×
  • Leading Digital Marketing Agency
  • 900+ Websites Launched
  • $100M+ Client Revenue Generated








    855.686.4649 ext.707 Get A Proposal

    Author: Alex Wilks

    Alex Wilks has been working as a copywriter and digital marketing strategist since 2018, with added specialties in social media and email marketing. With a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Communication, she is a natural content writer with the ability to connect well with her target audience.

    Build your online community using alternative social channels like Snapchat and Pinterest

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    While Facebook and Instagram are already well-established among retailers worldwide, consumers are starting to branch off and immerse their social attention within alternative platforms that have something else to offer. This means that the social media landscape is on the move and if you want your business to continue progressing forward, you may want to consider using Snapchat or Pinterest to advertise to younger demographics. 

    How do online businesses utilize Snapchat?

    Snapchat is the ultimate multimedia messaging app, where users can share videos and images to their stories or a specific friend from their contact list. There’s even a “Discover” section where brands can pay to show off their ad-based content. How does it work? Well, the user simply “snaps” a video or photo by holding the circular, centred button on the app screen. Once taken, they can choose to send it as is or add some characteristics such as text, GIFs, location tags, and stickers. This is likely why Snapchat’s rise in demand is thriving among Gen Z users, as many other demographics are not fleeting to the demands of this social platform. 

    That being said, if your company’s products or services cater to young adults, then your social media marketing business strategy should include this intuitive platform. In fact, we advise that you use this channel purely as a mode of entertainment, pushing towards a fun, engaging content approach rather than overtly selling. Remember to be playful, creative, and authentic when creating posts that are meant to advertise and engage with your brand. 

    How do online businesses utilize Pinterest?

    This social media marketing business channel has been around for the past decade, consisting of images of products, inspirational quotes pictures, and other general visuals. When users are on the hunt for ideas, Pinterest allows them to search their visual mood-boards and “pin” the perceptible information into custom, categorized boards for review later on. This means that whether the user wants to start a new workout routine or they’re looking to begin their wedding planning, their interests can be easily browsed on Pinterest, allowing them to find inspiration based on a variety of searched themes. 

    Now, you’re probably wondering how your products and services as a business owner will generate buzz on Pinterest. Well, when users “pin” images, they’re clicking on pictures that take them back to the source website of the image. This means that your business has the opportunity to create these new interactions with users by driving them to click on your unique contributed “pins”. If the virtual, vision board you’ve created contains your item or service in it, users that click will automatically find their way onto your brand website, which will encourage purchases without being overtly sales-oriented in the advertising approach. After all, Pinterest users love the ease of e-commerce photography and by investing in this extension of your online shop you’re able to attract new consumers that see exactly how your product fits into their search model. 

    Have you ever considered the above social channels for your business? Drop a comment below to start a conversation. 

    3 SEO techniques that should be avoided altogether

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    The ultimate goal of search engine optimization is to increase an e-commerce site’s usability so that it can start bringing in the right people through popular search engines. While site owners should be investing their efforts into optimization to create a high ranking for a particular key term or phrase relevant to the industry, if they’re looking to create impactful raw traffic, they will also want to accommodate a variety of SEO techniques to drive clicks and make their business more noticeable online. That being said, since there are so many resources out there that tell you what you need to do, it’s also important to know which efforts should you be avoiding altogether. 

    Don’t blame performance drops on algorithm updates

    While sometimes a performance drop happens suddenly because of how frequently these updates occur, you shouldn’t resort to blaming Google for your low rankings or drop in organic traffic. In fact, performance drops can occur for a variety of different reasons. 

    Some common reasons for organic performance drops include: 

    • Newly discovered technical issues on the e-commerce site
    • Significant content changes to the e-commerce site
    • Seasonality (higher traffic October to December)
    • Competitor changes 
    • Manual actions

    Keeping the above possibilities in mind is important as you don’t want to always blame performance errors on algorithm updates. 

    What to do instead?

    Several SEO techniques allow you to bounce back from organic performance drops, however, here are some quick tips that you should investigate to allow your site to start hitting the algorithm. 

    • Check your coverage report in Google Search Console.
    • Run a site crawl to check for structural changes.
    • Run an automated audit on your SEO tool of choice to check for any hidden errors. 
    • Check robots.txt for any new disallow directives. 
    • Run a fetch and render to see how Google is rendering your site.
    • Have a look at your changes tool in the Wayback Machine.
    • Install an activity log plugin to track your site changes.
    • Investigate your Google Analytics and start analyzing pages. 

    Don’t duplicate location page copy 

    If you’re in charge of developing location page copy for a large-scale company that possesses many locations, it’s important to create unique copy for each location, even though it can be time-consuming. While it may be easy enough to just duplicate the copy and change a few things here and there, we highly advise against this. One of the best SEO techniques that you can utilize for better local ranking performance is to write some text that’s unique so that you increase your chances of getting noticed. So, don’t be lazy, simply find some inspiration for your writing so the task isn’t as tedious as it seems.  

    Don’t pay for links

    In the field of search engine optimization, link building is a set of two words that are used to describe an action aimed at increasing the number and the quality of inbound links to a website, intending to increase that page’s SEO ranking. So, while link building is incredibly beneficial for an e-commerce company that’s looking to get noticed, quality and relevance are even more essential, which is why you should never pay for your influence in the industry. It’s easy to pay and guarantee your place among a series of backlinks but link building is more favorable if it’s within well-known publications and written by people who admire its importance. We recommend investing in a partnership rather than appearing in paid features because noteworthy publications have a greater chance of organically growing a backlink profile.

    Are there any other SEO techniques that are often used but shouldn’t be? Drop a comment below to share your expertise with our readers.

    What are the best PPC strategies for your e-commerce website?

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    If you’re looking for an easy way to improve your digital marketing strategy while keeping the costs down, we recommend driving shoppers to your website by using pay per click advertising. This form of online exhibition only charges business owners once prospective customers find the ad using various search engines and click upon it. This means that payment is processed after traffic is achieved, as opposed to using other organic, digital marketing methods such as SEO. It’s 2020 and about time that you increased your business conversion rates using the power and effectiveness of pay per click advertising! 

    Carefully choose your advertisement platform  

    Just like traditional advertising, part of orchestrating successful pay per click advertising lies with carefully selecting the right platforms to distribute your announcements. There are plenty of ad placement options such as Google Shopping, Bing, Amazon Advertising and Facebook. Thus, ensure that you understand the trends of your ever-growing, dynamic industry before allocating a budget to any of the above platforms. Keep in mind that Google and Facebook shared 58.5% of the total US digital ad spend in 2019. 

    Review and utilize industry keywords

    If boosting the awareness of your e-commerce business is a huge part of your PPC strategy, then it’s important to research, review, and utilize previously generated search queries that are relevant to consumer purchases from your business. Through this PPC optimization process, you’re able to profile them into high converting search queries and terms, which can later be merged and used among your branded terms, model names, part numbers, and even SKU codes. Also, when time permits, you must next make a list of negative keywords in your pay per click advertising campaigns. This is because when you bid high on PLAs (product listing ad), it exposes your products to a wider range of searches instead of just improving Google rankings. As a result, you get to bid higher while also averting a lot of unwanted search traffic.  

    Expand your PPC spend 

    It can be difficult for business owners to manage personalized user experiences, which is why when they’re navigating the hard terrain of pay per click advertising, they often seek help from industry experts. In terms of communication, every consumer responds to something different, so it can be challenging to grow and build your brand loyalty and create new, meaningful relationships with your customers. That being said, be sure to look for a super-flexible and responsive ad platform that will allow you to showcase your products and services using an easy-to-navigate layout. 

    Quality content is the key 

    A good way to get your customers excited about what your business has to offer is by providing them with high-quality, well-written content. Since creating some flashy PPC ad copy won’t be enough to get yourself noticed, you’ll need to compliment your intuitive text using enticing colours, engaging videos, graphics, seamless navigation, and descriptive product information.

    Do you have any other feedback for pay per click advertising? Drop a comment below to share.

    How can email marketing drive your business?

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    While social media marketing, PPC advertising, and blogging have proved to be effective digital marketing tactics in the world of e-commerce, one should never underestimate the power of email marketing. After all, what better way is there to retain and market to existing customers? So, if you’re looking to drive business to your company, consider the following elements of a successful newsletter strategy. 

    Get shoppers to subscribe 

    One of the best ways to increase traffic and conversions on your website is by creating promotional and informative newsletters to go out to your list of subscribers. Of course, to orchestrate this type of successful marketing, one must first be approved by the consumer. Email providers, such as Gmail and Outlook possess advanced spam detection which offers users protection against unsolicited spam. This means that if you’re a reputable business owner, you’ll need to entice your online visitors to place their emails in your subscription tab so that you can get to work creating crafty newsletters. Another way that retailers can capture email addresses is by requesting first-time purchasers to opt-in to their newsletter service. Carrying out an online purchase often involves an included email to give shoppers their tracking and customer service information, so once the consent tab is ticked off, consider this consumer a part of your email marketing list! 

    Ensure you opt for an intelligent design 

    While it’s important to use emails as a key element in your digital marketing strategy, what’s more important is that your newsletter design uses strong visual elements to entice consumers to click and make further purchases. As with most digital marketing efforts, you must know your target audience and create material that aligns with their values. So, by using your email design to create an alluring business-to-consumer space you’re maximizing all the potential that comes with this type of digital marketing. After all, a high-quality newsletter will never go to waste! 

    Content, content, content! 

    Consistency is a necessary part of your digital marketing strategy, however, when you’re crafting high-quality, engaging content, it’s important to make sure that you’re also focusing on ways to keep it unique. Whether you use slick language, clever wording or you simply have a beguiling way to describe a product or service, your target audience will appreciate and likely respond better to well thought out content. Also, we recommend shaking things up by sending out contrived emails that contain industry news, promotional offers or even an email highlighting new item’s arrival. 

    Moreover, when used effectively, e-newsletters can prove to be one of the most effective elements of your digital marketing strategy. However, you must remember to focus on proactively acquiring subscribers, nailing down a stellar design, and delivering engaging content if you’re hoping to start building your brand’s perception through email. 

    How else do you use email marketing to drive your digital marketing strategy? Drop a comment below to share. 

    Which digital ad format proves to be the most effective?

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    There are a lot of types of digital marketing advertisements that have unique opportunities to connect with consumers, however, in terms of effectiveness, viewability, memorability, and engagement, there may be one or two that are better suited to your brand. After all, every business has its distinguished way to attract shoppers, and what works best for one may not work well for another. So, if you’re hoping to capture a lasting effect on your e-commerce visitors, it may be time to try a new form of digital advertising.  

    Viewability and memorability digital ad formats

    We’re living in a digital age where it can prove to be difficult to attract the attention of your audience. That being said, there are many elements to consider digitally if you’re hoping to create a viewable and memorable advertisement. So, with a little creativity and some added cleverness, you’ll be able to forge an online display that’s noteworthy and significant. 

    • Instagram advertising: This type of ad campaign allows e-commerce business owners to pay and post sponsored content to reach a larger target audience. All you need is a set of images, a video, and some accompanying text and you’ll be in a better position to reach your audience using Instagram advertising. 
    • Large-format, in-article advertising: This type of ad campaign involves the use of the Google-optimized ad format, which helps e-commerce business owners place native ads within an article, between the paragraphs of the pages. It’s an ideal digital marketing advertisement because it creates a blended experience for the reader. It’s also fitting for mobile use, as the articles are created to be full-width ads that monetize for smaller screens. 
    • In-app gaming banner advertising: This type of ad campaign is alive and well, consisting of video-based content, especially in the world of casual, free mobile games. Since these types of ads are usually used during the downtime of your addictive gameplay, they are a bit more forceful, which allows them to be seen by a diverse audience. This is likely why in-app gaming ads are experiencing the fastest growth and development in advertising! 
    • Desktop banner advertising: This type of ad campaign is a highly customizable option, allowing for both video and images. You’re also able to work with a graphic designer to create a specialized size that streamlines at a particular angle across your website’s homepage. Just be sure that the banner is optimized for mobile use as well. 
    • PPC advertising: Also, known as pay-per-click marketing, PPC is an internet advertising model that’s used to drive traffic to websites, in which the advertiser pays the publisher (for example, Google and Facebook) when the ad is clicked. 
    • Google Shopping: This type of ad campaign allows users to search for products and services on Google and compare prices between vendors. To make the best use out of Google Shopping, retailers will want to use both Google AdWords and Google Merchant Center. 

    Build brand recall using your digital marketing advertisements 

    Strategic repetition is the best way for you to leverage your campaigns and build a consumer recall with your brand. While you wouldn’t want to simply do the same type of adds over and over, you’ll want to use some repetitive elements in each of your ad campaigns to build awareness, recognition, and a sense of consistency among your business. Remember that every brand caters to a specific demographic or person, so speak to your people and find yourself an ideal fit in terms of advertising. Consider things like age, location, gender, life, and even online activity if you’re hoping to align with the values of your target audience. That being said, here are some questions that you can ask yourself when plunging into a new campaign start:

    • How does my target audience align with my brand?
    • What are my customer’s wants and needs?
    • What brand message could I display to answer those needs?
    • How can I creatively support my brand identity in this ad?
    • What mission, vision, and values does this campaign speak to?
    • Will the websites running my ads be able to support the visual elements of my campaign? 

    Do you have any other expertise or experience relating to the effectiveness of digital ads? Drop a comment below to share. 

    How small businesses should aim to manage their digital marketing

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    When the words digital and marketing are placed together inconsequential order, they refer to the innovative trend that delivers advertising through digital channels such as search engines, websites, social media, email, and mobile apps. While there are insights and strategies that business owners and marketing professionals both follow, when you’re first starting out, your e-commerce business is likely focused on getting the word out and establishing a network within your niche. So, if you’re hoping to uncover the secrets and endeavors that grind the gears of a successful digital marketing scheme, the best way to approach the process is by researching as much as possible on the subject matter. This means that as a small business owner it’s your job to read anything and everything there’s about professional digital marketing. 

    Why professional digital marketing is important to small businesses? 

    Most businesses thrive through the use of professional digital marketing, but small businesses greatly need it to get noticed in the first place. After all, regardless of whether you’re entering an established industry or a new niche, if you want to become the focus of consumer attention and stand out from your competitors, you’ll need a digital marketing strategy to help you carry out your business goals. 

    Let’s face it! Shoppers are abundantly online on the hunt for the next product to make their life more simplistic and enjoyable. So, when you’re first starting out, you’ll want to establish your target audience so that you’re able to cater to various digital marketing efforts that are best suited to a particular demographic of people. Think of your ideal customer and assign an age range that you’re going to steer towards, then ponder whether their gender, cultural values, and interests play a role in how you will appeal to them. If you’re finding the basic efforts of digital marketing too complicated, a few dollars can go a long way towards your company’s success. Whether you hire an agency to create a Facebook ad or write your weekly blog submissions, all digital marketing can be carried out on a budget. 

    How should you start your digital marketing efforts?

    Digital marketing can be intimidating and confusing for first-timers, but the good news is that with a little guidance and patience, you can learn marketing tactics for your businesses by observing the way other businesses do theirs — run campaigns based on the season, orchestrate a sale around a major calendar event and toss around a few times of day to do your social posting and see what gets the most attention. This trial and error period has great potential to yield positive results and for those who don’t have the time to meddle with what-ifs, you can hire a professional agency to do the experimentation for you.  

    That being said, since digital marketing is a key brand-building tool, here are some ways that you utilize its potential. 

    • Start a blog.
    • Research industry keywords and use them in your content. 
    • Post regularly on a variety of social media channels. 
    • Make your own service/product videos. 
    • Optimize your website so that it looks good on both computer and mobile devices (If unsure, use a web developer for this task). 
    • Build an email list and send them as needed to drive sales and establish relationships with your shoppers. 

    Do you rely on the expertise of a digital marketing company to assist with your business? Share your first-hand experiences with our readers.

    Digital Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    If your business still isn’t using digital media for marketing, 2020 is the year to get started. While online marketing efforts have an assortment of benefits that allow your company to grow, don’t give up on the traditional marketing efforts that are already working well for your business. The key to advertising success lies with well thought out strategies and a coordinated budget that can juggle both online and offline opportunities. So, here’s how digital and traditional media differ and what exposure they need to be successful. 

    Digital marketing outline

    A simplistic definition of digital marketing is the promotion of a brand’s products or services through electronic media. An example of this would include developing a digital marketing strategy and using advertising mediums to promote business efforts through the internet by way of social media, mobile phones, and electronic billboards. And while this inventive business proclamation is relatively new, about 70% of consumers prefer it over traditional ad methods! 

    Digital marketing does well in contemporary society because so many people are spending their time online, whether it be on their way to and from work, on their breaks or simply while on the toilet. So, businesses need to connect to their target demographic by utilizing the power of social media, blogging, and emails. These advertising methods increase your online exposure and expand your overall visibility in a world where most business owners are experiencing cut-throat competition. However, while professional digital marketing is relatively easy and inexpensive, paying an agency to handle your affairs can give your business the perfect kind of traction it needs.  

    Traditional marketing outline 

    An effortless way to define traditional marketing is a kind of promotion or advertisement that companies use during the early period of a particular product or service. This would include print advertisements, billboards, flyers, pamphlets, TV advertisements, newsletters articles, and radio commercials. In addition, traditional marketing also covers direct mail postcards, brochures, and flyers that are sent through postal mail. On a positive note, 79% of households admit that they read or scan direct mail advertising! 

    Traditional marketing has become a costly advertising source, providing very little direct communication with your consumer audience. However, it does allow you to broadcast your message in a particular publication to cater to those who have an interest in your industry. Although, the main throwback to traditional is that it’s more of a one-and-done strategy that more times than not, has shoppers reading it and tossing it out afterward. 

    What are the favored tools for each outlet?

    Professional digital marketing relies on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to get the word out. They may also rely on WordPress as a blogging platform and e-commerce foundation. Video and high graphic images work well on all the following digital marketing channels and have a strong ability to influence consumer decisions. 

    When it comes to traditional marketing, newspaper ads, direct mail, postcards, magazine ads, and even exerts in the phone book as the time-honored ways businesses once got customer attention, however, while this type of classic marketing adheres to a high degree of trust in older demographics, it’s missing out on the growing opportunity to progress with modern marketing technologies. 

    When do you think traditional marketing outweigh digital marketing? Drop a comment below to share. 

    Which holiday shopping persona are you?

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    Holiday shoppers and e-commerce businesses have a lot of commonalities — saving money, obtaining and/or selling high-quality products, and having the process be as breezy as possible. So, at a time where festivities are in full swing, it’s important for retailers to know how to appropriately target shoppers with the right amount of consumer confidence to carry out their purchases. Typically, this kind of insight can only come from overviewing potential shopping personas so they can be individually targeted! 

    The cautious consumer 

    People work hard for their money, so when it comes to spending it, many devote their earnings to products that they have engaged with before. This is what professional digital marketing companies refer to as, cautious shoppers. These consumers are at a very impressionable stage where they’re still uncertain of your brand and are commonly careful about making new purchases — alas, they’re still willing to make a change in their priorities. As an e-commerce brand, this means that you will need to market using communication that shows responsibility and focus on content that may align with their values. This type of shopper is a long-term planner and engagement will be the key to hooking them. 

    Loyalty with the brand

    While it’s your job as an e-commerce business owner to establish yourself as an industry leader, it’s also important for you to create a sense of brand loyalty. Retailers that create relationships with their consumers are planting a seed that could keep those shoppers coming back for years to come. That being said, if you’re the type of shopper who knows exactly what you like and continue to go back to that same source, regardless of the prices or promotions available, then you’re a brand loyalist. The best way for businesses to target loyal customers is through email or using key social channels to post about new inventory and products that they may be retiring. 

    The held-up shopper

    This persona embodies people who postpone their shopping experiences, meaning that money isn’t necessarily the factor that holds them back from pursuing a purchase. So, if you’re the type of person who needs to grab a gift for a loved one or you’ve been avoiding the time-consuming task of sorting through your emails on the hunt for a must-have product, then you’re a held-up shopper who waits until the last possible moment to carry out your purchases. So, if you’re an e-commerce business looking to send out relevant campaign content, your key to targeting this group of individuals could be highlighting fast delivery options, giving a last-minute angle that makes buying with you worthwhile. 

    The bargain hunter 

    If you’re the type of shopper who patiently waits for promotional sales only to immediately swoop in and check out your online shopping cart that was abandoned a week before, then you’re what professional digital marketing companies call a bargain hunter. This means that while you may enjoy a particular brand, you’re devoted to whichever business gives you the best bang for your buck and are always anticipating ways that you can save on your order. Interestingly enough, if an e-commerce business is wanting to target this type of shopper, they will need to assume this behaviour and use specific content to reel in these consumers. So, one of the best ways that you can fetch yourself some bargain hunters is by sending out a newsletter or advertising through your social channels when you’re conducting a site-wide sale or discounting certain products. 

    What did you think of this week’s blog submission? Drop a comment below to offer suggestions or spark a conversation.

    Looking for some last-minute holiday marketing campaign tips?

    Posted on by Alex Wilks

    If you’re one of the many entrepreneurs that aren’t quite ready to face this year’s holiday season, why not consider putting an innovative spin on your brand’s marketing? December is a festive time where shoppers are constantly bombarded with an overwhelming influx of holiday-inspired messages, which makes it easy for your campaign(s) to get lost in the noise of the season. So, if you want to generate some added buzz, consider the following tips to ensure that your communication has a quality rather than a chaotic approach. 

    Draw inspiration from your competitors

    Whether your holiday marketing strategy includes some social media promotions, a couple of enticing emails, some extra pay-per-click adverts or all of the above, it’s important to get creative when you’re orchestrating your agenda for the month. Although running a unique campaign is always preferable, when it comes to the holiday season, chances are there’s very little you can do to make your marketing strategy one-of-a-kind, so why not incorporate your brand into a festive year-end campaign that highlights a comparable feel to your competitors, but outshines them in the process? 

    Emphasis seasonal imagery 

    Regardless of what niche industry your business is a part of, brands likely see the holiday season as a time of year to connect to their audience through the use of festive imagery. A prime example of this lies with the graphics you use on your social media channels, emails, and website banners. Since images can visually communicate with your visitors, why not just let them do the talking? After all, setting the tone for the season provides a timely, relevant way for you to get your audience excited about limited-time offers and is a comprehensive way to add a little vibrancy to your holiday marketing strategy.  

    Emotionally charge your communication

    The holiday season is one of the most important and profitable times of the year for many e-commerce businesses, so why not add an element of human touch to your communication? Your choice of wording in your social media posts, emails, and homepage text should invoke emotion and inspire action (purchases) and loyalty (recurring purchases). In other words, your holiday content is most effective when it’s tugging at the heartstrings of potential shoppers. 

    If you’re still struggling to find the time, dialogue, or imagery to pair with your thought-provoking, holiday marketing, we encourage you to speak with a representative from our digital marketing team to get yourself joyously ready!

    Do you have any other tips that are could apply to a last-minute campaign? Drop a comment below to share.