How the Best Brands Boost Their Online Sales in Just 7 Steps

With 2.7 billion online shoppers worldwide and more than 13.7 million ecommerce stores in the U.S., it’s harder than ever for brands to stand out. After working with hundreds of founders across Shopify, Amazon and DTC stores, I’ve learned that growing your brand online isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing it smarter.

At Everything Branding, we’ve seen firsthand how founders can boost online sales by creating a connected, data-driven approach that brings every marketing channel together.

“When PR, Google Ads and emails work together, the results multiply. PR builds trust, ads capture intent, and email nurtures loyalty,” says our client Tiffany McCasland, The Chair Blanket + City Bonfires. “That full-circle approach has driven some of our highest conversion rates yet.”

Here’s how to make your ecommerce brand not just visible but unmissable.

Related: How to Earn Customer Trust and Boost Sales Without Big Ad Budgets

1. Make every marketing channel work together

Many founders treat PR, Google/Meta ads, email and SEO like separate islands. But when those channels work together, you unlock exponential growth.

Here’s what I mean: When your brand lands a media feature, that article builds your digital footprint and sends high-intent traffic to your site. From there, pixels capture valuable data, which allows Google and Meta ads to retarget visitors with personalized campaigns.

This multi-channel synergy means your customers are seeing your brand consistently across search, social and press, a key factor when studies show people need 7-15+ brand touchpoints before purchasing.

2. The secret weapon every brand overlooks: press

One of the fastest ways to boost online sales and your search rankings is through press-driven SEO.

Media outlets pay to rank in Google’s top results. When your brand is featured in those high-SEO articles, you inherit that authority and visibility. We’ve had clients continue to make sales from a single article years after publication.

And because many outlets now use affiliate links, they’re incentivized to keep promoting your product. That’s like having hundreds of digital sales reps working for you 24/7.

3. Explore overlooked sales channels that actually convert

Founders often focus heavily on Meta and Google, but some of the most effective ecommerce sales channels are the ones that some brands ignore:

• TikTok Shop: The perfect place for viral discovery and impulse buys.
• Pinterest: A visual search engine where consumers are already looking to shop.
• Amazon Creator Connections: Lets you reward influencers for driving sales.
• Walmart Marketplace: A hidden gem if your audience aligns with big-box shoppers.

Your goal isn’t to be everywhere; it’s to be strategically present where your buyers are ready to engage.

Related: Want to Increase Sales? Start With This Weekly Report.

4. Price your products with marketing in mind

Here’s a common mistake: setting prices that leave no room for marketing.

If you’re selling a $40 product but can’t afford marketing services for it, you’re stuck. Successful ecommerce brands bake marketing costs into pricing, including digital ad spend, affiliate commissions and PR retainers.

Premium results come from a premium strategy. Marketing is the cost of visibility, not an optional expense.

5. Marketing is never “one and done”

The brands that grow consistently understand this: Marketing is never finished. Algorithms change. Platforms evolve. Consumer behavior shifts.

That’s why even when sales slow down, you should never pause your marketing but rather you should refine it. The brands that keep investing, testing and optimizing are the ones that turn one-time customers into loyal fans.

6. Before hiring a marketing agency, run this checklist

If you’re hiring an agency, choose wisely. Here are some points to consider:

• Do they have verifiable results from real clients posted publicly?
• Can they connect PR, affiliate and Google/Meta ad strategies for a cohesive plan?
• Are they transparent about metrics and ROI?
• Do they understand how brand awareness feeds sales long-term?

At my company, we believe in giving brands the visibility, data and credibility they need to scale, not just have temporary spikes.

7. Stop giving one channel all the credit

If you’re looking at a single source of traffic and calling it the winner, you’re missing the full picture.

Your customer’s journey might start with a media mention, continue through a retargeting ad and end with an email click. Each channel supports the other. When you understand attribution across touchpoints, you start seeing marketing as a connected ecosystem because that’s exactly what it is.

Related: This Is the Underappreciated Marketing Approach That Will Help You Keep Customers Longer

Common mistakes I see founders make

After working with hundreds of brands, these are the biggest pitfalls I see time and again:

• Expecting premium results without premium investment: If the expectation is great results, invest a little more for a top digital marketing agency.
• Not verifying testimonials or proof of performance: It’s easy to fake a testimonial if the company or full name are not listed publicly. Verify it’s a real person or if it’s a real client with a quick Google search when evaluating which agency to work with.
• Starting Google and Meta ads too soon: If you haven’t yet invested in more brand awareness with a successful PR campaign, it’s too soon to spend money on Google and Meta ads. First, people aren’t googling your brand yet if they don’t know it exists. For Meta, if you aren’t seeing $30,000 a month in sales yet, you likely don’t have the ad spend to make your campaign successful. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads can take testing and time before finding success. Plan to spend a minimum of $3,000 ad spend a month for three months until you will start seeing the ROAS.
• Ignoring Amazon’s value as a brand awareness and wholesale driver, not just a sales platform. Time and again, I hear about Amazon fees and point out that it’s often less than the discount a brand will give to a wholesaler. Having an Amazon presence is a marketing tool all in itself and is 38% more likely to capture the sale.
• Overcomplicating the buying process: If it’s not easy to find and purchase, you’ll lose the sale. Take the time to walk through the buyer’s journey. Make sure “buy now” is above the fold and very easy to do. Paste your URL in ChatGPT and ask what can be done to eliminate abandoned visitors. Sometimes, the simplest fixes like clear site navigation, free shipping and an optimized checkout make the biggest impact.
• Charging too much for shipping: We live in the age of Amazon Prime. If a shopper goes to check out on your online store and 50% of the product cost is added as shipping, they are very likely to abandon the cart. Factor shipping costs into your pricing so you can offer the all-coveted free shipping.
• Not having an email campaign in place: If press or a Google ad is driving a one-time sale, stay in front of your buyers with regular updates and new product announcements. Offer an immediate discount for subscribing to ongoing communication from your brand.
• Pulling the plug too soon: If your PR is starting to build, keep it going! So many brands want to do short campaigns, have their brand seen in some credible outlets and think that will be all they need. Consumers need to see your brand 7-15+ times in the digital age before converting. That journey might start with a press mention, continue through a Google ad and close after an email reminder. Stopping any of your channels too soon likely cancels out any investment you’ve made to date. To see the full results of your marketing spend, give it the time it needs. As long as you are seeing results climbing, let it ride.
• Not maximizing press mentions: Promote every top press mention throughout your marketing efforts. Use media quotes in your Google/Meta ad campaigns, promote them in your newsletters and showcase them on your website and social media channels. Press is a third-party, trusted source recommending your products to consumers. It’s pure gold that you should continue to remind people about.
• Being impatient: Successful Google/Meta ad campaigns often take testing to find the ad that will convert the best. Likewise, signing with a PR agency doesn’t mean you’ll have your first feature tomorrow. It takes a lot of work, reaching out on your behalf and then it depends on the media’s timeline. Hang in there and give your agency reps grace.

If you take away one thing, let it be this: Marketing is an ecosystem, not a checklist. Every click, article, ad and email plays a role in building trust and driving conversions.

The brands that win online are the ones that keep showing up, keep optimizing and keep investing in their growth. Take note that household name brands do continuous marketing to stay top of mind of their consumers.

If you’re ready to give your brand everything, start by connecting the dots between your marketing channels. Because in today’s crowded digital marketplace, strategy beats noise every time.

With 2.7 billion online shoppers worldwide and more than 13.7 million ecommerce stores in the U.S., it’s harder than ever for brands to stand out. After working with hundreds of founders across Shopify, Amazon and DTC stores, I’ve learned that growing your brand online isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing it smarter.

At Everything Branding, we’ve seen firsthand how founders can boost online sales by creating a connected, data-driven approach that brings every marketing channel together.