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Five Ways to Promote a New Apparel Website in Connecticut

by | Oct 6, 2011 | Articles

Consider the following fairly commonly type of scenario we receive from local clients seeking assistance with promoting their business online: “I have created a new website for my line of clothing for children in CT. Do you know how I can promote this new site without investing too much money? I would greatly appreciate your advice on some tips and tricks to get my company noticed online!”

In response to this type of inquiry, we normally offer a series of ideas regarding website promotion. The following are five examples of methods this website owner might use to drive traffic to her website, focusing on the aforementioned apparel scenario.

1) Ask yourself: are there specific websites that your most likely shoppers frequently visit? You could consider a variety of paid or free advertising options on such sites to build your brand recognition in the eyes of your target audience. For instance, if you are targeting mothers as the purchasers of children’s clothing, you could go to a few popular blogs that are read by mothers in your town or state that discuss tips for dressing kids. Once there, you can post an interesting or useful comment to catch the attention of mother readers, and at some point in your comment mention, ‘and hey, by the way, I manage this website that sells this style of children’s apparel.’ Remember to post a link to your website in your comment. This will help to drive relevant traffic to your website, and it does not cost anything.

2) Another option is to hire a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist. An SEO professional is trained and skilled in methods to increase your “organic,” non-sponsored, rankings in Google for keywords that summarize the products or services you offer (e.g., “children’s apparel”). This can be an expensive way to start, especially for a small businesses that is going after nationally competitive keywords. However, you could ask an SEO specialist to target more local phrases instead, such as “boys clothing CT.” Returns on investments in SEO for these types of niche keywords will come more quickly, and at a more reasonable cost. Unfortunately, depending on the search terms, there may be relatively few people searching for such local keywords phrases.

3) Submit feeds to shopping web platforms. This puts your products in front of existing markets. For example, Google has a separate section in which people can enter searches for products they are looking to purchase. This portal is called Google Products. Only companies and businesses that have submitted their product feeds to Google will show up in these searches, and Google Products is becoming an increasingly popular avenue for e-commerce. Filling in Google Products listings should be a relatively efficient process, depending on the size of your inventory, and it is one more worthwhile way to expand your exposure to potential web shoppers without spending a dime.

4) Businesses that contribute to their communities and local charities are always recognized. This is one way to have a positive civic impact, while at the same time making others in your area aware of your company and your values. Examples of such activities are: sponsoring an event for local businesses to press the flesh and talk about local economic stimulation strategies, or giving winter coats to kids affected by the hurricane or offering a free after school program that shows kids how to sow their own clothes (if, say, you own a local children’s clothing business). Overall, these approaches build press, and alert people to your brand, and hopefully encourage people to check out your online store.

5) Another great idea is to sponsor a newsletter whose audience is your potential customer. A carefully crafted newsletter with insightful content can help to drive traffic to your website, as you can set it up so that only parts of the letter can be read in an email inbox, and the rest has to be read on your actual website. Once you get a potential customer to your site to read an article from the newsletter, there is a good chance they will browse some of your products as well. The key here is composing quality content for your newsletter that piques the interest of your target clientele. This is yet another free and at times highly effective tool for website promotion?

If you are interested in learning more about increasing your visibility in major search engines, send us an email, or call 203-789-8229.