All About Marketplace Promotion: 7 Ways to Promote Your Brand and Product

Contents:

• How free promotion on marketplaces works
• How to use paid methods of promotion on marketplaces
• From which channels can you attract external traffic
• How to learn more about promotion on marketplaces

How free promotion on marketplaces works

Product card promotion can be done in three main ways: SEO, reviews, and promotions. These methods can be considered conditionally free, since they either require time for their implementation or can lead to a decrease in profits. Let's consider each of these tools in more detail.

SEO (search engine optimization) helps improve the visibility of product cards in search engines, which increases the chances of attracting buyers. Proper text optimization, use of keywords, and the creation of high-quality meta tags contribute to higher rankings in search results.

Reviews play an important role in building trust in a product. Positive user reviews can significantly increase conversion and increase sales. Therefore, it's important to actively collect, publish, and respond to reviews to maintain a good product image.

Promotions and special offers can attract attention to product listings and encourage purchases. Discounts, sales, and gifts are excellent tools for increasing interest in a product and enhancing its competitiveness.

These three methods of promoting product listings require a careful approach and strategy to effectively utilize their potential and achieve maximum results.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a set of activities aimed at improving your product's visibility in search engines. Proper SEO optimization allows platform algorithms to accurately determine the product you offer and place it in the appropriate categories and according to relevant user queries. This increases the chances of attracting your target audience and increases conversions, which in turn leads to increased sales. Optimization includes keyword analysis, creating high-quality content, and improving the site structure, which together helps achieve high positions in search engines.

SEO is the foundation of successful online promotion. Like the foundation of a house on which the entire structure is built, SEO creates a solid foundation for other promotional tools. Without this foundation, all other strategies will be less effective and will not reach their full potential. Proper website optimization, including keywords, meta tags, and high-quality content, ensures high search engine rankings and attracts the target audience.

To optimize a product card, there are several key aspects to consider. First and foremost, it is essential to create a unique and informative description that clearly communicates the product's features and benefits. Use keywords that potential buyers are likely to enter into search engines to improve the card's visibility in search results.

Also, you should add high-quality, zoomable product images so buyers can examine them in detail. Make sure all images have appropriate alt attributes with a description, which will aid in SEO.

It's important to include reviews and ratings, as they build trust in the product and can influence purchasing decisions. Don't forget to structure your headings and subheadings correctly to make information easier to digest. Optimize meta tags and URLs to ensure they contain keywords and are easy to read.

Also, include information about shipping and returns so users have a complete understanding of the purchasing process and can make more informed decisions. Keep the information current and regularly update the product card to reflect changes in the product range and consumer expectations.

• Create a semantic core. This is a set of keywords that describe the product. Users search for your product using these keywords. You can collect keywords using marketplace tools or external services, such as Yandex Wordstat.
• Add keywords to product cards. Keyword phrases should be placed in the title, description, and specifications. Keyword management affects a product card's position in the marketplace category search results and in search results.
• Analyze product card positions. This is an ongoing process. Once a week, month, or quarter, you need to check which search phrases your product card ranks for, which ones it doesn't, and which categories it's shown in. This can be done using external analytics services. If you're not satisfied with your search ranking, you need to adjust your product card—for example, by adding additional search phrases.

Skillbox Media has published an article dedicated to search engine optimization of product cards on the Wildberries platform. This material covers all the key stages in detail, from creating a semantic core to selecting effective keywords for the product name. Optimizing product cards is crucial for increasing visibility and sales on Wildberries, so the recommendations outlined in this article will be useful for both beginners and experienced sellers. Skillbox courses for those looking to earn money on marketplaces offer unique opportunities to master the skills needed for successful online trading. The program includes practical exercises that will help you understand the specifics of working with various platforms, such as Wildberries, Ozon, and others. You will learn how to manage inventory, optimize product cards, and effectively use advertising to increase sales. Skillbox courses are suitable for both aspiring entrepreneurs and those looking to improve their skills and expand their business on marketplaces. Start your journey to e-commerce success with Skillbox courses.

• "Marketplace Marketer" — for those who want to learn how to promote products on marketplaces, social media, Telegram, and contextual banners, and scale sales.
• "Promotion on Wildberries and Ozon" — for those who want to better understand the platforms' promotion tools and attract customers there.
• "Marketplace Manager: Advanced Course from Scratch" — for those who want to master not only promotion, but also procurement, inventory management, logistics, and earn money by supporting sellers.
• "Top Seller on Marketplaces" — for those who want to start a marketplace business from scratch or list their product there.

Reviews play a key role in confirming product quality. A lack of reviews on a product page negatively impacts its ranking on marketplaces and reduces the likelihood of purchase. Conversely, a large number of positive reviews can significantly increase a product's visibility, ensuring it ranks high in both category and specific search results. Effective review management not only improves product rankings but also increases customer trust, which ultimately leads to increased sales.

To successfully promote your store on the marketplace, it's important to actively manage reviews. There are two main ways to increase the number of reviews: using the platform's marketing tools and using the self-review method. Both approaches help build customer trust and improve product visibility, which in turn leads to increased sales. By effectively managing reviews, you can create a positive image for your store and attract more customers.

Among the largest marketplaces, a review collection tool is only available on Ozon. This tool is called "Reviews for Points." This feature allows you to activate review collection and set the amount you are willing to pay for each review. The rate ranges from 50 to 500 rubles, allowing you to be flexible in collecting customer feedback. This system helps build trust in your product and improve its visibility on the platform, which in turn can lead to increased sales.

After purchasing a product on Ozon, the user will be asked to leave a review in exchange for points. The user will write their review, and Ozon will deduct the corresponding amount from your account, awarding points for the review provided.

Self-buyback is a process in which a seller purchases their own product, leaves reviews, and then returns it to the market. This practice, while obvious, is highly controversial and controversial within the community. Many marketplaces, such as Wildberries and Ozon, strictly prohibit self-buyback and have implemented special systems to analyze sales and identify violations. Sellers who use self-buyback can face serious consequences, including fines and even account bans. However, many sellers continue to resort to this practice despite the risks.

Self-buyback offers a significant advantage in obtaining reviews, which helps speed up product promotion. Quick reviews can increase product visibility and appeal on the marketplace. However, it's important to consider the downsides of this method. The main drawback is high costs. When selling expensive items, the marketplace's commission can make a single review quite costly, sometimes reaching several thousand rubles. Therefore, it's important to carefully evaluate the profitability of using buybacks for your business.

Use buybacks with caution. This process can be an effective asset management tool, but it requires careful analysis and an understanding of the risks. Before deciding on a buyback, it's important to evaluate the company's financial health, current market conditions, and the potential impact on shareholders. Ensure that the buyback is consistent with the long-term business strategy and will not lead to a deterioration in liquidity. Making an informed and balanced decision will help avoid negative consequences and ensure sustainable development.

• Imitate the behavior of ordinary buyers. Do not buy a product via a direct link or search for it by SKU, as most users do not do this.
• Use the search phrase you want to promote the product by. Enter it, set up filters, and search for your product in the catalog. This way, the search algorithm will remember that your product was purchased for this query and will promote the card in the search results.
• Use different data for redemption. You need different accounts, preferably registered long ago. Pay for the goods with different bank cards and pick up from different pickup points at different times.
• Redeem the goods and write reviews not every time you place an order. Users may not pick up their orders - or pick them up but not write a review, even if they liked everything. And if your card receives reviews much more often than your competitors' cards, this will attract unnecessary attention from the algorithms.

The redemption rate and the frequency of user reviews vary depending on the product category. To obtain accurate data, it is recommended to analyze these metrics separately for each product. This will allow you to more effectively assess interest in the product and improve your sales strategy.

Some product categories have a low redemption rate. For example, for clothing and footwear, this figure is around 30%. Meanwhile, in the electronics category, it can reach 90-95%. This means that for successful promotion of a product page in the clothing segment, 3 out of 10 completed orders must be redeemed. For electronics, 9 out of 10 customers must return their purchases. Effective promotion of product pages requires taking these metrics into account in order to adapt your sales strategy and increase conversion.

To determine the optimal number of reviews, it is recommended to study your competitors' product pages. These pages display information about the number of purchases and reviews left. This will help you understand how many reviews it might be worth leaving to increase the visibility and trust of your product.

To calculate the percentage of reviews, divide the total number of reviews by the number of sales and multiply the result by 100. For example, if you have 10,697 reviews and 43,800 sales, the calculation would be: 10,697 divided by 43,800 and multiplied by 100, which gives 24%. This means that for every 10 purchases, it's a good idea to leave 2-3 reviews. This approach helps maintain a high product reputation and attract new customers.

The main factor influencing sales on marketplaces is competitive pricing. Therefore, platforms regularly organize promotions that sellers can join. As part of these promotions, sellers set discounts on their products, and the marketplace actively promotes these offers by including them in special lists of promotional items. This helps attract more customers and increase sales, making participating in promotions profitable for sellers.

There are numerous promotions that often run continuously. Participating in every one is not mandatory, as this can lead to the risk of becoming dependent on the situation and constantly selling products at prices close to zero. It is better to choose the most advantageous offers to avoid financial losses and preserve profits.

You should only participate in promotions that deliver significant results. Promotions can be divided into two main types:

• Category, or niche, promotions. These are designed to promote a specific product category. By participating, you can increase your share of the category, which will positively impact your product card rankings.
• Mass, or seasonal, promotions. These are promotions that apply to all product categories. Black Friday is one example. Marketplaces themselves promote such promotions by posting articles in the media and running ads. This attracts a lot of traffic to the platforms, which means you can sell more.

Other promotions should be considered as additional tools. If you notice that sales are stagnating, joining a promotion for one or two days can significantly help. This will create the necessary impetus for sales growth and attracting new customers.

Optimizing text for SEO is an important step in increasing the visibility of your content. Use keywords that are relevant to the topic to improve positions in search engines. Make sure the text is structured and easy to read. Include internal links to other pages on your site to increase user dwell time and reduce bounce rates. Update your content regularly to keep it current and relevant. The more valuable and informative your content, the more likely users are to return and share it.

Marketplace Manager: Responsibilities, Skills, Business Importance, and Development Paths

A marketplace manager is a specialist responsible for managing sales on online platforms. Their primary responsibilities include optimizing sales processes, increasing product visibility, and enhancing their competitiveness. They analyze market trends, develop promotion strategies, and collaborate with suppliers.

Key skills of a marketplace manager include analytical thinking, knowledge of online marketing fundamentals, experience working with various platforms, and the ability to work with data. They must be well versed in SEO, SMM, and contextual advertising tools to effectively attract the target audience.

A marketplace manager is essential for businesses to increase sales and expand their market. They help optimize product offerings, improve customer service, and increase satisfaction. Without a qualified specialist, it is difficult to achieve high results in competitive online markets.

To become a marketplace manager, you must obtain an education in marketing or business and complete specialized courses. Practical experience gained through working with various platforms will also be a big plus. Developing analytical skills and understanding the specifics of each marketplace platform will help you succeed in this field.

How to use paid promotion methods on marketplaces

All marketplaces offer the option of paid store promotion through advertising. Each platform offers a unique set of advertising tools. Let's look at the three main promotion methods available on most marketplaces: product advertising, storefront advertising, and marketing support. These methods will help increase your store's visibility and attract more customers. Product advertising allows you to highlight specific items, the storefront helps create an attractive interface for users, and marketing support includes various promotions and special offers. Using all of these tools together helps effectively promote your business on marketplaces.

Paid product card advertising allows you to effectively promote products on online platforms. On Wildberries, this tool is presented as "Online Advertising," while on Ozon, it's called "Stencils" and "Search Promotion." To launch an advertising campaign, you need to select products, set a budget, set bids, and determine the timing. This approach helps increase product visibility and attract more customers, which in turn drives sales.

Advertising operates on the principle of an online auction. In this model, the seller sets a bid, for example, per thousand impressions of their ad. Several sellers compete for each placement, and the higher the bid, the more impressions the ad will receive. This creates a competitive environment in which sellers strive to increase their bids to achieve maximum visibility and attract audiences. Therefore, successful advertising depends not only on the bid size but also on the quality of the content and the targeting of the audience.

Product cards can be displayed in various sections, including competitors' pages, search results, categories, and promotions. On the Wildberries platform, users can independently choose where their product cards will be placed. Meanwhile, on Ozon, card placement is determined by algorithms, allowing for the efficient selection of optimal display locations. Proper management of product card placement can significantly increase visibility and sales, which is especially important in the highly competitive online marketplace.

The marketplace provides detailed statistics for each advertising campaign. Users can track the number of product page impressions, the number of clicks, the cost per click, and the number of orders received. This information allows you to optimize advertising strategies and increase sales efficiency.

The store page design consists of a list of all the brand's products. However, for a fee, you can create a specialized landing page, including product selections, banners, and calls to action. This approach allows you to effectively highlight and promote products that are a priority for your business. On the Wildberries platform, this tool is called "Brandzone," and on Ozon, it's called "Showcase." Using these tools helps increase product visibility and the likelihood of purchase.

To successfully publish a storefront, you must pay for access to the tool and complete the registration process. This includes uploading a logo, creating thematic product collections, and developing banners. In most cases, companies seek the help of professional designers to achieve the best results.

A storefront is an important tool for shaping a brand's image, helping to increase brand awareness and consumer loyalty. This tool is most often used by large brands that offer hundreds or thousands of products on marketplaces. For beginning sellers, a storefront is typically not a priority, as they can focus on other aspects of running a business.

Marketplaces launch advertising campaigns through their marketing departments, offering their clients media kits. A media kit is a document containing detailed information about available services and their prices. You can select the services you are interested in and subscribe, for example, on a monthly basis. All remaining processes will be managed by specialists, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business.

Marketplaces often offer package placement services, which include On-site promotion, outdoor advertising, and media placement are all part of the package. These comprehensive solutions are especially relevant for companies with high turnover seeking to enhance their image. The cost of such packages starts at several million rubles per month. These investments can significantly increase brand awareness and attract new audiences, which in the long run can lead to increased sales and a stronger market position.

You can choose customized store promotion, focusing on a single tool, such as banners on the homepage, category pages, and individual landing pages. However, it's important to remember that these pages can contain numerous banners, leading to a phenomenon known as "banner blindness." This means that users may not notice your ads, and as a result, this tool may not generate a significant number of orders. To improve efficiency, it is worth considering using other promotion methods in combination with banners to achieve better results.

Reworking text for SEO can include optimizing keywords, improving structure and clarity. It is important that the text remains informative and on-topic.

Read also:

Remote work at Wildberries: terms and pay for managers

Remote work on the Wildberries platform attracts many applicants thanks to its flexible schedule and the ability to work from anywhere. However, it is important to understand the responsibilities of managers and their pay.

Managers at Wildberries perform a variety of tasks, including inventory management, sales analysis, and interaction with suppliers. Pay depends on the level of responsibility and the scope of tasks performed. On average, managers can expect a competitive salary, which varies depending on experience and qualifications.

It is important to note that working at Wildberries requires a high degree of self-organization and effective time management. Knowledge of e-commerce fundamentals and skills in using analytical tools are required to successfully complete tasks.

Overall, remote work at Wildberries provides excellent opportunities for career growth and professional development, and also allows you to receive a decent salary.

Which channels can be used to attract external traffic?

Marketplaces attract "hot" traffic - buyers ready to purchase a product. However, to effectively promote products, you can also use "cold" traffic, drawing attention to products through external platforms and channels. There are many such channels. Let's consider three of the most popular methods that sellers often use to increase sales.

• WB Guru and Ozon Club services. These are marketplace content platforms where you can post articles and videos and natively promote your product. For example, a seller of pet accessories can write an article about dog care conditions and mention bowls, collars, and combs there. This is a relatively free promotion method—you can write the articles yourself or outsource the task to a copywriter.
• The Yandex Advertising Network in Yandex Direct. It allows you to place ads on multiple websites. You can publish, for example, a selection of products or ads calling people to a store. You can pay per click or per impression. The Yandex Advertising Network can be more effective and cheaper than other tools—Yandex algorithms show ads to those potentially interested in the product.
• Targeted advertising. You can place it on the VK Advertising platform. Ads will be shown not only on VKontakte, but also on Odnoklassniki, VK projects, and the VK Advertising Network. You can also pay per click and per impression. The advantage of this tool is that it allows you to show ads to your target audience. If you have a profile of your target audience, targeted advertising can be more effective than other promotion methods.

Besides the tools listed above, there are many other effective promotion methods. These include posting materials with bloggers, using recommendation services like Zen, and seeding in Telegram channels. However, you shouldn't use all channels at once. It's recommended to gradually test different platforms and select only those that demonstrate good results. This approach will help optimize marketing and increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

How to learn more about promotion on marketplaces

• Skillbox Media has reviews of three trading platforms: Wildberries, Ozon, and Yandex Market. Read the articles to learn about the promotional tools available on these marketplaces and how to use them.
• If you're interested in this topic, check out the article on infographics for marketplaces. In some categories, selling products without infographics is impossible—people won't buy if the cards contain simple photos.
• Incorrectly managing product cards can result in wasted promotional funds. Therefore, you need to work with them carefully—fill them out, combine them, and edit them correctly. You can read more about this in the article about cards on Wildberries.
• For those who want to understand all the promotion channels on marketplaces, the Skillbox course "Marketplace Marketer" may be suitable. It teaches how to launch ads on the marketplaces themselves, as well as work with bloggers, seed ads on VKontakte and Telegram, and launch contextual advertising. The program includes practical assignments and three projects that can be used in a portfolio. For those who want to not only master promotion but also understand other aspects of trading, the Skillbox "Marketplace Manager" course may be suitable. After completing the course, you can become a full-time manager, manage clients freelance, or start selling on marketplaces independently. The course includes over 66 hours of practical training. Skillbox Media articles are designed for people seeking to master marketplaces. We offer up-to-date information and practical advice on effectively managing sales on popular platforms. Our goal is to help you understand the intricacies of marketing, logistics, and customer service necessary for successful online trading. Gain the necessary knowledge and skills to begin your journey in the world of marketplaces and increase your competitiveness in the market.
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