As an important component of the e-commerce field, independent sites have indeed shown remarkable development in recent years. For newcomers looking to enter the cross-border track, having advantageous resources and establishing a small DTC independent site can be more flexible than entering third-party platforms. This article will summarize the specific advantages and disadvantages of independent sites and third-party platforms for cross-border sellers and provide some traffic suggestions for independent sites to help cross-border independent site newcomers operate better.

Differences Between DTC Independent Sites and Third-Party Platforms

Independent sites and third-party platforms in the cross-border e-commerce field each have their unique operating models and market positioning, like a fork in the road. Below are the main differences between the two:

DTC independent sites (Direct to Consumer) refer to establishing a standalone website to directly transact with customers. Merchants directly control aspects such as website design, product display, customer interaction, and data analysis, offering higher autonomy.

Advantages

• Merchants can personalize website design to showcase brand tone.
• Less competition, enhancing brand influence.
• Direct connection with brand customers, possessing first-hand customer and sales data.

Disadvantages

• Higher upfront investment costs and the need for self-driven traffic.
• Requires certain technical maintenance capabilities for the website.

Third-party cross-border e-commerce platforms (such as Amazon, eBay, Shopee, etc.) provide online marketplaces for multiple sellers to conduct product transactions. Sellers need to comply with platform rules and usually pay entry fees.

Advantages

• Built-in traffic, with a large customer base on the platform.
• Simplified operation process, allowing sellers to focus on cross-border business.
• Platform provides payment and logistics functions, no need for setup.

Disadvantages

• Intense competition, with many sellers in the same product category.
• Complex and variable rules, offering less flexibility for sellers.

In summary, everything has its dual nature. If you are a B2C cross-border merchant, compared to entering third-party platforms, the initial cost and effort required for site building are higher, but in the long run, establishing a DTC independent site still has significant advantages.

Traffic Acquisition Methods for Cross-Border Independent Sites

For newly established independent sites, traffic acquisition is a crucial step. No matter how exquisite the website and quality the products, without enough visitors, it’s all in vain. After all, the fundamental purpose of site building is to facilitate transactions. The traffic and click-through rate of an independent site directly affect the seller’s profit level. How to attract more customers to the independent site to promote transactions becomes the primary focus for sellers.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to the traffic that comes through search engines, excluding paid advertising traffic on platforms like Google. It is the main source of traffic and the first choice for obtaining free traffic. To improve organic traffic, you can first use search engine submission tools to add the independent site, and then continue with SEO optimization operations, including optimizing website content and structure, building external links, and keeping content updated.

• Email Marketing

Email marketing involves directly sending commercial information emails to your potential customers. While it may not be as prevalent domestically, it still has good effects abroad due to work habits, and the cost is relatively low with a decent return rate. If you want to do email marketing, consider designing a subscription form and placing it in the sidebar or footer of the independent site to collect customer email information, regularly sending information to potential customers, and continuously optimizing email strategies based on key indicators (click-through rate, conversion rate).

• Social Media Traffic Acquisition

Social media is not only the most popular communication method today but also a powerful marketing tool with a huge user base, including many potential customers. The high interactivity of social media may bring you a sticky customer group. Sellers can publish attention-grabbing content on social media (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), such as product displays and usage tutorials, to shape a good brand image. Utilizing social media’s unique features for attractive promotional activities and live streaming with goods is also a good choice.

• Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves merchants establishing a promotion system where affiliates join the system to find products they are interested in promoting. The promotion information will have a unique link, and as long as someone clicks their unique link and purchases the product, the affiliate will earn a commission set by the merchant. The commission distribution conditions include CPA, CPS, CPI, etc. Using this promotion method can expand the market coverage, allowing products and services to reach a broader audience.

Operational Strategies for Independent Site Traffic Acquisition

In the process of developing traffic for cross-border e-commerce independent sites, a clear strategic layout will yield twice the result with half the effort. Below are some practical traffic acquisition tips that will help you effectively enhance brand influence and attract potential customers on social media platforms.

The phrase “content is king” is timeless. By publishing high-quality, valuable content, sellers can attract the attention of the target audience. Within the site, by setting up blogs and articles, providing useful information or solutions, a large amount of data will push traffic to the independent site, attracting visitors to take an interest in your independent site.

For social media traffic acquisition, you cannot neglect any platform. Sellers should focus on advancing simultaneously on multiple platforms, expanding the exposure of the independent site. Each social media platform has its unique features, and you need to find the best leverage point for traffic acquisition. For example, Facebook groups and TikTok live streaming are relatively easy for traffic acquisition, such as:

• Consistently update videos on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
• Operate TikTok and YouTube matrix accounts
• Establish Facebook and Reddit groups to post soft articles
• Use Pinterest repin function to attract related users to browse
• Enable Instagram social media auto-reply
• TikTok live streaming for traffic acquisition
• Collaborate with influencers on social media for content creation

DuoPlus Assists in Overseas Social Media Traffic Acquisition

Many cross-border independent site newcomers face the hurdle of network environment setup when promoting social media traffic. If IP proxies and devices do not meet requirements, it is difficult to successfully open social media accounts and attract traffic. A long-term stable content output social media account will have visible traffic. Of course, effectively using tools can significantly improve work efficiency and traffic acquisition results.

DuoPlus cloud phones solve the device issues for registering and operating overseas social media like TikTok, supporting unlimited multi-opening, stable service, allowing one person to operate several to dozens of phones on the web to manage social media accounts, effectively reducing device costs. Moreover, the app pre-installation function supports pre-installing apps on multiple cloud phones, saving a lot of time and easily improving operational efficiency.

DuoPlus Cloud Phone Operation Interface

At the same time, based on high-fidelity simulation features, DuoPlus cloud phones generate corresponding language and location information according to proxy settings, making account login status more realistic. It also supports live streaming-OBS push streaming function, simple operation, allowing for 24-hour stable unattended live streaming, effectively achieving traffic growth for independent sites.

DuoPlus Cloud Phone Operation Process

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