Key Takeaways
- SEO is powerful but slow and singular; a Shopify store needs more than one channel.
- Email is the highest-return channel for most stores, around 35 pounds for every 1 pound spent (DMA).
- Social builds awareness and community; paid ads buy fast, testable traffic.
- Retention beats acquisition: it is far cheaper to sell again to an existing customer.
- Start with the channel that fits your product and audience, measure it, then expand.
SEO is one of the best long-term investments a Shopify store can make, but it has two limits: it is slow to build, and it is only one channel. While your Shopify SEO matures, you still need sales coming in, and you do not want your whole store depending on Google.
The good news is that the highest-return marketing channel for most stores is one many owners underuse: email. The DMA puts UK email marketing ROI at around 35 pounds for every 1 pound spent. This guide covers how to market a Shopify store beyond SEO, the channels that actually drive sales, and where to start.
Email: Your Highest-Return Channel
If you do one thing beyond SEO, do email. It is owned (you are not renting an audience from a platform), it is cheap, and it converts. For a store, the essentials are:
- A welcome flow for new subscribers.
- An abandoned-cart flow to recover lost sales.
- A post-purchase flow to turn one order into two.
- Regular campaigns for launches and offers.
Much of this can be automated once and left to run, which is why email delivers such strong returns. See our guide to email marketing automation.
Social Media and Content
Social builds awareness and community, and for product businesses it is also a shop window. You do not need to be everywhere; pick the one or two platforms where your customers actually are, and post consistently. Short video in particular drives discovery. The goal is not vanity metrics; it is moving people toward your store and your email list.
Paid Ads for Fast, Testable Traffic
When you need sales now, paid social and search ads buy visibility quickly and let you test which products and messages convert. Start with a small, measured budget, watch your cost per sale closely, and scale only what works. Ads pair well with SEO: ads bring traffic today while SEO compounds in the background, a balance we cover in PPC or SEO.
Retention: The Channel Everyone Forgets
Most stores pour everything into finding new customers and neglect the cheapest sales of all: the next order from someone who already bought. Selling to an existing customer costs far less than winning a new one. A simple loyalty scheme, a post-purchase email flow and genuinely good service quietly lift revenue without lifting your ad spend. In our experience, retention is where many stores leave the easiest money on the table.
Where to Start
Do not try to do everything at once. Start with email, because it is owned and high-return, set up your core flows, then add one acquisition channel (social or paid) that fits your product and audience. Measure what each delivers in actual sales, not likes, and shift budget toward what works. A focused two-channel engine beats a thin presence on six.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to market a Shopify store? There is no single best channel, but email gives most stores the highest return, at around 35 pounds for every 1 pound spent. A strong approach is email plus one acquisition channel (social or paid) that fits your audience, built up over time.
Is SEO enough to market a Shopify store? No. SEO is powerful but slow and singular. While it builds, you need other channels, especially email, to drive sales, and you do not want your store depending entirely on Google.
How much should I spend on Shopify marketing? It depends on your margins and goals, but start with a budget you can sustain, put it behind one or two channels, and measure cost per sale. Move money toward what works rather than spreading it thin.
Why is email so effective for ecommerce? Because it is owned, cheap and automatable. Welcome, abandoned-cart and post-purchase flows run on their own and recover or repeat sales, which is why email delivers around 35 pounds for every 1 pound spent.
How do I get sales while my SEO is still building? Use email to convert and retain the traffic you have, and a small paid budget to buy fast, testable traffic. That keeps sales coming in while SEO compounds in the background.
The Bottom Line
SEO is a brilliant long-term channel, but a Shopify store needs more. Email gives you the highest return, social and paid bring people in, and retention quietly lifts revenue from customers you already have. Start with email, add one acquisition channel that fits, measure real sales, and expand from there.
If you want help building a marketing engine for your store, get in touch. We offer digital marketing and email marketing for UK businesses.
