Off-Page Optimisation

Offsite optimisation is all about acquiring quality inbound keyword links. It is best to get links from high ranking websites and web pages, but internal repeating links within your own website also count. Here’s how to improve off-page SEO:

• Submit articles to various article directories for syndication and curation, making sure your content contains many keyword links back to your other content pages.
• Go social! Create profiles on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social networks to get links from existing customers.
• Cross-reference related items between individual product pages (include accessories or similar products). This creates healthy internal links.
• Create and share video content to attract more visitors.
• Create a blog and be active in forum discussions in the area of your business.
• Issue press releases and PR briefs about product launches, events and promotional offers regularly.

Just starting out as an online retailer with a few products to sell? Selling thousands of products online for many years now? Either way, make sure your eCommerce site is optimized for the search engines so you are most visible to your potential customers.

WSI can help optimise you eCommerce site for higher page rankings, better conversions and increased sales.

If your business relies on an eCommerce site, then you know it's important to appear in the organic search results ahead of your competitors; especially if your competitors are selling the same products online. Having top rankings for an eCommerce website is crucial for long term success in the online marketing world.

On-Page Optimisation

Optimising an eCommerce site isn't that different than optimising any other type of web site. To make a page rank well in the organic search results, it needs a good title tag (that includes the keywords you're targeting); and good content on the page that includes the appropriate keywords. Here are some more tips for on-page optimisation:

• Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.
• To achieve good keyword focus, limit yourself to just one or two keywords per content page. You can even create a page for each product in your store so that you can take advantage of long-tail keyword phrases.
• One reason why product pages on eCommerce sites appear in the search engine indexes and then disappear is because they are duplicating content (which the search engines catch on). Keep content and tags unique.
• If you're selling products that your competitors are also selling, then your product descriptions need to be unique and different from theirs. Don’t just copy the generic product descriptions of items that are provided by the manufacturer. You’ll risk having your page considered a duplicate page by Google and other search engines.
• Add links to related products or accessories, or perhaps a testimonial about the product. Adding ‘related products' type of navigation on your product pages will help visitors stay on your site.
• Product Reviews can increase your visibility and improve your page rankings. This gives the search engines more content to read and also creates a third party endorsement for your product.

Online shoppers are using search engines to compare product features and prices, and if your eCommerce site isn’t positioned in the top search engine results, you're missing out on a lot of potential online sales!

As internet technologies advance and bandwidth speeds are boosted, online shoppers’ expectations naturally increase. While this trend may be unstoppable, the golden rule ‘content is king’ (long live the king by the way) is still true, the consumption of that content however, is becoming steadily more sophisticated.

Text and images have a key role to play in getting your message across. Well crafted copy and good use of product pictures will always entice sales – but with video having an increasingly significant impact on internet activity, websites limited to static content may soon be in danger of being left behind.

Video integration is steadily being embraced as a solution for quickly and efficiently presenting sales and marketing messages. The use of videos has several advantages over conventional static websites.

Great For Product Presentation
A great sales pitch will not only consist of benefits, benefits, benefits, it will also include removing any perceived risk in making the purchase. With this in mind, good use of video footage can significantly enhance the sales message by:

• Presenting the benefits of the product in a multi-dimensional format
• Filming product demonstrations
• Enabling the retailer to connect with shoppers on a more personal level
• Showing product reviews and user reviews
• Helping address frequently asked questions & improve customer services

Keep in mind that video production doesn’t have to break your budget – some of the simplest videos often become the most popular.

 

Great For Search Traffic
Video searches tend to bring in a lot more traffic than normal search engine activity. A number of search engines have modified their search results to include videos among their results. With this in mind, a well optimised video may have a better chance of showing up on the first page of search results for phrases that might be too competitive to achieve any other way.

Great For Engagement
With the right broadcasting platform, your video can be consumed anywhere users have an internet connection. The increasing use of smart phones (which make viewing video a breeze) means the potential audience is growing fast. This reinforces video as a great way to increase your reach and engage more customers as you roll out new offers, deals, competitions and more.

Great For Social Sharing
Some of the videos on YouTube have been incredibly popular, achieving audience sizes that big budget programme makers can only dream of – and often produced with little or no expense. While it is fair to say business to consumer video footage may not always be as sharable as ‘amateur’ footage, the opportunities for sharing – and going viral – are real.

With a little imagination and a half decent recording device, video is an ideal tool to enhance your eCommerce marketing activities – and doesn’t need to cost the earth. Key to its success, as with any marketing activity, is in the planning. If you would like to explore how video can enhance your online marketing strategy, please call 0845 345 2592.

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Whether shopping online or on the high street, people don't base buying decisions on price alone. Understanding what drives decisions during key aspects of the sales process is, quite literally, the holy grail of internet marketing.

One of the most important factors for shoppers, which for many will come before seeking out the best deal, is an outstanding buying experience. Taking care of and valuing your customers is a sure fire way to build loyal shoppers, ready to recommend your store to friends and family.

In this article, we'll take a brief look at some indispensable tips for delivering an online sales process that will not only streamline the purchase, but will also provide a great user experience.

1. Navigation
Get your navigation wrong, and you may as well not bother. Easy to navigate menus with clear labelling and sub-category headings are a key element in delivering a seamless buying process. Large 'fly-out' navigation menus are also a great way of enhancing the user experience when looking for products. Including a clear link back to your home page can enhance your navigation too.

2. Breadcrumb Trails
Breadcrumb trails help to engage the user by making it clear what part of the site they are in, facilitating a satisfying browsing experience and well, just making your website more accessible. No one likes the feeling of being lost, think of it as a simple map that intuitively guides your user.

3. Filtered Results
Perhaps more applicable to those offering a larger product range, filtered results help to refine usability further. Look at pretty much any major retail website and you'll find this feature used extensively (price range, product ranges etc.).

4. If Content is King, Then Presentation is the Prince
Presenting your visitor with an uncluttered clean page is essential nowadays. You may have heard of the term 'white space' in relation to page design. The last few years in web design has seen a drive towards both the minimal and high impact – large images, video, concise navigation and a clever use of space.

It's worth remembering that whether they're shopping real world or digitally, consumers still shop very much in the visual sense. Great content is important – but so is the way it gets presented.

5. Have Nothing to Hide
Perhaps surprisingly, research has shown that being transparent about additional charges is one of the most important 'make or break' aspects of the sales process. A common mistake made by internet retailers is not informing customers of delivery costs before they begin the purchase process, causing them to abort the sale at the crucial checkout stage.

You may want to consider offering free delivery for orders over a certain amount to encourage last minute impulse purchases. Either way, publish your shipping terms up front.

Understandably, consumers are tightening their belts and looking for rewarding shopping experience on the web - which provides a great opportunity for online shops. If you would like help improving your ecommerce site, call 0845 345 2592

In this golden age of e-commerce, a fully-featured online shop should form the cornerstone of any retailer's web strategy. According to retail experts Experian, Boxing Day was again the busiest day of the year for online retailers: "UK Internet visits to online retail websites were 12% higher than on the pre-Christmas peak in traffic (December 5th) and 26% higher than on Christmas Day" (source: Hitwise.com).

It is surprising however, how many businesses feature nothing more than a catalogue and telephone number or email address, offering the user little or no incentive to make a purchase and weakening their brand in the process. If you're considering your first foray into the world of internet retailing or perhaps need to revise your strategy, then this article has been created to provide some useful pointers to getting it right.

Make It Secure
The surge in popularity of online shopping has, inevitably, seen an exponential rise in instances on online fraud. Of paramount importance to any savvy shopper is security. Provide as many assurances as you can, including a secure payment facility.

Comply With Consumer Rights
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 mean you must provide customers with your full company name and address prior to any purchase. Any purchase should be followed by a confirmation email and obligatory cool-off period.

Pay Attention To User Experience
Web usability is everything when it comes to online shopping. Take some time out to navigate the user experience checking for ease of use, broken links and so on. Remember, if you don't bother to get it right for the customer, why should the customer bother with you?

Coordinate Online With Offline
If you have a corresponding offline business (such as a shop, etc.) – ensure the two integrate seamlessly. Most importantly, make sure your prices correspond and that stock levels are consistent and up-to-date. If you are offering an online only promotion, make sure the terms are clearly visible so that customers do not expect to find it in store.

Add a Personal Touch
It may sound obvious, but offering a telephone number and email address will go a long way towards improving the customer experience – even on the web, good customer service remains the cornerstone by which all businesses are judged. Answer queries promptly and professionally. Consider using more recent innovations such as live chat/ help for that added personal touch.

Show Some Personality
Installing an online blog and engaging customers over social media platforms is a great way to correspond with customers on a more personable level. Twitter for example can be used as a very effective customer service tool, or an opportunity to publish answers to frequently asked questions.

However you choose to approach online retail, taking some time out to formulate a online marketing strategy is essential. If you would like help to improve your ecommerce web site, call us on 0845 345 2592.

If you are an online retailer, now is the time to start planning and implementing your marketing promotions to encourage sales in the run-up to Christmas. Even in the present economic climate, eMarketer predicts that UK business to consumer online sales will be worth £68.4 billion in 2009, a 14% increase from 2008.

With so many companies vying for consumers' attention in the run up to Christmas, putting your plans in place now will enable you to execute well prepared campaigns that will help you stand out from the crowd, and secure a generous portion of the lucrative seasonal spend.

Powering Up Your Christmas Promotions
When UK online shoppers were questioned why they prefer to shop over the web, they said they prefer shopping online because:

• It offers immediate access to a wide range of products and services
• It saves time and hassle associated with high street Christmas shopping
• It offers greater savings on purchases.

Your online store already offers these advantages so you simply need to let shoppers know what great offers you have. Your Christmas marketing activities are a continuation of the best business practices you should already have in place.

Plan Ahead
If you haven't already started, start planning now. Begin by reviewing what worked well for you last year, and consider how you might repeat this or even build upon your success this year.

Prepare a schedule for updating your website and sending dedicated email broadcasts which reflect the season's promotional messages.

Be Creative
Whether it's a countdown of available shopping days, or perhaps incorporating the twelve days of Christmas into your campaigns, be creative. Take some time to think outside the box and get your creative juices flowing.

Consider adopting a charity, to which you will donate a percentage of your Christmas sales. This can attract new customers and will share a feel-good factor.

Decorate Your Website
Add some Christmas cheer to your website – even if it's only the home page. It doesn't need to be a big costly re-design, instead, a few strategically positioned seasonal images may suffice.

Give Prominence to Your Promotions
Once you have established what your promotional offers will consist of, give them priority on your home page, email campaigns and social media sites.

When preparing the copy for special offers, be clear what the deal includes and focus on benefits, benefits, benefits. If your products make a great Christmas gift, tell shoppers why.

Offer a Little Extra
Online shoppers are shrewd buyers, with the luxury of effortlessly comparing products from the comfort of their seat. It's the stores that offer a little extra, such as gift wrapping, direct deliveries, two for one and three for two deals, electronic vouchers, gift lists and more will stand out from the crowd.

Good Housekeeping
Receiving goods before Christmas is crucial to the Yule tide shopper – make sure to clearly state your last day of posting, and consider offering express deliveries for last minute shoppers.

Finally, remember it is the season to be jolly, reflect this in your correspondence. Being genuine and sharing some good will ensure you are remembered for a long time. If you would like help preparing your Christmas promotions, call us on 0845 345 2592.

The power of good sales copy should never be under estimated. For example, have you ever shopped around to find the best deal, but still ended up making your purchase at a less-competitive price? Having leading products and offering the lowest prices does not always make for the best value.

Whether motivated by emotions or logic, the decision to purchase online is strongly influenced by powerful sales messages and reducing shoppers' perceptions of risk. If your copy can accomplish these two things, your bottom line will thank you.

How to Win Sales and Influence Profits
Improving sales and profits together may sound too good to be true, but as many UK brands can attest, people don't always buy based on price alone. Even in the present economic climate, shoppers are proving that what will win their patronage is:

1. a compelling sales message
2. minimised risk associated with the purchase

The following tips help address these two key factors to improving both sales and profitability, allowing you to successfully hone your website copy.

• Start with an eye-catching, punchy headline. Your headlines should attract attention and peak visitors' curiosity.
• Lead with your strongest message. People don't care so much about your product as they do about the benefits of buying it – sales copy at the top section of your page should be loaded with these benefits.
• Prominently feature a snappy call to action on a central position of the page.
• Keep your content easy to read, limit your column widths and try not to bloat your paragraphs - around three sentences per paragraph is quick and easy to read.
• Make it simple for your visitors to take the next step toward their purchase – lead customers through a streamlined process without giving them any reason to navigate away.
• Remember, your site is about your customers – your sales copy should contain four "you"s for every one "I."
• Be topical, your sales copy should speak to the current needs of holiday shoppers.

Make it Easy - Reducing Perceived Risk
Now to address issues that may cause shopper anxiety. It's natural for your customers to have concerns over product quality, shipping terms, customer satisfaction and so on. Of course, risks can not be removed completely, but much can be done to keep anxiety levels to a minimum.

• Try not to over-hype your sales copy. If something seems too good to be true, your customers believe it is.
• Don't make unsupported claims – customers may smell a rat (even if there isn't one).
• Consider including testimonials from satisfied customers.
• If you have a certification from a reputable or well-known organisation, let your visitors know by featuring this information prominently on your site.
• Make sure your contact and guarantee details are prominently displayed and easy to find.
• On a similar note, make your shipping terms and returns policy easily accessible.
• Include your physical business address.
• If you offer a free trial, don't ask for your shoppers' credit card details too soon.
• Provide sufficient product details.
• Streamline your purchase process and don't ask for more information than you need.

The final step, once you have won the sale, is to exceed your customer's expectations by providing excellent after-sales care and value added correspondences.

Your sales copy is often overlooked, yet it is one of the most common obstacles to a site's effectiveness in its ability to make sales for you. If you would like help reviewing your web copy, or to discover how to streamline your sales process, call us today on 0845 345 2592.

The recent economic downturn may be taking its toll on the high street, but not online. eMarketer predicts that total UK business-to-consumer online sales will be worth £68.4 billion in 2009, a 14% increase over 2008. With e-commerce revenue remaining strong, sales are there to be won. So, how can your store stand out from the crowd in order to win new customers?

Thanks to online video sharing websites such as YouTube, Hulu, BBC iPlayer (and legions more), watching videos over the web is second nature to a majority of internet users. Retailers, however, have not yet seized opportunities to incorporate videos into their online stores.

Using Videos to Drive E-commerce Sales
With video almost commonplace throughout the web, surfers are becoming accustomed to a richer media experience. Google recently purchased YouTube for over $2 billion because Google knows that videos are key to the future of online marketing.

Currently, consumers view over 14 billion videos every month, spending 49% more time per viewer watching them than they did last year. It isn't surprising then that videos are transforming how web content is consumed.

The following are some cost effective ideas for retailers who want to use video to attract, engage and convert more customers on the run up to Christmas.

Start With the End in Mind
As with any online marketing activity, establish what your objectives are, then proceed with them in mind. Your videos could be used in the following ways:

• For product demonstrations – so much more can be conveyed in a simple, 60-second video than a page full of text and images.
• As a short, concise introduction to your online store, helping to put a face (and personality) to your website in seconds and putting shoppers immediately at ease.
• To provide product training – if your products are technical, a 2-3 minute video can help put shopper minds at ease and drive traffic to your site for information purposes, giving you a decided edge over your competitors.
• To illustrate product quality – videos are the best way to demonstrate product quality online. While a list of features is great, actually watching how your products fulfil customer expectations is even better.
• To introduce and review new products – sharing your knowledge of the latest and greatest products to hit the shops helps demonstrate your expertise and lets shoppers know where to come for the best value.

Once you know how to use videos for your e-commerce site, the next step is preparing the appropriate video footage.

Personality over Perfection
Try not to get too hung up on creating perfectly produced videos. Remember, some of the most popular videos shared amongst web users are done by true amateurs. Your message is the key factor to success with your company's online videos.

Consumers inherently trust opinions and feedback from other consumers. You may want to consider running a competition that encourages user-generated video content. User-created videos offer a win-win situation – you get some great video footage and product endorsements, and your site visitors get some entertaining product videos.

It's All in the Numbers – Review Response Rates
As with any marketing initiative, try to build in a way to measure the effects of your videos. Tracking response rates can help you test the waters before allocating additional resources to roll videos out across all your product lines.

In conclusion, the financial climate may be causing shoppers to count pennies, but millions of people are still likely to spend a greater proportion of their budgets on the web. Using videos to help sell your products not only gives your consumers a richer media experience on your site, it also helps your company stand out from the crowd – ultimately winning you a greater portion of the lucrative Christmas spend.

One of the gloomy consequences of the present economic climate is seeing high streets a little emptier, as shopper footfall reduces and struggling shops close down. Online stores, however, are not being hit quite so hard, and online sales continue to rise, albeit not at as fast a pace as previously witnessed.

Understandably, consumers are tightening their belts and correctly associating internet shopping with experiencing savings on their purchases. Add to this the increasing popularity of engaging consumers via various social media sites and you might be forgiven for thinking the opportunity for online stores has never been better. So how can etailers gear their sales techniques to appeal to shoppers' present mind-set?

10 Sales Tips to Appeal to Today's Shoppers
When price is not so much of an issue, consumers are more likely to be motivated emotionally when making purchases. Today, however, as shoppers are more inclined to count the pennies, logic and an eye for a good deal can be a greater buying motivation.

Following are 10 simple tactics. Although many of them may not be new to you, they are a timely reminder if you are not currently implementing them as you look to hone your selling techniques.

1. Be Creative with Bargain Offers
Look around for inspiration, then put your own personal slant on it. Focus on what you do best and turn it to your advantage.

2. Don't Seem Desperate
B.O.G.O.F.s, discounts and free gifts can all be great buying incentives – but remember to focus on delivering value. Depart too much from your USP and you can lose your advantage.

3. Point Out the Savings
Don't be shy. If you are providing significant savings and value, let people know it, in the simplest terms.

4. Run Competitions
Online competitions are a great way to spread the word about your store. Be creative and remember, the more value attached to the prize, the greater your competition's exposure is likely to be.

5. Offer Gift Coupons and Gift Wrapping
Shopping coupons make excellent gifts, and can be administered just as easily as from off-line stores. Gift wrapping is another great opportunity to provide added value.

6. Offer Free Shipping
Shop around; there will be a number of couriers vying for your business. You might find you can afford to provide free shipping on orders over a certain amount.

7. Keep Shoppers in the Sales Funnel
Make sure your shoppers are one click away from viewing your products from anywhere on your site. Once they have added products to their basket, keep the checkout button easily accessible.

8. Cross-Sell and Up-Sell
The Amazons of this world have been doing this for a long time, for one simple reason: it works. This approach gives the shopper a sense of importance (as you have taken interest in their selection) and encourages more sales.

9. Be Sociable – Be Yourself
Social networking continues to grow in popularity. Increasingly, shoppers are engaging with etailers before spending their hard-earned cash. See it as an opportunity to win one over on the faceless multi-nationals.

10. Become an Email Marketing Expert
If you are not staying in touch with customers by email, you are probably missing out on repeat sales. Your email newsletter enables you to extend your customer relationships beyond a one-off sale.

Selling online does not carry the same overheads that can cripple brick-and-mortar businesses in a downturn, but with increased opportunities comes increased competition, making it more important to adopt the best selling techniques in order to stand out from the crowd. If you would like help improving your ecommerce site, please call us on 0845 345 2592.

A well-prepared online marketing plan will enable you to drive targeted customers to your website, yet not every potential customer will be ready to make a purchase during their first visit. Although the ultimate goal for a business website is to sell, measures should be taken to engage all of your site visitors.

Such measures include adding one or more lead capture features to your website. The purpose of a lead capture exercise is simple: to provide a compelling reason for your site visitor to give you their business contact details, with the understanding that you will use them for additional correspondence.

How to Acquire New Business Leads from Your Website
Many businesses lose the opportunity to establish a 'connection' with potential customers by not adopting any lead capture activities. Perhaps many of your site visitors are not ready to buy, yet they are happy to allow you to initiate correspondence. The following examples outline some tried-and-tested lead capture techniques.

1. Email Newsletter Subscription
If you publish a company email newsletter, always provide a subscription form on your website. Include the form – along with some sales copy – in the same conspicuous position on every page. Make it simple for your site visitors to register for your newsletter wherever they end up on your site.

2. Free Downloads
Giving away a valuable report, case studies, or industry research in the form of a White Paper in exchange for a few contact details is a win-win situation. Your website visitors get something of genuine value for their business while you get targeted contacts with whom to continue correspondence.

3. Prize Draws
You can be creative with prize draws – the more appealing the prize, the more leads you are likely to acquire. Fun, original prize draws can easily have a viral effect, multiplying the number of new leads many times over.

4. RSS Feeds
If you publish a business blog, you must provide Really Simple Syndication (RSS), which allows your blog visitors to subscribe to your blog with only a few clicks. RSS subscribers are immediately alerted when you publish a new blog post. Feeds can also be set up to let the subscriber know when new comments have been added to your blog posts as well.

5. Don't Ignore Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is growing fast, partly because it is crossing into the business world. Web 2.0 sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have added features to make their content sharing platforms more of a legitimate medium for business correspondence. New potential customers can follow all your updates very easily with the click of a button.

Whatever techniques you choose, consider creating a dedicated web page – sometimes called a squeeze page – which has one sole purpose: to capture contact details. Here are some quick tips for persuading your site visitors to begin a 'conversation' with you:

• Use a clear Call to Action
• Consider how the page layout can help channel your visitors' attention
• Be creative with images to break up copy and get your message across quicker
• Share your message immediately with well-written headlines and sub-headlines
• Keep your web forms tight – asking for too much data may mean that your visitor will not proceed

Implementing well-thought-out lead capture activities will provide you with ongoing opportunities to win new customers, even when they do not buy on their first visit.