Establishing your presence online can be immensely challenging, especially if you’re in a competitive industry like real estate. In Montreal, for example, the amount of real estate listing aggregators online makes it somewhat challenging to keep your properties at the forefront, especially if you’re trying to sell residential units in dense markets. Once you start breaking down the number of upcoming developments by neighbourhood, the amount of competition is just outright staggering. Fortunately, some excellent digital marketing tactics can complement real estate advertising and bring a wealth of traffic to your doorstep and generate fresh leads hand over fist at a reasonable cost. Sounds fantastic, right?
1) Dabble in the art of SEO
When it comes to search engine optimization and real estate, the jokes and sayings write themselves.
- “Invest in building real estate on Google.”
- “Beat the competition and secure your home on the first page.”
- “Don’t mortgage your future on TV ads – close the deal with SEO instead.”
With Black Friday & Cyber Monday right around the corner, it’s that time of year again where digital marketing ninjas and self-proclaimed advertising gurus abandon the concept of sleep to focus on crafting a series of promotional campaigns. All jokes aside, the holiday season that kicks off with American Thanksgiving provides online retailers with an opportunity to recoup a year’s worth of operations costs by generating a meaningful amount of sales. The “make it or break it” season for online retailers means you need to be creative with marketing campaigns as competition ramps up significantly. While it may seem overwhelming and stressful to hitch your success to a volatile shopping period, you don’t need to rely on a sacred scroll or dark magic compendium to execute efficient campaigns. With shoppers actively searching for the best deals, there’s a massive opportunity for retailers of all sizes to capture a share of the money floating around online. Here are some holiday marketing tips ecommerce professionals of all types, ranging from small store owners to the seasoned independent seller pumping out thousands of sales on Amazon.
1) Fund Google’s next robotics venture by splurging on advertising
Whether your advertising budget is $1,500 per month or $50,000, odds are you’ll see a substantial lift in sales by ramping up advertising spend during the holiday season. Unfortunately, if you haven’t ventured into the lucrative (and stressful) world of digital advertising yet, there’s still a chance to capture a share of the market with strategic campaigns.
Google Shopping campaigns are typically the best campaigns to bet on this time of year as online shoppers are on the hunt for the best deals. Consistently checking competitor pricing is vital during this period because product ads with the lowest pricing tend to get the best click-through rates (CTR). Subvert your rivals’ expectations by matching their prices for competitive products and steal traffic away from their website. Scaling campaigns can also be a breeze if your campaigns are structured properly, so make sure to segment your product groups as much as possible. You can then maximize the return on advertising spend (ROAS) for your bestsellers and highest margin products. In addition to regular search and shopping campaigns, utilize dynamic product retargeting to broaden your reach and capture additional traffic. (more…)
Cha-ching!
Hear that sound? It’s the sound of Instagram’s value as a marketing channel for businesses increasing. Official as of yesterday, leading brands and retailers will be able to utilize Instagram’s shiny new feature: in-app checkout. Yes, that’s right: your favourite brands will now be able to sell products directly within your feed, making spending money a breeze (which doesn’t bode well for your bank account, but I digress).
This feature provides a tremendous opportunity for online retailers to increase conversion rates via social media marketing initiatives and grow their return on investment on one of the leading social media platforms. The new in-app purchase and payment services are currently active with 20 brands, including Nike, Burberry, Addidas, and Zara as part of a closed beta.
How does Instagram’s new checkout process work?
Making sure that your company website is optimized for search engines is important, which is why having a significant amount of content that makes your page a worthwhile visit for readers is an absolute must. Creating content on an ongoing basis may seem like a fundamental task when it comes to SEO, but you would be amazed how many sites neglect this aspect of digital marketing. You can supercharge your rankings for long-tail phrases and support your main keywords by regularly uploading fresh content to your blog. Here’s how blogging supports your SEO initiatives.
Blogging provides fresh content
For the uninitiated, dabbling in the dark art of SEO, better known as Search Engine Optimization, can be a daunting and intimidating task. If you’re unsure of how to navigate the digital realm, don’t let hubris be your downfall and attempt to implement tactics that will only result in search engines rejecting your website. If the words “search engine optimization” seem like sorcery to you, it’s better to hand the keys to your site to digital marketing professionals and agencies. However, if you’re on a limited budget, this guide can be a handy resource on what NOT to do – I’ll keep what you SHOULD do for another time. 😉
Not Developing a Keyword Strategy
Believe it or not, the whole point of search engine optimization is to be found. If you end up building a new website or have one made for you without thinking about how your target audience is going to come across your site naturally via search engines, then you may want to consider having your business owner card revoked. Ouf – I’m sorry, that’s a little harsh, but if you’re going to invest your own money into marketing your business, you need to do it correctly and not screw up during your first at-bat (a baseball reference, btw).
~~Originally published at jbertho.com on June 21, 2018.~~
Relevance is critical in the new digital age, especially in the social media marketing environment. No matter how successful a tech giant’s business model may be, if innovation isn’t at the forefront (or at the very least, acquiring successful operations to absorb fancy features), popular platforms risked being tossed aside like yesterday’s news. For example, how many of you remember Meerkat, Peach, or Jelly?
Well, I do because I’m addicted to social media, but chances are that none of you even remember these three platforms.
Implementing new features is essential to the life-force of major social media platforms. Snapchat’s growth hit a wall when Instagram stole the Stories feature. Let’s be honest: that was a genius AND malevolently ruthless move, which has worked out very well for Instagram, which currently has one billion monthly active users. Twitter increased its character limit to get back into the spotlight last year, which has seen its stock increase steadily over the past year. All major social media platforms made Periscope and Meerkat irrelevant by adopting live streaming capabilities. Peach came and went, bewildering us all for a short period of time. However, one aspect of the social media world has relative remained unchanged: YouTube dominates when it comes to hosting video content.
Developing a presence in competitive niches has never been easier for companies with limited resources. For the uninitiated, however, search engine marketing may seem like a daunting endeavour. It takes quite a bit of experience and experimentation to master SEO techniques that provide tangible results. Unless you’re an inveterate gambler and enjoy playing the odds, you’re unlikely to find success with agencies and contractors that promise results overnight. While the allure of empty promises does seem enticing, there’s a lot more to search engine optimization that requires an investment of both time and resources. Here are some tips on how to improve your SEO efforts, which I have enhanced with the usage of Avengers-related GIFs because I cannot contain my excitement about the new film coming out this month.
1. Master Keyword Research
Keyword research may seem like a fundamental element when it comes to search engine optimization, but the foundation of any SEO campaign should start with a thorough dive into competitive and content research. Investigating search marketing trends and identifying questions users are asking on a monthly basis can help you unearth opportunities that you can exploit to capture organic traffic. However, be strategic when it comes to analyzing keywords based on search volume. Relevancy is critical when selecting your main keywords to optimize for every page on your website. For example, a men’s fashion brand selling dress shirts should focus its efforts on optimizing content around “clothing.” Not only is the term “clothing” completely ambiguous with regards to the gender and type of clothing, but it also will likely not provide the desired ROI for the required investment into optimizing for that keyword. Instead, keywords such as “men’s dress shirts” and “luxury dress shirts for men” are more applicable. (more…)
While Google regularly releases core algorithm updates on a daily basis, it seems like a recent update is making waves around the web. In a Twitter update published on Monday, Google did confirm that a broad core algorithm update had been rolled out the previous week:
Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year….
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) March 12, 2018
What is involved in a Broad Core Algorithm Update?
In today’s fast-paced business world, building your brand is a priority if you want to differentiate yourself from the competition. Your products and services may be innovative, but if people don’t know about it, your opportunities for growth are limited. If you’re having difficulty developing a strategic advertising rollout, there’s where an experienced marketing agency becomes a necessity. If you’re looking to spread the word about your product and master the all-important digital landscape, finding the right agency is among the most important decisions you can make. Before you start looking, here are a few tips that should help you find an agency that’s just the right fit.
Identify your needs
It’s not a stretch to say that Google has revolutionized online advertising and pay-per-click advertising through their AdWords platform. In 2016, AdWords was responsible for a significant portion of Google’s $89.5 billion revenue. By providing a multitude of advertising options, the service allows businesses to target web users that would most likely be interested in their product, and advertisers pay when the ad is clicked on. Whether it’s product-driving advertising through Shopping campaigns, image-based advertising through Google’s Display Network, or the traditional search ads, Google has developed the Swiss Army knife of media buying platforms. Of course, if you’re new to the advertising realm, you may have some questions regarding the efficacy of your marketing efforts and whether or not your Google AdWords campaigns are truly optimized.
How Effective is my Ad?
Like any other advertising tool, your campaign needs to be targeted to a specific audience and efficient to be successful. One way to ensure that your Google AdWords campaign is up to snuff is by monitoring click-through rates (CTR), which measures the number of times your ad is clicked versus the amount of time it’s served. You can measure the CTR of your campaigns on the whole, or dig deep into the data to measure the CTR by ad or keyword to evaluate which campaign components are not yielding the best results.
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