It seems like almost everyone who teaches people how to do dropshipping these days tells them to use Facebook ads as their main source of traffic. It’s so common that you might even wonder if you can do dropshipping without Facebook ads.
Dropshipping as an online business has been around longer than Facebook, so that should be your first clue to the answer to your question. But it would be dishonest not to admit that Facebook ads have made it much easier for people who want to run a dropshipping business to get their products in front of the right people.
Without a doubt, the number one reason why everyone and their brother, sister, uncle, and even their second cousin twice removed uses and teaches Facebook Ads for dropshipping is because no other advertising platform has offered the same level of precise targeting as Facebook. Because of this, Facebook is likely to remain the best way for dropshippers to get traffic for many years to come.
Still, it is possible to do dropshipping without Facebook ads. Below, I’ll talk about some of the other ways dropshippers can get traffic to their stores, as well as how to use them most effectively.
Google Ads
Google Ads is probably where you will have the most success as a dropshipping store, besides Facebook. Google has a campaign type called “Google Shopping” that works well for dropshipping stores that sell a variety of items on their website.
It can be a bit of a beast to learn and get set up and running right, so if you want to find out more, I highly recommend you check out “The Ultimate Guide to Google Shopping,” which is a free resource.
The Ultimate Guide to Shopping on Google
But Google Ads isn’t just for shopping campaigns. You can also run campaigns on Google Search, Google Display, and YouTube. But these channels work best for stores or funnels that sell mostly one product or a group of products that are closely related to each other.
Advertising by Microsoft (Formerly Bing Ads)
This is Microsoft’s version of Google Ads, and it has many of the same advertising options, like Shopping and Search campaigns that run on the Bing and Yahoo search engines. Even though they don’t get as much traffic as Google, Bing and Yahoo can often reach more people than people think when they work together.
One great thing about Microsoft Ads is that they are set up so similarly to Google Ads that you can import the same campaigns, settings, and targeting right into the Microsoft platform and they will be ready to go.
This makes it an easy-to-use source of traffic to add to your mix once you have some Google campaigns that are working well and are looking for more ways to bring in more traffic and make more sales.
Pinterest Ads
Some e-commerce store owners and dropshippers can find hidden gold on Pinterest, and I’ve known people who have done quite well with it in the past. But before you try Pinterest, there are a few things you really need to think about.
Most importantly, it’s important to note that many e-commerce stores will find it hard to do well on Pinterest because of how its users use it and who they are.
Pinterest is mostly used by women, and most of its users are young. Many studies show that women are more likely to buy online than men. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but you should be aware of it because if you don’t have a store or products that cater to this audience, you will have a hard time being successful here.
Pinterest doesn’t have nearly as many ways to target people as sites like Facebook, so people who do well on Pinterest usually have products that are more popular with the general public and have bigger profit margins.
Ads on Snapchat
If your online store is geared toward young people, Snapchat could be a good place to try. It’s still pretty new in the world of advertising, and I have to admit that I haven’t met or heard of anyone who is doing well as a dropshipper on Snapchat Ads. But like any new source of traffic, it has potential, and you can bet that someone will figure it out.
Conclusion
I could also mention Twitter Ads, Native Ad networks like Taboola, and just growing your traffic naturally on search engines, but these aren’t usually good for dropshippers.
I hope that reading this has helped you see that dropshipping without Facebook ads is possible and that there is a whole world of traffic outside of Facebook that you can start using to grow your dropshipping business.
Which of these ways to get traffic are you going to try first?
