Everyone loves a bargain, and a good many are willing to hunt for them. They start their searches for a product to see if they can find it first at a discounted price. And while promo codes are a great way to boost sales conversions, many brands don’t realize the SEO benefits of promo codes in driving traffic to their sites.
According to SEO expert Brent Payne, coupon-related queries account for more than 15 million monthly searches. That’s what makes shopping comparison engines so popular, and why Shoppingfeed features several of them as channel partners.
Types of promo codes
Here are some of the most common types of promo codes you can offer to attract site traffic:
- Discount for signing up
- X Dollars off
- X Percent off
- Free gift
- “Ending soon” promotion
- Free Shipping
Traditional traffic-boosting promo code strategies
Many e-merchants use paid search campaigns, print ads, social media, and will sometimes print them on a small flyer to include in order shipments, to encourage a buyer to buy from them again. Another typical way to attract traffic from your current customer accounts is by emailing them your offers.
But these are things that virtually everyone does. What they don’t realize is how promo code strategies can attract whole classes of new customers and inbound leads, without using all the paid ads that so many people block or simply ignore.
You can use Promo codes to boost your store’s overall online presence in ways that can powerfully impact your domain authority and overall search rankings. Here are our pro tips.
Use on-page SEO
One of the smartest SEO strategies for brands is to create a landing page on their website devoted just to promo codes. It’s not that commonly practiced, which is why using it will probably give you a quick rocket boost in your search rankings. Many bargain-hunting shoppers start with searches for “Promo Codes…” (or, in the UK, “Voucher Codes”), followed by the name brand they’re searching for. A landing page that captures that keyword phrase “promo codes for [your brand]” can offer you a high (though not always top) ranking on the search results page, such as in the example below:
The paid Macy’s ad still takes top position, and then the shopping engines — which always work aggressively and relentlessly for top rankings –occupy the next three slots, but Sephora’s site is still in the top five. People who buy beauty products, in particular, will be most attracted to the brand’s site when looking over their choices because of the greater selection they expect to find there. And, it will be easy to browse over to the main site for other beauty items, which is the main goal!
You would also want to add extra keywords like “promo codes for [names and models of your best-selling products] ” to attract people searching for specific items as well as the brand itself.
Optimize for other SEO ranking factors
Online stores can attract search traffic in lots of different ways. Using promo-related keywords can vastly improve your conversion rate and SEO.
Improve your clickthrough rate
For example, your clickthrough rate (CTR) is an important ranking factor for search engines. An irresistible offer that’s time-limited will encourage more shoppers to click through for a closer look, improving your CTR even without a conversion. This strategy is effective because it gives a sense of urgency.
Offer your promo for a limited time and highlight it on your landing page, so visitors feel compelled to act now. Every coupon should have a clear expiration date. Use conversion-driving language in your CTAs, like “Today only” or “Exclusive offer – ends Tuesday.”
Get more backlinks from bloggers, vloggers, podcasters and social media influencers
The explosion of self-produced online media has opened up lots of new ways to get links with your promo codes. Keep track of blogs, vlogs, podcasts, Instagram and TikTok influencers in your niche, looking for opportunities to collaborate. Backlinks from all these external sources will elevate your rankings in search. The more external sites are out there pointing to yours, AND the more people click on those links, the higher your “domain authority” because they are both strong ranking factors for SEO.
You can offer a 10% off promo code to their readers/viewers/listeners. Sponsorships for this type of media is a way to spread the word about your products and get extra traffic. It’s also more affordable than ads.
If reaching out to these minor media stars directly doesn’t get you a good response, you can try using an influencer marketing platform. With these, you can discover and pay influencers with the target audience you’re trying to reach, and have their users click from their sites to yours.
For help finding the best influencers for backlinks:
- The Dealspotr Marketplace – This is a low-cost platform specifically focused on influencers and promo codes.
- Famebit – Here’s where you will find YouTube vloggers.
- Intellifluence – This is a full-service platform that’s built for beginners
- Influenster – Send free products to influencers in exchange for their featuring your promo codes.
Referral Candy is another backlinking resource. It will quickly generate share codes and encourage your audience to share with their friends.
If you approach it smartly, you can use promo codes not just to increase sales, but to elevate your search rankings and boost overall site traffic. Used together with a modest paid ad strategy, you’ll get a lot more visibility, generate lots of new traffic to your site, all at a lower cost than paying for ads.
