EC
, which is an abbreviation for “electronic commerce,” refers to “electronic commerce” where transactions are conducted over the Internet. In the e-commerce market, which has continued to expand in recent years, the demand for customers has become increasingly intense.
Therefore, this time we will explain the types of advertisements on e-commerce sites, such as listing ads and SNS ads, and the advertising strategies used on e-commerce sites.
Importance of advertising on e-commerce sites
Just creating an e-commerce site will not increase sales.
As with any other business, e-commerce sites need to attract customers in order to increase sales.
There are various ways to attract customers, but it is said that attracting customers using blogs and SNS takes a certain amount of time to become effective.
In comparison, attracting customers through advertising is considered to be an important short-term measure because it produces short-term effects.
Advantages of using advertising
The biggest advantage of using advertising is that you can attract customers according to your purpose.
By attracting customers by combining your products and services with advertising, you can expect to increase sales.
Another advantage of advertising is that it is likely to be effective in the short term, meaning that you can expect to attract customers right away.
Disadvantages of using advertising
The biggest disadvantage of using advertising is that you need to raise advertising costs. In some cases, excessive advertising can put pressure on sales profits, so it is most important to attract customers efficiently by setting advertising costs appropriately according to sales.
The recommended method for monetizing your business is to attract customers in the short term through advertising, and in the long term to operate blogs, Instagram, etc., and diversify your channels to acquire customers.
What is effective advertising?
Basically, the following four methods are considered to be particularly effective in attracting customers to e-commerce sites.
A good method is to carry out these advertising measures according to your budget and period, and combine them with other advertisements while observing their effects.
- Listing advertisement
- remarketing ads
- affiliate advertising
- Google Shopping
All of these can be said to be measures to harvest potential customers from the latent layer, so a certain degree of cost effectiveness can be expected.
Use them alone or in combination to get the most out of them.
What types of web advertising are there?
Take a look below to see what kind of advertisements there are for your reference!
Google Shopping Ads
Google Shopping Ads is an advertising medium that is displayed at the top of search results when users search for products.
It can also be said to be an advertisement that is especially specialized for advertising EC products.
Advantages of Google Shopping Ads
- cost effective
Google Shopping ads tend to have higher click-through rates and higher conversion rates than listing ads, so the cost per click is lower, making it a highly cost-effective advertising medium. It is also a measure that does not make users feel wary because ads can be displayed naturally.
- In addition to text, you can also include images, prices, and other information.
Unlike other advertisements such as listing advertisements, advertisements can be easily understood by users by displaying images and prices. You can also increase your purchase rate by analyzing competing sites.
Disadvantages of Google Shopping Ads
- It takes effort to post products
In order to display a product on Google Shopping Ads, you must register product information in the Google Merchant Center. The procedure is divided into multiple steps and can be complex and time-consuming.
- Unable to specify keywords
Unlike listing ads, which allow you to specify keywords, Google Shopping ads do not allow you to specify keywords. Since Google makes a judgment based on registered information and displays advertisements, it must be said that it is difficult to implement the PDCA cycle.
Listing advertisement
Listing advertisements are advertisements that appear on the top page of a keyword search on Google or Yahoo! search engines.
This is an advertising method that encourages users to take action after searching for a specific keyword.
Listing ads are also known as “search-linked ads,” and they are characterized by being charged each time a user clicks on them.
Advantages of listing ads
- You can directly approach existing customers
Listing ads are ads that can be displayed to users who search for specific keywords.
For example, let’s say you run an e-commerce site that sells shampoo for women. When a user searches for “shampoo for ladies,” ads can only be delivered to users who want shampoo for ladies, making it an extremely cost-effective advertising medium.
This is a very effective measure because there are few media that can pinpoint advertisements to users’ needs.
- Since it can be delivered immediately, the effects can be seen quickly.
Listing ads can be distributed on the same day if they pass the screening process by Google etc. If you want to advertise a new product, you can immediately place an advertisement, and conversely, if the advertised product is out of stock, you can immediately stop advertising, so it is very flexible.
- Run PDCA in real time
For listing ads, you can check the real-time ad click rate and product sales on the management screen. Therefore, by checking the results and making adjustments, it is possible to run the PDCA cycle at high speed.
For example, let’s assume that an ad is distributed with certain wording and the click-through rate is high, but the conversion rate until product purchase is low. You can immediately stop advertising distribution and readjust the wording to increase the conversion rate for product purchases. This is a suitable advertising medium for those who like analysis.
Disadvantages of listing ads
- There are a certain number of users who dislike advertisements.
Listing ads are displayed in a fixed location on the top page and are clearly written, so they tend to be ignored by literate users.
- Image not available
Unlike display ads, which will be introduced later, listing ads need to appeal to users using only text. This ad is not suitable for those who need images of the product.
- Unable to reach potential users
Since the advertisement is displayed to users who have searched for specific keywords, it is not possible to promote products to users who do not search for keywords. This advertisement is not suitable for purposes such as increasing awareness.
affiliate advertising
Affiliate advertising is an advertising medium in which an advertiser called an affiliate introduces the advertiser’s services and products on his or her own blog. This is a performance-based advertisement that pays a fee when a conversion is achieved through a product introduction page, etc.
Advantages of affiliate advertising
- Highly cost-effective as it is a performance-based system
In the case of performance-based advertising, the cost-effectiveness is very high compared to other types of advertising because you are paid only when the product is purchased. It can be said that it is possible to advertise products efficiently.
- Ability to expand awareness
Since your products will be introduced on various blogs, you can quickly expand awareness of your company’s website and products. It can be said that great effects can be expected depending on the affiliate advertising.
- Initial costs are reduced
Compared to mass advertising such as TV commercials, the initial cost to start affiliate advertising is very small.
Disadvantages of affiliate advertising
- Not necessarily advertised
The advertiser, the affiliate, chooses from among the many projects within ASP and advertises it on his or her own blog. The amount of performance remuneration is important in order to be selected for the project, so the focus is on how high the remuneration amount can be raised.
- Ratings may drop depending on the content of the advertisement.
Some affiliates write excessively worded texts that encourage people to purchase products in order to earn performance rewards. Users who have purchased the product may feel a gap with the advertisement, resulting in a drop in ratings, and there are also patterns in which the product may become a hot topic, so be careful.
remarketing ads
Retargeting advertising is an advertising medium that repeatedly displays ads to users who have visited your e-commerce site.
By using the web browser’s ability to save cookie data, you can track users and display advertisements from your own site in ad space on other sites they are viewing.
Benefits of remarketing ads
- high conversion rate
Retargeting advertising is a medium that displays advertisements to users who have visited your website once.
In other words, it can be said to be a re-approach to users who have once had an interest. Therefore, it can be said that the rate of purchasing the product is higher than users who do not have a need.
- Good compatibility with high-priced products
When purchasing an expensive item, it takes time to complete the purchase. In other words, there are a certain number of users who visit your site with interest but leave to consider it.
Since you can approach such users repeatedly, it is compatible with e-commerce sites that sell high-priced products.
Disadvantages of remarketing ads
- I can’t shake the feeling of being chased
Since it tracks the user’s movements and displays advertisements, users cannot shake the feeling that they are being followed. Therefore, when operating retargeting ads, it is necessary to pay attention to the display frequency of ads.
- Difficult to widen awareness
It is difficult to reach latent audiences because ads are displayed to visible audiences who have already visited your website. This is an advertising medium for users who are already interested.
display advertising
Display ads are ads that are displayed in ad spaces on general websites and apps. It is possible to advertise not only with text but also with images and videos, making it possible to advertise to users visually.
Since many advertisements are displayed as banners, they are also called “banner advertisements.”
Advantages of display advertising
- Possible to approach potential layer
The advantage of display advertising is that you can aim to increase awareness among people who are unaware of your company’s services and products. This is a big difference from listing advertising, which is good at appealing to the existing demographic.
- Visual appeals can be made using images and videos
Unlike text-only listing ads, display ads use images and videos to visually appeal to users about your products and services. Since it is easier to receive information than text-based information, it has a large impact on the purchase rate.
Disadvantages of display advertising
- Less effective than listing ads
Unlike listing ads, which display ads to visible audiences, display ads target latent audiences whose needs are unknown. Many people can recognize it, but the chances of them actually purchasing the product are lower than with listing advertisements.
- Difficult to analyze (difficult to implement PDCA)
Unlike listing ads, which only use text to appeal, displays have many factors that affect the results in a complex manner, such as display position, images, and videos. It takes time and effort to analyze which factors led to a product purchase (conversion).
- Not cost effective
Aiming to increase awareness means that more users will view or click on display ads. This will increase advertising costs and speed up the rate at which advertising costs disappear. In addition, there are many users whose needs are unknown, and the probability of conversion is low, and in many cases, the cost-effectiveness may be low.
SNS advertising
SNS advertising is an advertising medium that uses advertising space on SNS such as Twitter and Instagram. The method of advertising on SNS, which is used by many users, has become popular in recent years.
It has the advantage of displaying advertisements in a more natural manner.
Advantages of SNS advertising
- Detailed targeting possible
Users register personal information such as address, age, gender, etc. on SNS, and it is possible to set accurate targeting based on that information. Therefore, you have a higher chance of reaching the potential customers you are targeting.
- Reach potential customers
Similar to listing ads, SNS ads can display ads to various customer groups. In addition, Twitter and other sites have RT (retweet) functions that can be expected to have a spreading effect, making it possible to gain a wider range of recognition.
- Natural ad display
SNS advertising is a method of displaying ads within the apps that users usually use, so some ads blend in naturally. Therefore, it is a method that is easily accepted by users.
Disadvantages of SNS advertising
- There is a possibility of a fire
SNS advertisements have the ability to spread the word, and there are patterns in which advertisements are launched to attract the attention of users with radical expressions, causing a stir. You need to be careful when operating advertising, as it can lead to damage to your own brand.
- Difficult to reach older age groups
The average user of SNS is mainly between the ages of 10 and 50, so SNS advertising is not suitable if you are targeting older age groups. Traditional TV ads, newspaper ads, and direct mail are likely to be friendly methods for older demographics.
Mail magazine advertisement/email advertisement
Mail magazine advertisements are advertisements distributed by email. This means posting advertisements in e-mails sent to e-mail addresses issued by external services, rather than e-mails sent to your own company’s own e-mail addresses. Your article will be published by submitting it to an e-mail magazine publisher or intermediary that has a large number of readers.
The fee structure for e-mail magazine advertisements varies depending on what is published, but in many cases there is a fee that is a combination of the unit price of the advertisement, the number of circulation (number of readers), the position of the advertisement, etc.
There are many types of email newsletters, each with different characteristics such as user attributes. You need to clarify the user group you want to reach and choose the most suitable location.
merit
- Can improve awareness
- You can reach many users with one distribution
Disadvantages
- There are cases where the open rate is low, so it is not always possible to get the page viewed.
- It is not possible to obtain the email address of the user to whom the message is delivered.
- Compared to SNS advertising, it is weak in spreadability and immediacy.
How to choose web advertisements to post
As mentioned above, when considering placing an advertisement on the web, it is necessary to clarify the “purpose,” “target,” and “goal.”
The purposes of placing advertisements include “increasing brand and product awareness” and “improving CVR,” but the web advertisements that should be implemented are different for the two.
Furthermore, by clarifying your target user group, it becomes easier to choose where to advertise.
When choosing advertisements and media and starting to place ads, it is important to decide on specific numbers and set “goals.”
Not only does posting and posting an ad cost a lot of money, but it also requires analysis using specific numbers, such as the number of accesses and CVR.
Therefore, by setting numerical targets for advertising in advance, try to respond flexibly by increasing cost-effectiveness or changing to more suitable ads.
What is EC-CUBE?
This is the name of the e-commerce site construction package provided by the Japanese company EC-Cube Co., Ltd. Originated in Japan, it is an open source software with the No. 1 market share in Japan.
Using EC-CUBE, you can express your originality, and it is less expensive and time-consuming than building from scratch.
When building an e-commerce site, it is easy to open a store in a rental cart or mall, but there are restrictions on functionality and design. On the other hand, building one from scratch is expensive and time-consuming.
EC-CUBE has the best of both worlds and is recommended for people who want to create an original EC shop without spending a lot of money.
summary
This time, we introduced measures for web advertising on e-commerce sites.
The expected effects of web advertising vary depending on the type and pricing structure. Therefore, when considering advertising, it is necessary to clearly set the purpose, target, period, numerical goals, etc. in advance.
Even if you can’t afford to create EC, you can use EC-CUBE in recent years without worrying about the cost. Please feel free to use the EC site as a reference.