Do you have a herbal product business, and need to reach more people online? Given the nature of some products and regulations, it may not be possible to use PPC (Pay-per click) or other paid media channels. But that doesn’t mean all is lost!
It’s still possible to use internet marketing for herbal products, you just have to know how!
Starting with the basics
Before sending any additional traffic to your website, it’s important to ensure that it’s ready from day-one to drive conversions. By driving conversions, we mean valuable actions we want website visitors to take. A conversion can be a purchase, or a sign up to your email sequence, or some other action we’d like a website visitor to do. (More about measuring this later!)
Why do this? Well, it ensures you’re getting the most ROI on your efforts from day one! Ultimately, this approach will lead to increased sales, a growing customer base, and a more profitable internet presence.
Getting your website in good shape
Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, your website should be:
- Fast-loading.
- Responsive (meaning it works well on all device types).
And your herbal website should have:
- Details and pictures of all your products.
- Copy (writing) that inspires customers to connect with your brand and products.
- A means to contact you for help.
- Payment methods you accept.
- Shipping, return policy, and other legal pages.
And your online presence as a whole should have:
- Cohesive visual branding and voice across all channels. This helps inspire trust in your brand.
Bringing people to your website
A word about websites: They don’t cause a flood of visitors the moment you publish it!
Once your site is up and live on the internet, you need to find ways to bring people to it. (And not many web designers are equipped with the knowledge to do this.)
And of course, you don’t just want anyone with a heartbeat… You want to get in front of those who are genuinely interested in buying what you sell, yeah?
Who are the right people to market to on the internet?
We find the right people and channels by proactively doing market research, and keyword research. In order to get the most out of research, we need to dig deep into what customers actively want, what they’re searching for, and why. Your targeting signals need to go beyond what you think your customers want.
If you’ve never done customer research and interviews before, it’s time to start doing this! No matter how long your business has been active, this kind of information can help us make better decisions on what to say in our marketing content, and so on. This means you won’t have to guess or assume as much, and make less mistakes.
Which channel should you invest time, money, and energy into for herbal products?
As mentioned earlier in this article, PPC or paid ads might be difficult for you. This is because advertisers have tough regulations around health-related products. If you’re going to use the internet to market your herbal products, then SEO is going to be one of your best allies!
Google Ads has a lengthy article detailing what health products are and aren’t allowed to be advertised. It varies country-to-country, and you may require certain certifications. Avoid Google Ads unless you know for sure you are allowed to advertise on this platform.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and it involves creating and adjusting web pages and content to stand out on search results. Even if some people pay to be in Google Search results (i.e. Google Ads), oftentimes a good unpaid result (we call this “organic”) will be more appealing to someone.
Besides, people don’t just use search when they want to buy something. People also use search when they want to learn more about something. If you can answer a concern or question someone is having better than another website, then that will put a good impression of your brand in that person’s mind. Who doesn’t want that?
Measuring what marketing channels work, and what doesn’t
You absolutely can, and should measure your online marketing efforts.
The most commonly recommended way to do this is with Google Analytics 4. This is because it gives us a picture of all your website traffic sources. For example, we can confirm that your organic social media posts are driving people to your website. And we can compare your social media traffic to incoming visits from Google Search. Quite handy, don’t you think? I mean, this is what we use to determine which marketing channels are most worthwhile.
Even if you’re pretty sure you’ve nailed your product and customer avatar, we can use Google Analytics to affirm whether or not the internet is bringing them to you.
So if you only take away one thing from this article: Ensure you have Google Analytics properly installed on your website. You don’t have to know what all the data means, but the sooner you start collecting it, the better it will be should you eventually work with a digital marketing consultant.
Conclusion
Herbal products, like many other products sold online, need some way to get in front of buyers.
Just like any other business, you deserve to be found and seen by the right people.
I wish you all the best in your business journey.
0 Comments