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!

In 2010 Gartner listed video as one of the top ten strategic online technology trends for 2011. With the year nearly three quarters over, their forecast seems justified. Consumers' appetite for streaming videos over their desktop, tablet and mobile devices is not abating. Seeing its potential, marketers in general are increasingly joining the online video trend as a way to get their message across more effectively – and to greater numbers.

Subsequently, more than two thirds of UK marketers are expected to have increased their online video ad spend in 2011 (IAB figures). With easier ways to consume video content and faster download speeds the trend shows no sign of slowing. So how can you get video marketing working for your business?

1. Think Personalisation Not Perfection
The stumbling block for most small businesses when considering video marketing is the unaffordable production costs. Ironically, the fact is that some of the most successful online video marketing campaigns have been done on a shoe string budget.

Today's video consumers are more concerned about watching entertaining; customer focussed content rather than expecting the highest of production values. That said, the production costs in most instances are in easy reach of a small business' marketing budget.

2. Make it Easy to View and Share
Once you have your video ready to go, your next step is to make it available for viewing using a dedicated video player. YouTube provides this service at no cost – but what you may save on the video hosting, you may lose on not having total control of how your video is viewed.

A dedicated video hosting and streaming service can provide you with your own branded video player which plays just as well across a number of desktop and mobile devices. A key component of your video player is giving viewers the ability to share the content with ease via the social networks or by email. Another nice feature is for the player to include a call to action button once your video concludes.

3. Optimise it For YouTube
While you may not want to use YouTube as your main online video player, you also don't want to ignore the marketing opportunity it offers. Owned by Google, YouTube is the world's second largest search engine, and regularly features within the first page of search results.

Optimising your video for YouTube can have a significant effect in securing your fair share of the huge number of viewers using YouTube to consume content on a daily basis.

4. Spread the Word
Use all your marketing collateral to help get the word out regarding your new video. While you may not be able to embed the video into an email (as email clients will simply strip the code), you can include an image of your video which when clicked, takes your subscriber directly to view your auto play video.

Your social media channels are a great place to promote your videos – and unlike email, will enable you to embed the video right into their platform. Making it easy to view and share.

5. Monitor What Works Best
Video is a very measurable medium, not only giving figures for the number of viewers, but also providing data for aborted views. Enabling you to identify unpopular content or if your videos are simply too long for example.

The key here, as with all your marketing activities, is to measure, rinse and repeat, improving as you go.

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.

---

As the web usage grows so the focus becomes more local. If your services are limited geographically, you need to pay attention to local search marketing opportunities. A number of networking sites like Foursquare and services such as Google Places exist to help connect local web traffic with businesses in their area.

If a search marketer offers the earth, be very wary, achieving top search result places should not be guaranteed. Instead, following genuine tried and tested techniques in identifying your business as local and relevant to searches will always be the best approach.

This article reviews a five step plan using some of the best practice techniques that will enable your business to win new customers locally.

1. Determine Your Locality
The first step in the plan is to identify your target audience; what is your geographic reach for example? Who is your ideal customer? If you are not sure where to start, you might like to see what you can learn from your competitors. In what way, if any, are they choosing to appeal to local internet users? Once completed, this step sets the foundation for your successful local search campaign.

2. Changing the Channels
Now you know where your target audience is, the next step is to identify the best channels – or websites – to attract them from. As well as obvious channels such as the search engines, this may also include banner advertisements, social networking (with increasing opportunities for local search), videos and more. At the same time as helping drive more website traffic, each channel will also increase your search engine visibility.

3. Get Personal
Take care that your marketing messages reflect something of your locality. The more relevant, or personal, the shopper feels you are being to them, the more likely you are to attract their attention – and their business.

This will also enable the search engines to successfully identify not only the relevancy of your services – but also your geography in relation to local searches.

4. It Was the Tortoise That Won
Be consistent and patient. Enough of the right techniques in the right places will win you the marketing ‘race’. Make sure your marketing plan incorporates a schedule of activities that matches your budget. A steady consistent approach will bear more long term search traffic than a short burst of misguided web marketing activity.

5. Test, Monitor, Tweak and Repeat
The last step in the plan is the testing and monitoring phase. It is only by monitoring the success of your results that you are able to improve and build on what you have accomplished. Identify how and when you will evaluate your local search marketing activities and re-tweak your plans accordingly.

Local search marketing does require an investment of time and money, but when done right, it will return your investment many times over. If you would like to get local search working for your business, please call 0845 345 2592

While many people still may not value Twitter, its adoption by some mainstream media (TV shows giving out their Twitter address during their programming for example) is helping to fuel its impressive growth.

The Twitter micro blogging platform enables real-time sharing of information, the gathering of market intelligence and an opportunity for building stronger customer relationships; all in 140 characters or less.

Like Facebook and YouTube, there is no cost associated with using Twitter for business, which makes it an attractive proposition for marketers wishing to engage their audience in new and innovative ways. It comes with a warning though, joining the conversation without adhering to some online social etiquette can do more harm than good.

How Not To Use Twitter
Twitter is essentially a social networking website – enabling people to connect and interact with other people who share similar interests. As such, some simple advice for participating successfully applies.

1. Tell People a Little About Yourself
Don’t leave you profile information blank. Your profile information is a great way to introduce yourself, your business and your key interests. Leaving it blank can appear as if you are not prepared to engage.

2. Let People Get to Know You
Don’t just quote other people all the time. Imagine a person in a social setting who does nothing more than quote sound-bites from famous scholars, inspiring leaders or even celebrities. It may be interesting for a while, but not worth an investment of your time to build any meaningful relationship.

3. Be Original, Be Yourself
On a similar note, don’t just continually retweet other users. Retweeting can be a great way to engage your audience – but doing little else implies you have nothing better to say. Preparing a content strategy will enable you to be original and share some personality as well as your expertise.

4. People Do business With People
Don’t be a faceless business entity. While your objectives may clearly be to grow your network and improve your bottom line, this shouldn’t mean you only talk about your company. Sharing some personality will increase your appeal and make you more approachable.

5. Think Engagement Before Sales
Don’t spam other users. Think again of a social setting, how would you react to someone introducing themselves with “visit my website for some great deals”. Your intention to engage with them will understandably vanish very quickly. Twitter is no exception, using mentions for ‘click here’ messages without any other correspondence is a clear no no.

In closing, keep in mind that similar principles apply as with any customer engagement initiative, be prepared to commit some time and resources to genuinely participate as part of the Twitter community.

If you would like help planning and implementing a social media marketing strategy for your business please call 0845 345 2592

Thanks mainly to the meteoric rise of Youtube, online video is now the single most powerful medium for just about anyone looking to make an impact on the web – whether you're hoping to be discovered as the 'next big thing' or are looking to make a splash with the next viral sensation. To understand the unprecedented impact of Youtube, consider the following statistics:

• Youtube exceeds 2 billion views per day, which is nearly double the prime-time audience of all 3 major U.S. networks
• 24hrs of video are uploaded each minute
• The average person spends 15 minutes a day on Youtube
• 70% of traffic comes from outside of the U.S. (Source: website-monitoring.com)

Understandably, online marketers have been quick to recognise the potential of the platform. A video presents the perfect opportunity to capture attention in a dynamic, creative and high-impact fashion. In this article, we'll look at four ways to make the most of online video in your own marketing campaigns.

1. Start With Your Own Website
Embedding video on your own website is a great way to launch your online video strategy. Youtube is the obvious choice, providing ready-made code which can be embedded easily on your website or blog. Make it easy to share by adding social media 'share' buttons for added replay value.

2. A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
Using a video on your landing page is a great way to introduce or demo your product or service in a dynamic, attention-grabbing manner. A short demonstration of key features and benefits is likely to sway the undecided visitor far more than any amount of persuasive copy. Interactivity is the key here – giving visitors a more engaging experience using video will provide a greater incentive for visitors to stay rather than go.

3. Online Advertising
The same principal applies to online advertising. Video ads are known to be amongst the highest-converting in the internet marketing world. During 2010 search engine giant Google captured 43% of the online video market share, offering nearly 13 billion downloads each month. Facebook has over 600 million members, each capable of sharing online videos to their network of friends. There's no getting away from it, the consumer has spoken.

4. Mobile Platforms
Apple's iPhone has forever changed the way we view media, and the age of the smartphone means that more of us than ever before are regularly viewing video via a mobile device. With this in mind, make sure your video player will provide compatibility across multiple platforms.

Video is here to stay – but it doesn't have to come with prohibitive production costs, creativity will win the day. If you would like help in developing a video marketing strategy for your business, call 0845 345 2592

Unhindered by boundaries (social, political or otherwise) and cloaked in anonymity, blogging has offered billions of internet users the opportunity to articulate their views onto endless reams of digital paper for all to read. The freedom to post whatever about whomever is precisely what attracts most newcomers to this brave new world of digital expression.

Yet it is this freedom which poses perhaps the greatest challenge when it comes to blogging for business. The humble blog remains one of the most powerful tools in any internet marketer's arsenal, however for many the real challenge lies in maintaining control and producing a steady flow of quality content.

Fresh, engaging and optimised content is the order of the day here – it's important to remember that blogging for business is about attracting traffic and keeping the reader coming back for more. In this article, we'll take a look at some tips for building a consistent blogging strategy.

1. Planning and Preparation
Why does your business exist? It may sound obvious, but having a clear purpose regarding your goals, clients and purpose from the outset will provide a basis for a solid strategy and engaging content.

The preparation phase should also include a little keyword research – after all, what's the point in putting it out there if no one's going to find it? Your blog can be a very effective tool for attracting search engine traffic.

2. Content and Identity
Give your blog an identity. Start with the author's name – it may sound obvious, but placing a name, photo and identity behind the content will help to breathe a little life into your posts.

Keep in mind your blog isn't a business whitepaper, consider the following:

• Find a tone and style that suits you, whilst lending the content a little personality
• Educate, enrich, entertain and engage
• Is your format scan-friendly to the eye or an impenetrable mass of text?
• Use attractive, keyword-focused headers and titles

Be consistent and give yourself time to be creative, try using an editorial calendar to plan your posts.

3. Design
Your blog should reflect your business brand, not detract from it. Ideally, your blog should be integrated into your corporate website with seamless navigation and a consistent look and feel. Include a supplementary menu to make it easy for visitors to look through your bog categories and archives.

Add social media buttons to your content which will enable readers to effortlessly share, bookmark & discuss your content with friends and colleagues.

4. Marketing
Marketing should form the basis for any successful internet strategy. Don't make the mistake of believing people will just find your blog once you've put it out there. Use your social media profiles to help spread the word by syndicating your content across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for example – offering a wealth of exposure for minimal effort.

5. It's a Two Way Street
Engaging your audience is critical to success. A great rule of thumb is to spend as much time engaging your audience as you do creating content. This shouldn't be confined to your own blog either – take the time to post comments on related blogs and profiles from clients, professional associates, industry specialists etc. Remember, to give is to receive.

Blogging provides businesses with a versatile online publishing tool – which can also be used as a hub to coordinate your social media activities. If you need some help and advice to get your business blog up and running, call us on 0845 345 2592.

Hot on the heels of rising star Foursquare comes the latest contender eager for a share of the social media spotlight. Similar in nature to Foursquare's promotion-driven focus on local business, Groupon refines the idea further.

The appeal of any platform that promises new ways to help local businesses connect with customers is undeniable. The success of Groupon will, as always, be decided by the fickle consumer and how quickly (or indeed whether) they adopt the platform. In this article, we'll take a brief look at what Groupon is about, and how it could help your business to succeed.

Reaching Out To New Customers
One of Foursquare's key selling points to business users is that it offers promotion-driven incentives for users to visit businesses in their area. Whereas Foursquare adopts a wider, socially interactive user experience similar to Facebook's Places app, Groupon takes a purely business-centric angle. Focusing solely on offering promotions for local businesses, the website promises to 'deliver customers to your door' through offers fed to users via email, Facebook and Twitter.

More than a simple online promotion, the site hopes to engage users via 'a witty, positive write-up that is seen by our tens of thousands of email subscribers and website visitors.' The company go on to claim that 'subscribers religiously read the entertaining descriptions of our featured businesses, delivering a promotion that is far more engaging than traditional advertising.'

How Does It Work?
Groupon offers are based on a certain number of takers for any given offer. If the required amount of customers sign up to the offer, then it becomes active. If this minimum is not reached, then the offer remains dormant however. This 'no-win, no-fee' basis, it appears, is designed to remove the element of risk for businesses investing in the platform's online promotion scheme.

In addition to promising 'huge exposure' via featured offers, the company claim the ability to generate a significant ROI over a short period. Much of this premise appears to be based on word-of-mouth via current users, so it is somewhat difficult to quantify at this early stage.

Groupon do not require a long-term contract and adopt a 'no-win, no-fee' approach to billing. Whilst GO claim to 'guarantee' a certain amount of customers however, this is clearly negated by the fact that the promotion is free should this number not be reached.

As with any new social media innovation, the success of GO will ultimately be decided by how many users (potential customers) choose to adopt the platform. In truth, at present the website could perhaps use a little more distinction between users and businesses, but there is no doubting its potential as an extremely useful tool in any internet marketers' arsenal.

The meteoric rise of social networking as an internet marketing platform has, to an extent, lead to a marginalisation of more traditional online marketing techniques such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) methods. Whilst there's little doubting social media's potential as a powerful marketing tool, be not fooled, SEO remains as relevant as it ever was, perhaps more so.

One thing is clear however, in the world of online marketing one must adapt to survive. This doesn't mean abandoning key fundamentals though such as attracting traffic using great content. If you're considering going back to basics and developing an effective search marketing approach, then read on.

Is SEO Dead?
With all the talk about Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and many more successful social media platforms you could be forgiven for thinking search marketing is no longer needed. So where does SEO fit in now and should you be using it to help attract new customers?

The Proof Is In The Pudding
Instead of talking about its death, we should be talking about the evolution of SEO and how it can work hand in hand with other online marketing tactics such as Social Media Optimisation (SMO). SEO has been proven time again as an effective way of attracting traffic – but more importantly the right kind of traffic.

In the evolving world of internet marketing, one thing remains true; content is still king and remains the foundation of any effective online marketing strategy. Great content, optimised to appeal to your target audience will attract attention from your target audience, whether they find it from a search or have it recommended to them via Twitter or Facebook.

SEO v. Social Media – Who's the Winner?
SEO and SMO are really about one and the same thing – and by nature an extension of each other. Unless you produce meaningful content that appeals to your target audience, neither approach will provide any meaningful return on your investment (time, money or otherwise).

It is a little difficult to argue that SEO is not as important as SMO as long as the concept of search still exists. It's important to remember that not everyone is an active Facebook user, or a Twitter enthusiast. The key is knowing your customer and adapting your marketing activities accordingly.

When Is An Expert Really An Expert?
There are many out there who would readily (and do) proclaim to be an SEO expert. The internet is riddled with them. But how do you tell the charlatan from the guru?

Here's a simple rule of thumb, if you are promised instant rankings or guaranteed results without any work on your website, then be very weary. An experienced SEO consultant will take more of a comprehensive view, which would likely include some or all of the following elements.

• Understanding who your customer is and how to attract their attention
• Conduct research to identify keywords and phrases that will attract qualified traffic
• Make recommendations for updating your website structure and content
• Develop a plan for acquiring quality inbound links from related, trusted websites
• Monitor results and make recommendations for converting your newly won traffic

SEO shouldn't be thought of as a quick fix – but don't let that put you off, when done right the results speak for themselves, stating clearly that SEO is still an online marketing method to be reckoned with.