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Posts Tagged ‘Search Marketing’

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Where Do Your Ecommerce Shoppers Come From? It May Not Be Where You Think

September 7th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Are you spending a lot of time on social media hoping to attract more shoppers to your ecommerce site? That’s great. Just realize that search engine optimization and email marketing are what really drive shoppers to buy online, according to the EQ2 2012 report published by Monetate and reported on CNet.

Although Monetate found that the amount of traffic social media drives to ecommerce sites grew 77 percent this year compared to last, it also found that very few of those users actually make a purchase once they reach your site. And despite the high growth rate, the percentage of users who visit a site after hearing about it was very low—just 2.85 percent.

Of all the social networks, Facebook was the most successful at driving traffic to online shopping sites, but almost 50 percent of those who went to a site left without clicking another page. Even among those who did stay on sites longer, fewer than 0.5 percent bought anything. In comparison, Google’s conversion rate (the percentage of users who make a purchase after being driven to a site) was 2.44 percent. The big winner? Email, with a conversion rate of 4.25 percent.

Other findings from the survey:

  • The use of mobile devices to shop online has risen from 5.89 percent to 11.6 percent, and this growth will continue.
  • Users are more likely to browse on smartphones, but rarely buy that way—for purchases, they turn to tablets or desktops.
  • Conversion rates for iPad, Kindle Fire and Android tablet users are about the same. However, Android smartphone users have a higher conversion rate than iPhone users.
  • What browser’s hot? Google Chrome—its share of market grew from 10.89 percent last year to 17.15 percent. Not so hot? Internet Explorer’s market share declined from 49.37 percent to 37.5 percent in the same time period.

What do these results mean to you? Don’t abandon social media; its influence will likely continue to grow. But for now, realize that search and email still rule the roost when it comes to converting online browsers to buyers—and focus your efforts (and budget) there.

Image by Flickr user Search Engine People Blog (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | 1 Comment »

It’s Almost Time for the Web.com Small Business Forum!

September 7th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

The Web.com Small Business Forum is almost here! If you’re a small business owner in the Boise, Idaho, area, there’s still time to register for this exciting event.

To be held in Boise, Idaho, on September 11 in conjunction with the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft, the free, interactive forum focuses on helping small businesses market their businesses online.

Jason Teichman, Web.com’s Chief Marketing Officer, will lead a presentation and Q&A on topics such as:

  • What are the elements of a great website?
  • How do I increase traffic to my website and to my business?
  • Is my website “working” for my business?
  • How do I market my business on Google, Facebook and Twitter?

There will be plenty of time for networking, too.

Register now! Do you know of other small business owners who might benefit from attending this forum? Please share the information with them, too. Thanks!

Image by Flickr user Margaret Ornsby (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Events, Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Web Design | No Comments »

Is Your Restaurant Business Taking Advantage of Online Marketing?

September 5th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

For local small businesses such as restaurants, a strong online marketing strategy that encompasses a website, mobile, and social media can make or break the business. Unfortunately, most independent restaurants are falling short in key areas of online marketing, reports The 2012 Restaurant Internet Marketing Study by Restaurant Sciences.

The study examined each restaurant’s website, mobile website, Facebook profile and social media channels and found that compared to other types of businesses, most restaurants still have a long way to go in using Internet marketing. Chain restaurants are more likely to have a strong online presence, but even they fall short. Here’s what the study found:

Falling short on sites. Although almost all restaurant chains have websites, many independent restaurants still have no Web presence at all. Obviously, this is a big hindrance to success, since it not only lessens the chances that consumers will find you online but also means that menu aggregators, social media and location-based services can’t link to your website to pass along information.

Falling short on mobile. While the majority of consumers use mobile devices to search for restaurants, only about half of chains have an optimized mobile website. For independents, the numbers are even grimmer, with mobile websites “almost nonexistent.”

Falling short on online search. Google Places, Bing and other search engines typically create listings for every local restaurant. Still, most restaurants do not take advantage of these free listings by claiming them and optimizing them to help local consumers find their eateries.

There is one area where independent restaurants are going strong: localized social media such as Foursquare. The study found 72 percent of independents and 86 percent of chain restaurants have a presence on Foursquare. On average, both chains and independent restaurants boast more than 300 Foursquare check-ins per location. In fact, signs show that Foursquare is slightly outpacing Yelp! as a tool for driving restaurant traffic.

That’s great news, but it doesn’t affect the fact that no matter how well your restaurant is doing on Foursquare or other social media, you still need a website to provide a “home” for your company information; link your social media, local search listings and reviews to; and help customers find you online.

Image by Flickr user tomsun (Creative Commons)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Email Marketing, Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »

Register Now for the Web.com Small Business Forum

September 4th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

There’s still time to register for the Web.com Small Business Forum coming up in Boise, Idaho, on September 11.

Held in conjunction with the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft, the free, interactive forum will feature Jason Teichman, Web.com’s Chief Marketing Officer, leading a presentation and Q&A on topics including:

  • What are the elements of a great website?
  • How do I increase traffic to my website and to my business?
  • Is my website “working” for my business?
  • How do I market my business on Google, Facebook and Twitter?

Attendees will come away more informed about all aspects of marketing their businesses online. There will be time for networking, too.

Register now–and if you know of other small business owners who might benefit from attending this forum, please share the information with them, too. Thanks!

Image by Flickr user Micky.! (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Events, Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Web Design | No Comments »

Did You Hear? Free Web.com Small Business Forum Coming Soon!

August 29th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

If you’re a small business owner in the Boise, Idaho, area, I hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunities to learn at the Web.com Small Business Forum, to be held in Boise, Idaho, on September 11 in conjunction with the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft.

Jason Teichman, Web.com’s Chief Marketing Officer, will lead this free, interactive forum, which focuses on helping small businesses market their businesses online.

You’ll enjoy a presentation and Q&A on topics including:

  • What are the elements of a great website?
  • How do I increase traffic to my website and to my business?
  • Is my website “working” for my business?
  • How do I market my business on Google, Facebook and Twitter?

Register now! And if you know of other small business owners who might benefit from attending this forum, please share the information with them, too. Thanks!

Image by Flickr user Shashi Bellamkonda (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Events, Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Web Design | No Comments »

3 Easy Ways to Improve Your Search Rankings

July 19th, 2012 ::

SEO

SEOMoz is a company that provides SEO and social monitoring software, and they publish a lot of interesting information based on their own research.  Use the following tips – all based on their research – to easily improve your search rankings:

1. Add fresh content.

Google rewards new content on your site.  If you publish a really useful blog post on a subject that is valuable to your readers, it will get shared via social media and receive some ranking love from Google.

Along those same lines, frequently updating your website is also viewed favorably – that could mean adding new case studies, media mentions, or a video to your homepage.

2. Focus on content titles.

Instead of focusing on clever titles for your blog posts, white papers, ebooks, and other content, focus on including all relevant keywords. By relevant, I mean keywords that people actually use in search, not what you think they use.

To find those keywords, simply use a keyword discovery tool like Wordtracker.  You will learn which keywords and phrases are competitive, meaning popular but not so popular everyone uses them.

3. Get social.

Google judges your content on more than 200 signals, all of which affect ranking.  Four of them are link-related: quantity, diversity, quality, and relevance. Quantity is lowered by quality, meaning relevant links are extremely important to your rankings.

To get relevant links, it is important for thought leaders to share your content and link back to it.  Start by following influential people on Twitter.  If you are engaged, retweet others’ tweets, mention people and companies, and publish interesting content, they will likely follow you back – and see and share your content.

***

Have you used any of the above tips to improve your own rankings?  What other tips have worked for you?  Share your ideas in the comments below!

Image courtesy of bradfordbarker.com

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Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

What Factors Influence Local Search Results?

July 6th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

When customers and prospects search online for what you sell, you hope and pray your business comes up at the top of their search results. Well, of course, you do more than hope and pray. But what exactly do you need to do? What factors make the most difference in where your business pops up in local search results? The 5th annual Local Search Ranking Factors report from David Mihm polls more than 40 local search experts to see what are the biggest ranking factors in local search.

The survey analyzes factors including:

  • Overall Ranking
  • General Signals
  • Place Page Factors
  • Off-Site Factors
  • On-Site Factors
  • Review Factors
  • Social/Mobile Factors

With major changes such as Google Panda, Venice and Penguin algorithm adjustments in the past year, how have the basics of local search changed? The good news is that, in many ways, they haven’t. As Mihm notes in his overview of the results, it’s still important to:

  • Have an address in the city the user is searching
  • Make sure your business is associated with the proper categories.
  • Make sure your business data is accurate and complete across Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local.
  • Make sure your business data is accurate and complete at secondary sources including Infogroup, Acxiom, Localeze, Yellowpages.com and Superpages.com.
  • Work on getting your customers to review you at the new Google +Local (formerly Google Places).

Reviews got more important this year, and Mihm notes it’s especially important to:

  • Have Google Places (now Google+ Local) reviews,
  • Have a high quantity of third-party reviews, and
  • Include product or service keywords in reviews.

Mihm’s survey was conducted before Google Places morphed into Google+ Local, so keep that in mind when reading. You can find the full survey results here.

Image by Flickr user Christian Holmer (Creative Commons)

 

 

 

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Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology | No Comments »

Elephanti: Location Mobile App: Small Business Resource

July 3rd, 2012 ::

Elephanti

Here’s a clever way to get customers streaming into your business by sending them alerts via their smartphones. Elephanti is brand new and currently signing up businesses in New York and San Francisco to join its virtual storefront, which highlights businesses’ products, brands, services and foods, while making them discoverable with location-based technology. Then Elephanti attracts customers into participating merchants’ stores by rewarding them for purchasing with discounts, special offers, personal recommendations and search tools. Consumers who have created their own profile are matched up with the merchants in their area that are offering what they are looking for. The app and website are free.

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Posted in Marketing, Resources, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized | No Comments »

7 New Tips for Your Location-Based Marketing Strategy

July 3rd, 2012 ::

Location marketing

Go beyond badges, coupons, a mobile-friendly website, and directory listings to energize your location-based marketing strategy.  Here are 7 new tips to try out:

1. Start using analytics

When it comes to marketing, measure, measure, measure!  Same is true for your location-based marketing strategy.  There are 5 great tools out there you can use to help you determine how well your strategy is performing: Geotoko, Titaumium + Geo, Momentfeed, WebTrendsMobile, and Fourscore.  Use one, and tweak your strategy as needed.

2, Add location-specific tags to your blog posts

While you already add tags based on keywords in your blog posts, always add location-specific tags.  And you can get really micro, going beyond your city to your neighborhood.  So instead of just DC, add Georgetown and M Street.  Instead of just Boston, add Back Bay and Newbury Street.

3. Give something away for check-ins

The simplest way to increase the number of check-ins your business is receiving is by making it fun to do so – after all, that’s why people share their location to begin with.  Try giving something small away for each check-in.  We all love free stuff, and people like to know their efforts are being noticed.  It’s a great way to build goodwill and brand loyalty.

4. Link customer information with location

Knowing where a customer is and what their preferences are great to know on their own.  Link the two, and you’re golden, because you can start sending highly targeted messages.  You could promote your energy bars at a fitness center, sunscreen at the beach, or dry cleaning service at a BBQ restaurant.

5. Try mobile marketing

For great ideas on how to use a mobile marketing campaign, look at how Fortune 500 companies use it.  After all, they have the budget and resources to do it right – and if they’re doing it at all, it must be working.  Try out a mobile paid search or display campaign and see if it works for you.

6. Localize SEO

Add your location to title tags and meta descriptions, create a geo sitemap, add buttons to your website and encourage reviews, build links from other local businesses and bloggers, and optimize your social media pages for local.

7. Partner with a brick-and-mortar business

If you provide a virtual service, partner with a  complementary business that has a bricks-and-mortar location.  A copywriter (like me) can partner with a printer, a photographer can partner with a bridal boutique or caterer, and a children’s entertainer could partner with an indoor children’s play gym or a children’s toy store.

Image courtesy of Mashable

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Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, Social Media | 6 Comments »

How to Market Your Restaurant Online

July 3rd, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Is your restaurant marketing stuck in the 1950s? A study by research firm Restaurant Sciences finds that far too many restaurants are failing to take advantage of the advertising, marketing and promotional opportunities the Internet offers.

Here are some of the shortcomings Restaurant Sciences found:

  • More than half of independent restaurants do not have a website.
  • Of those that do have a website, fewer than 40 percent display a menu on the site, even though access to menus is among the most popular reasons users visit a restaurant website.
  • Fewer than 1 in 8 full service restaurant chains and fewer than 1 in 20 full service independents have a mobile website, even though some data has shown that more than half of all visits to restaurant websites are from mobile devices.
  • Just over 1 in 8 restaurants has a blog.

“One of the most surprising aspects was the large number of restaurants with no online presence at all,” said Chuck Ellis, President of Restaurant Sciences. “An online presence today is critical to the success of any food or drinking establishment.”

Ellis notes that there’s no excuse for not having a restaurant website today, nor for not having a mobile site. What else should restaurant owners do to effectively market their businesses online?

  • Use emails, email newsletters or similar enrollment vehicles to keep customers informed of what’s going on at your restaurant.
  • Make it easy for customers to make reservations. At a minimum, prominently display your restaurant’s phone number on your website. However, consider adding more convenient options such as a click-to-call button so they don’t have to dial, or adding OpenTable or similar online reservation tool to your website.
  • Make it easy for customers to buy gift certificates online. Prominently display a link to a gift card order form.
  • Have a consistent presence on local search sites such as Bing, Local.com and Google Plus Local (formerly Google Places), as well as restaurant rating sites such as Yelp!
  • Use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. These are especially important to attracting younger customers. Posting photos of your menu items, ingredients or chefs in action is a great way to engage customers. You can also post or Tweet current menu items, limited-time offers or special discounts.

Image by Flickr user Seattle Municipal Archives (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, Web Design | 3 Comments »

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