How Is Artificial Intelligence Transforming Digital Marketing

How is Artificial Intelligence Transforming Digital Marketing

by Artificial IntelligenceDigital Marketing

Marketing has transformed dramatically with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). From an era of straightforward billboards or newspaper ads, marketers are now using AI to learn about customer behavior and predict their potential actions. This new level of insight allows them to be more responsive than ever before—and also helps them develop better strategies for reaching customers in the first place. But why is this happening now? And how can you take advantage?

AI can be used to improve the customer experience and target the right people at the right time, increasing conversions and reducing costs. AI is also helping improve data analysis tools, so marketers can make better decisions with more information at their fingertips. This is all to understand customer behavior and build stronger relationships in an era where personalization is the key to higher sales.

Automation in AI

AI can be used to automate repetitive tasks. For example, a machine learning algorithm could be trained to do it if a company needs to send out hundreds of emails. This makes sense since most people don’t enjoy repetitive tasks and would rather spend their time doing something else.

A similar argument can be made for data analysis, customer service and retention, satisfaction, and acquisition. AI in digital marketing also has the potential to help with sales by finding new customers based on essential characteristics such as age group or income level through targeted ad sales that effectively analyze and categorizes demographics from massive data dumps available on search engines, social media, and the landing pages of businesses everywhere.

Machine Learning and AI

Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence, but one that has specific uses in digital marketing. This type of data analysis can be used to make predictions about future behavior or outcomes, which helps improve the effectiveness and optimization of processes. It can also be used to make decisions (for example, by analyzing the results of previous campaigns) and recommendations based on user preferences.

This revolution is evidenced by advances like chatbots. These are useful tools for answering commonly asked questions. Businesses can use chatbots to answer simple questions and provide quick responses, like product information or store hours.

AI in Digital Marketing Enhances Outreach

Artificial intelligence can help businesses target the right people at the right time, increasing conversions and reducing costs. By better understanding your audience, you can deliver a more relevant message to them. AI also helps you understand what your customers want by analyzing their data. This enables you to create personalized experiences that improve engagement and boost sales.

The best part about AI is that it’s still evolving. A small advancement in something as minimal as delivering pop-up ads at the right moment could mean drastic sales differences for any business. Streamlining these AI processes is not a passion of the future. It is a critical part of any modern marketer’s bag of tricks.

Wrapping it Up

AI is an exciting and powerful tool that can help businesses of all sizes reap the benefits of digital marketing. This allows businesses of all sizes to engage customers in more high-value locations with the critical products and services they want the most. The more things can be personalized to the individual lead, the better the response rate and sales growth.

That is precisely what our team at Griffon Webstudios can do for your business. We have years of experience leveraging the latest advances with AI in digital marketing and can apply these innovations to your advertising, marketing, engagement, and messaging so you grow a more involved and loyal customer base. Reach out today, and let’s have a discussion about how AI can transform your operations.

What should be your long term social media plan?

What Should Be Your Long-Term Social Media Optimization Plan?

by Digital Marketing

The primary goal of your social media strategy should be to grow your business through improved customer relations. However, the long term requires more care and consideration. You are trying to transform mildly interested leads into loyal brand ambassadors, and that requires consistency, reliability, and trust.

 

Social media can be the most effective way to raise awareness and drive engagement with your business, but you’ll only get those results if you have a solid plan. This article will help you think through the details of creating a long-term social media strategy that will drive actual business results.

 

Choose Your Social Media Platforms Carefully

You want to publish on the platforms that are most relevant to your business, and you want the audience demographics of each platform to match your target market.

 

For example, if you have a trendy cookie bakery located in an urban setting, you may want to use TikTok or Instagram that cater to a younger audience. Whereas a local community pet supply store may be better suited for Facebook or Pinterest with older buyers who have established lives.

 

Create a Publishing Calendar

Your publishing calendar is the most essential tool of all. It’s a master list of everything you need to publish on social media, organized by date and time. It gives you the framework and structure required to ensure you have a consistent content posting system so your clients will frequently return to engage with your brand.

 

Each person spends an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes on social networks and messaging. (GlobalWebIndex)

 

Take an Editorial Approach to Content

You’ll want to take an editorial approach, meaning that you’ll decide what kind of content you publish before putting it out there into the world. Just posting whatever crosses your mind at the moment is not going to do the trick. You need to focus on the needs of your customers and your branding. Niche down whenever possible and try not to force going viral. Stick to the content you know will work.

 

Create a Strong Brand Identity

You should have a strong brand identity. A strong brand identity is consistent across all platforms and channels, memorable, attractive, unique, and based on your company’s values. It’s not just what you say to people. It’s how you say it.

 

A good social media strategy will include guidelines for creating content that conveys brand messaging in an engaging way that consistently drives awareness and engagement with your target audience. Hiring social media optimization experts is a sure way to develop this skill.

 

83% of marketers believe the quality of social media posts is more important than the quantity. (HubSpot)

 

Create Custom Visual Content for Each Platform

Visual content is a powerful tool in social media marketing. A picture is worth a thousand words, and videos are more likely to be shared than any other type of content. But if you’re using the same image on all your platforms and not tailoring it to fit each platform’s look and feel, you’re missing out on an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. 

 

You need to customize the content based on the platform. TikTok uses short-form videos. Pinterest likes longer vertical images. Instagram prefers pseudo-professional and artsy photos. It all depends on your brand and your audience.

 

Analyze Your Results

A long-term social media plan is highly reliant on analytics. You need to know what is working and be able to tailor new content to the desires of your audience. This includes A/B testing and adjusting ad spend, so you are focusing more resources on what works the best.

 

A plan for your social media strategy will help you get organized and focused so you can create engaging, exciting content that keeps your followers coming back for more! Having this information allows flexibility when planning new campaigns because you will know what has worked already so that you won’t waste time on less effective strategies.

 

Conclusion

So many companies struggle with social media because they aren’t optimizing their posts. The great thing about long-term planning is that it’s simple to get started, and if you already have a content strategy in place, you can use it to jumpstart your optimization efforts. You don’t need much time or money to create a plan, but without one, you’ll be wasting both.

 

That is why we suggest our social media optimization experts at Griffon Webstudios. We have spent years perfecting social media content and marketing efforts and know-how to leverage your business branding to reach more potential leads. Contact us today, and let’s start putting together a long-term strategy for your business!

marketing trends for SMEs

10 Digital Marketing Trends for Small Business

by Digital Marketing

The world of digital marketing is constantly changing, and that’s especially true for small business owners who are trying to do the most with limited time and resources. If you’re looking for a competitive edge in your digital marketing strategy, check out these marketing trends for SMEs you should know about to enhance your digital marketing efforts.

 

1. AI for Automation

AI is the new buzzword, and it’s not going away anytime soon. With artificial intelligence, businesses of all sizes can automate repetitive tasks and save time on mundane tasks that would otherwise take up valuable resources. By automating some of your work through AI, your business can free up its resources to focus on other areas that need attention, such as customer service or product development.

 

2. Chatbots

Chatbots help businesses engage with customers by providing timely information to questions and inquiries. You can also use chatbots to get customers’ feedback about their experience with your products or services, which will help improve those experiences in the future. In addition, the automation saves you from hiring a team of customer service experts.

 

3. Personalized Customer Relationships

Personalized messages are essential when dealing with customers because they personalize each communication based on previous interactions. This is unlike generic emails, which feel like spam when received by someone who has never contacted a business before. This results in a lower bounce rate due to feeling acknowledged for the customer’s specific needs.

 

4. Emphasis on Video Content

Video content is a great way to engage customers, and it’s more likely to be shared than text content. Video lends itself perfectly to the small business market because it’s easy for you to create and share, making it much more likely that your potential customers will view your videos because of the unique nature and feel of your content. 

 

5. User Generated Content

User-Generated Content (UGC) is a great way to engage with customers and build a community. UGC includes comments, reviews, photos, videos, and other content that your audience creates on their own. It’s one of the best ways to get feedback from your audience because they are the ones doing the talking and a beneficial digital marketing trend for SMEs.  

 

6. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a powerful way to reach your target audience, but it can be challenging to find the right influencers for your brand. You want to find an influencer in your niche market with followers aligned with your target audience. A single post by a powerful influencer exposes your brand to way more leads than other marketing trends for SMEs.

 

7. Everything is Mobile Ready

You’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating: Everything is mobile-friendly now. In fact, if you have a site that isn’t mobile-ready, you’re at a disadvantage in the market. If your website isn’t responsive or optimized for mobile users, you could lose out on potential customers searching for businesses like yours on their smartphones and tablets.

 

8. SEO and Negative Keywords

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a technique that helps your website’s ranking in search engines like Google. The idea behind it is that if your website appears higher on search results pages, more people will visit your site and visit more often. Negative keywords are those related phrases or words that might mislead your market. A company named “Firehouse Pizza” wouldn’t want to appear in a search of “local fire department services.”

 

9. Local Services Ads

Google and other search engines are placing great importance on local keywords. Things like “best pizza near me” or “best pizza in New York” are frequently used search terms. Including your physical location or service area will boost your page rank and lead generation.

 

10. Optimized for Voice Search

As voice search grows in popularity, small businesses should be ready to optimize their website for it. While this means adjusting the content on your site, it also requires some technical changes to ensure that customers find what they’re looking for when they ask a question.

 

Conclusion

Although many of these marketing trends for SMEs may seem daunting, they all have significant benefits for small businesses looking to scale their marketing and grow their reach. With so many new tools available, it is crucial that you start making changes now and give yourself a competitive edge.

 

There are several ways in which these new technologies can help your business improve the way you work with your customers, build trust and loyalty, and deliver more value than ever before. We at Griffon Webstudios can walk you through each step to ensure a vibrant and healthy lead generation ecosystem for your business.

Digital Marketing Agency in New York- What To Expect?

Digital Marketing Agency in New York- What To Expect?

by Digital Marketing

Elevating your brand recognition and market reach does not require a massive enterprise-level advertising agency. You can get far more ROI with specialized agencies that understand the power of targeted marketing.

This is especially true for businesses working in and around the greater NYC area. You want to work with a digital marketing agency in New York that understands how to build websites, leverage ad campaigns, and utilize local SEO in New York to bring in more direct leads in your geographic area.

For businesses outside of the NYC area, using a digital marketing agency with direct experience in surviving the highly competitive New York environment means you have an expert company. If they can make it in New York, they can make it anywhere!

Benefits of a Digital Marketing Agency

The goal when searching for a digital marketing agency in New York is to improve your online visibility. This means a firm that knows how to increase traffic to your website through hyper-targeted advertisements on Google and other social media platforms.

You want to increase brand awareness while building trust with your target audience so they will organically share your content. This way, one advertisement could create a ripple effect that goes well beyond the original intentions of your initial digital ad.

An experienced team, like those at Griffon Webstudios, will then use those increased visitation numbers to leverage them into higher conversions for your sales and site traffic. This transforms the people checking out your online brand or ecommerce store into actionable sales and brand interactions.

What to Bring to Your First Digital Marketing Agency Meeting

Bring a list of questions about the agency, their work, and what you need from them. For example, if you are looking for content marketing help and know that your business needs a lot of blog posts each month, ask the agency what volume they can handle. If you’ve heard great things about video marketing but are not sure where to start with it, ask the agency how they would incorporate video into your marketing strategy.

Bring some examples of creative content work you like (and don’t like). This will give the agency a sense of what style and tone fit your brand and how you want consumers to perceive it. It also provides an idea of whether or not an agency can deliver what you’re looking for.

Have a clear picture in mind of your budget and timelines before going into this meeting. These numbers will directly affect what type of strategy the agency designs for your business, so they must be considered early on in this process.

Most importantly, keep an open mind. A digital marketing agency in New York will have plenty of experience and make suggestions that may seem new to you. Let yourself be convinced of the latest techniques and strategies that are proving beneficial to the agency.

Getting Started with Griffon Webstudios

If you’re looking for an exceptional digital marketing agency, it’s vital that you do your due diligence to find the one that will best suit your needs. At Griffon Webstudios, we are a digital marketing agency in New York with a proven track record of success from satisfied clients. We have plenty of testimonials and case studies that celebrate how we bring value to your brand, including local SEO in New York.

Reach out to our excellent design, marketing, and development team today, and let’s schedule a consultation. We are eager to learn more about your upcoming project or ad campaign. We love creating custom solutions for clients in New York or anywhere else around the globe. One quick email or phone call could mean all the difference in accelerating your online growth.

How to Make Search Engines Fall in Love with Your Website

How To Make Search Engines Fall In Love With Your Website

by Digital Marketing

One of the most reliable ways to increase your site’s ranking with popular search engines is to correctly set up the layout and website architecture. The goal is to make the website so easy to navigate that visitors experience little resistance to exploring deeper and finding relevant content related to their search.

If your website is just a collection of random ideas and not easily laid out, it makes it a lot harder to understand, leading to higher bounce rates and lower page ranking.

Here are some tips to help boost your website architecture and improve search ranking with platforms like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Improve Your Navigation

Make your navigation the simplest thing in the world. Do you have a menu that clearly lays out where to find information on the website? Remember that today’s fast-paced visitor doesn’t want to overthink anything. They want to get directly to the information they need with as few barriers as possible.

This includes making your URL as simple as you can. This makes it easier to remember and more logical. If you sell black puppy shoes, maybe go with something like: www.mystore.com/petshoes/blackpuppyshoes.

The 3-Click Rule

This is the practice where critical information is no more than three clicks away whenever someone lands on your website. That forces you to consider how to get to the information as quickly as possible with as few steps in between. Implementing this rule naturally creates a more organized structure that search engines prefer, leading to improved search ranking.

Topics and Categories

Whenever possible, group things together into easily digestible topics and categories. Human beings naturally want to organize the things they see in the world, and when you make your website architecture reflect that desire, it becomes more engaging to view. This doesn’t have to be complicated. Think of an online shop that sells basketball accessories. You could have categories by the different sports teams in the United States or the function of similar items (shoes, balls, apparel, etc.). It is just a natural way to group things together that makes it easier to understand.

Sitemaps and Internal Linking

Search engines love sitemaps and internal linking. Most WordPress-based websites create a sitemap naturally. This is some form of website architecture that is easily crawlable and usually in HTML or XML format. It shows the pages on your website, how they are organized by topic, and the overall site structure as if it was a map of a large building.

When you combine a quality site map with internal linking, you boost the overall accessibility of your content. It gives everything context, which is why you see search engine results from a single domain with multiple subpages listed underneath them. Google wants to show users exactly what they want to search for, and they will provide more information about your site and boost ranking if you give them the context they need to make the experience better for visitors.

Need Some Help?

If all this information feels a little overwhelming, it’s okay. There are plenty of experts available to specialize in on-page SEO and finding ways to improve search ranking organically. We didn’t even talk about canonical tags using breadcrumbs or putting an internal search option on your website.

This is why we at Griffon Webstudios always suggest you seek outside help. Our expert team spent years crafting and formulating websites so they are easily credible by search engines and organically reach the top echelons of search results. Why not schedule a consultation with our team today and learn how we can boost your website architecture so when someone searches for anything related to your store, it pops up near the top. Reach out today, and let’s help your site get noticed.

Creative Promotion Strategies for Your E-Commerce Business

Creative Promotion Strategies for Your E-Commerce Business

by Digital Marketing

There are an estimated 12-24 million e-commerce sites across the entire globe. Practically every single minute, another e-commerce site is launched, creating one more competitor in your niche or target market. Rising above all of us competition is a real challenge for anyone running an online business.

The best way to overcome these challenges is to integrate promotional strategies and engage with e-commerce website experts who are willing to offer you tips and tricks to elevate your brand above the noise. You never know when a quick slight adjustment to a marketing campaign can suddenly make the difference between exponential success and business failure. Here are some of our creative promotional strategies that you might wanna check out for your e-commerce business.

 

1. Make it Personal

Consumers want a reason to stick with one brand over another. Just seeing the quality of your product is no longer enough to separate you from the other brands that are out there on the market. However, giving yourself a story and putting a face to that story increases the emotional response consumers will get whenever they see your products. Finding a way to attach a spokesperson for your e-commerce business is a great way to make your products more relatable to your target market. It shows that you care about the experience your consumers are having.

 

2. Build Customer Relationships

The modern consumer wants a rewarding relationship with the brands they use the most. That means creating content and experiences that are highly relevant to the type of people shopping on your e-commerce store. Practically any e-commerce website expert will tell you that if you want to attract more visitors improve the relationship you have with your current customers. Make it the easiest thing in the world to shop with you and treat them the way you would want to be treated by your favorite brands.

 

3. Wishlists and Gift Guides

Creative promotional ideas like allowing your guests to create wish lists or publishing gift guides for different special occasions enhance the user experience. The goal is to find ways for your customers to think about your products in ways other than just using them. Maybe they want a giant list of things to purchase for your work-at-home tech store that they are working towards for the next year. You are giving them a reason to come back to your site and visit your products more often.

 

4. Quizzes and Guest Posts

Think about content that would attract you. For example, having fun quizzes or posts from guests within your industry enhance the engagement of visitor has with your brand. The more rewarding you can make the overall experience, the more likely visitors are to return and probably make a purchase. It also creates a certain stickiness to your brand identity. This helps your products become front-of-mind purchases for your visitors because they had such a good experience in the past.

If you would like to learn more about the different creative promotions you can include in your e-commerce store, like offering free shipping or working with micro social media influencers, contact our e-commerce website experts at Griffon Webstudios. We are located in the heart of New York City, where the latest trends in marketing campaigns of international agencies get tested and launched daily.

Let our professional team help elevate your brand with creative promotional campaigns that resonate with your target market.

Best E-Commerce Platforms to Consider for Your Online Store

Best E-Commerce Platforms to Consider for Your Online Store

by Digital Marketing

If there is anything we have learned during the recent global pandemic is that people can make money online. The sheer number of inquiries we at Griffon Webstudios have received for building new e-commerce stores is astounding. Everyone wants to enjoy the luxury of making money from a custom website while they rest comfortably at home.

The good news is that there are plenty of excellent content management systems to get your latest shoe design or custom mobile app onto the best e-commerce platforms. Our e-commerce website experts have put together a quick list of our favorites.

Shopify

Shopify is our leading best e-commerce platform only because it is easy to use for beginners. This platform has all the bells and whistles you would want and requires so little self-education that you can quickly launch your new line of products without having to spend days trying to learn code.

We have completed many projects by setting up a Shopify site and then happily passing it off to a client after a short introduction and tutorial. This is also one of the most cost-effective solutions for small businesses just getting started and works with all the major payment processing companies.

WooCommerce

This is our number two pick because it is the favorite of WordPress-based websites. When you are a team of e-commerce website experts like us, you need to understand how to use the tools for WordPress sites. They are the most frequently used platform for bloggers and individuals to set up a business for the first time.

WooCommerce is open-sourced, which means it is free to use. You only spend money when an actual transaction occurs or if you want some of the extra features that individual developers create for add-ons.

Squarespace

Coming in third place, we have Squarespace. This is an excellent all-in-one solution for artists, authors, and people who want a more “drag and drop” situation for their online store. The reason this is in third for us is that you do not get quite the design variety of options in WordPress or the incredible SEO features of Shopify, but you do get a clean, easy-to-use system for your e-commerce venture.

BigCommerce

If you would like a more technical option, we suggest BigCommerce from our list of the best e-commerce platforms. This is a more customized version of Shopify with the capabilities of WordPress design, but it comes at a premium price, and it does require a little more technical know-how to really leverage.

Let Us Help You

Whatever platform looks right for you, let our e-commerce website experts be the ones to make it a reality. Our team at Griffon Webstudios has successfully launched e-commerce solutions for a variety of industries across a wide range of technological platforms. We can show you the best methods to ensure your audience gets the most out of each product listing and how to customize the experience for SEO purposes.

To get started with our team, visit our website. There you can find information on the different services we provide and some of the previous work Griffon Webstudios has completed in the past. So when you want an e-commerce site that will wow your customers, give us a try!

5 Ways How Multi Location Businesses Can Improve Their Profits Online

5 Ways How Multi Location Businesses Can Improve Their Profits Online

by Digital Marketing

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to linger, online/hybrid commerce has arrived much more quickly than many businesses had originally anticipated. In fact, many online selling platforms have more than doubled their number of users in less than two years. Whether or not your business was ready for this online migration, it has become the new normal for a business in 2022. If your multi-location business is still struggling to navigate these waters, the following breakdown looks at 5 ways you can improve your online profits in the current business climate.

 

1. Add a “Where to Find” Page to Your Website

Despite the continued shift to online commerce, there is still a large demographic that enjoys making purchases in person. Some people simply feel more comfortable when they have the chance to hold a product in their hands, compare options, and chat face-to-face with a real-life member of your team.

However, even those people who like to make their purchases the old-fashioned way will more than likely be starting their research process online, comparing options through a basic internet search. In order to capture as many of these leads as possible, it is paramount that your business has the best store locator software added to your company website.

 

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

 

Having a “where to buy” page serves a number of important purposes for the business:

    • Segmentation and conversion – automatically route leads to your nearest dealers and vendors so that these professionals can follow up and get clients in stores.
    • Client engagement – allows your business to use branded local pages to feature showrooms, reviews, and product photos so that customers can quickly see what types of products and services are in their local market.
    • Analytics – gives actionable statistics on how clients are arriving at your stores, which online campaigns are working for your business, and how effectively your dealers are following up with leads and closing sales.

 

2. Use a Central Location to Consolidate Resources

With the cost of commercial rent soaring across the country, businesses are looking for as many ways as possible to downsize. While shifting completely online is the logical choice for some companies, this is simply not an option for service-based businesses that will always require some sort of physical presence.

However, what you can do is pare down each one of your physical branches. Keep only what you need for doing business at each location. Have a central hub to store all products and supplies for servicing each of your branches.

This will greatly reduce the amount of space needed for storage at your physical locations and limit the number of worker hours needed to keep your separate branches running. In fact, if you are able to perform this process effectively, you may be able to rent a small section of a larger building to perform your service, splitting the rent with another tenant.

 

3. Have Elite Customer Service

In the age of hybrid commerce, customers have greater choice in where to buy than ever before. If they are not happy with one business, all they have to do is search for a similar offering and place an order from a competitor. Customer defection can transpire in a matter of seconds.

One of the surest ways to annoy customers is through poor customer service. While chatbots and redirects to tutorial videos and FAQ pages are a great place to start and will suffice for some customers, others will quickly become frustrated when automation does not have the answer to their specific question or concern.

Therefore, it is incumbent on your business to go above and beyond to guarantee customer satisfaction. If possible, try to quickly connect customers to a live service agent. If this is not feasible for your business, make sure you provide them an opportunity for voicing their concern and try to get back to them in no more than 24 hours. The last thing your business needs is for a frustrated customer to defect to a competitor and leave a scathing online review as they go.

 

4. Build Ongoing Relationships

Statistics reveal that a mere 5% increase in customer retention can lead to up to a 95% increase in profit. As such, it is critical that you place special attention on locking in your current client base and not give them the chance to go elsewhere. Some ways you can do this include:

    • Keep up-to-date contact information so that you can provide them with the nearest option to access one of your stores whenever they move.
    • Featuring their stories and feedback on your company website or social media pages. Customers love feeling like they are part of your team.
    • Sending unique coupons, offers, and incentives to returning clients. Have a robust referral program so that your loyal customers get rewarded for marketing for you.
Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

5. Set Up an Infrastructure for Convenient Online Payment

Finally, customers want as much convenience as possible during the online checkout process. Setting up ponderous accounts or not being able to use their preferred payment option is one of the leading causes of abandoned carts. Some ways to add convenience to the checkout process include:

    • Applying any saved information from previous purchases to current purchases.
    • Accepting as diverse a selection of payments as possible. Younger customers particularly like Venmo and Cash App.
    • Make guest checkout an option for new customers. If they are happy with your business, they will eventually create an account.

 

Improve Profits for Multi-Location Businesses

Hybrid commerce has become a way of life for businesses in 2022. To help your multi-location business be as profitable as possible in these uncharted waters, add a WordPress store locator to your company website, consolidate resources to a central location as much as possible, have elite customer service, build ongoing relationships, and set up a robust infrastructure for processing online payments. It is very important to consider working closely with the marketing experts who can help you strategize and improve your ROI.

Ecommerce Marketing Ideas to Make a Difference in the Coming Year

E-Commerce Marketing Ideas to Make a Difference in the Coming Year

by Digital Marketing

The New Year is nearly upon us, and everywhere you look retailers and e-commerce marketing campaigns are being turned into high gear to capture as many sales as possible before the big Christmas holiday. While that is a great strategy in the short term, it doesn’t prepare small businesses and online sellers for the upcoming year.

 

That is why we’ve gone through a few of the expected web design trends and e-commerce marketing tips that you should take advantage of to keep your business afloat and doing well in the future.

 

1- Step up Your Visual Game

 The vast majority, nearly 83%, of consumers consider sharing video content with their friends when it relates to their interests, needs, or desires. That means if you want to have content that engages your target market, you need to make it tailored to their needs and in a video format. User-generated content is one of the most valuable ways to go viral online and through social media. Having videos of unboxings, tours of your facilities or funny 20-second clips will go a long way to improving your e-commerce marketing in 2022.

 

2- Don’t Shy from SEO and Link Building

There is a good reason why so many web design trends involve SEO practices. You could have all the fantastic and engaging content you want, but if Google and other major search engines don’t understand how to categorize your website, you won’t get the traction you need. This is even truer for local SEO. You don’t want to appear like a shoe company based in LA if you are selling homemade candles in Alaska.

 

3- Personalize As Much As Possible

Today’s consumer not only wants a more personalized experience with their favorite brands, they expect it and will judge other brands when it isn’t offered. Using customized advertisements that change what is viewable on your website based on the user’s demographics visiting your landing page improves your click rates. Instead of casting a wide net that gets lost in the marketing mix, you are directly targeting high-value consumers’ needs and wants. 

 

4- Integrate Social Proof

The advantage of shopping online is that you get to read other users’ reviews who have tried a product or service. Having a space in your e-commerce marketing for user-generated social proof like reviews increases your trust factor with those on the fence about making a purchase. This web design trend to post recent Amazon or Shopify reviews directly on your landing page is an excellent way to bring more attention to what you have to offer.

 

 

Where to Get Started

When you consider what changes you need to make to your marketing and website platforms for the next year, try reaching out to the experts at Griffon Webstudios. We have years of experience streamlining e-commerce marketing campaigns and improving your website user journey that can directly target those consumers most aligned with your products and services.

 

Visit Griffon Webstudios and schedule a consultation with our expert staff today!

Proven Local SEO Tips to Dominate Google Search

Proven Local SEO Tips to Dominate Google Search

by Digital Marketing

How often have you done your keyword research only to find those challenging to leverage phrases that always end with “near me” or “in my area” in your results? That is because almost half of all Google searches involve looking for local information. Consumers use their mobile devices to hunt down stores, restaurants, entertainment, and services near their specific location.

Google noticed this a long time ago. They began shifting their search engine algorithm to elevate businesses higher in organic results with location data as part of their SEO strategy. Maybe your site gets buried when people in two states over searching for “local sushi restaurant,” but you are number one in the results when it is someone within 20 miles of your excellent spicy tuna roll.

Would you like to rank higher in Google for local SEO? Here are a few of our digital marketing tips that are proven to give you a boost.

1- Leverage Google My Business

Google My Business is a profile of your company that often comes up beside search results on Google’s website. It is a quick overview of your business that makes it incredibly easy for consumers to locate your products and services. On mobile devices, you will appear above the fold, often before any other search results after filling out the proper information for Google.

2- Utilize Other Business Listings

It might seem simple, but updating your listing on Yelp, Angie’s List, HotFrog, or any other popular business listing website should be at the top of your local SEO checklist. This sends a clear signal to Google that you are who you say you are, and any searches in your area should filter back to your business.

3- Consistent Information

Business information will change periodically. Maybe your company will move to a new building, or use multiple phone numbers for different departments. In either case, you need to ensure all your NAP (name and place) data is the same across all your platforms. Google wants to verify you because it improves their service. Having your name, address, phone number, and other contact data the same on Google, Yelp, and even social media is incredibly important to your local SEO results.

4- Create and Optimize Local Content

This may seem obvious, but many businesses overlook simply adding highly relevant local keywords to their content. For example, if you are a Seattle-based dog groomer but do not list words like Seattle, Washington, and Northwest on your website, you are not telling Google exactly where you operate. You’re missing out on potential customers because your digital marketing isn’t directed to consumer location-based searches.

5 – Be Mobile Responsive

If you haven’t already, update your website so it is mobile responsive. This is a good idea for your local SEO checklist because nearly 30% of all mobile searches are locally based. If your website does not display well on a mobile device, you will not appear well on Google’s search engine results.

Local SEO to the Rescue

Leveraging local SEO in your digital marketing strategy is an easy way to increase your brand visibility, website traffic, and overall success. This is a straightforward solution to growing your business within your local area that does not take a lot of work or research to complete. The more you can take advantage of improving your local digital footprint, the more likely you will rank higher in Google, leading to better customer engagement.