Search Engine Optimization Blogs | How to: SEO for eCommerce

Why great websites should include an SEO plan

Posted on April 30, 2019September 21, 2021 by Alex Wilks

You can have a beautifully designed website and a stellar marketing team backing up your products and services on social media but if your businesses website is lacking search engine optimization it won’t be getting the attention that it deserves. Needless to say, if you understand the importance of SEO implementation, you’re well on your way to creating the right traction to get noticed in your niche industry.

Why do so many e-commerce businesses lack SEO?

There are many reasons that a startup e-commerce business may lack an SEO strategy:

They don’t have the extra income: There are a lot of costs that go with operating an online business and it’s possible that when a company is just getting off the ground, they won’t have the extra funds that are needed for search engine optimization.
They don’t have the time: While this point is only applicable if they’re doing their own in-house SEO, if you’re a business owner who is juggling multiple tasks it’s possible that SEO is something that can and will be forgotten.
It’s hard to keep up with the progression: An SEO specialist has the incentive to follow what’s changing in the landscape of the industry, whereas a business owner may find it hard to know all the grooves of search engine optimization.
You don’t have the resources: Small businesses aren’t able to invest enough into the tools that may be needed, such as better analytics, keyword research, reporting tools and conversion optimization tools.

Design your website with SEO in mind

Regardless of whether you already have a fully functioning web design or if you’re in the process of starting one from scratch, just keep in mind that there are always ways you can keep your design SEO-oriented. That being said, the most important thing you can do is to build a plan for how your target audience is going to notice you. Creating brand awareness should be an essential part of growing your business and your SEO strategy is crucial when it comes to generating leads. So, if you want your website to flourish, considering content marketing. Content marketing entails many digital marketing elements, such as blogging, creating videos and sharing social posts across your channels. Consider using this as an opportunity to flaunt your SEO knowledge and use industry keywords within all of your content to increase your chances of being ranked organically on various search engines.

So, why should you invest in SEO?

You already know that there are tons of companies out there that are competing with you that also have products just as innovative and budget-friendly as yours are, so, why wouldn’t you want to invest in the opportunity to stand out from the competition? SEO allows you to design and create content using industry-specific keywords. Then you’re able to start attracting traffic from people who are already interested in what you’re selling. After all, they typed in a particular set of words and BAM there was your site conveniently awaiting their future click. So, now instead of only being an information portal, your website is a place where people can come to find exactly what they’re looking for.

Do you have any positive experiences with search engine optimization? How has it changed the ranking of your business? Tell us in the comments section below.

Why is digital marketing important for hotel sales?

Posted on February 26, 2019September 21, 2021 by Alex Wilks

Both vacationing and traveling for work are done a little differently in 2019. At one time a physical advertisement would have been enough to attract the attention of potential guests, but those traditions are quickly losing their ability to make meaningful impacts. This is why we’re promoting and strongly emphasizing on growing your company through the use of a digital connection. In fact, more than ever before, businessmen and women, families, couples and solo travelers are booking their flights, accommodation and even travel excursions online; almost as if the entire customer lifecycle has switched over to a more digital world. So, if you’re a medium-sized hotel chain that’s looking to heighten the reach of your target market or a small Bed and Breakfast that’s looking to gain some recognizable traction, then you’ll want to learn how digital media can significantly boost your booking numbers.

So many people spend time in the digital world

The modern-day traveler is accustomed to being connected to technology. So, naturally, that means that there is an influx in people taking the time to scan through their social media channels for travel inspiration. Wouldn’t it be great if a revelation sprang to their minds after they saw your company’s digital advertisement?

Keeping that in mind, it was reported in 2018 that 57% of hotel bookings occurred online, half of which were processed through the use of a smartphone. Further, this means that Gen Z, Millennials, Generation Xers and even possibly Baby Boomers are slowly catching onto this sophisticated way of travel booking. So, if you’re aren’t developing or constantly tweaking your digital marketing strategy, you run the risk of losing reach to these prospecting guests.

Digital media is an easier method for booking

Your hotel chain absolutely needs an easy-to-use, eye-catching booking system that makes the customer feel both comfortable giving out their credit card credentials, while also excited at your choice of visual design and photo features. After all, it’s your responsibility to get your guests excited about their experience.

That being said, it’s important to understand that when someone selects a destination as their vacation hotspot, they have many choices in terms of accommodation. So, why should they go with you? By making your booking process an enticingly fun, care-free experience, you’re locking in your guest’s approval and potentially even encouraging them to spread the word about their stay. Keep in mind that your hotel digital marketing strategy should accelerate your guest’s experience, so, think carefully about how your website is built and how your social media channels are curated — consider engaging information that entices prospecting travelers to make a booking.

Digital media is a great space to flaunt your brand

Hotel digital marketing is the perfect opportunity for you to express what your brand is all about. There are many social media platforms where you can spread the word about your hotel, allowing you to connect with current or past guests and even effectively attract new clients. Just keep in mind that formulating a digital marketing strategy takes a lot of time, brainstorming and patience and might require the help of a social media or digital media manager embellish unique branded content. Remember, this is a creative space where you should feel comfortable sharing beautiful images, engaging photos and even thought-provoking stories. Hire someone who understands your image and your undying need to put your hotel on the map.

It’s time to take advantage of digital media and communication with your audience, share historic insights, write interesting content, take incredible photos and encourage a connective memory that your guests will never forget.

Can you think of an example of a hotel digital marketing strategy? Share with our readers below.

Why You Shouldn’t Overlook the Power of Pay per Click Advertising

Posted on February 19, 2019November 22, 2019 by Alex Wilks

There are so many methods available to market your online business. While blogging, sending newsletters and spreading the world on social media all prove to be effective cranks turning the wheel towards audience awareness, one of the most advantageous marketing techniques is pay per click (PPC) advertising. Not only does PPC advertising take a close look at your current business objectives, but it will also determine which media channels you’re getting noticed on and will target how to reach your buying consumers. After all, doesn’t it make more sense to pay for an advertising technique that only charges you once a customer has actually noticed your endorsement?

What is PPC advertising?

Also known as cost per click, PPC advertising is an internet advertising model that is used by marketing companies to direct traffic to websites. The best part is that the advertiser will only pay the publisher if the ad was clicked on. So, essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your business website, rather than trying to obtain those visits in a more organic way.

Search engine advertising is one of the most popular forms of PPC advertising because it allows advertisers to bid for ad placement in the search engine’s sponsored link section. This is determined by selectively choosing relevant keywords that are related to the business or product offering. By getting ahead of organic search results you’re asserting your position as a leader in your industry.

What is Google Ads?

Formally known as Google AdWords, this PPC advertising tool enables businesses to create ads that will appear on Google’s search engines. It operates as a pay-per-click model, which means that every time a search is initiated, Google will pull a few winners from their database to appear in the ad space in the search results. The winners are chosen based on a combination of factors, including the quality of their chosen keywords as well as of amount that they bid. It’s basically an auction to determine which businesses will be seen first.

Why should you take advantage of PPC advertising?

Budget-friendly: Full-on ad campaigns can be expensive and require money allocation before they roll out. PPC advertising allows you to set a small to medium budget and then analyze how your campaign is performing. If you’re starting to create traction and making money, then you can slowly start investing more into your marketing budget.
Keywords: PPC advertising helps you determine which keywords are appearing in your industry and allows you to use those words to also create organic traffic.
Targets your audience: PPC advertising has the power to help your conversion rates by targeting the audience that’s actually interested in your product or service to click-through to your website. If they click, chances are you’re drawing in the right people.

Are there any other ways in which PPC advertising is beneficial to business owners? Share your comments with our readers below.

How can veterinary clinics use digital marketing to promote their business?

Posted on January 29, 2019September 21, 2021 by Alex Wilks

Digital marketing is rapidly changing the way that various niche companies are promoting their businesses. Although this online frontier can be a little overwhelming for those who aren’t very tech-savvy, it’s incredibly important for entrepreneurs to get on-board and promote their products or services using this innovative technology. That’s why when you’re using digital marketing for pet businesses, such as a veterinary practice, you’ll need to utilize modern marketing strategies — search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, blogging and social media marketing — to get your clinic noticed by the loving pet owners in your community.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

If you’re hoping to get prominently noticed when someone does a Google search for “veterinary clinics in my area” then you’ll need to include these organic keywords in your written content in order to generate the results. By utilizing the power of SEO-based digital marketing for your pet business more visitors are able to find your website, which in turn, converts to more potential customers.

Since SEO is rather intimidating — editing the content, adding fresh content, doing HTML, increase specific keywords that are used on site and removing barriers to the indexing activities of search engines — hiring a digital marketing team to handle your ongoing SEO development is probably the best idea in terms of a marketing strategy.

Email marketing

Operating a professional business is all about sharing your knowledge with the right people. We can’t think of a better way to show off your expertise with the world than email emailing. Sending a couple of monthly emails shows your clients that you care about the well-being of their animals and it also gives you an amazing opportunity to reach out and share relevant information. For example, maybe it’s the start of Spring and you know that fleas are more prominent this time of year. You could send out an email talking about ticks, fleas and worms and explain how they can be treated among pets. Owners will appreciate the information and you will appreciate their business when they pay you a visitor to grab their monthly flea medication.

Blogging

Although creating original blogging content is incredibly tedious, it’s also a very beneficial form of digital marketing for pet businesses. This is your opportunity to get creative, answer frequently asked questions and educate pet owners about medications, treatments, everyday pet care and the life cycle of various animal species. It’ll give you an opportunity to learn more about your field and it will also give owners a resource to turn to when they have any prying questions.

It’s very important to formulate a regulate posting schedule when you choose to start a blog (post weekly or bi-monthly) in order to keep up-to-date within your niche as well as give your readers some form of consistency.

Social media marketing

It’s no secret that almost everyone uses a social media platform in some way, shape or form, which is why utilizing this method of digital marketing is incredibly beneficial in terms of promoting your veterinary practice. Spreading the message to your potential audience is as easy as posting on Facebook or using the right Hashtags on Instagram, however, choosing which social media platform works for you should be the first step in your social media strategy. Not only are you able to inform clients about things like new business hours or a new product that you’re carrying, but you’re also able to develop an entertaining, personal connection with your clients on a daily basis.

Are there are other ways that digital marketing for pet businesses is beneficial? Tell us in the comments section below.

How do you create a social listening strategy?

Posted on January 8, 2019September 21, 2021 by Alex Wilks

Social media has the power to influence the world around us. Whether it’s our every day relationships, longstanding education or our enhanced shopping experiences, for the most part, we solidify these social connections by the way we choose to communicate through our social channels. But, before the widespread fame of social media, marketers heavily relied on television, radio stations or billboard advertising to get the word out about the benefits and advantages of their products and services. With the steady progress of technology and the hands-on accessibility of the internet, social media has drastically changed our world and the world of marketing. So, if you’re seeking a better way to understand your customers or simply want to engage, then perhaps you should consider diving in and creating a social listening strategy.

What is social listening?

Social listening is the process of listening to the online conversations of customers and potential buyers. Primarily done through the use of social media, this practice allows a business owner, or digital marketing firm, to be able to collect valuable data revolving around specific topics related to their industry niche, and even brands, services and products.

How does social listening differ from monitoring?

Since these two terms are often compared in the digital marketing sphere, we thought that we would break down the barriers that differ between them.

While, you’re somewhat familiar with social listening, social monitoring is simply the process of watching for @mentions and comments that pour into your social media channels, mobile apps and blogs. Although it’s important to be aware that not all the conversations are relevant to your brand will appear within your notifications, so you’ll need to be diligent with your digging.

On the other hand, social listening dives much deeper by tracking relevant keywords, phrases, events and organizations that are implemented within your social strategy in order to actively find all the relevant conversations that are able to provide insight, meaning or context to your brand and niche.

What are some advantages of social listening?

Let’s consider the data that social listening has the ability to provide you with.

Social measurement: Successful social media marketing involves a little bit of trial and error. In order to drive your success, you must first determine the tactics that work for your company. Social listening can help point you in the right direction so that not too much time will be wasted determining tactics that are already working in your niche.

Content marketing: Most of your success as a business owner will rely on your ability to deliver content to your consumers. Whether it’s your scholarly product descriptions or some guided insights into your service, powerful words can really resonate with your audience. Social listening can provide further insight into what topics your consumers are discussing, which allows your to deliver content that outlines points, concerns and questions before even having to be asked.

Generates leads: Social listening allows you to boost your lead generation because your organization is constantly tracking relevant industry conversations. Once your team has executed their social listening strategy effectively, they have the potential to uncover new clients through the use of these interactions.

Competitive analysis: Social listening allows you to gain perspective on the insights on your own company, while also allowing you to maintain tabs on the competition around you. Find out what your competitors are doing well and make a plan to executive it even better.

Customer service: If you have a person who is in charge of your social listening maintenance, then your organization will constantly be on top of its customer service. Tracking conversations allows you to provide incredible customer service by combating problems in a timely, appropriate manner and offering helpful responses to your customer’s questions. This helps build trust and loyalty that extends far beyond your brand and has the ability to assert your position as a leader in your industry.

How do you get started?

It sounds super easy, right? Well, here’s how you can get started on your social listening strategy.

Define your goals
Develop a keyword strategy
Invest in the right tools
Take action

If you need a better understanding of social listening or need any help get started, contact a professional digital marketing agency to help point you in the right direction or simply handle all the elements on your behalf.

Do you have any other questions about social listening? Ask us in the comments section below.

Starting off the year with a few hotel digital marketing tips

Posted on January 1, 2019September 21, 2021 by Alex Wilks

Digital marketing for hotels is constantly evolving with the times. This ever-changing online landscape requires business owners and their marketing counterparts to constantly tweak their strategies in order to remain edgy and up-to-date within their niche. With an emergence in social media technologies it’s always important to have your eyes on new trends, but it’s even more essential to focus your energy on the marketing tools that will empower you to entice your target audience to click and share. Start by trying out these tips when it comes to developing digital marketing for hotels.

Optimize your website

It’s paramount to ensure that all of your content possesses strong SEO (search engine optimization) in order to engage with a far-reaching crowd — this will help your hotel appear organically in the search engines of potential customers. Start out by performing an online audit to ensure that you understand your current online marketing efforts. If you do not know how to do this, a professional digital marketing team can assist you by recommending designs and approaches that will increase your ROI (return on investment).

Ask yourself questions. Is your site easy to navigate? Does your copy have clear call-to-actions that assist potential guests through their booking journey? All these of pointers help you to fill your website with clear, concise and advantageous information that makes it not only invaluable to book on, but also a positive experience.

Understand that hotel digital marketing is competitive

Once you ensure that your website is up-to-speed in terms of design, development and content then you want to start setting achievable goals for yourself as a business owner. It’s meaningful to understand that you’re in a very competitive industry and although your website now performs great, will it compare to more recognizable hotel booking web pages?

Know who your competitors are and visit their websites periodically in order to compare how they engage with guests. Use this as an opportunity to see where they may be failing to connect with them and try to find ideas on how you can outperform them in the future. Ask yourself, “how do our digital marketing efforts differ?” and try and adapt your strategy to its fullest potential.

Use social media marketing

The power of modern-day social media, especially when it comes to anything travel related, is a huge means for businesses to reach their target audiences. Hotels create a message, that message is shared on various social media channels, consumers receive the message, consumers relate to the message, consumers feel empowered to book and the customer lifecycle repeats itself. Just make sure that your social media interactions are delivered in a way that makes your customers feel valued in order to increase their awareness with your hotel brand.

Other marketing methods

Now that you understand the world of digital marketing for hotels, you can try these other tips as a means of promoting your business.

Embrace your specialization: What makes your business so special? Maybe it’s the location, the fact that it’s an older building or it is surrounded by breath-taking views?
Target your niche: Although you’re running a hotel, maybe there is a niche that you develop on to promote your digital marketing?
Reward customer loyalty: Perhaps once your guest has checked out, you can send them an email requesting a quick review of their stay. This gives them an opportunity to provide you with rewarding feedback and maybe, in turn, you can give them a special voucher to use during their next stay.

As always, if you need help in the field of digital marketing for hotels, remember to reach out to an agency that will help you keep on top of the latest hotel trends and campaigns.

How do you keep on top of your digital marketing? Tell us in the comments section below.

How to write SEO friendly content that attracts audiences

Posted on June 12, 2018September 21, 2021 by Alex Wilks

Have you ever wondered how certain content appears at the top of your Google search? In short, Google uses mathematical algorithms to give each website a score. That score determines the rank of each website and where it is placed when someone types keywords into google search.

“Think of the algorithm like a collection of empty buckets. One bucket gives you a score for the quality of your site, one bucket gives you a score for how many sites link to you, one bucket gives you a score for how people trust you. Your job is to fill up more buckets in the algorithm than any other website.”

So what is SEO?

It’s tough for content to get noticed on the web. Using SEO friendly keywords is a smart and reliable way to improve your website traffic.

SEO is a shorthand term for Search Engine Optimization. Basically, it is a measurable, repeatable process that is used to send signals to various search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) to show that your page is worth displaying on the Google index.

SEO friendly content allows your website to show up more often, get more clicks, shares, likes and more overall engagement.

How do you create SEO friendly content?

Now that you understand a few details behind how SEO works, here are a few tips and tricks behind writing SEO enhanced content.

Use descriptive headlines and sub-headers
Add lots of links to supporting/previous content
Optimize the length of your article
Choose your keywords wisely
Pick clickable photos
Make your content shareable
Write quality over quantity (high quality content is much more audience friendly then extra words on a page)

Do you know any other SEO tips that we didn’t touch on? Let us know in the comment section below.

What is search engine optimization (SEO) and how does it work?

Posted on April 24, 2018November 22, 2019 by Alex Wilks

Blogs are a terrific way to continuously engage with your audience and keep them interested in your company. The ideas are endless, but you may not be reaching out to your full potential if you have been disregarding any crucial blogging components. Understanding more about what SEO is and how it works is important when marketing and creating content.

What is the purpose of SEO?

SEO, or more technically known as search engine optimization, is essentially free advertising that attracts both new and existing customers and followers. Similar to how appealing context increases engagement on Facebook, SEO determines words and phrases that make your content stand out on SERPs (search engine result pages). Crawlers, spiders and robots often refer to tools that search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, use to display their results. These technical applications may seem daunting, but the right keywords can significantly affect those algorithms and page rankings.

Specific, relevant keywords

Think of keywords as part of your marketing conversation to the consumer. Let’s use handmade soaps as an example. Instead of only referring to them that way, also use long tail keywords that are more specific — fragrance-free, vegan, goat’s milk, rose petal, charcoal or glittery. Include your business name, the city or market where they’re crafted or available as well as words that can further describe certain designs, ingredients or types (San Diego farmers market bunny-shaped bar soaps).

Whatever phrase you choose, work them into your content organically, so that it doesn’t sound scripted or forced.

Furthermore, make sure that the keywords are relevant. If you create a post that’s off-topic it’s better that you apply search terms accordingly, or not include any at all, rather than put them in just for the sake of it.

Remember to also keep applicable keywords for the following:

Anchor text: words that lead to internal links (backlinks to other content you’ve created) and to external links (links to content from outside sources).
Meta descriptions: the short text that appears with links in search engine results.
Page URLs: www.businessname.com/lavender-unicorn-bar-soap vs. www.businessname.com/soap-399
Alt attributes: the descriptive text used for images which search engines crawl instead of the actual visual.

Off-page Appeal

As you learn more about SEO, pay attention to off-page sources. These are the ways that others mention your company’s services or products through comments and social media interaction, as well as how you engage with your audience. The more customer reviews you get the more brand recognition you can receive. This opens up the possibilities for influencers to include you in their own heavily followed pages and videos. It is important to consider this potential when you create anything online.

We’re here to help you navigate the ever-changing SEO algorithms. Find out how our SEO services are the digital strategies you need for success!

Common copywriting mistakes to avoid

Posted on April 17, 2018September 21, 2021 by Alex Wilks

Although blogs, social media posts, emails, e-newsletters and web pages vary in technical components, they all require a certain attention to detail. If you are able to avoid the following common copywriting mistakes, you will produce content that better appeals to marketing strategies.

Addressing the wrong audience

One of the most important steps in understanding content marketing is knowing your audience. As tempting as it may be to try to sell your services or products to everyone, it’s important to not lose focus if you have a niche market. Determine the target age group, income bracket and other identifying characteristics that your wares are most intended for, then adapt your voice accordingly. Make sure that your tone, vocabulary and hashtags genuinely speak to your main consumers.

Incorrect formatting

That extra minute spent on spell-check is well worth the effort! Firstly remember to review proper sentence structure, choice of words (affect vs. effect, etc.) and sub-header divisions. Read content out loud and if possible, ask friends, family, or colleagues to preview and proof-read for you. Increase engagement and attention by breaking up lengthy texts with photos and infographics. And with customers constantly on the go, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, to check for mobile optimization.

Outdated or incorrect links and content

Almost everyone has at some point clicked on a link, only to find it broken or non-existent. It is important to make sure that outlinks work and internal links are still relevant. Additionally, headers, subject lines and meta descriptions should reflect the topic. Unless you state that content is explicitly your opinion, review statistics and facts for accuracy. Always remember to properly credit your sources either through hyperlinks or annotations.

Improper SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) is not as difficult as it may seem. However, it is necessary to create a balance between keywords to avoid using generic phrases that don’t generate results. Research engaging long tail keywords and implement them organically as if you were having a verbal conversation with your audience. The more that you understand why ecommerce businesses need a blog, the easier that it becomes to develop proper SEO.

Lack of direction

Think of engaging with your consumer base the same as establishing a relationship. You should talk about yourself, but remember it’s more about the other person. Don’t be self-centred, forget about a feature > benefit structure and ignore how readers and followers will feel by becoming paying customers. Include clear information and direct CTAs.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is one of the most common copywriting mistakes, even if it’s done inadvertently. Let your personality come through, to find ways to make content unique and relevant to your business. If you’re still unsure how your words compare to similar posts by others, review them through a plagiarism checker tool.

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Category: Search Engine Optimization