[ANALYSIS]: The Best-Converting Traffic Sources in E-commerce Stores

In online stores selling home and garden accessories as well as children's products, purchases are most often made by consumers who reached the store directly by typing in the website address or through a search engine query. In electronics stores, on the other hand, the best results are generated by buyers redirected from price comparison sites - according to an analysis by PromoTraffic and Selly.

Direct, search engines and price comparison sites are the three traffic sources distinguished by their purchasing potential, both in terms of the number of transactions and their value - according to an analysis of online stores built on the Selly platform.

It is crucial for every e-business to monitor traffic statistics: where the buyer comes from, which visit sources bring the largest number of transactions, and which generate sales of the highest value. With this knowledge, it is possible to create appropriate advertising strategies and select tools in such a way as to maximize campaign results and earn money. After all, sales are the measure of an online store's success.

Direct, or direct traffic

Direct, or direct traffic

This group includes store visits that result from typing the page address into the browser window or the brand name into a search engine.

This is a channel that primarily shows the strength of the brand - says Robert Stolarczyk, CEO of PromoTraffic, a digital agency for e-commerce. - An internet user who has come across an ad for the store or, for example, has made a purchase there before, remembered the name - they will type it into the browser or search engine bar. Entering the store's website via an advertising link that did not end in a purchase does not mean the advertising campaign failed and the money was wasted, because it is often the first, very important point of contact between the customer and the brand. Before the customer types in the website address, quickly fills the cart and finalizes the transaction, there may be several more such touchpoints, and the path leading through them may be complicated, multi-channel and spread over time. Attribution modeling helps determine where the customer who entered the store directly actually came from. Thanks to tools that track users online, it allows determining whether the buyer had appeared in the store earlier to "look around", and if so, how they got there - he adds.

Data from Selly online stores offering products in the Home & Garden industry shows that the direct channel accounts for the largest share, over 35 percent of orders.

It is worth noting that this number of orders represents almost half of all paid transactions in terms of value - notes Mariusz Połowczuk, owner of Selly, a company offering e-commerce store software. - A slight upward trend can also be seen in this area compared to the first half of 2020. It can therefore be concluded that e-consumers have taken a liking to buying household products online.

Interestingly, in the first half of 2021, stores recorded a lower number of orders placed via marketplaces or price comparison sites - while the share of social media channels increased slightly.

To increase the number of direct visits, one should above all work on the brand's image and recognition - recommends Stolarczyk. - These are long-term investments - just like building a loyal community. There are quite a few effective advertising formats that work well at the brand-building stage and the upper stages of the funnel, measurably influencing sales. There is particularly big potential in YouTube. It is important to take care of brand recognition, as well as to develop specific associations with the product, which will definitely improve its memorability.

Traffic from search engines

Traffic from search engines

The best-converting traffic sources in e-commerce stores: industry comparison

By typing a so-called keyword into a search engine, e.g. the name of a specific item or service, the user receives a list of suggestions. Next to organic results, i.e. those that in Google's assessment best match the query, they will also find matched ads. The further choice is up to the internet user.

Our data shows that in the case of stores offering children's products, every third purchase comes from a search engine. This is a slightly lower result than a year ago. Meanwhile, 26 percent of transactions are direct visits - explains the CEO of Selly. - Nevertheless, it is precisely these that have a share in terms of purchase value higher by over 5 percent than sales obtained from search engines - he adds.

Every day, users search for billions of phrases on Google. Conducting marketing activities using this most popular search engine is an indispensable element of an online store's strategy. Thanks to them, it is possible to make e-consumers notice a given brand more often than others, and thus more willingly buy its products.

Most marketers are well familiar with both SEO, positioning the store's website so that Google considers it valuable and places it high, as well as Google Ads and text advertising - says Stolarczyk. - What has turned out to be most effective for online stores in recent years is PLA, i.e. Product Listing Ads - an advertising format that displays the specifically sought product directly in search results with a photo, price and a link to the store - explains the CEO of PromoTraffic.

Price comparison sites

Price comparison sites

These are services that present products from various online stores. They allow internet users to find the most favorable offer for them. The selection criterion is usually price. Following the buyer's decision, they redirect them to a specific web address, where they will likely make a purchase.

Transactions originating from this source dominate in industries such as computers or consumer electronics, i.e. those where price plays a major role in the purchasing decision.

For many e-stores, presence in a comparison site means the necessity to offer the lowest possible prices. Not every e-business can afford such a policy.

To avoid this, it is a good idea to take care of positive reviews and recommendations for the store. Thanks to this, customers for whom price does not matter as much will more willingly make transactions in a store that guarantees positive experiences throughout the entire purchasing process - recommends Stolarczyk.

There is no single, ideal sales channel to invest in. On the contrary - comprehensive activities that take into account various forms of advertising, with continuous analysis of their effectiveness, give a chance not only to appear, but also to successfully stay in e-commerce. The internet provides many opportunities, but at the same time it changes very dynamically. It is therefore worth being patient, because not all activities bring immediate results and are equal in terms of effectiveness.

Summary

The PromoTraffic and Selly analysis indicates that in stores with home, garden and children's products, direct visits and search engine traffic convert best, while in electronics, price comparison sites dominate. Direct generates over 35 percent of orders in the Home & Garden industry, and in the children's segment every third purchase comes from a search engine. Experts emphasize the role of brand building for direct traffic and the effectiveness of the PLA format in Google. The optimal strategy is to combine different channels rather than relying on a single source.