related ads in your feed. Your friends can expect to see fun baby shower gifts in theirs. Grandparents will see ads for college savings programs and a new round of life insurance ads. AI, at its core, is just a predictive engine.
If humans can’t design a better campaign than AI can, we will all get the traffic we pay for. Think about it, if someone with no marketing chops can use AI to develop campaigns that beat the experts, there is no meaningful competitive advantage in audience selection. AI is the best and everyone can use AI. Done and dusted.
Wait, what about Social Media?
It works, and it doesn’t. If you’re friends with Beyonce or Taylor Swift you’re all set. If you sell mass-market supplies or don’t love interacting with strangers, it will be a challenge. Social media gets eyeballs, but it doesn’t always convert. It can help you find and connect with your tribe. Those who are good at it are rewarded, those who aren’t good at it are frustrated. AI is probably going to impact social media soon, then it’s going to get weird. I mean what could go wrong with letting a predictive machine try to get people’s attention? (Hint: it gets racist and offensive pretty quickly.)
Customer experience
So, if we all have the same AI marketing genius design our campaigns, how are we going to impact our conversion rate so we don’t get killed by the competition?
- Sell products for a defined target customer that AI can identify.
- Create content that is interesting, relevant, and fresh.
- Focus on making websites that delight and engage shoppers.
- If you’re on Shopify, add Stylaquin to your site.
Stylaquin shoppers stay longer, view more items, come back more often, and buy more when they do. Seriously, now more than ever, making your website fun to shop is a great way to increase conversions and get more repeat traffic. We see it over and over, Stylaquin shoppers are three times more likely to come back to a site. Think about what that does to the equation if 5-30% of your site traffic is three times more likely to come back. If you are on Shopify, you can add Stylaquin in about 15 minutes, test it for free, and it starts at $29/month. Book a demo to learn more.
