Getting free traffic to your dropshipping store is great when your budget is tight, but it's also great when you want to save on advertisement costs!
Follow me below to learn 8 amazing ways to start getting free traffic to your store. I will first give you a short answer, then dive into each possibility to get you free traffic!
There are a lot of ways to get free traffic to your dropshipping store. Think about using SEO, creating a blog or YouTube channel, being present on social media or simply by answering questions people ask inside your niche. Just remember that getting free traffic takes time and consistency before you see results!
1. SEO
SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) is a big topic to just explain in one article like this. So I will link to some great articles in case you want to learn more about certain subjects.
I will show you a few different ways to rank in the search engines with your dropshipping store.
After that, I will give you links to articles and videos where you can best learn the basics of SEO!
Having a blog on your dropshipping store
A great way to start with SEO and get free web traffic is to create a blog on your dropshipping store.
Free traffic is not the only reason you should start a blog.
It's also great to show that you have knowledge inside the niche you're selling in, and it's great to keep your visitors longer on your dropshipping store.
If you don't have a niche for your dropshipping store yet, then I suggest reading this article here on how to select the best niche possible.
If you want to learn more about why a blog is great to have, I suggest watching the video below by Neil Patel:
How to create a blog on your Shopify store
The first step is to go to your Shopify admin page and then select blog posts – under sales channels.
After that, you can press create blog post.
And then you can add a new blog post!
As you can see in the picture below, it's really simple to see where you need to put the title, the content and so on.
How to create a blog if you use a different ecommerce platform
I mostly focus on Shopify here, but I've got some great links for you below if you want to create a blog but you're using a different ecommerce platform.
- WooCommerce (You will create your blog via WordPress)
- BigCommerce
- Volusion
Optimizing your dropshipping store for search engines
Adding a blog to your dropshipping store is not the only way to get free traffic from search engines.
You can also optimize your store so that your other pages, like product pages, will rank as well!
This way your product could end up number one on search engines when people type the name of that product. For example, ‘talking hamster':
I suggest reading this SEO checklist from Shopify to see what things are important to check and double-check for your store.
Learning SEO for your dropshipping store
If you're interested now in learning SEO to improve the rankings of your dropshipping store in search engines, I have some great links for you below.
- If you have a Shopify store and want to learn how to optimize it for search engines, then this is a great Udemy course for you. Keep in mind that Udemy has sales that bring most of the course prices down to around $10-$15.
- Below you will find a great video that will teach you the basics of keyword research for your product pages and for your blog:
- You can also go to Shopify Learn. They've got a free course there called ‘SEO Training for Beginners'. Keep in mind that Shopify Learn is free, so you can learn from them even if you currently don't have a store on the Shopify platform.
- SEO for Dropshipping Stores: 7 Ways to Increase Your Organic Traffic
- The Beginner's Guide to Ecommerce SEO by Shopify
- The Beginner's Guide to SEO by Moz. This will teach you all the basics of SEO (from how search engines operate to keyword research). Keep in mind that they will mostly link to their own products, but it's still a great article to learn from!
Do keep in mind that SEO is a long-term strategy because it takes time before you start ranking for keywords! For example, if I write an article on Do Dropshipping, it will take around six months before Google has ranked it correctly. Sometimes even longer.
This could be shorter when your website or store is older and you've published more content already, but if you’re just a beginner, this will definitely be a tough pill to swallow!
You might decide to focus on free traffic, like organic traffic, but know that it will take a long time before Google will show it in the search results (if they ever do); it might make you decide to not try it at all.
2. YouTube
A great way to build a brand around your dropshipping is to create a YouTube channel. It's not only great to improve the strength of your brand, but also to get free traffic!
This free traffic will come to you for two reasons.
Ever searched for something and found YouTube videos on the top? Well, that's because YouTube videos are extremely visible in search engines if you learn to use SEO for your YouTube videos as well.
Another reason is that YouTube is basically another search engine where people search for information (or fun).
What to use your YouTube channel for?
If you decide to create a YouTube channel for your online business, then I've got some great examples for you on what kind of content you can create for your channel!
Testimonials from customers
The best way to increase the trust people have with your dropshipping store is that they can see that other people have bought products from you in the past. Kinda like this Shopify app.
This way they know they are not alone, and they can see that you made other people happy with your product(s).
You can ask your past customers to make a video of them talking about the product they bought and why they like it.
Another way to build this trust if you don't want to ask your customers for videos is to ask them for picture reviews and place these on your product pages. You can learn more about this here.
Of course, don't forget that you can give your customers something in return for this, and ask them for permission before you use their video or pictures.
You can watch the video below to get an idea of what you can do with these testimonial videos:
Product reviews
A great way to spark some interest in your products is to make a video of it while you review it.
This way you can link back to that product in your YouTube video description.
Something like the video below. You can see that the link to the product is in the description:
Educational videos
These are videos that are going to educate the people inside your industry (your niche).
For example, if you sell dog products, you could share tips and tricks on how to make your dog the happiest dog in the world or how to learn your dog tricks.
These are videos that your target audience is going to love. They are going to be happy with the information they just learned from you.
If that happens, there is a chance of them remembering your name and maybe even coming to your store later on!
How do you start a YouTube channel for your dropshipping store?
I suggest reading this article from Shopify. This article goes in-depth on how to start a YouTube channel for your business.
Another great guide to learn how to start your own YouTube channel for your ecommerce business is this guide from X-Cart.
More tips for your YouTube channel
If you want more tips for your new YouTube channel and tips on how to promote your channel, I suggest reading this guide by Shopify.
3. Social media
Creating social media profiles is another great way to build your brand and to get free traffic to your dropshipping store.
Do keep in mind that it takes time and consistency to build up your social media profile(s). Don't expect to get free traffic the next day.
Also, this might be harder if you have a general dropshipping store because you don't have a clear target audience.
Like for example, if you have a dog niche dropshipping store, then you know what kind of people to target on social media.
If you do have a niche store, you need to do research on where your target audience is.
Are they more on Twitter? Instagram? And so on.
You can learn more about how to discover your customer's favorite social media platforms by reading this article.
Instagram page
Creating an Instagram page for your dropshipping store is great!
It's also kind of necessary if you want to advertise on Instagram later on. Like using Instagram influencer shoutouts.
I suggest reading this article by me if you want to learn more about how to create your own Instagram account for your dropshipping store. You will also learn all the possible ways to grow your Instagram account from scratch!
Another option is to take a look at these 11 dropshipping Instagram account examples to see what they are doing well.
Facebook is the biggest social media platform out there.
There is a 99% chance you have already heard about FB. That's why I won't bore you with what Facebook is.
Facebook page
A great way to build more trust, if you decide to run Facebook advertisements, is to create your own Facebook page.
People can see that your store is active.
Also, having some likes on your page helps people trust you more when they decide to click on your advertisement that they saw on their Facebook feed.
That's why it's great to start building up your audience from the beginning.
If you want to learn more about how to create your own Facebook page for your business, I suggest reading these 8 easy steps to create a Facebook business page by Hootsuite.
Facebook groups
Another great option to use Facebook for free traffic is to join Facebook groups.
Almost every niche has its own Facebook groups!
Join these groups to answer questions, provide value and so on.
Try to build up your reputation inside your niche!
You can join Facebook groups with your Facebook page that you have created for your dropshipping store, or you can join them with your personal Facebook profile.
You can learn more about why to join Facebook groups here in this article.
Another great way to increase your presence inside your niche is to create a Twitter profile for your dropshipping store.
Here are a few things you can do to grow your Twitter account:
- You can follow people inside your niche. There's a great chance that they will follow you back.
- Answer questions that people are asking inside your niche or related to the products you sell.
- You can grow your twitter account by using hashtags correctly. A great site to find hashtags that you can use on Twitter is Hashtagify.
If you want to learn more about how to use Twitter to increase your online sales, I suggest reading this article.
Pinterest is also a great social media platform to get free traffic to your online store.
Your goal with Pinterest is to create images that get people to click to go to your site, or to get them re-pin it to their own Pinterest board(s).
Just don't forget to research if your target audience is on Pinterest! For example, 71% of global Pinterest users are female.
I suggest reading the article I linked to below to get a basic understanding of what you need to do if you want to grow your Pinterest account:
How to Get Free Traffic From Pinterest for Ecommerce (2023)
That article also covers how to do paid advertisements with Pinterest in case you're interested in that.
If you're going to use Pinterest to get free traffic to your dropshipping store, I suggest you use Tailwind.
Tailwind helps you with scheduling all your Pinterest pins! This will save you so much time.
Currently, it’s $15 if you pay monthly, but they have a free trial that lets you schedule up to 100 Pinterest pins for free. Also, you get the first month for free if you click on my link!
Tumblr
Online marketing with Tumblr is almost the same as with Instagram and Pinterest.
You're trying to get people's attention by using great images.
Personally, I don't know much about using Tumblr for an ecommerce store. So I suggest reading something like this article here if you want to learn more about how to use Tumblr for your business!
4. Answering questions
Another great tactic to get free traffic to your dropshipping store and to build authority inside your niche is to start answering questions on Quora, Reddit or on forums.
You could link back to a blog post you wrote on your store or to your whole store each time you give an answer.
This could lead to people liking what you wrote, checking out your store or the blog post you wrote.
You need to find a so-called subreddit that is inside your niche or is related to the product(s) you sell.
You can, of course, join multiple subreddits if they all fall inside your niche. Your goal is to give as much value as possible.
Don't start off by directly posting a new post with a link back to your store or blog post.
You need to start off by giving value before you post any link back to your store.
I suggest reading this full guide by Neil Patel on how to use Reddit to get traffic!
Quora
Quora is a question- and answer-based website.
Someone can place a question on the site so that other people can reply with their answer.
You can reply to questions inside your niche or regarding products that you're selling.
The great thing about this is that you can show that you're knowledgeable inside your niche and you can link back to your store or a blog post you wrote each time you give an answer.
But don't forget that it's the same as I said above with Reddit. You need to give as much value as possible.
If you want to learn more about how to use Quora to get free traffic, I suggest reading this article by Ecwid.
Forums
Another great way to educate people inside your niche and make yourself known is to join forums.
A lot of niches have their own forums.
Just search your niche + forum
Just make sure that you provide value first before you post any link back to your store or blog post. Otherwise, it could hurt your reputation and your business.
I do have a great tip for you in case you want to use forums.
You can add your store link to your forum signature. Visitors of the forum who liked what you wrote could end up visiting your store!
If you want to learn more about how to correctly use forums to get traffic, I suggest reading this article.
5. Write an eBook
If you know a lot of information inside your niche, then another great way to build your authority inside your niche and to get your name out there is to create an eBook.
You can write an eBook around a certain topic inside your niche.
Your goal is to educate the people inside your niche. Basically, the same as if you're writing a blog post on your store!
After you have created your eBook (this might take some time), it's time to promote it!
You could give the eBook away for free, you can sell it or you can give it in exchange for their email address. More on email marketing below!
If you want to learn more about how an eBook can boost your traffic and how to promote it, then I suggest reading this article.
6. Commenting on other websites
Commenting on other websites is another great and easy way to get more traffic and to rank better in search engines.
Basically, you go to other websites inside your niche, then start commenting on their articles. Like giving your view on the article, adding suggestions and so on.
Just please keep in mind that your comments need to add value. Don't just type something like “Great article” and expect people to visit your store.
Spamming comments is not only bad because you won't get that much, if any, traffic from it, but it could also get your business a bad reputation inside your niche.
This is not only with spamming comments on other websites but also on social media platforms, forums and so on.
I suggest reading this article if you want to learn more about how to get traffic by commenting on other websites.
7. Start an affiliate program for your dropshipping store
Adding an affiliate program is a great way to motivate other people to market your product(s) for you.
You pay these people a certain percentage of the sales they bring in!
The great thing is that you won't have to pay a dime for online advertising. Just the percentage of the sales that you pay your affiliate partner.
You could use this to motivate visitors or past customers of your dropshipping store to invite people they know to your store. The only problem with this is that you need to have traffic already in order to make this work.
If you're interested now in using affiliate marketing for your dropshipping store, then I suggest checking our complete beginner's guide to affiliate marketing for ecommerce!
And if you're interested in learning more about the difference between affiliate marketing and dropshipping, then check out this comparison guide here!
8. Email marketing
The last way to get free traffic does need traffic in order to work, but it's a great way to keep getting your visitors back to your store!
Your goal is to have your customers or visitors on your store's blog subscribe to your email list.
This way you can use email marketing to get them back to your store, get them to buy more or build more trust before presenting them an offer!
If you want to learn more about how to use email marketing for your dropshipping store, then I suggest reading the article I linked to below:
Email Marketing for Ecommerce: A Beginner’s Guide (2023)
That article will explain everything you need to know about email marketing.
Free traffic dropshipping store: Conclusion
So, there you have it! 8 amazing ways to get free traffic to your dropshipping store.
You can use most tactics to get free traffic even if you're just beginning with your dropshipping store!
Since you made it this far, I wanted to share one more method with you. You can also take a look at dropshipping with the Facebook Marketplace.
If you have any suggestions for the methods that are on this list, or if you have a method that's not on this list but works really well for you, then let me know by commenting below or contacting me directly by pressing the “Contact Us” button at the top!
Good luck with your journey of getting free traffic to your dropshipping store.
Just please don't forget that it will take time and consistency before you will see results. Just don't give up!
Getting started with dropshipping in 2023
So, are you ready to get started with dropshipping? Or maybe you have already started, but you’re looking to get some inspiration?
If so, I suggest reading my complete Shopify dropshipping guide!
It's a huge article, but it contains everything that you need to know to create your own Shopify dropshipping store in 2023. It's like a dropshipping course, but for free!
Reading this article will help you to get started and stay motivated while beginning and continuing your dropshipping journey!
Just don’t forget that success takes time. Keep improving each and every day!
Shopify Dropshipping: A 20-Step Guide to Starting Your Store
Here are some of our best articles:
- The 9 Best Free Product Research Tools for Dropshipping
- The Complete Guide: Can You Start Dropshipping Without Money in 2023?
- 12 Reasons Why Most People Fail With Dropshipping in 2023 | Beat Them!
- 23 Awesome Shopify Dropshipping Store Examples
Also, if you don't have a Shopify store yet, then you can click here to get a free 3-day trial + pay $1/month for the first 3 months!
8 Comments
In-depth article and very helpful also thank you.
Great to hear! Let me know if you have any questions.
Really informative, thanks for sharing this!
Awesome to hear! I wish you the best!
Hi . I’m Jonah from Hashtagify.me. I’ve just read your article and want to thank you very much for introducing our tool to your readers 🙂 Appreciate it a lot!
Hi Jonah, awesome to get a comment from you! Thank you for the great tool!
This is just a masterpiece! Overall, I knew about these options for attracting free traffic, but it took me 2 years to learn it myself. And now I found your article:) What do you say about Medium and other analogues for attracting free traffic to your site? Thanks
Hi Vitalii,
Thank you for your great comment! That’s great to hear 😊
Medium can be a great option; however, if you ask me, I would focus on creating a blog on your own site (and focusing a bit more on SEO) – instead of solely using Medium. (But you can then still use Medium to repurpose your content – more information about that here)
I hope that helps, and good luck with everything!
– Richard