Hello, I have a genuine question about how to grow your business. I feel like the only way to really start off is to advertise but unfortunately… I do not have the budget. Anybody recommend a way to grow?? (My store - https://dapperbear.myshopify.com/)
Topic summary
A new store owner with no ad budget seeks growth strategies and asks what pages/features to add, noting they’re on Instagram but unsure how to market.
Key recommendations:
- Social media: Create high-quality, relevant content (blogs, videos, infographics), offer promotions/discounts, choose the right platform, and actively engage with followers.
- SEO (search engine optimization): Use targeted keywords in titles, descriptions, headers, and image alt tags; improve site speed; ensure mobile-friendliness; streamline navigation; organize collections; use high-quality product images; and submit a sitemap via Google Search Console (a tool for indexing site pages). Content marketing is emphasized to improve rankings and free traffic.
- Email & onsite conversion: Implement strategic popups (on-site prompts) and automated email flows (e.g., welcome series) with incentives or product bundles to increase conversions and average order value without ad spend.
Additional resources shared include a social media marketing guide and an app promoting organic search traffic, with a claim of helping stores generate $5M from Google Search.
Outcome: No decisions or actions confirmed by the store owner. The discussion remains open with practical, low-cost strategies suggested and no disagreements reported.
1 Like
Just updated it to include my store
No, this is my first day and I haven’t done any marketing yet… I just don’t have the budget. What pages/features would you recommend I add?
Im on IG but i don’t know how to advertise well on it so I’m pretty much useless lol
Hello there! One more vote for using social media and don’t worry, we were all beginners at some point. I believe this guide can help you. There’s a lot of reading to do and it might take some time to see the results, but don’t get discouraged.
A great way to use social media for free growth is to create high-quality content that will attract attention and shares. This could be blog posts, infographics, videos, or even just interesting images. You can offer some discounts and run promotions, for example. Make sure the content is relevant to your target audience, and make sure you share it in the right places on social media. Choosing the right platform is really important. And finally, engage with your followers and interact with other users in your industry.
Good luck, you’ll get there!
Hello @Dapper_Bear ,
I’m Gina - Product Manager at flareAI. flareAI has helped Shopify stores generating $5 million in sales from Google Search, on autopilot.
If it’s helpful to you, please let me know by giving it a like or marking it as a solution.
In general, organic search is more cost-effective in the long run. If you have an organic search result that gets the same number of clicks as an ad, the organic result will have a better ROI. While you may have spent time on the result, you won’t have to pay for clicks, meaning your return is higher per click. By tapping into free sources of traffic, you’ll start generating good amount of sale on your Shopify store.
- Optimize your shopify store for search engine traffic
One way to optimize your store is by adding Keywords which are the search terms that people use with the search engines and will be what guide you in your search engine optimization. Once you gather all relevant keywords that are relevant to your product and your niche market, begin using them all throughout your website like in Product Titles, Product Descriptions, Alt Tags on Images and any other additional content. - Make sure your store loads faster
Having a lighter, faster-loading website can help you rank higher on Google search engines. - Content marketing
You can promote your store through articles or blog posts, videos, and other forms of digital content. Quality content improves your online store’s SEO and increases ranking on Google. - Add appropriate keywords related to the product or your store niche
It’s incredibly important to make sure that you know how to use keywords in your content correctly so that your content has a better chance of being found, indexed, and ranked. Put your keywords in the page title, meta description, image description and alt tags, headers and titles, and product description. - Make sure your store is mobile-friendly
Over 54% of all web traffic comes from smartphones and tablets, so make sure your store is mobile-friendly. - Site navigation menu should be easy to use
You want to make it as easy as possible for your shoppers to find exactly what they are looking for, so your navigation must be on point. - Organize product collections/categories effectively
Make sure your customers experience better and more simple navigation through your store. - Use high-quality product images
Clear, quality product images give consumers quick information on a product. They can see the color, pattern, style, shape, and quality of the product with a glance. - Regularly submit your store sitemap file to Google Search Console so that Google will start indexing your store URLs.
You will get more organic sales when your products are found on free sales channels like Google Search and you will start getting order conversions for virtually zero cost. flareAI does stuff for you saving you time & expense. flareAI works every day for you, tapping into Google Search and 20+ of world’s best & biggest free sales channels.
If you found the answer helpful consider supporting the Shopify Community by giving it a Like + Accept the solution.
Gina
flareAI
Hi!
You can boost growth without a big ad budget by leveraging strategic popups and automated email flows—like welcome emails for new subscribers. These engage visitors at key moments, increasing conversions. Many stores see strong results by pairing popups with smart incentives, such as bundling products. If you’d like, we can explore how bundles can naturally encourage higher order values without extra ad spend.