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In business, it’s common to have different departments for different processes and look at business aspects separately. But wouldn’t it be fantastic if processes could synergize and you could kill two birds with one stone? (not that anyone wants to kill birds!)
This is exactly the case with PR and SEO and as you will see below, these two important business processes have a natural synergy which means you can reduce your workload while boosting your public image and SEO with a single strategy or campaign.
Before we look at specific strategies, it’s vital to understand the interplay and how PR and SEO work together or share common grounds.
Simply put, certain SEO processes can also have a positive impact on your public image, and similarly, certain PR campaigns positively impact your SEO. For example, if you manage to get an article published in a media outlet to create a backlink and insert keywords, your PR image also naturally increases because your company name is out there and seen on a respected website.
Similarly, if you forge a connection with an influencer, you can benefit from backlinks and images relating to your products which are fantastic for SEO. In the same instance, association with the influencer and the built-in audience they have can do wonders for your image and PR.
The processes involved in PR and SEO naturally complement each other and often boost both business practices. Hence, you have to keep this in mind and utilize it when creating your PR SEO strategies.
So, we can see that PR SEO is real, and the two processes intermingle. But what specific strategies can you use that boost both your PR and SEO efforts and allow you to create a more effective and streamlined marketing campaign?
Backlinks are the primary strategy that works for both PR and SEO and you can easily fit them in different PR content. A current digital PR trends analysis shows that things like journalist articles, influencers, and high-authority published content work wonders, and these are all places where high-quality backlinks can be strategically inserted.
You should make sure that the links are high-quality and that they are inserted into the PR content correctly but when done so, they can contribute to your SEO campaign.
Within your SEO campaigns, you should aim to continually get brand mentions and get your name out there through your different marketing channels. The more your brand is mentioned (positively), the more your PR image is boosted.
Just make sure the emphasis is on positive brand mentions unless you want to take the route of any publicity is good publicity which some businesses have proven can work.
Social media doesn’t have a direct impact on SEO rankings and search engines like Google have said as such. However, it indirectly boosts SEO via backlinks and customer engagement. Social media is also a superb PR tool as it’s one of the few places you can interact directly with customers on a one-to-one level.
As part of your professional PR solutions and SEO strategies, you could build your social media following. I advise concentrating only on a couple of platforms initially as opposed to trying to gain a following on every site. The aim is to build your audience, be active with your posting and replies, and craft an online persona and presence that boosts your PR and benefits your SEO.
A tried and tested PR tool is to create relationships with influencers and journalists but this also naturally boosts your SEO due to keyword usage, engagement, and backlinks in the content these people publish.
For example, let’s say that you reach out to an influencer and create a deal where they promote your products on Instagram and their website. Each time they post about your company either on their site or social media, backlinks are typically used which is great for SEO and your reputation.
You can stipulate how the links should be used and the anchor text the influencer must use so that they complement your SEO campaign in the right way.
Content marketing is especially effective for SEO and PR and many processes under this umbrella could contribute to your PR SEO strategy including:
When crafting your content marketing strategy you should approach it from the dual aspect of PR and SEO and create goals for both business processes. You can then use individual processes such as video content and blogs to improve both functions.
For example, podcasts can be excellent PR tools as they provide insight into your business, show your character, and allow listeners to build trust and engagement with your company. In the same instance, podcasts as part of a content marketing strategy can boost SEO including the use of backlinks and even audio keywords.
You rarely get two business processes that synergize and PR and SEO do, so you have to take advantage and create strategies that boost both processes. While improving your SEO with things like backlinks, high-authority articles, and content marketing, you are also building your brand reputation and exposure as part of your PR campaign.
Two especially popular marketing processes that thousands of businesses use are SEO and PPC. But is there a clear winner and how does each marketing strategy work? In this guide, I look at the SEO vs PPC argument, compare the two processes, and look at use-case scenarios where one might be better than the other.
To start, it’s important to understand that SEO aims to get website traffic organically from search results, while PPC aims to get traffic from paid searches. This is the core difference and while both processes cost money, PPC has a direct correlation between costs and results, whereas SEO is often less tangible.
SEO is the process of optimizing your website content so that your pages rank highly on search engines like Google when customers search for keywords relating to your business. This includes technical SEO (loading times, sitemaps, robots.txt files, etc.), on-page SEO (keywords, headings, alt-tags, etc.), off-page SEO (creating backlinks), and keyword research.
The aim is to make your website accessible and attractive to search engine crawlers and use keywords in such a way that makes your content appear in SERPs. You must also show Google that your content is appropriate and relevant and should be ranked highly on search results.
Although I maintain that companies can run SEO and PPC campaigns side-by-side, there are instances where one process is better suited than the other and I have listed some common examples below:
If you take one thing from this article, I want it to be that it doesn’t have to be one or the other in the SEO vs PPC battle. Many businesses use both practices successfully and indeed they often overlap and can complement each other. Integrated SEO and PPC solutions can be fantastic and help your marketing efforts shine.
Don’t look at your business processes in a vacuum. Instead, look at how PPC could boost your SEO such as promoting new content and creating more backlinks. And how SEO can boost PPC via things such as keyword research.
Modern business has never been as competitive – whatever business you have, there could be 10 others in your local area doing the same thing. This can make it especially difficult for startups to thrive and make a name for themselves which is where PR for startups plays an important role.
A strong PR campaign for your startup business can do wonders and build your reputation in the absence of a proven track record and this is what I discuss in the below guide.
So why is PR for startups important and how does it work? Simply put, as a new company, you don’t have any trust, recognition, or reputation. Regardless of how amazing your products are, because you are an unknown, customers will have a hard time trusting you and using your products and/or services.
Let’s look at an example. On the one hand, we have a startup business that has just launched its online store and product range. They have no reputation, a small social media presence, and there are no positive articles from journalists or influencers.
On the other hand, we have an established business that regularly features in industry magazines, has sponsorships with a range of influencers, and has thousands of followers on social media. Which company are customers more likely to choose?
Maybe 1 in 50 might take a chance and go with the startup, but in most instances the established business wins, simply because of their PR. Now, if the startup had a watertight PR campaign too, that could be a different story.
PR for startups makes up for your lack of business history. If you can create a positive brand image, get your name out there, and forge relationships with customers and industry people, the fact that you have just started becomes irrelevant as you are perceived to be a successful and trustworthy company!
So, what should PR for startups entail? There are a range of simple things you can do to build your reputation and improve your standing in your industry including reaching out to influencers and the media and being active on social media.
Influencers are quickly becoming one of the most popular marketing and PR tools even though older generations tend to look at them with disdain. Influencers are for the modern generations and the huge audiences they appeal to are something that you should try to tap into as part of your startup PR strategy.
If you can create relationships with popular influencers in your industry you can benefit from their reputation and immense fanbase. To learn PR and influencer insights is also a relatively simple PR process and is one of the most cost-effective methods.
You either pay the influencer a set contract fee or give them free products. In return, they promote your products on their social media channels – everyone’s a winner and your reputation instantly skyrockets by association.
Influencers are great, but we can’t forget media outlets and journalists too. A successful startup PR strategy has to include forging connections with these people. Media outlets can be a great source of publicity as they can publish favorable articles and reviews of your company.
Similarly, industry journalists can boost your reputation and get people talking about your startup with positive social media posts and video content. The key is to make sure that the media outlets and journalists are relevant to your business, and that the items they publish are positive.
A strong social media campaign can do wonders for your PR but it’s also great for SEO too due to backlinks and social proof. You should strive to portray a positive image via your social media platforms and try to build followers.
More importantly, try to drive engagement too – make sure that you reply to customer comments and shares and consider the use of custom hashtags and media content in your posts to make them more interesting.
A simple trick is to look at trending subjects on platforms like X and get involved in the conversations. This can give great exposure and keep your business name in the spotlight. Just make sure that you research trending topics carefully and don’t accidentally support an unjust cause for example or something that could offend people.
From the word go a part of PR for startups is to establish yourself as a trusted voice within your industry. Get involved with new tech and developing ideas. Be the one to spearhead new initiatives or do things like writing white papers and articles about important issues in your industry.
Expert digital PR agency services can help with this too, but showing your knowledge and expertise helps build trust and shows customers and other companies that you are the real deal, even if you have only just launched your company.
As a fledgling business, you haven’t got the benefit of years of industry exposure, positive customer interactions, and a proven track record. These things come with time which is why creating a strong PR strategy straight out of the gate is vital.
By building your reputation and relationships with customers and the media you can overcome those initial barriers and start competing immediately.
WordPress is a fantastic platform for website development and creating an ecommerce store but it isn’t for everyone. Some people may start on WordPress only to find that it’s too complex or doesn’t quite have the features and utility they require.
Oftentimes Shopify is the preferred alternative due to its simplicity and user-friendly nature. This begs the question, how do I switch from WordPress to Shopify and is it even possible if your online store is already up and running? I take a look at WordPress to Shopify migration below including how to plan for it, and the considerations you must make.
Planning is integral to a seamless WordPress to Shopify migration and it’s not something you can go into blindly. Indeed, it’s one of the SEO services for Shopify stores you could look for if you feel that the migration is something you can’t complete on your own.
The first thing you must do is compile a list of all the website data that has to be moved and this usually includes:
Be thorough with this and make sure that nothing is left out! You don’t want to launch your Shopify store with half the data missing.
The WordPress to Shopify migration process involves the transferal of a heap of data and this can be incredibly complex. Typically, there are three ways to move data:
Copying and pasting is the simplest way but it is long-winded and prone to human error. I only recommend this for copying actual website content such as text on your About page.
CSV files work great and Shopify supports these – they allow you to easily transfer important database data such as customer info and product info.
If you want the easiest route, there is a range of Shopify migration apps that essentially automate the process with minimum input.
You have to consider the actual point of migration and what happens during this period. You have two options – take the WordPress version of your store offline completely and set a definitive shutdown date, or continue to run the WordPress store until your Shopify version is online.
Both approaches have potential issues. For example, if you shutdown the WordPress store completely, you lose custom and it could negatively impact your SEO. Similarly, keeping the WordPress store running could confuse and cause problems with fulfilling orders, etc.
Before migrating, you must consider how Shopify works, the SEO options it has, and its suitability for your business. There are other considerations too such as the store theme, initial setup, and migration methods.
You can look at a detailed SEO comparison explained here for WordPress and Shopify but you have to consider this before migrating.
For example, does Shopify support the same SEO plugins you were using on WordPress? Can you optimize your store pages to the same degree that you could on WordPress?
How will the migration itself affect SEO in terms of changing website URLs and your link structure? These are all factors that could initial dampen your SEO progress so you have to be prepared to deal with the backlash or put measures in place to make sure the SEO is impacted as little as possible.
The underlying Shopify theme is highly important and forms the foundation of your ecommerce store. Make sure that you research themes extensively beforehand and don’t simply pick one slightly before the migration.
Ideally, the theme should be lightweight with quick loading times and neat HTML and CSS code. Additionally, it must be mobile responsive and able to work seamlessly on mobile devices.
As discussed above, there are several migration methods depending on the type of data. For example, website copy can simply be copied and pasted into the relevant pages on Shopify – i.e. you could just copy the text from your About page. You may need to sort the formatting again, but this should be fine providing you only copy the text and not its formatting too.
Other info like customer data and product info is more complex as it’s usually stored in databases and this is where either CSV files or using a migration app helps.
Before you can migrate any data, your Shopify store has to be set up. This includes basic things like account registration and creating the basic hierarchy of your store with different website pages.
For this, you most likely need to copy images and other media such as your business logo and product images. Essentially, you have to make sure the website is in a “ready-to-go” state i.e. it is fully configured and has a range of blank pages that have to be populated with your migrated data from WordPress.
So, WordPress to Shopify migration is possible but it’s not always an easy task depending on the size of your online store and the complexity of things like your customer data. Luckily, there is an array of migration tools available and Shopify has some features that allow you to transfer data.
The key is to plan extensively beforehand, including what happens to the live website during the transition period. You must also make sure your Shopify store is set up properly and that it is ready to accept the data from WordPress.
Structured data, or schema markup is an integral aspect of SEO that allows search engines to better understand and contextualize your website content. It also enhances user experience and gives customer-specific details relating to your business, products, and reputation.
I find that this is an often underutilized area of SEO, and it’s surprising how many businesses miss out on this simple optimization process, and I want to change that answering the question, what is schema markup in SEO, and how it can benefit your company below.
Schema markup is a code standard and language that is used to give additional information about website content. The aim is to help crawlers and search engines better understand the content, place it in a context, and create more detailed search results from it.
You have probably seen schema markup in action when you last searched for something on Google. Perhaps you noticed a star rating and price information underneath a product description? Or company information such as opening hours and a contact number? These are examples of schema markup.
The markup essentially turns simple search engine results into a more complex and detailed item that a customer (and search engines) can better understand. The language or code that schema markup is written in is universal and can be understood by all search engines.
Schema markup makes search engines’ and crawlers’ jobs easier. Instead of having to guess or spend time delving deeper into your website hierarchy, schema markup gives more information about things like your business, products, and services so that they can be indexed faster and rich snippets can be created in search engine results.
For example, the recipe markup allows you to add details such as ingredients and a step-by-step cooking process which would show up in search results. Not only does it benefit search engines, but it makes your search results far more noticeable and engaging with customers.
Instead of having to do additional searching or website crawling, a customer can simply see info in the rich snippet and get what they need immediately such as product prices, customer ratings, or business opening hours. Schema markup makes your info more accessible.
Schema markup should be a part of your SEO technical optimization checklist, but what types of data are covered in the language? Currently, Google acknowledges 33 different types of schema markup:
This list is ever-growing but you can check the Google Developers website for a complete breakdown. A couple of particularly popular schema markup types include FAQs, Recipes, Video, Job Posting, and How-to content.
The FAQ schema shows a list of questions underneath a search result relating to a particular topic, while the recipe schema can show a photo of the dish together with the required ingredients and expected preparation times for example.
Video schema is brilliant as it allows you to embed video thumbnails into your search results, while how-to content allows you to list a step-by-step guide in your search results. Three other incredibly popular types of schema that most businesses use include:
You’ve probably seen this type of markup in action when you’ve noticed a large box on the right-hand side of your search result that shows business photos, a Google Maps location, and other info like service options, address, and opening hours.
Local business markup is one of the most effective types of schema, especially for things like restaurants, retail outlets, and other businesses that you need to physically visit. The box contains a heap of useful info that allows customers to easily see if the company fits their needs.
Similarly, product markup provides a wealth of useful information for those shopping. It shows additional details like image thumbnails, an average star rating, and price ranges. This type of markup allows customers to make choices easier and disregard product options that don’t fit their needs.
Review markup can either be applied to a business listing as a whole or reviews for individual products. In the SERP it shows an average star rating and how many votes were used to generate this result.
Imagine the impact this can have if you have a product that has a 4.5-star rating with thousands of votes. This can make a huge difference as it’s proven that many consumers make their purchase decisions based on existing customer reviews.
Schema markup could give you a competitive edge and make your business stand out on search engine results. With rich snippets such as product ratings and local business boxes, you can make your company more attractive and visible which should hopefully lead to more clicks, website traffic, and conversions.
From an SEO perspective, Google loves product schema too and it makes its crawler’s job that much easier in indexing and understanding your website content. If you aren’t currently utilizing schema markup, I urge you to contact an award-winning SEO consultant and set the ball rolling as the results can be fantastic.
SEO is an especially crucial tool and to get ahead in the world of digital business and ecommerce, you need to have your SEO game on-lock. But how do you do this if you don’t have the know-how, technical skills, and insider knowledge of how Google and other search engines work?
You do this by hiring a technical SEO consultant. As you will see below, the role of a technical SEO consultant is specialized and can boost your online marketing infinitely by optimizing your website and back end so that search engines can easily access and rank your pages.
A technical SEO consultant differs from something like an SEO copywriter. Where an SEO copywriter concentrates on front-end elements like product pages and blog content to boost keyword usage, a technical SEO consultant looks more at the backend and the technical aspects of your website including:
They have more technical knowledge and understand what Google and other search engines require to easily access and index your website. Technical SEO is just as important as front-end processes because ultimately if crawlers can’t access and index your website easily, no matter how good your on-page SEO optimization is, your strategies will fail.
Let’s look at an example. Perhaps you are a small business owner and you’ve created an online store in Shopify. The site looks great and you know a few basic SEO tips like including keywords and adding internal and external links to your content.
What you don’t know is that your Shopify store could be poorly optimized and have a heap of problems that counteract the basic SEO optimization you have done. For example, images could be huge and slow to load, and you may not have an optimized sitemap.
These are things that a technical SEO consultant can address. They take care of the lesser-known things that are often overlooked in favor of creating excellent on-page content. Depending on their skillset, they can usually take care of on-page optimization too, and essentially control your entire SEO strategy.
In terms of when you should hire a technical SEO expert, there is no set time or starting point. Any business can benefit from these services whether you are a solo entrepreneur or a large enterprise business.
As you can see, an SEO technical consultant is a specialized role that may not be beneficial for every business – it depends on your size, plans for growth, and emphasis on SEO in terms of your overall marketing strategy. Regardless, I have listed the main benefits this role can provide below:
An intangible benefit that is often overlooked is the impact of hiring a technical SEO expert has on your team. The expert will take care of virtually everything SEO-related, except perhaps content creation (blogs, web content, etc.).
This means that your other team members can forgo this and concentrate fully on their roles. For example, maybe you had an SEO copywriter who was also trying their best to optimize your website – they can forget about this aspect now and concentrate fully on what they excel at.
The impact of technical SEO spans far beyond the back end side too and it should have a positive effect on user experience for your customers which is always a great thing – happy customers = more engagement, website traffic, and conversions.
A technical SEO consultant can help improve website loading speeds, optimize images, and make sure that your site works flawlessly.
If you look at most business websites that don’t utilize a top-rated SEO consultant you will see that perhaps only a few pages are optimized. This is because the business simply doesn’t have the time, resources, or knowledge to optimize everything which means that their SEO campaigns can fall short.
An SEO expert can take care of everything including sitemaps, and your website architecture, and nothing is left un-optimized.
Google and other search engines like to work fast and they want their crawlers to index sites in the quickest way. This is hampered by websites with slow loading times and a technical SEO consultant can fix this.
They will optimize your pages by removing unnecessary code, optimizing media like images and video, and looking at your underlying website theme to make sure everything loads like lightning and that crawlers can access your site easily.
If you feel like you are treading water with your SEO, hiring a technical SEO consultant could be the right move. These specialists have a thorough understanding of what makes Google tick, and how to optimize your website and online content to yield the best results.
Aside from the positive impact on your SEO, this will also allow your employees to concentrate fully on their respective roles as opposed to splitting their time between SEO and other tasks.
The ecommerce scene is unbelievably competitive and it probably feels like all of your competitors have amazing websites so what can you do to stand out, gain an edge, and keep customers coming back? A simple but effective method is to utilize ecommerce personalization and I discuss what this is, how it works, and why it is beneficial below.
Personalization in ecommerce comes in many forms, but the underlying premise is that it gives a tailored shopping experience for individual customers. This means that each customer has a different shopping experience when using your ecommerce store. Examples of ecommerce personalization include:
You are essentially showing customers things they are interested in and filtering out the stuff they haven’t shown a preference towards.
Long gone are the days when ecommerce websites could give a generic shopping experience that is the same for everyone. Consumers expect more from effective ecommerce SEO solutions and they expect their individual needs to be catered to.
We want to feel special when we shop and we also want to shop quickly without wasting time and this is where ecommerce personalization shines. Instead of wasting time trawling through product categories, personalization can instead show product feeds with items that the customer shows a preference for.
Ecommerce personalization enhances the shopping experience, but should also result in a greater ROI and brand loyalty.
You should have some idea of the benefits of personalization in ecommerce, especially from the user’s perspective, but how does this help your business? I list the advantages of using this technique below.
The biggest benefit is that your customers enjoy a vastly improved shopping experience. Your ecommerce personalization is giving them exactly what they want and what they like and in today’s world where everyone is incredibly busy, this is a game changer.
A great example is when I do my online grocery shopping! I log in to my account, pick a delivery slot, and then the company shows me a list of frequently ordered items like milk, fresh orange, fruit, and cheese. This means that I can sort my food shop in a few minutes without any hassle – perfect.
Ultimately, a happy customer is a customer more likely to spend money with your business!
Average order value is a metric that is often overlooked but if you can increase this it means there is less emphasis on securing new customers as your existing customers are spending more per order.
Ecommerce personalization can boost AOV and get your customers spending more. This is mainly done by recommending items and showing them similar items to things they have previously bought. My online grocery shopping is an example of this – I am far more likely to buy frequently bought items and thus boost my overall shopping cart value.
This mainly applies to existing customers as you need that customer data or cookie information to build up a shopping profile for them.
By showing customers relevant products, or items they have previously bought by using their history and account data you can drive conversions. Again, the grocery shopping example works perfectly here.
For example, maybe my frequently bought section shows some porridge oats on offer that I have previously bought. Even if I don’t need them this week, I may still buy them regardless to use at a later date and thus the grocery store got a bigger sale from me. Statistics show that personalized product recommendations like this can boost conversions by up to 8% which is not to be scoffed at.
Consider this – you have to pick between two online stores. Store 1 gives a generic shopping experience with no personalization which you struggle to use and find the products you want. Inc contrast, Store 2 has heaps of personalization including exclusive offers and personalized product listings which you find easy to navigate.
Which store wins? Store 2 of course! Simply put, personalization in ecommerce gives you a competitive edge and is one of the better promotion strategies for ecommerce. Without personalization, you are going to fall behind compared to companies that do offer it.
Many ecommerce stores have personalized loyalty or reward schemes instead of something like a standard points scheme. Combine these with the website personalization and you have satisfied customers who are far more likely to stick with your brand and stay loyal.
Customer retention can be quite difficult compared to acquiring new customers so ecommerce personalization can give you a great boost here. Aside from loyalty schemes, things like customer referrals can also help improve loyalty and are another effective form of ecommerce personalization.
Today customers crave that personalized shopping experience and it isn’t enough to merely have a generic ecommerce store. Instead, you have to tap into personalization in ecommerce to give a tailored experience, boost customer loyalty, and make sure each visit results in a big sale.
To make your ecommerce business shine you must create effective marketing and due to the digital nature of your company, content marketing is an excellent choice. This concentrates on content such as blogs, social media posts, videos, and other mediums to push your business, its reputation, and products.
But how exactly do you do this? You can start by creating a content strategy for ecommerce. Having a clear strategy gives you focus, allows your employees to work effectively, and means you get the best use out of your available marketing budget. Below, I take a look at 6 ecommerce content marketing strategies you can try.
An ecommerce content marketing strategy has to reflect the aims and goals of your business so don’t just jump into these suggestions without any forethought.
A common mistake I see businesses making is spreading their content marketing too thin and trying to work on multiple channels. This can work, but instead of diluting your marketing potential, why not concentrate on the channels that complement your business the most, and which are already giving you the best results?
For example, would it be prudent to learn about ecommerce blogging if you have already established a successful YouTube channel? Do what works for your business and concentrate on content channels that are a natural fit.
Content marketing has the potential to be incredibly visual compared to traditional marketing so a great thing to do is to lean into that. Remember that in the ecommerce space, customers cannot physically touch or see your products or services, therefore emphasizing them visually on mediums like your product pages, website, social media, and blogs can work wonders.
The aim is to leave the customer under no illusion of what your products are, how they look, and their context. Product photos, for example, should show the item from multiple angles either with static images or the use of 360-degree photo tools. You should also aim to show the products in use or in their correct context as this helps customers visualize themselves using the product easier.
Influencers are becoming increasingly popular on various platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube and the power they can wield for your business is amazing. The business/influencer relationship is relatively simple – the influencer agrees to promote your product or service on their channels and in return the business either pays them and/or gives them free products.
This type of content marketing is easy to maintain too as the influencer is doing most of the work – they might create a video review of your product for example, or showcase it on their Instagram feed. All you have to do is build the relationship, create the contract, and monitor the results.
Images are amazing for content marketing, but they sometimes lack character and personality and this is where video marketing shines. With video content, you can showcase what your company is about, the vibe you want to project, and the personalities behind it all.
People watching video content can easily identify with the business, build a bond of trust quicker, and make an emotional connection which is often essential for ecommerce marketing with the absence of physicality and being able to touch and hold your products.
Make sure your video content is authentic too – don’t try and create fake personas or act in ways that you usually wouldn’t as customers will pick up on this quickly.
It’s not merely enough to write a blog or a product description – you have to write amazing, unique, and interesting content that grabs customer’s attention and makes you stand out from the competition. This can also help with impactful SEO for ecommerce website platforms so don’t underestimate the power of compelling written copy.
Blog articles could tell a story or use emotive language to create emotional connections for example. Your product descriptions could use real-life examples too such as cases where people benefited from using them. Do whatever it takes to make your content stand out – just don’t make it plain and boring!
Social proof is positive content from customers about your business and/or products. In today’s social media-driven world, social proof is especially important and most people will have their decision swayed if they see something positive about a product.
For example, I know that I only ever buy products that have positive reviews and a decent star rating. Social proof is a powerful type of ecommerce content marketing to use and again because it’s generated by the customer, it’s cost-effective too.
Examples of social proof include blog comments, product reviews, product star ratings, testimonials, and social media comments. Make sure that you do a little moderation for your social proof, but it must be authentic and without coercion.
Having a clear content strategy for ecommerce allows your marketing efforts to be focused and yield the best possible ROI. If you make your content stand out, you can give your ecommerce business a competitive edge and give customers a reason to choose you. It also helps build trust, brand awareness, and reputation.
Amazon is one of the world’s largest companies, and thousands of businesses worldwide sell their products via the Amazon marketplace. Most people know this, but did you know that Amazon also has a PPC marketing platform similar to Google Ads and Facebook Ads?
In this article, I answer the question, what is Amazon PPC including looking at how it works, the types of ads you can create, and how to optimize your Amazon PPC campaigns.
Amazon PPC is an advertising platform specifically for the Amazon marketplace which allows third-party businesses such as yourself to create customized adverts for their products. Each time an ad is viewed and clicked on, the business is charged a small fee by Amazon, as per the standard pay-per-click model.
These ads use keywords that customers are expected to search for when looking for products on Amazon. When a customer completes a search with a keyword from your ad, the ad or product listing is then displayed in their search results.
There are various metrics involved to measure the success of your ads including ACoS, attributed sales, impressions, and clicks. A first-rate PPC service can help manage these things and optimize your ads, but it’s still a great idea to learn and understand the basics.
So, we know that as a business you create ads using the Amazon PPC platform. These include keywords that act as triggers. When someone searches on Amazon and uses a keyword in your ad, it could be displayed as a search result.
If the person then clicks on your ad, you get charged by Amazon. Like Google Ads, Amazon Ads has some key metrics that you must be aware of – I mentioned them above, but I describe them in more detail below:
With these four metrics, you can calculate the effectiveness of your Amazon PPC ads and create tangible goals to work towards.
It’s vital to understand the different types of ads available on Amazon PPC as they work in different ways:
When looking at Amazon PPC, one of the most common questions I get is how long does it take for Amazon PPC to work? I get it – everyone wants to see results and a quick ROI. With Amazon PPC, there is no definitive answer; how long it takes depends on various factors. However, for a generalization, you can expect to see results anywhere between 1-2 weeks.
Different types of ecommerce business will approach their PPC campaigns differently, but there are some things you can do to monitor and optimize your Amazon PPC including:
As you can see, Amazon PPC has so much potential for businesses that sell their products on this platform and want to gain a competitive advantage. The key to success is to perform appropriate research, experiment with different ad copy, and be clear on your budget and what you want to achieve.
The social media explosion shows no signs of slowing down and I guarantee that most people you know will use at least one social media platform daily. This type of exposure, usage, and global appeal has many uses for business including SEO. In this guide, I take a look at the relationship between social media and SEO, how one can boost the other, and the top platforms your business should leverage.
We need to start by being clear on how social media affects SEO because this is something that is often misunderstood. Google and other search engines generally do not use social signals (likes, shares, number of followers, etc.) or social media performance as a ranking factor.
Statistics may show that content with higher social signals ranks higher, but this is just a correlation – not a direct result of the social media performance or engagement. Instead, as you will see below, social media has a range of indirect benefits to your SEO efforts.
Ok, so social media and SEO aren’t intrinsically linked and there is no direct SEO benefit, so why bother? Social media has a fantastic range of indirect benefits that are proven to boost SEO such as via backlink generation, driving traffic, and improving your authority.
London’s top SEO consultant will readily tell you the importance of backlinks as part of a successful SEO campaign and social media can help with this. You can include backlinks to your website and products in your social media posts and the more popular you are on these platforms, the better the backlinks perform – simple.
Insight is an invaluable tool that is often overlooked but social media platforms are some of the best places to gather it. The more information and insight you can gain on current trends, and your customer’s preferences, the better you can tailor your SEO strategies. Social media offers a nearly endless stream of insight – you just have to put in the effort to use it in your SEO campaigns.
Well-written social media posts with engaging content naturally drive traffic to your website which ultimately benefits your SEO. One of the advantages of social media marketing is the ability to make visually appealing posts in a short period of time. This constant stream of content will ultimately drive customers to your website and products/services.
While social media doesn’t directly affect search rankings, it indirectly affects how many people search for your business and products. People who have positive social media interactions with your company are far more likely to search for you on Google which can indirectly drive search traffic.
Authority is a ranking factor involved in SERPs, for example, Google has the EEAT approach (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Therefore, having a large social media following and excellent engagement can boost your authority and show Google that you are indeed a worthwhile business.
Some social media platforms are simply better than others when it comes to SEO mainly due to their popularity, but also due to their content types.
Video content is superb and engaging and YouTube has one of the largest audiences on the internet. YouTube videos often show up in search results and there are also rich snippets that contain the YouTube video thumbnail. Being owned by Google, it stands to reason that YouTube is a popular social media option for SEO.
Instagram is arguably the most popular social media platform and it’s surprising how many people use it for simple searches. Adding SEO keywords to your profile bio and posts can work wonders, as can the strategic use of images and video content.
Although X (formerly known as Twitter) has had somewhat of a hard time recently it still remains an incredibly popular social media platform. Having a large following and a high ranking on X is proven to yield desirable SEO effects. Many people use X to search for companies, trends, and news topics so if your posts rank higher, you can benefit from improved traffic and backlinks.
The popularity of Facebook is somewhat diminished and it could be seen as appealing to an older audience now with the popularity of platforms like TikTok and Instagram. However, if your business typically has an older audience, you can leverage your Facebook following to boost your SEO. There is of course the popular Facebook Ads PPC platform too that is known to yield better conversion rates compared to Google Ads.
TikTok is the social media platform for the younger generations. Many Gen Z kids use TikTok daily and it has become part of their routine including searching for products and companies. For example, research shows that a high percentage of teens use TikTok to search for simple things like where to go for a bite to eat! This exposure with the younger generations is ideal if your business targets that demographic.
Although social media doesn’t impact SEO directly, the indirect benefits shouldn’t be ignored, and utilizing platforms like YouTube, X, and Instagram should be a main part of your SEO and content marketing strategies.
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