Search engine optimization and e-commerce websites

The world wide web continues to grow at the speed of light. Many business are making money online with direct sales on their websites. This creates increased competition and opportunities. To do well by selling online, businesses needs to promote their shopping website (e-commerce) with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

An e-commerce enabled website gives any business the opportunity to add this to their retail business with “digital” sales, but the question remains – how are you going to get targeted traffic to your online shop? With an optimized SEO strategy you can strenghten your brand and at the same time increase your online sales. Find below a couple of tips that can help you optimize your e-commerce store.

E-commerce search engine optimization tips

Social media: Social media is still a buzz word to many and will be covered in more detail in a future blog post, but integrating social media interaction on your website can help your visitors make the final decision. Have a look at how Amazon integrates social media by adding product ratings, feedback, and reviews.

Also integrate Twitter, Facebook Likes, Google+, and Pinterest into the design of your store. Use these social signals to encourage the sharing of your content.

Content: Add a blog to your e-commerce site where you can publish related how to guides and articles. Many online shopping platforms are way too thin on content marketing.

Video: Video content is always a great way that your visitors can consume your content. Add product reviews and how to videos where people can visualize the products in use or how they can help them. Tag each of your videos with keywords.

SEO: All of the pages on your e-commerce shop should have keywords worked into the content, title tags, hyperlinks, and the alt tags of the images you display. Link internal relevant pages together and group them.

Mobile version: Create a mobile version of your online shop to enable people to visit your e-commerce site on their smartphone or tablet. Remember that a mobile version of your site will need to be designed to minimize bandwidth usage.

Measurement: Add Google Analytics to every page on your shopping website so that you can clear understand your visitors behavior. Monitor the analytics in detail to understand what your visitors are looking for. This will help you make improvements where necessary.

Welcome to Johnny Da Silva’s Blog

Welcome to my blog.

I am the WSI online marketing and website design consultant in Bloemfontein.

My goal is to educate readers on online marketing strategies and technologies, online reputation management (brand awareness) SEO, email and SMS marketing.

I help clients piece their internet marketing campaign together. Perhaps you already have a strategy in place, but your winger keeps dropping the ball or your fly half never scores that game changing kick. This is where a digital expert can help you’re your business play the social media game and get out on top.

An online marketing consultant ensures your business realizes the full profit potential, offered by internet technologies. That’s an important distinction between internet consultants and traditional web designers, as they focus on delivering true business solutions, rather than simply creating websites.

I am also an entrepreneur in DoRegos Fast Foods Franchises, giving me the understanding of how SME’s operate and what challenges are faced every day. My success was built on humble but meticulous foundations.

My office is on the second story of the DoRego’s Fast Food outlet in 16 Henry Street, Bloemfontein, where I got my first job as a cashier 22 years ago. I now own 7 outlets in the city. In addition to this, I have won the prestigious FASA (Franchising Association of South Africa) award in 2009.

Why a blog about the world of online marketing?

Ask yourself the following:

• Do you know how to find out what your clients want, what works for them and what doesn’t?  I can help make your business visible on the internet through creative digital strategies.
• Do you know why online marketing important? Consumers look for your business online, if you are not there or are invisible, you won’t attract any clients.
• What do you know about online reputation management? I can tell you how to manage your online reputation, stop negative or false mentions in their tracks, and how to react on positive feedback.

Don’t be afraid to use online world – get your business out there with the help of a professional and see your sales and customer satisfaction grow.

Google Panda and Penguin update

Google has always since the birth of their search engine been updating their algorithm to provide their users with the most relevant and best search results. Your internet marketing campaign should never be set in stone so that you have the flexibility to adjust your strategy when Google decides to roll out new updates. Recently, the new updates has been coming with a storm and many websites has been affected with their two latest updates – Panda and Penguin.

In February 2012 Google updated their algorithm with the latest Panda update. This update was designed to lower the rank of poor quality sites. These are the websites that focused on duplicate content. Websites that uses spun articles, scraper content, and duplicate content were hit very hard and lost almost all of their rankings on the search engine giant.

The Google Panda update affected the entire domain than just a specific web page. During April Google rolled out two new versions of this update. What can you do if the Panda update affected your website?

Google Panda update fixes

• Use only original and relevant content.
• Do not over use keywords on your website.
• Focus on increasing the user trust on your website.
• Include contact information.

Round about the same time the Google Panda updates were applied, Google rolled out a completely new update on 14 April 2012 called Penguin. This update was focused on fighting spam and to eliminate spamming techniques that are against the Google quality guidelines. Most of the sites that were affected practiced black hat SEO methods such as cloaking, keyword stuffing, hidden text, paid links, and link schemes.

This new update by Google was designed to act against website pages rather than the entire website and domain. If you have been affected by the Penguin update, then you were most likely labelled as a spammer by Google. If you can resolve all the spam, your website’s ranking should return within a couple of months. If you were affected by this update and you are not using any spam methods, file a Google reconsideration request. The same as with the Panda update, expect a couple of Penguin updates to follow soon. What can you do if you were affected by the Penguin update?

Google Penguin update fixes

• Follow all of the Google quality guidelines and stay updated of these.
• Avoid black hat SEO at all costs.

What is Online Reputation Management?

What is ORM? It is the act of monitoring, addressing or mitigating search engine result pages or mentions in online media and Web sphere content. It primarily involves tracking what is written about a client on the Internet, then utilizing sophisticated online and offline techniques in promoting positive and neutral content, while at the same time pushing down those links the sponsor (in most cases business or individuals) may not want to show when their name is searched.

The purpose of Online Reputation Management (ORM) is not to find and call up a disappointed consumer and give him a piece of your mind. Nor is it a way to “stalk” your consumers or exploit their needs.

Online reputation management is used to make your life (and that of your consumers) easier. In with the positive and out with the negative, almost like a detox.

Why you should practice Online Reputation management?

Your company’s reputation is its most valuable asset. You can’t bury your head in the sand and hope negative online mentions about your business will just disappear. The internet is a soap box – people love their drama. And if your company made a blunder, people are going to talk about it. Even people who have never made use of your products/services!  It is unfair, but unfortunately it is reality.

The worst thing you can do, is not practice Online Reputation Management (ORM).  You might think your company is too small or that a little negative mention here and there won’t hurt. Wrong. It can take only one tweet (140 characters) and your reputation is shattered.

Unfortunately, a lot of companies leave online reputation management until it is too late. Don’t wait for something bad to happen, be proactive and keep your sticky fingers on the keyboard. People might forget, but the internet doesn’t. Even years after a blunder, the info will still be readily available for anyone searches for it.

If something huge did happen, it is not (entirely) the end of the world. There are clever strategies to defuse negativity about your brand online, but it will take a lot of time and resources. Rather get the vaccine of Online Reputation Management (ORM) than the costly cure for an infected brand.

Create a blogging strategy for your niche

Did you know that niche blogs will get results much faster than general blogs that covers a couple of topics. The internet is filled with noise and a massive amount of content. By focusing your blog marketing strategy will allow your blog to stand out from the crowd. Search engines are particular fond of blogs as it constantly provides them with information.

A niche blog is usually focused around a certain market segment. A blog focused only on internet marketing such as this would be considered for a niche blog. With an optimized blog, you can stand out from the crowd and also increase your business reputation online.

To start creating your blog, research and select a topic that you can blog about and that others will find interesting. Create and publish new blog posts on a daily basis and watch the traffic you are receiving to your blog. This way you will be able to see which of your blog posts are generating the most interest. Modify any future blog posts and your writing style based on the traffic that you receive.

Here’s a couple of tips that can help you create a niche blog.

Blogging strategy

Research: Use various keyword research tools to determine the competition and level of interest for the subjects you will be writing on. Look and see which keywords your ideal customer will use to visit your blog.

Content: All of your blog posts should be focused around a single subject area. This will help you approach your blog topics from a multiple of perspectives and angles.

Subject: Are you going to write for everyone or only a certain segment of the market and provide them with in depth information? With your blog you can become the expert in your niche and dominate your chosen market online.

Fresh content: A good niche blog publishes relevant and unique content on a regular basis. There should always be long term value for your customers and readers.

Blog marketing is a powerful way you can use to build brand awareness, and increasing your search engine rankings on the search engines.

Create a search engine optimization plan

Your search engine optimization(SEO) campaign should be designed to attract targeted visitors and get them to perform a specific action that can result in a lead or a sale. With SEO you want to attract targeted audiences that have an interested in what you sell online. Your SEO plan should consists of two parts. First to attract your visitors and then to convert them.

Search engine optimization is a pull marketing method. People are using the search engines to find information that they want. If your website can match any of their search, and is the most relevant, these people might become your next customer. You can use PPC (pay per click) or organic SE) to get results. Both are forms of search engine marketing (SEM).

Here’s a couple of tips that can help you with your search engine optimization plan.

Search engine optimization plan

Goals: Your website should be designed to help you reach your business goals and objectives. Your business and websites needs to have a clear business with results that you can measure. Focusing on how you can reach your business goals with SEO will help you create a more effective SEO strategy.

Understanding your customers: Do you understand why people are going to visit your website? What answers are they looking for? Present your website in such a way to solve their issues. You can present a solution to their queries on the home page so that they can understand what the website is about in the first few seconds of arriving.

Keywords: Do some research on the keywords that your ideal customer will use to search for your services. You can select the best keywords based on search volume, relevance, and the level of competition. Apply the keywords you have selected to the pages on your website. You will not be able to create a strategic plan on which pages to optimize for which keywords. This can include design changes, content changes, and even structural changes.

Content: Use the keywords you have chosen in the content of your website pages, in the headlines and hyperlinks.

Measurement: Use Google Analytics or any other analytics software for the number of visitors, keywords used, bounce rate, and the time that you visitors spend on your website. What conversions is your website getting in the form of sales, leads, etc.

Social media marketing and your business

In today’s technology driven world, it is obvious that you should utilizesocial media marketing if you want to start marketing your business online to targeted audiences. There are many benefits you can enjoy with a successful social media marketing campaign that is geared towards the growth of your business.

Social media marketing does not only have the ability to create a “buzz” about your services and products, but it can also help with building awareness of your brand. Social media can also provide you with the opportunity to share interesting content through your social media channels reaching thousands of potential people in a short period of time. Convinced? Most successful businesses have integrated social media with their other marketing initiatives and have been quick to integrate their campaign with their business growth strategy.

Social media marketing = opportunities

Social media marketing offers you the opportunity to advertise for free within boundaries. This is advantageous if you are working a tight budget as most of the time the only costs involved with a social media strategy is time. This can help you save much needed money on promotional and advertising campaigns. With this said, on your social media profiles, include links back to your website and blog where interested members can find out more information about the services and products that you offer.

By integrating social media into your business you will be able to support your brand image that is relevant to your business. Branding is a very important part of business, and you can effectively advertise and brand your business with social media.  Social media marketing is essential to your business if you would like to succeed online. There are many other benefits that I will cover in follow up blog posts, but with a proper social media marketing strategy, your business will yield targeted results.

Internet marketing for your business

For an internet marketer, having a proper strategy and skill is important to the success of your campaign. There are various ways and methods with internet marketing which can have a massive impact on your business and profitability. When used correctly, internet marketing can help you achieve your business objectives and goals.

One successful internet marketing strategy you can start using is article marketing. Most successful internetmarketers are using article marketing in their campaigns and have seen very good results. Google loves content and so providing them with valuable and unique content can help you get the rankings you are after. Trusted (after the Panda update) article directories can be a great target for article marketing because you will be able to reach very large audiences in a very short period of time. Always make sure that your articles are unique and they present useful information.

Find below a couple of internet marketing methods you can use to strengthen your brand and business online.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization is another internet marketing strategy that can work wonders for your business. SEO can make your business website visible on the search engines and in the long term produce many benefits. With SEO there are free and paid methods which can boost your website.

Social media marketing

With the sudden buzz of social media marketing, integrating social media in your overall marketing initiative can help you build more brand awareness online. Social media marketing has the ability to reach targeted audiences where you can communicate with them directly. Social media is a great way for your business to reach potential prospects, and to notify them about your products and services in a interactive way.

Email marketing

Email marketing is a internet marketing strategy that has proved to be very effective. Email marketing involves sending out newsletters and emails to subscribers by offering them interesting information about your business or niche. You can also use email marketing to update your clients on new services or developments in your business.

Internet marketing has the potential to grow your business online, and have your company achieve success. It is vital to pay attention to the methods explained above, as most successful business online have integrated these strategies for success.

Simple views on social media marketing

To maximize your social media strategy, you should not be directing your target audience to only your business website or blog, you should direct them to much more. A very common mistake internet marketers are doing that are new to the social media ball game is that they are satisfied as soon as someone follow or like their social media profile. To be honest, this is not enough.

The ultimate goal of marketing is to grow your business, so engagement on selected social media channels can build value and brand awareness with the aim of converting this into sales. Social media marketing can be very powerful and used to expand your business if you are engaging in the right way with the right audience. The only way this is possible is with an optimized social media marketing strategy that will yield positive results.

Social media strategy

When you are in the process of creating your social media strategy, it is very important that you understand your audience. Who are they? What do they like? How old are they? Make sure you know the demographics of your perfect customer to help you engage with them.

Social media requires that you become more observant, critical, and sensitive so that your campaign can be effective and attract the audience that you are after. Most of the time if people like what you write, share, tweet, etc, there is a very good chance that your activity will drive real traffic, allowing people in your network to share your thoughts and views to their own network.

For a small business owner, it is very important that you also understand the “transparency” aspect of social media. People feel more comfortable doing business with real people that they know and trust. When you are creating your social media profiles, include as much information as you can on your profile with a link back to your website or blog where interested people can learn more about you.

Never think that social media marketing is a simple “buzz word” for business. Whether you like it or not, social media can be key in your marketing initiatives to meet your business objectives and goals.

Using LinkedIn for market research

LinkedIn is so much more than just a normal social networking channel that you can use to meet new clients and generate new business. It is a powerful channel that can help you find background information on your competition, sales prospects or even prospective employers. With all the millions of search profiles on LinkedIn, it is really a people tool.

Imagine yourself going into a meeting filled with people you have never met before. You might know their names and the companies they are working for, but nothing else. You can use LinkedIn to research and understand these people so that you can develop new ideas for conversation starters. Find below a couple of tips on how you can use LinkedIn for research.

LinkedIn for research

Researching: Search for connections and contacts within your network to create a good introduction. You can also use LinkedIn to understand your prospects before you set up a meeting with them. You can learn about their work history, where they went to college and even their hobbies on LinkedIn. LinkedIn details their past work experience and the positions that they held. It can also reveal their expertise and their interests.

Competitor analysis: Do an advanced search on your competition. Understand present and past employees by reading up on their profiles. What backgrounds and skill sets are in key positions? You will get a very good idea what they are doing now, their history, and what they can do.

Employers: The more you know about the company you want to go work for, the better decision you will be able to make if you are offered a job. Use the advanced capabilities of LinkedIn to search for their company name. Contact people in your network to check if they have connections there.

Use LinkedIn together with Google search and you can do a lot of research to help you make the right business decisions.