The mobile-first index is here! You would expect that with this news, everything else would not seem important, but there were some other noteworthy developments, like Google’s new Shopping Program which appears to be Google’s response to the financial world valuing Amazon over the search giant. And, the end of our favorite goo.gl links.
In this interview with 20 highly experienced SEO professionals, you will find out how they would start their careers from scratch in 2018, what they think are the most important skills for the future success and how they educate themselves and keep up with the constant updates in the industry of search engine optimization.
There are two types of people in this world: those that love to shop, and those that hate to shop. I would say I’m more of a hater than a lover myself, but we all have to do it from time to time.
In this consumer-driven world we live in, there are messages left, right, and sideways trying to convince us to buy one product or another. This is what makes retail marketing so darn challenging. Retailers are often fighting for attention to get prospects to hit the “buy” button or come to their brick and mortar storefront and swipe their cards. And with such a big shift to ecommerce dominating the retail space, those who are managing storefronts may be suffering.
According to Big Commerce, 51% of Americans prefer to shop online, and almost everyone – 96% – has made an online purchase in their life (not surprising to me!). So if you are retailer with a store presence, how can you get shoppers to come by? The old strategies of simply having a good location or putting up flyers or ads in your local newspaper aren’t going to cut it anymore.
Well, fear not! We have 11 powerful retail marketing tips to help you increase your retail sales, both online and offline, starting with…
#1: Run Beautifully Executed Google Shopping Campaigns
With over 3.5 billion searches occurring on Google each day, it’s no secret that people use Google to shop. Between searching for product reviews and store locations and the convenience of ordering online, the most powerful search engine has become a digital shopping tour guide for most.
This is why retail marketers absolutely must be capitalizing on Google shopping campaigns. Google shopping campaigns allow retail marketers to sell their products directly through the SERPs, so whether you have a storefront or not, these campaigns are worth investing in. While some of you readers may already be running Google shopping campaigns, here are some additional strategies to capitalize on your SERP sales…
Organize Shopping Campaigns by Best-Selling Items
When you’re configuring your Shopping campaigns make sure your products of similar value are grouped together so you can easily allocate and adjust budgets in a logical manner. Grouping together your best sellers will help you capitalize on online sales.
Ensure Your Ad Images are High-Quality and Crawlable
This tip might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often marketers overlook the quality of their ad images, which is your first chance to grab the potential buyer. So, what makes a good quality image? One with little grain, fine detail, and a simple white background so that searchers can focus on the product that’s being sold.
It is also critical to follow Google’s guidelines when configuring your images. For instance, for non-apparel products Google advises using an image that is at least 100 X 100 pixels, and for apparel items at least 250 X 250 pixels. The image URL needs to start with http or https, and use an encoded URL that complies with RFC 2396 or RFC 1738.
For more information on specific technical requirements to ensure your images appear beautifully on the SERPs and are able to be crawled by search bots, check out this resource.
Include Merchant Promotions and Product Reviews
With retail marketing being one of the most competitive industries to be in, it could not be more critical to gain votes of confidence on your products through a sea of 5-star reviews. Of course, your products actually need to be well-received to earn these justly, but assuming you do have items on the market with great reviews, you should absolutely be showing these reviews off.
Why? Because reviews drive purchases. This isn’t revolutionary! In fact, 88% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. So, how can one take advantage of reviews within their shopping campaigns? Here are a couple ways…
Utilize Merchant Promotions: This will allow you to add tags like “Special offer” to your shopping ads. Set-up requires a few steps including filling out the merchant promotions interest form and either using the +PROMOTION tool or setting up a promotion feed. Follow the steps here to get your promotions approved.
Configure Product Ratings: You’ve all seen the little star rating underneath products on the SERPs. Don’t you want these for your ads? You need to gain at least 50 reviews on one of Google’s third-party approved sites to ensure the reviews show. Check out the approved third-party sources here, where you should be actively seeking reviews to ensure they appear in the SERPs.
#2: Give Shoppers a Reason to Visit Your Store
Currently I’m cozied up in my pajamas in my South Boston condo watching as another New England snowstorm buries me into my couch even further. Do you really think I’m trekking through the snow to make a purchase in your storefront while I could just browse for a similar product on Amazon Prime, and have it at my doorstep by tomorrow afternoon?
The convenience of online shopping has been hard on many retail marketers operating physical storefronts. Yet, many still do prefer shopping for items in person because you have the ability to see and touch items and try things on without going through the hassle of shipping back items that don’t fit.
Unfortunately, these benefits alone aren’t always enough to get customers to leave their Netflix at home. So, what to do? Well, retail marketers desperate for more storefront traffic need to start giving their customers a reason to come in. Perhaps you have a special in-store discount for shoppers. Lululemon is constantly convincing me to come by their stores with their free yoga classes. Check out the Facebook post below.
What a great way to incentivize shoppers to come into the store for a free and very on-brand offering, where they then will of course be surrounded by all of the tempting new yoga clothes for sale. You should try the same, and make sure to promote your offerings on your social networks to spread the news.
#3: Use Social Media Targeting Capabilities to Your Advantage
You likely already have some form of social media presence, but if you haven’t yet invested in the world of social media advertising you are surely missing out. Why? Because platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter make it absurdly easy to find and get in front of the people most likely to buy your products.
Let’s run through an example to see how detailed you can actually get. Let’s say you sell wedding dresses in the city of Boston. You have a pretty clear idea of who your target audience is based on your product and the prices of your dresses so you decide to configure a campaign. You start off my targeting women, who make up 99.9% of your customer base. Then you set up the age ranges between 24 and 40 years old, since the style of your dresses cater most to this age range.
Next is location – you type in the zip code to show your ads to Facebook visitors in a 25-mile radius. Are you set? Actually, no. You can dig into various categories and sub-categories to target engaged shoppers, interested in marriage, weddings, women’s clothing, and dresses. Perhaps you narrow your audience even more by targeting friends of people who already liked your page.
Basically, the possibilities are quite endless with the detailed targeting you can do so make sure to get on these platforms to start reaching your audience faster on social!
#4: Don’t Forget to Be Locally Relevant
Whether or not you are operating a retail storefront, if you can be locally relevant to each audience this is going to help your chances of winning them over. People want to feel like they’re part of their community, and if your brand blends in seamlessly with their home then they are more likely to draw an emotional attachment to your business.
There are a few key ways to ensure you’re being as locally relevant as possible…
Geotargeting
I touched on this a bit in the tip above, but the more granular and local you can get with your targeting, the easier it will be to appear locally relevant. Use geotargeting on platforms like Google AdWords, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc., to reach the locals.
Ad Copy and Imagery
Fill your ad copy and images with local appeal – for example, by taking product shots in scenic local parks or even selling local products. Take this example from a design and décor shop in Southie called Neatly Nested. They designed a Southie mug for locals to enjoy, and it was such a hit that they had to order more!
Use Local Lingo
It’s wicked cold out there today, am I right? Every locally born Bostonian uses “wicked” in replace for “very” in every other sentence. It’s just what we do. Are their certain phrases that only locals use? Fill your ad copy with this type of language to make your potential buyers feel at home.
#5: Invest in Some Guerilla Marketing Campaigns
Do you ever think about taking a step outside of the digital world to explore how your physical surroundings could help you market to your ideal audience? Guerilla marketing is just that: leaving the screen behind, and using public places to get the word out about your business. While marketers definitely cannot rely solely on guerilla marketing, it can be a great way to boost your store’s visibility in a fun and creative manner.
We’re all exposed to guerilla marketing campaigns in our daily lives whether we realize it or not, which is why creativity is key. Take this example from Unicef, where they installed dirty water machines to spread their social cause to the general public.
Pretty powerful, but expensive… Luckily, these campaigns don’t always need to cost an arm and a leg. Partner with a friend to open up a pop-up shop in their space, or create a gorgeous mural to boost your brand name.
So put your creativity cap on and think outside of the box to grab the attention of the public outside of the internet. It will be far more memorable!
#6: Try Podcast Advertising
What is your audience listening to? The podcast trend has continued to grow at a steady rate year after year. In fact, 67 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly, which is a 14 percent year-over-year increase.
The great thing about podcasts is that there are so many in niche industries, so based on what you’re selling, and more importantly who you’re selling to, you can select the right podcast to pursue. Once you have discovered your audience’s choice of podcasts, invest in running some advertisements to sponsor the commercial breaks. This works incredibly well since listeners are typically driving or commuting to work and skipping these ads isn’t really an option.
#7: Get Creative with Video
There’s no better way to bring your products to life than with video, whether it be a simple video showing the fit of your clothing or something a bit more creative that involves an emotional storytelling component. There is so much room to create an experience that really resonates with your audience, and make your brand unforgettable in their eyes.
In fact, some brands have made their products big through video. For instance, who could forget the Dollar Shave Club videos then went viral? These videos worked remarkably well because they showcased their products, but with an entertainment element that made the brand unforgettable (and made viewers actually want to try their razors!).
Another great example is this video from Man Crates:
#8: Celebrate All the Little Holidays
If you haven’t noticed there is a national day for everything – from pancakes to siblings to candy corn, these fake holidays have taken over. And don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that your brand celebrate every one of these “holidays,” but it is worth celebrating days that are particularly relevant to your retail offerings, as well as holidays like Valentine’s Day and Saint Patty’s Day. When you embrace these days, release special limited-edition products around them (Shamrock shakes!), run special events, or offer deals in festive holidays colors, it gets people excited.
Check out this Valentine’s Day post, again from the small retail store Neatly Nested, for example. Not only do they showcase an adorable plate you could purchase, but they encourage customers to stop by and check out a special floral pop-up.
#9: Instill a Sense of Urgency
Have you ever made an impulse buy? I’d be willing to bet that this decision was fueled by a sense of urgency.
When you instill urgency into your marketing messaging, your audience feels the pressure and is more likely to give in and make the purchase now. This is why running short-term discounts and deals while being fully transparent on when they end is going to help drive more retail sales.
Take this example from an email I recently received from the online retailer Fabletics. Not just one, but TWO pairs of leggings for only $24! That’s a pretty awesome deal. The problem is the deal ends on Monday, so tempted shoppers know they need to get a move on or else they will be stuck paying full price when they need new workout gear.
#10: Understand Your Seasonal Peaks and Plan Accordingly
Retail marketers are hopefully already aware of their business’s seasonal peaks. Whether it’s summer sales, Black Friday, or holiday peaks, retailers need to plan their campaigns FAR in advance of these seasonal peaks.
This includes things like adjusting ad spend, working with design for new creative, and executing seasonally relevant campaigns that will boost sales during these peak times. Planning is absolutely key for these peak times because competition is typically steeper, so upping spend and using ad scheduling tools to save time and not let thing slip through the cracks is critical.
If you’re new to your retail job and not quite sure what the seasonal peaks are for the business, head over to Google.com/trends where you can search various categories and keywords and analyze the seasonal peaks that are on brand. For example, in the below shot you can see that the online retail market for “notebooks” peaks in mid- to late August (unsurprisingly, right before the schoolyear starts).
#11: Create Returning Buyers through Smart Remarketing
Every industry should be remarketing. Why? It just works. Remarketing allows you to remind shoppers that they should buy your products. But there are strategic ways to get even more profitability out of remarketing in retail.
In the retail space, value is not typically gained from one-time buyers, but rather regular customers who keep coming back for more. The problem is your shoppers are busy and easily distracted. They might forget how positive their online experience was with your brand if you don’t remind them. This is why you need to be smart with remarketing tactics that will re-engage a previous shopper at the right time.
A retail remarketing ad tempting me to buy more perfume
Think about the lifespan of your product. For example, do you sell facewash? How long does a bottle typically last? If it’s two months, then run a remarketing campaign targeting previous consumers after 50 or so days of purchase to remind them to order more before they run out.
Another remarketing tactic to create repeat buyers is to upsell them based on products they’ve previously purchased. For example, if a shopper buys facewash then remarket to them the moisturizer that goes along with it. Having a knowledge of which products complement each other will help with this strategy.
Now go forth and encourage your audience to shop more with these retail marketing tips!
Ding dong: Bing sidebar ads are no more.
According to a blog post Bing published earlier this week, extensive SERP layout testing has revealed that results pages excluding sidebar text ads resulted in more clicks for advertisers. In response to this revelation, the #2 search engine has decided to retire sidebar ads in the US market.
According to Bing’s release on the change—which officially took effect on March 26—testing has showed that SERPS without sidebar text ads “drove overall click gains for advertisers, particularly for existing Mainline Text Ads and Product Ads, with an immaterial impressions impact.” Note the word “text.” As evinced in the screenshot above, shopping ads will maintain their current perch to the right of search results.
Let’s look at how this largely aesthetic improvement could impact your Bing Ads.
History Repeats Itself
If you recall, this isn’t the first time a search engine has stripped sidebar ads from its SERPs. Back in 2016, Google made this exact move and, guess what: It had some interesting effects on performance.
The biggest winner of the change when Google made the switch? Ads in position three.
Per our data at that time, ads in position three saw their CTRs double in the weeks following the shift away from sidebar ads. The move also put the spotlight on shopping ads, which saw a similar lift in CTR:
While Bing and AdWords aren’t an apples-to-apples comparison, it seems like a safe bet to assume the removal of sidebar ads will have a comparable impact. If you notice a bump (or dip) in your CTR, let us know about it in the comment below!
How Will The Removal of Sidebar Ads Impact Bing’s Advertisers?
More clicks (for some)!
Bing’s release detailing the change indicates that the shift away from sidebar ads will place more ads below search results. This space affords advertisers the opportunity to leverage “richer ad formats, which sidebar ads did not.” While Google’s removal of sidebar ads saw ads in lower positions suffer, Bing’s use of richer ad formats in the unenviable spots below organic rankings could actually enhance performance.
It’s also worth noting that the reduction of total ads on the SERP from 12 to 8 could mean advertisers with extremely limited budgets and zero optimization efforts will see their ad frequency diminish; odds are, that if you’re reading this post, you don’t fall into this category.
And if you really miss Bing sidebar ads for some reason, the ads on SERPS outside of the US and on partner networks like AOL and Yahoo will go unchanged (for now)!
Have a Shopify website? Did you know that users expect certain things, like fast load times, and if you don‘t meet those expectations, they will leave your site? Here are the 9 ways you can speed up your Shopify store for your mobile and desktop customers to grow conversions and sales.
The post SearchCap: EU domains at risk, mobile page speed & search pictures appeared first on Search Engine Land.
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Instagram has more than 400 million users that share 80 million posts daily, making it a pretty compelling platform for advertisers – particularly as other platforms struggle with concerns over data and privacy.
Instagram itself boasts a highly engaged audience and says its ads help drive awareness. The platform offers multiple options, including photo ads and carousel ads, as well as video ads and ads on Instagram Stories—with the latter two offering sight, sound and motion to further connect with users. And we all know video is hot right now.
Connor Voss, social media strategist at Veterans United Home Loans, said brands considering Instagram Stories should start by spending time interacting with them to better understand interactive capabilities, trends, and content expectations.
“When viewers are engaging with Stories, they’re expecting to see video and, often, to interact—so placing a video ad [within] Instagram Stories can reach users who are more open to watching videos and to swiping up to see more products or read the rest of an article,” she said. “In the feed, users are accustomed to scrolling and glancing—not necessarily stopping, interacting or clicking through to another web page.”
In addition, Vivien Conway, cofounder of Instagram-focused agency Ace the Gram, said users don’t curate Stories as much as they do their feeds, and that makes it easier for advertisers to stand out.
No matter which video ad format you choose, here are ten tips to maximize their effectiveness.
1. Make the first seconds count.
Instagram users quickly scroll through their feeds, so brands need to make video ads that compel users to stop.
Per Natasha Courtenay-Smith, CEO of digital marketing firm Bolt Digital, this means incorporating movement in the first three seconds.
“You have no time at all to capture anyone’s attention,” she said. “Don’t be arty with slow openers…you want something that is bright, moves and catches attention.”
And Voss said to make sure consumers can immediately tell your ad is a video.
“Make sure that the first second of your video has enough movement that, with the sound off, viewers know immediately that it’s a video and not a still image,” she said. “If the first few seconds are so subtle that it appears to be an image, they’ll scroll right by without realizing they missed anything.”
2. Add text.
Because Instagram audio is muted by default, Jonathan Jacobs, partner of digital agency Digital Natives Group, said brands must lead with visuals and/or text.
“You can grab their attention—or just get your message across—by providing more than just captions,” said Chuck Cotterman, social media marketing specialist at business software and services review firm G2 Crowd. “Create dynamic text effects using apps like Apple Clips to highlight main points that you wouldn’t want any viewer to miss.”
Ehud Basis, senior online acquisition manager at discovery platform Outbrain, agreed this kind of text can help reinforce the most important messages a brand wants to deliver.
However, Veronica Romney, president of digital marketing agency LoSoMo, cautioned against using too much text.
“A few short captions in the video will help pique your audience’s interest so that they watch the entire video and even end up playing the sound later on,” she said. “Too much text, however, can be overwhelming for the viewer and make the video seem cluttered.”
Conway noted that a quick and easy way to generate video captions is to use services like Rev.
That being said, Vincit-Lee Lloyd, CEO of digital agency Lloyd Media Solutions, said to nevertheless ensure audio is high quality.
3. Solve a problem.
Instagram video ads should identify a problem and show how a particular product or service solves it.
“By identifying a problem your potential customers have, you’re creating an emotional bond with them, so they’re already intrigued with what you have to offer,” said Tom Caulton, digital growth specialist at digital agency Dijitul. “Once you’ve got them hooked, show them how your product or service solves that problem.”
4. Focus on a single goal.
Natalie Athanasiadis, head of digital at marketing agency Digital Visibility Group, said to focus on a central theme, topic and goal for each ad.
“This could be brand awareness, product education or ‘buy now’ options,” she said. “Just don’t try to incorporate all of this into the one ad because you will bombard your audience and they will just scroll past your ad.”
John Surdakowski, founder of digital agency Avex Designs, agreed to focus on one thing at a time.
“If your video ad contains too many products or selling points, it will seem like a pitch,” he said. “Target your customer base and create video content tailored for them.”
5. Look less like an ad.
Video ads should blend naturally into Instagram feeds for the best reception and not be overly self-promotional, Athanasiadis said.
Surdakowski agreed advertisers should make sure video ads blend into feeds organically.
“When users scroll through their feeds, you want to capture their attention,” he said. “Posting video content that brings value to the user is more likely to have engagement.”
Lloyd also recommended using drones to capture content that really wows audiences.
6. Shoot in the right dimensions.
Unlike on Facebook, in-feed videos can’t be enlarged to take up the whole phone screen on Instagram, so Voss said to recognize viewers will consume a video ad within an Instagram post. In Stories, however, the video will fill the entire screen but should be designed and filmed vertically.
“The best ads are ones that fill the entire space,” said Olumide Gbenro, founder of media marketing agency Globo Media Marketing. “Scrap the horizontal videos and have an editor format to 600×600. This has an entirely different look and should catch the viewers attention even more.”
Basis, however, recommended using a 1:1 aspect ratio of 1080×1080 and 1080×1920 for Stories.
7. Think about thumbnails early on.
Elizabeth Venanzi, online marketing manager at marketing agency Sparq Designs, noted another difference with platforms like Facebook or YouTube, where advertisers can customize thumbnails. With Instagram ads, brands have to use thumbnails from videos.
“This needs to be in your mind while you are shooting or preparing a video, as the thumbnail is the most important part of your Instagram video ad,” she said. “The thumbnail will define whether or not someone turns on the volume to watch your ad, click on your post in the search section and ultimately end up on your profile. So save yourself the time and incorporate your desired thumbnail into your video.”
8. Optimize your landing page for mobile.
If the call to action on a video ad leads to a landing page, the brand has to make sure these pages are optimized for mobile, Surdakowski said. Instagram is accessed overwhelmingly from mobile devices.
“There’s nothing worse than tapping on ‘Learn More,’ and the page you’re directed to is not optimized for the device you’re on,” he added.
Reuben Field, creative director of video production company Lights Camera Business, agreed advertisers will want consumers to easily be able to take the desired action from their mobile devices.
“You lose your user as soon as you make this difficult in any way for them,” he added.
9. Use visual consistency.
In addition, Jacobs said brands should keep the momentum going with supporting content that is aligned with the ad.
Romney said the same is true for the ad as a whole.
“This includes the colors, the style of video and the music involved in the video ad,” she said. “Each small component makes a significant impact on the video as a whole. If the message of the video does not line up with your brand identity, it will come off as inauthentic and users will scroll right past it.”
10. Add a clear call to action.
Venanzi discouraged advertisers from using Instagram video ads as teasers as users are looking for content that can be quickly consumed, and tracking down a link in a bio requires a lot of effort.
“You should always simplify your call-to-action as much as possible,” she said. “Instead of sending them from your video to your profile to a landing page, try incorporating the ‘learn more’ on your video advertisement and complete your entire message within the video advert. This will encourage interested viewers to learn more on your website, rather than have to go searching for your call-to-action.”
11. Test.
According to Field, advertisers should create multiple versions of their Instagram video ads and A/B test them to see which work best with their audiences.
Via Add Mustard
Nate Masterson, marketing manager for personal care company Maple Holistics, agreed advertisers should take advantage of Instagram tools to enhance results.
And, beyond Instagram itself, Marcus Harjani, cofounder of data-centric web destination FameMoose, said to also track the user’s path from ad to conversion.
“What is the experience like? Make sure it is a good experience and a user is headed toward conversion,” he added.
12. Wait until users are connected to WiFi.
Lesya Lui, social media strategist at news site The Social Media Current, said to show the ads only to consumers connected to WiFi to avoid a subpar experience where videos slow to a crawl.
“People are very impatient and have so many distractions on social platforms, they won’t wait for your video ad to buffer and start playing,” she said.
13. Make loopable videos.
Warren Jolly, CEO of digital marketing agency adQuadrant, said to create a video ad with loopability in mind, with fade-out video and music at the intro and outro.
The longer your prospect spends with your video ad, the more likely the ad and your brand are to make an impression.
Managing paid search campaigns in seasonal businesses can be stressful, but lucrative. This in-depth guide will detail the learning, planning, and execution steps required to crush your goals despite the unpredictable nature of seasonal businesses. When executed properly, seasonality can present an excellent opportunity for your business to beat your competition and thrive.
Growing your Instagram business account takes weekly grooming. This guide will help your brand optimize, socialize and publicize your brand for Instagram success. Whether it‘s auditing your profile, creating the most eye catching aesthetic, writing a caption, scoping out the competition or finding the perfect hashtags for your audience, check this out for an Instagram marketing pick me up.
To help walk us through the process of making search and social work together, expert and head of social analytics at Adobe Joe Martin joined us to explain how exactly you can set up search-social campaigns for best success. Our chat participants also offered a lot of helpful hints and tricks you can start using today. Check them out!