In February of 2024, Google struck a $60 million partnership with Reddit to train AI models. Since then, Reddit posts are now ranking in Google’s top search results in as little as five minutes, according to recent research. With a significant boost in visibility and associated traffic, Reddit has become a new channel for many digital marketers, especially SEO professionals. While the opportunities are significant, there are dangers for brands rushing into marketing on Reddit.

Reddit is Real
According to Business of Apps, Reddit had 70 million daily active users and approximately 850 million users who use it once a month in Q4 of 2023, generating 199 billion yearly pageviews. That number has significantly increased since the Google partnership, no doubt. Regardless of the exact numbers, the sheer size and scope of the audience is unignorable and should be considered by marketers unfamiliar with the platform.

Reddit’s global popularity translates to immense potential reach for brands. An active, well-executed Reddit strategy enables companies to increase awareness, monitor consumer sentiment, gather insights, and even drive traffic back to their websites for an SEO boost thanks to the Google integration. But there are potential pitfalls worthy of consideration.

The Risks of Getting It Wrong
While the potential upsides are significant, brands that fail to respect Reddit’s unique dynamics open themselves up to intense criticism and backlash from the notoriously anti-marketing community. It is essential for all marketers planning to engage on Reddit to review the User Agreement first. Some common missteps that can anger the Reddit hivemind include:

• Aggressive self-promotion, advertising, or posting links without adding value
• Attempting to covertly market by using fake accounts or “sock puppets”
• Demonstrating a fundamental lack of understanding about specific subreddit cultures
• Heavy-handed moderation or censorship of critical feedback as a brand representative

Reddit’s vigilant community has burned even large, established brands. In 2013, a Reddit ad campaign by IKEA asked users to provide free labor by submitting sample instructions for furniture assembly. The tone-deaf request was widely mocked, with Reddit users defiantly submitting prank instructions involving tools like chainsaws or narwhals. More recently, EA was labeled the “worst company in America” on Reddit over microtransaction policies in their video games.

Engaging on Reddit: Best Practices
Despite challenges, even scorned brands have learned to get it right on Reddit, including IKEA. To tap Reddit’s full potential brands must approach the online community as real members helping each other, rather than marketers. Building a meaningful presence on Reddit takes time, thought and effort to understand the unique cultural norms of specific subreddit communities. The rewards can be significant and are worthy of consideration. Below are four best practices for brands to consider when investing in Reddit.

• Monitoring relevant subreddits to understand the prevalent topics, lingo, and unwritten rules before attempting to participate.
• Focusing on adding value through insightful comments, expert advice, and helpful resources – not overt promotion.
• Embracing transparency about your brand affiliation if posting as an official representative.
• Adopting a respectful, conversational tone and having a sense of humor when appropriate.

Take the trailer and automotive communities like r/CargoTrailers, r/CargoCamper, or r/Hookit as examples. Members are enthusiastic DIYers and professionals who appreciate in-depth discussions and expert knowledge sharing about trailers. A trailer company would find more success providing tips on maintenance or cool camper builds than constantly pushing sales. Sales and marketing team members have a higher probability of getting shut down by Reddit administrators or community moderators.

A better approach for trailer manufacturers and dealerships would be to encourage customers and non-marketing employees to post based on their expert experience. For example, mechanics at dealerships can offer tremendous value to Reddit users with specific questions about repairs. Customer service professionals are well-equipped to answer questions about a specific trailer model or manufacturer. Should employees post on more than 138,000 Subreddits, it is imperative that they are transparent about the affiliation with their employers.

It is all about Karma
A vast majority of platforms reward engagement and Reddit is no exception. Reddit developed karma as a currency to reward active members and allow active brands to build trust within Subreddit communities. At a minimum, karma is required to post on select Subreddits. Karma is earned based on platform participation and is rewarded by Reddit for the following activities: posting, commenting, upvoting, giving and receiving awards, and engaging with users who comment on your posts. This excellent post provides detailed steps on how to build Reddit karma.

There are additional benefits to building karma with Reddit users. Once you have reached a minimum threshold of karma, you can create your own subreddits. This is a powerful way to build community around your specific brand, products and services and is ideal for brands with Reddit-savvy customers. One way to maximize the value of your own Subreddit is to host an “Ask Me Anything” AMA session. This article outlines best practices for hosting a successful AMA session on Reddit.

Ad It Up
For brands more interested in maximizing reach on Reddit with minimal effort, advertising is always an option. Reddit offers targeted ads to engaged community members that generate awareness, drive traffic and other conversions, like other social media platforms. Reddit ad types vary in format and cost, including promoted posts and more expensive takeovers. While free-form, image, video and carousel ads are fairly standard, Reddit recently launched Shopping Ads, which are ideal for ecommerce brands. For examples, check out how brands have successfully utilized advertising to maximize reach and engagement on Reddit.

Conclusion
There is no doubt that Reddit presents an alluring opportunity for brands to increase their visibility, understand customers better, and even drive website traffic. However, the platform’s rabid community of users will mercilessly call out any attempts at clumsy marketing that disrespect Reddit’s principles.

The path forward requires careful strategy and resources dedicated to monitoring subreddit cultures, earning trust as a knowledgeable contributor, and engaging with an authentic, human voice. Get it right, and brands can reap the benefits of an enthusiastic base of loyal Reddit advocates. Get it wrong, and they may become the latest target of the internet’s ridicule.

The post Navigating the Reddit Rabbit Hole: SEO Opportunities and Pitfalls for Brands appeared first on SEMpdx.

Despite peak buzz twenty years ago (per the image above), blogs have continued to demonstrate value to brands, particularly in creating impact in the realm of search engine optimization (SEO). When coupled with strategic keyword research and competent copywriting and optimization, blog posts have tremendous potential as an anchor to a brand’s content marketing strategy. This article outlines best practices that will empower your blog and related content strategies that enhance your brand’s visibility, credibility, and revenue.

Content marketing leverages various digital assets such as texts, images, audios, and videos to captivate and retain a (theoretically) well-defined audience. Rather than intrusive advertising, content marketing focuses on delivering value to consumers through entertaining and/or informative content. The highest life-form of content online is video, which continues to grow in popularity and impact. According to Allied Market Research, the global content marketing market size was valued at $413.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $2 trillion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 16.9% from 2023 to 2032. As a growing discipline, content marketing has become an essential component of digital sales and marketing programs.

Content Marketing Best Practices
With the growing adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GAI), it is tempting to lean heavily on platforms like ChatGPT to rapidly create content for your website or blog. Unfortunately, the temptation can be problematic, as Google recently updated their ranking system to penalize low quality (including GAI-based content). The March update aimed to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40 percent and this is likely only one of many steps search engines will take to mitigate abuse of GAI to generate content. The best way to stand out in a post-GAI world is to create unique, compelling content with the help of thought leaders and talented copywriters. Below are ten best practices to maximize the impact of your content strategy, with a focus on your blog.

Understand Your Audience
Clearly define who your target audience is so you can tailor content accordingly. Identify their interests, problems, and needs. Research your target audience, competitors, and related topics to inform your content. Platforms like SparkToro can shed additional light on existing or new audiences on which to focus future content. When it comes to driving brand awareness and preference for your products or services via blog content, I recommend prioritizing products or services with the greatest margin, highest volume, or largest growth potential first.

Define Goals and Set the Proper Tone
Before launching a blog, it is essential to understand your business, sales, and marketing goals, then distilling a content strategy accordingly. Common objectives for blog content strategy include an increase visibility and brand awareness in organic search for desirable phrases, increasing website traffic from blog posts and generating incremental qualified leads and/or new customers. Your brand values, and company culture should determine the voice of your blog and maintain consistency over time, regardless of the number of contributors.

Create an Editorial Calendar
To maximize efficiency and consistency over time, create a content calendar. Key elements to include in the content calendar include blog post topic, title, target audience, core keyword(s), content highlights, call-to-action, author, and deadline. Set a posting schedule, ranging from one to four times a month. To increase impact, expand your calendar to include optimization elements (title tag, meta description, and schema markup) as well as a social promotion schedule to track posts and related traffic.

Conduct Keyword Research
Conduct thorough keyword research using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and GAI platforms like ChatGPT to identify relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition. Incorporate relevant keywords organically into your content naturally, avoiding over-use which can create red flags for search engines (and humans). Utilize keyword research (especially GoogleTrends and BuzzSumo) to identify new or trending topics for forward-looking posts. This is easier if you have one or more thought leaders on your staff to provide insights and context.

Craft a Captivating Headline, Introduction and CTA
Ranking a blog post is only half the battle, the challenge is getting someone to click and read it. Crafting a catchy and intriguing headline helps grab attention and viewers. Use target keywords, coupled with “power words” and make it clear what the post is about and create a sense of intrigue. Begin the blog post with a compelling “hook” to capture readers’ interest and compel them to continue reading. Clearly state the purpose or benefits of reading the post early in the post, then deliver on the promise with actionable insights. Do not forget to include at least one call-to-action (CTA) within the blog post (i.e., contact us for an estimate or visit a product page). Additionally, ask for comments, shares, or subscriptions to boost reader engagement.

Focus on Quality Content (over Quantity)
Focus on creating high-quality content that solves problems, educates, informs, entertains, or inspires your readers. Writing should be clear, concise and include supporting visuals like images and videos (Google appreciates embedded media assets). Provide valuable and well-researched information and cite sources. Break content into digestible sections with subheadings. Use a conversational tone to connect with readers that resonates and demonstrates an understanding of your industry and customers. Do not cut corners with stock footage or silly clip-art. To differentiate from competition, consider using infographics, animated GIFs, and vertical videos.

Incorporate Best-Practice Formatting
Use clear headings, subheadings, and short paragraphs for light reading. Include bullet points and numbered lists to break up the body copy. This format is also favored by Google for use in the knowledge graph as rich snippets. Use an easy-to-read font and size to respect older readers. For additional SEO value and usability, link text in the blog post to relevant pages within your website, as well as external sources (which should open in new tabs), to improve website authority. Cross-link related posts within your blog and product pages, as Google values internal links to understand relationships and humans appreciate the convenience of linking to related content.

Optimize for Organic Search (SEO)
Before publishing the blog post, be sure to optimize the title tag and meta description for rank and click-throughs, respectively. Ensure proper use of headers (H1, H2, H3) for structure. This is made easier with the Yoast plugin for WordPress, for example. When optimizing the post, use compelling images, snippets, and relevant hash tags to improve visibility when shared via social media. Do not forget to leverage schema markup to maximize rankings and inclusion in rich snippets.

Promote Regularly
Actively promote your blog posts on your home page, via email newsletters and online communities. Leverage social media by sharing blog posts and engaging others within your industry niche. Participate actively in discussion forums (i.e., Quora and Reddit) related to your industry to gain visibility by including a link to your blog post, when appropriate. Consider repurposing content into different formats like turning blog posts into videos and related visuals and vice versa. Remind blog readers to subscribe to the blog feed and/or monthly newsletter to build a reader-base. The blog itself should also be promoted throughout the web, particularly to industry websites, forums, and publications to gain bookmarks and subscribers. To gain traction quickly, consider developing an ad campaign on Google and Meta to drive traffic, readers, and subscribers.

Analyze and Optimize
To maximize the impact of your content marketing efforts, measure and optimize current and future assets. Depending on your content marketing objectives, regularly track and act on insights monthly. Utilize Google Search Console to identify top ranking blog posts in search engines and Google Analytics to identify top performing blog pages (including traffic, time-on-site and conversions). Do not forget to analyze GA4’s keyword data to identify trending topics currently driving visitors to inform and refine future content. Also read comments and track shares or subscriber growth, as available.

By following these steps, you can create a compelling and highly visible blog post that resonates with your audience and attracts new readers. Remember, consistency and quality are key to building a successful content marketing strategy, with your blog as the foundation.

The post Content Marketing Strategy: Creating an Effective Plan for Your Blog appeared first on SEMpdx.

The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving with innovative technologies, platforms, and strategies. As we enter 2024, I have taken the liberty to synthesize and simplify several key trends that will shape digital marketing over the next year and beyond. I do want to give credit to the esteemed marketing experts I had the honor of moderating at a recent SEMpdx future panel event for inspiration regarding a few of the trends. Here are eight notable digital marketing predictions and trends to help marketers prepare for the road ahead:

Thought Leadership Gains Traction with SEOs
With an increasing focus on optimizing for Google’s E-E-A-T, a component of Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (SQEG) recently, 2024 will see an explosion of interest and focus in brands partnering with thought leadership to create high-ranking content. Google’s SQEG focus on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness is best addressed by brands whom engage with subject matter experts that regularly speak, write and secure press mentions. This is particularly exciting for me, as a digital marketing thought leader for 28 years. For more information, check out the Moz SEO Content Predictions blog post for additional detail and validation.

Humans and Computers Swap Roles
Historically, humans have used MarTech to augment marketing content, search engine optimization and other disciplines. With AI evolving significantly in the past two years, the roles will reverse, where humans will increasingly augment marketing processes in 2024. AI will now take the lead on identifying topics, then creating and optimizing content while humans will play an essential role in providing uniquely human narrative that is also consistent with the brand message framework and ensuring both consistency with voice and integration with an overall omnichannel strategy. Additionally, humans will need to diligently verify and fact-check AI-generated content, to identify and eliminate any hallucinations that may create legal or ethical liability.

Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO) Will Gain Awareness and Credibility as a Marketing Discipline
Playing off the previous prediction of AI driving key marketing activities, humans will evolve into guides, editors, and advisors to AI. Enter AIO, a new and evolving discipline at the intersection of AI prompt engineering and marketing prowess, ranging from copywriting and search engine optimization (SEO) to email marketing, graphic design, advertising and landing page optimization. In a broad sense, successful copywriters, developers, and designers will evolve into AI-savvy editors who create something new, unique, and valuable upon a foundation created by machine learning tools. Marketers that embrace AIO in their digital strategy are blazing a trail in 2024, not just keeping up.

Marketers will Become Developers
With the increasing adoption of low-code platforms like Mendix, Appian, and Microsoft Power Apps, to rapidly develop applications, anyone can be a developer without knowing a line of code. Similarly, workflow automation platforms Zapier, Integrately, IFTTT and HubSpot Operations Hub make automating standardized, repetitive processes easier than ever. When it comes to AI, anyone can now create a custom chatbot using OpenAI’s GPT builder. Combining these robust platforms enables marketers to create a wide variety of tools to automate, streamline and improve marketing. With an ability to rapidly and affordably create tools that enhance the customer experience (CX), marketers will see improved conversion rates.

With Help from AI, Marketers Will Effectively Target User Intent to Increase ROI
While predictive analytics, personalization, localization, and semantic search focusing on user intent have been available to marketers for two decades, the rapid growth and evolution of AI created new opportunities by synthesizing these capabilities into affordable solutions. Since Google incorporated BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) in its search system in October 2019, marketers have seen the benefits of optimizing for context over keywords. AI takes that to a new level by analyzing mounds of data and provides the opportunity to recommend (if not display) personalized content to target audiences throughout the customer journey. AI will help copywriters, SEOs, advertisers, email marketers and web developers create highly curated user experiences based on intent, in real-time, dramatically impacting ROI.

Google Will Shift Focus to Ecommerce as SGE Evolves
As Google continues to roll out and refine its Search Generative Experience (SGE) to the public in 2024, there will be a natural reduction in traffic to high-ranking websites and ads currently displayed in search engine result pages (SERPs). To offset the projected revenue loss, Google will focus heavily on optimizing ecommerce functionality and further personalizing search results to better monetize the customer journey in search and better position against competitors like Amazon, which is the most popular starting point for product searches. Social platforms are also aiming to take away search market share and evolve their own ecommerce capabilities. Brands should look for new opportunities to target searchers with enriched product listings that streamline the shopping experience by integrating with shopping feeds, marketplaces and ecommerce websites.

Social Search Will Continue to Erode Google’s Search Market Share
Although Google will continue to hold a majority market share in terms of consumer search, alternate platforms will continue to erode market share. Amazon overtook Google as the most popular platform for product searches years ago, and the trend will continue. Increasingly, consumers have started informational searches on social media platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest and Reddit. This shift will force SEO professionals to look beyond Google to social media platforms and content optimization. Keep in mind social platform content optimization should include all form factors, from video (vertical and standard), images, audio and of course, text. A deep understanding of each platform’s algorithm will be required in 2024 and beyond.

Marketing Will Return to The Fundamentals
With AI proliferating all aspects of marketing, including lazy marketers’ focus on generating reams of low-quality content, consumers and search engines alike will become jaded and trust will be lost. To combat the deluge of unoriginal content, smart marketers will revisit the most effective (albeit old school) marketing techniques, leading with compelling storytelling via authentic voices. While ChatGPT can create logical stories on-the-fly, a competent marketer can craft a truly memorable and meaningful story that is unique, relevant, and actionable. Forward-thinking brands will focus on conversational content and marketing, leveraging not only remarkable stories but AI to help refine targeting and personalization (rather than the other way around).

Over the past two-plus decades, I have seen and experienced significant shifts in how humans seek information, communicate, and collaborate, thanks to the Internet. However, AI is a far more impactful evolution that will change human behavior in profound ways well beyond streamlining marketing. With tremendous power comes responsibility and I believe myself and my fellow marketers must be diligent in our monitoring and use of AI-generated content. Despite ethical, moral, and legal challenges we must navigate in the years to come, AI is by far the most exciting tool we have at our disposal, and it should be leveraged to create more effective marketing in 2024 and beyond.

The post 2024 Digital Marketing Predictions including SEO, SEM, and Social Media Trends appeared first on SEMpdx.

To maximize visibility in organic search results for industry terms, brands must increase ‘domain authority’ with Google. This is often achieved by securing a meaningful quantity of inbound links from high quality websites trusted by Google. While SEO companies often rely on begging for or buying links for clients, a strategic approach can be far more effective: leveraging public relations best practices. The following article outlines best practices for securing both quantity and quality inbound links from local business directories, publications, and industry websites.

Here are 20 effective ways to build links to a website recommended to achieve higher rankings and organic traffic to your website.
1. Conduct Competitive Analysis: Research competitors’ link profiles and reach out to sites linking to them that may also be relevant for your site. Tools like Semrush and BuzzStream can help identify link opportunities with or without competitive information.
2. Promote Existing Quality Content: Promote your new content across social media, email, and other channels to increase natural shares and links. Make content highly shareable.
3. Leverage Unlinked Brand Mentions: Audit the web for mentions of your brand that don’t include a link and reach out to ask for a link to be added to the mention. This article provides a helpful overview. Brand24 is a helpful brand monitoring tool.
4. Submit to Directories: Submit your website to reputable, niche-specific directories. Be cautious with this approach, as overusing directories, especially low-quality ones, can have a negative impact on your SEO. Here is a list of the top 50 free business directories as a starting point.
5. Explore Sponsorships: Sponsor industry events, publications, or other high-authority sites relevant to your audience in exchange for a link.
6. Monitor Your Backlinks: Regularly monitor your backlink profile to ensure that links are of high quality and that there is no toxic or spammy links. Tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs can help with this.
7. Reclaim Old/Dead Links: Reach out to sites that used to link to your site but no longer do, and politely ask them to reinstate the link or add a new one. Secondarily, identify broken links on industry websites pointing to 404 pages and offer to replace them with one of your relevant pages. Use tools like Ahrefs to identify broken links.
8. Participate in Online Communities: Engage in relevant online communities, forums, and discussion platforms. Provide helpful answers and insights, and when appropriate, link to your website as a source of additional information.
9. Build out a Resource Page: Identify websites that have resource pages related to your niche. Reach out to the website owners and suggest adding your content or website as a valuable resource.
10. Utilize Giveaways & Contests: Running competitions and giveaways that encourage links as part of the entries.
11. Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with influencers or bloggers in your industry for collaborations or features. Influencers often have a wide reach and can help you gain exposure and backlinks.
12. Create High-Quality Content: The foundation of any successful link-building strategy is creating valuable, informative, and engaging content. When you publish high-quality content, other websites are more likely to link to it naturally.
13. Create Linkable Assets: Develop valuable resources, such as research studies, calculators, ebooks, or tools that are relevant to your niche. Create helpful, resource-style posts with lists of links to other useful sites and resources. Make sure to include a brief description for each link. Promote these assets to gain natural backlinks.
14. Create Infographics and Visual Content: Visual content like infographics can be highly shareable. Create visually appealing and informative infographics and share them on your website. Encourage others to use it and link back to them.
15. Secure Guest Blogging Opportunities: Reach out to other blogs and websites in your industry to contribute guest posts that include links back to your site. Focus on high-quality sites with good domain authority.
16. Secure Links via Email Outreach: Identify websites or influencers in your niche and send them personalized outreach emails. Explain why your content or website would be valuable to their audience and request a link.
17. Leverage Your Network: Build relationships with others in your industry, through social media, events, etc. and swap links where relevant.
18. Create Ego Bait: Mention influential people, websites, or products in your content and then let them know about it. They may share or link to your content to showcase their inclusion.
19. Utilize Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): Create accounts with ChatGPT and Bard for researching links, building databases, outreach scripts and compelling, linkable content.
20. Tap PR: leverage public relations activities, including press release distribution, speaking at industry events, syndicating articles on industry websites and pitching the media as a subject matter expert via free platforms including HARO and Qwoted, although there are additional options available.

Once the above strategies are consistently implemented over time, your company will see an increase in domain authority, resulting in higher rankings, increased traffic and ultimately, sales. The key is to focus on building genuine, editorial-style links from quality sites, not just spamming low-quality directories. Vary your link building strategies over time and monitor success with link tracking tools. Regardless of your level of marketing savvy, development resources or budget, these time-proven strategies will give you an edge over your competitors over time.

The post Build Domain Authority and Search Engine Rankings via These 20 Effective Link Development Strategies appeared first on SEMpdx.

For the past twenty years, websites have provided a critical touch point for prospects and customers. Despite the increased popularity of social media platforms and more recently, ChatGPT, websites are still an important component of an online presence and marketing mix. As such, it’s essential that your website not only provides relevant information but also offers a seamless and engaging user experience. If you’re considering a website redesign, it’s a significant step that requires careful planning and execution. In this article, we’ll explore the key considerations and best practices to ensure a successful website redesign.

Define Your Goals and Objectives
Too many times in the past, I’ve discussed website redesigns with clients that had no clear vision or objective for the new site (other than I don’t like the current site, or it seems dated). Before you embark on a website redesign, it’s crucial to outline your goals and objectives. What do you aim to achieve with the redesign? Are you looking to enhance user experience, boost conversion rates, improve SEO, or align with current design trends? By clearly defining your objectives, you’ll have a solid foundation to guide the entire process. Bonus tip: make sure every page has a relevant call-to-action (CTA) to maximize conversions.

Set a Realistic Timeline
Allow plenty of time for the redesign – at least 2-3 months for a small business site. Building in time for planning, design iterations, development, testing, content migration, and launch is essential. Trying to redesign a site too quickly can result in key steps being skipped. While redesigns often move more quickly than new websites due to existing content and structure, a refresh provides an opportunity to leap ahead of competition, so pad timelines for adequate planning, inevitable delays and surprises.

Audit Your Existing Site and Create a New Sitemap
Thoroughly evaluate your current website before making changes. Look at site architecture, navigation, page load speeds, forms, product/service pages, and more. Identify what’s working well and what needs improvement. Create a new sitemap reflecting how you want users to navigate and find information on the redesigned site. Ensure the information architecture and navigation schemes make sense. Bonus tip: ensure you’ve built in email capture (via a popup window and/or include an email signup in the footer of your website template to build your email list). In the ‘cookieless’ age, this is particularly important.

Know Your Audience
Understanding your target audience is paramount. Conduct user research, gather feedback, and analyze user behavior on your current site. Knowing your audience’s preferences and pain points will help you tailor the new website to their needs, resulting in a more engaging and satisfying experience. I recommend developing customer personas (typically three to five for an optimal balance between accuracy and simplicity).

Revisit or Create a Content Strategy
Content is king, and a website redesign is an ideal time to review and enhance your content strategy. Identify which content is still relevant and which should be updated or removed. Ensure your content aligns with your brand and resonates with your audience. A well-structured content plan will contribute to a successful redesign. The content should be tailored to your goals. Add, revise, or remove copy to enhance SEO, user experience, and conversions. Create new page titles, meta descriptions, alt text, and calls to action. The highest performing SEO-friendly content includes FAQs and a blog. Ensure all new content is truly unique (both across the website and across the Internet). Bonus tip: create ‘linkable’ content (i.e., podcasts, webinars, white papers, calculators) to boost domain authority and credibility with Google.

Select a Content Management System
Depending on your industry, company size, budget and objectives, selecting a platform can be tricky. The more robust the CMS, the more limiting it in terms of customization and site speed. The slower the website is, the less Google favors the site as it creates a lackluster user experience. WordPress is one of the most popular, SEO-friendly and scalable platforms on the web today and is a great starting point for small and mid-sized businesses, although it is also used by global corporations.

Revise Information Architecture
Information architecture (IA) plays a vital role in the user experience. Organize content logically, create user-friendly navigation menus, and ensure that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. A clear IA simplifies the user journey and minimizes frustration. Hire UX experts, benchmark against competitors and solicit input from heads of key departments to minimize revisions down the road.

Address User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX)
The website’s UI/UX should be a top priority. A well-designed user interface should be aesthetically pleasing, but it should also be intuitive and easy to navigate. UX considerations should focus on making the user’s journey as smooth and enjoyable as possible. A good user experience translates to better rankings in search as well. Bonus tip: consider incorporating a chatbot to streamline sales and customer service.

Enhance Visual Design
A visual refresh can modernize the look and feel of the site. Explore new color schemes, fonts, layouts, and branding elements. Balance aesthetics with usability. Research emerging colors, technology and messaging to ensure the visual language feels fresh, current and relevant.

Address Accessibility
Ensure that your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Comply with web accessibility standards like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). This not only expands your audience but also ensures you meet legal requirements in some jurisdictions. An additional benefit: Google and other search engines are “disabled” because they are blind, so following best practices for compliance benefits organic search visibility.

Optimize for Mobile
In an era where mobile devices dominate web traffic, mobile responsiveness is non-negotiable. Most of the website traffic today originates from mobile devices. Your website must function seamlessly on various screen sizes and devices. A responsive design ensures that your site adapts to the user’s screen, providing a consistent and user-friendly experience. Mobile-optimized sites are also favored in Google rankings.

Optimize for Organic Search
Maintaining or improving your search engine ranking is essential. Carry out comprehensive keyword research, ensure that your site’s structure is SEO-friendly, and implement search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. This includes optimizing images, creating unique and valuable content, and improving page load times. Additional code-centric elements for improved SEO include robots text, XML sitemap and schema markup. Most importantly, ensure keywords are in each page title tag (to boost visibility in search results) and the meta description tags are compelling (to maximize clicks).

Optimize for Social Media
Due to the proliferation of social media, don’t forget to integrate social elements into the website. The best place to start is to incorporate links (that open in new tabs) to the big seven social platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok and X/Twitter). Ensure all pages of the site are sharable to the two to three most popular social platforms to maximize citations and traffic. Bonus tip: integrate a social media feed (typically Instagram or X/Twitter) into the footer of the website template (or select pages) to send Google a signal that the site is updated regularly.

Focus on Page Speed
A fast-loading website is essential for user satisfaction and SEO ranking. Compress images, utilize browser caching, and employ content delivery networks (CDNs) to optimize page load times. Test regularly and optimize images, scripts, caches, servers, and code to improve load times. Http/2 and a content delivery network can also boost speed. Bonus tip: use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to maximize site speed.

Develop a URL Migration Strategy
To retain traffic and search ranking, set up 301 redirects from old to new URLs for all top pages. Use a crawler to identify broken links or orphaned pages. Migrate content systematically. To capture any orphaned pages, ensure a custom 404 error page is within a branded template and directs humans (and search engine spiders) back into the new site structure. Bonus tip: develop a link reclamation strategy, to identify orphaned (404 error) links on third-party websites and reach out to suggest an updated link to minimize negative impact on domain authority.

Incorporate Testing and Quality Assurance
Thoroughly test your redesigned website before launch. Check for broken links, functionality issues, and inconsistencies. Perform usability testing with real users to identify any potential roadblocks and gather feedback for improvements.

Validate Security Measures
Website security is a paramount concern. Implement security protocols to protect against cyber threats, including SSL certificates, firewall protection, and regular updates to your content management system (CMS).

Create a Backup and Recovery Process
Regularly back up your website to prevent data loss in case of a mishap. Have a recovery plan in place so that you can quickly restore your website if necessary. Ideally, back up the existing site during development and maintain it for reference for as long as possible, as context is important, even long after launch.

Create a Launch Plan
Promote a redesign launch via social media, email, press releases, and other channels. Announce key features and be clear if there are changes to site navigation. Monitor analytics closely after launch. The most important aspect of a site launch includes thorough QA testing before launch, validating SEO elements are completed and the site can handle traffic spikes if marketing does its job too well.

Conclusion
Redesigning a website is a multifaceted process that involves strategic planning and execution. It’s an opportunity to improve user experience, align with modern design trends, and enhance your online presence. By considering the factors outlined in this article and adhering to best practices, you’ll be well-equipped to achieve a successful website redesign that meets your objectives and exceeds user expectations. If you have any questions about this article or would like help navigating your website design, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or visit my networking group, pdxMindShare.

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The digital marketing ecosystem has experienced dramatic changes, particularly in the last few years. For example, Web 3’s metaverse provided brand marketers to think in new dimensions during the pandemic. More recently, ChatGPT made artificial intelligence approachable and exponentially more impactful on virtually every aspect of marketing. In this article, we explore digital marketing strategies and tactics that haven’t worn well in the past decade, to ensure your 2024 marketing plan is both timeless and forward-looking.

Building a digital marketing department
Marketing should be agnostic to media type, and so should the strategist be developing and implementing marketing campaigns. As such, companies need to conduct a skills assessment of existing marketing teams to determine who may need training or who may need to be replaced with talent that natively understands both digital and analog worlds. This obsolete strategy is still an issue for most marketing teams that have not focused on integration and will continue to haunt slow adopters.

Designing a website via internal stakeholder committee
The primary reason for the lack of user-centered design is that most websites are built by a host of departmental managers who have far too much say on colors, fonts, images, and copy. The problem with committee-based design is that these representatives make decisions based on their personal tastes and preferences versus those of the site’s intended user. While this approach is increasingly uncommon, it is still a very real issue due to the group thinking inherent in corporations.

Creating content for content’s sake
With rampant adoption of ChatGPT and similar generative AI platforms, content is easier to create than ever before. This trend has exacerbated the desire to focus on quantity of content over quality, which is only hurting brands in the long term. Successful brands will spend the time to research, develop, optimize, and syndicate content that matters to their constituents and works well across device types and screen sizes. At the very least, invest in high quality editors if you plan to cut copywriting staff due to increased ChatGPT reliance.

Doing black-hat SEO
Google has developed a detailed set of guidelines for search-friendly website design. If you follow their rules, you will be much more likely to rank for desired search terms. Even Bing operates on very similar terms: no IP-spoofing, redirects, hidden or duplicate text, etc. To boil it down, do good marketing and Google will reward you with higher rankings. Google’s E-E-A-T updates identified and penalized a significant number of websites for violating best practices, yet companies still feel the pull of the quick wins that black- and grey-hat SEO can supposedly provide. Big mistake. Play for the long game with compelling content, clean code, and the kind of site credibility and authority that can only be earned, not bought.

Avoiding landing page testing
Unfortunately, not much has changed over the past decade, in terms of landing page testing and optimization adoption across the marketing landscape. The companies that “get it” continue to invest and evolve their efforts, resulting in ever-increasing conversion rates. Far too many marketers, however, are too busy, skeptical, or unlearned regarding the benefits of landing page optimization (LPO). I believe a significant percentage of these remaining marketers will finally commit to testing, if not diving full-bore into LPO in 2024, especially with help from ChatGPT and similar AI-powered tools.

Focusing on engagement in social media
In the first wave of social media marketing (1995-2009), marketers focused on gaining followers and fans. The second wave of social media (2010-2014) focused on conversations and engagement efforts. The third wave (2015 and beyond) focused on three primary areas: collaboration, conversions and brand narrative. Smaller companies, business-to-business organizations, and profit-driven corporations should now focus more on conversion-based strategies and tactics that drive revenue. Bigger consumer brands will shift focus towards developing a brand narrative that helps consumers identify with the company and fit it into the picture a person has of themselves (i.e., shared values like environmental or social issues). Brands will focus from being “Liked” to being “Attached” to the consumer.

Paying third-party vendors to represent your brand in social media
The most common excuses for outsourcing social media management include a lack of internal resources and a lack of proficiency with social platforms. The bottom line is that nobody knows your brand better than your employees, partners, and other advocates. Let them oversee spreading the good word, not a low-paid college graduate working from home. I wish this were less common than it is, but many brands still feel the need to outsource their voice in social media, rather than building the resources in-house (with guidance from experts like us, of course).

Underestimating the power of video (and audio) marketing
I speak regularly about social media and search marketing and am a huge champion of multimedia content, especially video for marketing. I’m still amazed that the marketers to whom I present so often lack cohesive video (and audio) organic and paid content strategies. YouTube is still the world’s second largest search engine, so what are you doing to get into that conversation with consistently compelling content? Brands of all sizes and shapes also need a coherent TikTok and vertical video marketing strategy to be relevant in 2024.

Renting email lists
With the understanding that building an email database in-house is still a highly effective sales and marketing strategy, companies continue to test new strategies to grow their list. Some of the more effective methods of building a house email list include SEO, PPC, direct (mail) marketing, co-registration (email) with partners, contests (via social media platforms like X/Twitter and Facebook) and most importantly, search marketing. This has not changed, and thankfully, fewer organizations are renting low-quality email lists that typically generate a high percentage of spam complaints.

Sending unsegmented or untargeted emails
Despite the evolution of email marketing platforms, a significant percentage of businesses (particularly smaller ones with limited budget and bandwidth) continue to send out unsegmented or targeted emails. Spending the time to understand your email list by digging deep into the analytics and contact profiles, even with help from AI, can reap huge rewards. From there, create and target content based on indicated preferences, as well as demographic and psychographic information. Leveraging the power of AI now available in many email/CRM/marketing automation platforms, watch the value of each subscriber increase exponentially, with incremental effort.

Gaming online reviews
Most brands understand the power of social proof in the form of customer reviews. Unfortunately, too many brands are quick to “buy” or influence positive reviews. The result is the risk of being penalized by search engines, directories, and other review sites. The greater danger is consumers seeing through the charade and taking their business elsewhere. The short answer: create compelling and memorable customer experiences that will make them want to create and share positive reviews. Many companies are focusing on customer delight in 2015 and will bubble to the top as a result.

For a business to succeed in this increasingly complicated and noisy digital world, marketers must let go of obsolete ideas and embrace the concept of continually testing evolving techniques and technologies. The outdated digital marketing techniques outlined above are best retired in 2023, to free up bandwidth and budget for greater success in the years to come.

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The Metaverse will evolve from distraction to (virtual) reality for brands
While many believe Facebook’s rebrand as Meta and focus on the metaverse is a strategic distraction from bad press fueled by the Facebook Papers, we believe at Anvil that its horsepower, deep investment in the metaverse, along with additional investment by other major players like Microsoft, will inspire many brands to dabble in the virtual world in 2022. While consumers maybe a few years from caring about the metaverse, early adopters will embrace the novelty and utility. We’re hoping that the 2022 iteration of the metaverse is more than just a glorified Second Life.

Web 3.0 will become ubiquitous
Consumers’ concern over data security and creating a safer online environment to share personal data will be driving forces that fuel the growth of Web 3.0 technology in 2022. The evolution of blockchain technology in particular will provide a safer user experience (UX) for consumers, where they will feel safe sharing first-party data and know exactly how third-party platforms are using personal data. Combined with improved AI functionality, semantic metadata and 3D graphics – Web 3.0 will deliver an improved and better UX for all users. As full data transparency is on the horizon, this will accelerate the transition and put control of data back to where it belongs – the user.

Video marketing will become a vital part of any online marketing strategy
Consumers rely increasingly on the video to make decisions about the products they are buying. Video platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok feature live streams, unboxing, and testimonial product videos, which are going to gain popularity in 2022. As a result, video optimization and advertising on TikTok and YouTube will be increasingly necessary. Google has also rolled out structured markup features like clip markup which help users find important individual parts of videos, increasing the need and value of optimization for commerce. Using new and emerging markups on a brand’s most popular videos will help to improve user experience and Google’s ability to digest and index the video content.

MUM will strengthen Google’s ability to understand more complex searches
Google is always working to get users quicker, more seamless access to information. MUM, or Multitask Unified Model, uses AI to formulate an understanding of the context behind searches and will have a greater influence on search results in 2022 and beyond. Google recently demonstrated how MUM works, showing that search results would attempt to fully answer a search query with text, imagery, maps, and more. With MUM, content strategies will need to provide unprecedented depth, in order to provide searchers with all the information in a single result. The days of providing only topical information on a given webs page in order to gain organic visibility in target searches are numbered.

OTT will gain traction as ad targeting options decrease
Security and privacy demands are creating problematic limitations with third-party cookies and data tracking. Facebook, Apple, and Google Chrome are limiting data collection capabilities. Social media and search engine platforms will become much more generalized, with decreased targeting capabilities. Ad platforms will eliminate audience targeting, limiting advertisers to first-party data collection. These changes will encourage more brands to explore connected TV, podcasts, and platforms like Spotify that have their own internal marketing platform where the user controls what content they want to see. Products like Google’s smart TV and the new Roku TV are allowing viewers to stream content and enjoy gaming, utilizing click-to-buy on-screen ad placements. Smart TVs will be getting smarter with shopping from your own home with enhanced OTT streaming advertising options.

More businesses will move to DTC eCommerce
Due to the pandemic, businesses ranging from psychiatrists to car dealerships have begun marketing and selling products and services direct-to-consumers (DTC) on their websites. Companies are tired of losing profit by selling wholesale to distributors and evolving technologies have made eCommerce approachable to even the smallest business. Even larger retail chains are starting to focus more on DTC eCommerce, limiting physical store locations, retail footprints, and headcount. Brands like Nike are limiting distribution of its footwear and apparel so they can sell more direct and other brands will follow suit in 2022. The additional margins gained by DTC eCommerce sales can be reinvested in digital marketing to further increase profitable revenue. We predict brands will sell on select marketplaces (like Amazon, Walmart.com, and Target.com) to augment reach and revenues, but will still rely primarily on DTC.

More companies will offer retail media networks leveraging first-party data
With the impending loss of third-party tracking cookies in 2023, companies and marketers alike will be exploring new opportunities to reach prospective customers. Companies such as Target, Walmart. Recently, Lowe’s launched its own media network, allowing advertisers to utilize its company’s first-party data and reach customers as they shop online. As the pandemic accelerated the adoption of online shopping, we expect retailers will offer additional advertising opportunities on digital storefronts in the coming year.

Third-party cookie data will begin to sunset itself
With the anticipation of platforms eliminating third-party cookie data, marketers are forced to produce workarounds. Even though Google has pushed out its third-party data sunset date to the end of 2023, users and businesses have been preparing for the loss of critical targeting data with various workarounds, including the increasing use of first-party data. With Google failing to find a viable solution that meets everyone’s needs thus far, we predict there will be some sort of industry compromise by mid-2022, resulting in third-party data naturally sunsetting by year’s end on most popular platforms.

Influencer marketing will fuel sCommerce
Influencer marketing has gained notoriety within the digital marketing ecosystem as an essential strategy in the past few years. At Anvil, we believe the next evolution for influencers is to become the foundation for successful social media eCommerce (aka sCommerce) in 2022. In addition to important metrics such as engagement rates, influencers will be commonly compensated based on a commission structure related to conversion rates (leads or sales). With a greater focus on performance metrics, influencers will achieve a higher level of credibility with brands. Micro-influencers will rise significantly in popularity due to their accessibility to small businesses and the appeal of being able to target nuanced audiences. Retail eCommerce brands invest in direct shopping formats on popular social platforms, including TikTok.

Multicultural representation in marketing will continue to increase in importance
The digital age, accelerated by COVID-19, has created a world that is more interconnected than ever before. The term “global village” carries increased weight as even extremely remote areas see mobile device use continuing to reach saturation point. The success of international content breaking into the US mainstream has also led to an acceleration in engagement and demand for global representation. South Korea’s Squid Game on Netflix is the latest example, following the Spanish global hit Casa de Papel (Money Heist). With content publishers leading the way, brand advertisers will follow suit, developing new strategies to maximize the relevance of multicultural inclusion within marketing messaging, including messaging from the US’s own backyard.

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When Larry & Sergey launched Google in 1998, they had no idea their fledgling company would become a global sensation and even become a verb found in the dictionary. Today, it’s difficult to avoid the behemoth’s extensive reach in your daily life, from checking email or talking on the phone to getting driving directions or even searching for holiday gift ideas. Despite a long history and high public profile, there are still many unusual facts about Google that escape daily dialogue and can provide lessons for marketers.
1. Humble Beginnings (to build upon). The earliest iteration of Google’s search engine algorithm was stored on ten 4 gigabyte hard drives (basically about the same storage as a low-end smartphone today). Larry and Sergey were both cost-conscious and practical. As a result, they built the storage tower for the hard drives out of Legos to make expansion easier. You can see the original tower on display at Stanford University today. Since then, Google has built one of the largest computers in the world. Google reminds us marketers to think in terms of low-cost initial investment, yet provide a foundation that allows for scalability across marketing campaigns and strategies.
2. Search and Destroy (the competition). Understand Google’s history to inform your marketing. John Battelle’s The Search provided more insights into how and why Google works than any other technical book I read in the early years. A key insight from the book: the underlying concept behind Google’s BackRub algorithm was inspired by the graduate students’ need to secure citations for senior dissertations from noted professors. Larry and Sergey determined search results would be more relevant based on ‘citations’ or inbound links, which are equivalent to votes. From there, Google has evolved the algorithm significantly to better address the impact of social media, advertising, spam, mobile and user experience. That said, inbound links and citations remain a significant component of the algorithm.
3. Common Goals (for common good). When I first started my career in search engine optimization (SEO) in 1996, there was a good deal of contention between designers (who liked to control the user experience graphically (instead of using HTML text), developers (who either wanted to cut corners or over-build websites with bloated code) and copywriters (who preferred to write flowery prose (instead of keyword-infused copy). In those early years, my SEO initiatives always took a back seat in discussions about user experience (think frames and Flash) vs. ensuring the website was visible to search engines (via keyword-infused code and copy). My job was made more difficult by far too many SEO consultants choosing to cheat their way into top rankings. Much has changed since then. While Google is still trying to display the most relevant search results possible, its algorithm is much more sophisticated, and puts higher weighting on exceptional user experiences. As a result, Google now rewards websites that are well-designed with clean code and unique copy (where context carries more weight). SEO professionals are now an integral member of the website development team and are treated as peers instead of crazy cousins. As such, Marketers that understand SEO needs to be part of the discussion early and often, when it comes to website development, are ahead of the game.
4. Deal or No Deal (flow). Google is multi-billion-dollar business today, but in the early years, even the founders couldn’t have guessed Google’s trajectory. In fact, in the early years, Larry and Sergey were interested in selling the company. In 1997, Yahoo! turned down a $2 million offer to purchase Google’s search platform. Deeply ironic considering Yahoo! then offered $3 billion dollars a few years later, only to turn around and sell themselves at a bargain price this year. In 1999, Google approached Excite to sell for a mere $1 million, but the CEO rejected the offer. Excite cratered a few years after that. Google is now valued at over $400 billion. Marketers must remember that timing is everything. Buy low, sell high, whether it be your business or gutter repair services.
5. Build AND Buy (technology). Since 2010, Google has averaged one company acquisition per week. That is nearly six years of weekly acquisitions of technology to enhance and improve Google’s ability to deliver quality content and experiences. Some of the most notable acquisitions during that time period include: Picasa, Urchin Software Corporation (Google Analytics), Android (OS), YouTube, DoubleClick, Zagat, Quickoffice (Google Docs), Waze (real-time traffic for Maps). As marketers, we are smart to stay on top of deal flow to anticipate which technologies or features we can expect to see incorporated into the Google suite in the coming months.
6. Ups and Downs (service). Google is such a core component of the Internet experience that the Web is literally crippled without it. On August 16, 2013, Google’s website went down for five minutes. During that brief time period, global Internet usage decreased by 40 percent. This is a good reminder to protect your website from internal and external threats and broaden your marketing efforts beyond the Google suite to mitigate risk and maximize performance.
7. Not Feeling So Lucky (in search). For many years, the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button took Google searchers directly to the most relevant page, as determined by the algorithm. That feature was finally phased out with the advent of Google Instant Search. Perhaps a bigger incentive than evolving technology to remove the button was the fact that “I’m Feeling Lucky” cost Google $110 million each year, as it bypassed the ads entirely. Sometimes, business decisions are based on revenue and can take some of the fun and mystery away from a brand. The challenge we face as marketers is to balance the need for a brand to maintain its uniqueness without compromising financial health.
8. Don’t Worry, Be Happy (with your visibility). As mentioned previously, Google’s number one goal is to keep its users happy by providing the best possible search results. This applies to paid search results (aka AdWords) as much as organic search results. As a result, there are times when your text ads do not show up in targeted search results (regardless of how high your bid is set). This is because Google has determined your ad (or messaging) is not the best match and they are willing to forgo the incremental revenue in order to prioritize a more relevant ad. This is especially true for informational-based queries. Marketers need to practice both patience and persistence in optimizing ad campaigns, from keywords and ad copy to offer and landing page design. In the end, you may end up paying less for a click with a more relevant ad than your competitor.
9. Take Care of Business (school). Larry and Sergey developed the BackRub algorithm while attending Stanford, which made it property of the University. As a result, Google negotiated a long-term license for BackRub with Stanford in exchange for $1.8 million worth of shares in Google. That license has since generated more than $300 million in income for Stanford. As marketers, we benefit from taking care of those that take care of us, whether that be employees, partners, vendors, investors or in Google’s case, educational institutions. Whether it be cash, equity or a simple hand-written thank you card, don’t forget your people.
10. Cover All Your Bases (make lemonade). From the very beginning, Google adapted quickly. In fact, one of the early investors misspelled the original name of the company, Googol, but instead of correcting the name on the check, they adopted it. Nowadays, Google is such a commonly-typed word in search bars that the company has purchased common misspellings of the name, including www.gooogle.com, www.gogle.com and www.googlr.com. Similarly, Google has figured out a clever way to circumvent firewalls in unfriendly countries like China by creating a mirror site: http://elgoog.im/. The site is a mirrored/reversed version of the old Google website, and as a result, the text doesn’t register in most firewalls and can be used just like a regular search engine where the normal Google site is blocked. Google reminds marketers to ensure you’ve protected your brand by buying and redirecting common misspellings. This is also a reminder to think globally with your marketing efforts, including traditionally challenging countries and markets.

My hope is that the above facts about Google and the associated lessons for marketers are of value and inspire new digital marketing strategies and tactics for 2021. Feel free to add your fun Google facts or lessons in the comments section below.

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Introduction
Since 1996, I’ve helped clients generate awareness, clicks and conversions via search engines. Over the past decade or more, Amazon has transitioned from a major advertiser on Google to a real threat to Google’s future. According to a Kenshoo study, 56 percent of consumers start product searches on Amazon. That number increases to 2x in a similar BloomReach study. On the seller-side, 63 percent of Amazon Advertisers plan to increase budget next year (a larger percentage increase than Google and Facebook spend). In short, Amazon is the new Google in many respects. If you don’t have a solid Amazon marketing strategy in place, you’re at a disadvantage. This article explores best practices when creating an effective Amazon marketing strategy.

Strategic Planning
Whether you are a manufacturer, physical or online-only retailer, you need to evaluate a presence on Amazon. Many brands are already on Amazon and have been for years, but I regularly talk to small brands and boutique retailers that are not on Amazon and are hesitant to jump in with both feet. To assess the viability of a presence on Amazon, you must build a strategic plan.

Competitive Benchmarking
One of the first and best places to start is to evaluate the competitive landscape. If most of your competitors are on Amazon, that indicates the potential need to remain competitive by joining the fray. Conversely, if your competitors have yet to set up stores on Amazon, it may indicate an opportunity to gain a competitive edge. Manufacturers have a greater challenge, as they must consider the impact on the wholesale/retail channel relationships. They also may have to compete with resellers listing their products on Amazon. Some manufacturers create Amazon-only sub-brands or product lines to protect brand and channel perception. Retailers must also be aware that competitors may be creating ‘unbranded’ stores to protect brand equity, yet still leverage the channel.

Keyword Research
Regardless of the number of competitors, the next logical step is to conduct keyword research to understand which brands and products are most popular and competitive. Within the Amazon platform, sellers will see keywords ranked based on the Best Seller Ranking (BSR), which is determined primarily by sales volume, but includes other variables. While searching on Amazon is helpful, utilizing tools like Google Keyword Planner and MOZ are helping see the entire keyword universe, including search engine traffic. Developing and optimizing keywords specific to each product ASIN is critical to maximizing the visibility and overall SEO performance of your Amazon presence.

Pricing Strategy
Once you’ve identified your product selection, the next step is to develop a pricing strategy. Setting pricing is one of the single greatest influences on ranking factors in product searches. While lowest price is an obvious evaluation criteria, it is not the only factor. The goal on Amazon is to own the “Buy Box” or yellow purchase button associated with every product. Over 90% of Amazon’s $250 billion in sales are triggered by the Buy Box.

While there are a host of dynamic pricing tools available, Amazon provides an ‘Automate Pricing’ tool on Seller Central to help automate pricing decisions.

Buy Box
Amazon uses an algorithm to rank sellers of the same product against each other and rewards the seller with the highest overall ranking with ownership of the Buy Box. The Buy Box is often constantly rotating. Amazon no longer rewards a single seller with the Buy Box on a particular product listing, but instead assigns each seller a percentage of the Buy Box web traffic based on the seller’s ranking. It is still possible to achieve 100% Buy Box ownership, for example, if you are the sole manufacturer & seller of a product, but it has become increasingly more difficult as more sellers enter the Amazon Marketplace. Some sellers have adopted a strategy of purchasing inventory wholesale through other outlets and reselling products on Amazon. This can create frustrations for manufacturers who sell their products on Amazon with the assumption that no one else is listing their products for sale.

A seller’s ranking depends on many factors including seller history, price, shipping time, and fulfillment method, amongst others. The below chart offers a comprehensive list of all the major factors in determining what seller wins the Buy Box.

A common frustration for third-party Amazon sellers is failing to win the Buy Box on product listings where there is little to no competition. This can even happen to sellers who manufacture and sell their own products on Amazon. There are several factors that can prevent a seller from losing out on the Buy Box, despite no competition from other sellers. The most common issues plaguing sellers are their Amazon seller rating, and Amazon’s Buy Box algorithm identifying similar products being sold on and off for a lower price.

Amazon sellers should constantly be monitoring their seller ratings through Amazon’s Brand Health page within Amazon Seller Central and address any issues as soon as possible to get their seller account back in good standing. Amazon tracks its seller ratings on a 30-day period. Failing to meet benchmarks in Late Shipment Rate, Cancellation Rate, Order Defect Rate, etc. will often cause the seller to lose its Buy Box eligibility.

A less widely known issue many sellers experience in losing their Buy Box ranking is how Amazon’s Buy Box algorithm compares the seller’s pricing to identical and similar products both on and off Amazon. If Amazon’s algorithm determines a seller’s pricing to be too high, the seller may lose Buy Box ranking, even if there are no other sellers currently offering the same product on Amazon. To avoid this issue, sellers should avoid marking up their products sold on Amazon compared to any other online channels their products may be sold. Sellers should also research similar products offered both on and off Amazon to ensure their pricing is in-line with typical pricing often seen within the product category. Sellers on Amazon’s Seller Forums have even mentioned that lowering a product’s pricing by as little as $0.01 can have a significant impact on their Buy Box ranking.

Fulfillment
Before we delve into product page optimization and advertising, I want to touch briefly on a key business decision that will influence how you market your products or Amazon store. Before you sell any product on Amazon, you must decide where it will be warehoused, who will manage inventory and shipments and provide customer support. Amazon offers two options: Fulfillment by Seller and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). In short, FBA is generally a great way to get product onto Amazon, with potential to reach Prime customers and even achieve Buy Box status, although pricing is typically higher and thus less competitive. In this model, you ship your product to Amazon, and they manage fulfillment for your direct sales. This is ideal for smaller businesses that need to focus on product development and marketing instead of warehousing and logistics. Fulfillment by Seller provides more control over pricing and inventory, however.

Organic Product Page Optimization
There are two primary categories of Amazon ranking criteria: performance and relevance. Performance factors are primarily sales-related, while relevance factors are keyword-related.

Performance Factors
Since Amazon is a retail marketplace that monetizes transactions, product pricing and sales history are important performance factors. A complete list of performance ranking factors include: product pricing, product options (model, color, features, etc.), product availability, sales history, customer reviews and click-volume.

While product options, availability and sales history are straight-forward performance factors, pricing is its own complicated beast. Since pricing drives most purchases on Amazon, setting the right price is critical to generating ideal sales volume, product reviews and rankings. Achieving an optimal conversion rate requires data analysis. To view your current conversion rate, go to: Seller Central: Reports > Business Reports > Detailed Page Sales > Traffic > Unit Session Percentage.

Another key performance factor that is challenging but essential to manage effectively are customer reviews. In 2015, Amazon transitioned to a weighted system for measuring average star ratings. The algorithm for customer reviews is weighted with the following criteria: if a product is purchased at a discount, the age of the review and how helpful the review has been, based on visitor feedback. With a more sophisticated average formula, you can’t incentivize reviews. You can remind customers to write reviews, however. The ideal outreach frequency is twice: after the order has shipped to set the expectation and a few weeks after the product has arrived, to give the customer time to use the product.

Relevance Factors
Like Google’s ranking algorithm, relevance factors focus on keywords embedded in the product page. Amazon’s ranking algorithm is also like Google in that it does not appreciate keyword-stuffing or otherwise negatively impacting the user experience with poorly crafted copy and irrelevant keyword usage. The primary relevance-related ranking evaluation criteria are outlined below:

When it comes to helping Amazon rank your product pages above the competition, it is essential to incorporate relevant keywords across all relevant fields mentioned above. The current keyword character limit is 250 (not including spaces or punctuation). The length limit applies to the total content in all generic keyword fields, with a max of 5 attributes.
When optimizing product pages, Amazon provides guidelines for sellers:

While the algorithm weights brand name, product title and description heavily, sellers cannot underestimate the importance of optimized product images. Best practices for image optimization include: providing high resolution (1,000 x1,000 pixel images) that are zoomable; images of the product from a variety of angles; product label closeup; action shots of the product in-use; product comparison or contextual images of product relating to a human hand or other point of reference; images including informational charts, graphics or even text.

Amazon Advertising
Amazon has transitioned from online retailer to advertising juggernaut in the past decade. Total Amazon US ad revenue in 2020 was previously projected at almost $10 billion. 66% of all product specific searches across the web originate on Amazon. Advertising on Amazon is an effective way to drive traffic and ultimately sales of listed products. It also can be a great tool to boost brand/product awareness & visibility as Amazon sponsored brand and sponsored product ads often appear at the top of search result pages.

Campaign Types
Amazon currently offers three core cad products: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display.

Eligibility Criteria
Unfortunately, not everyone can take advantage of all of Amazon’s Advertising offerings. Amazon’s Seller Eligibility Criteria include two primary requirements: you must have an active professional seller account and enroll in Amazon Brand Registry to use Sponsored Brand ads. For more information about Amazon Advertising, check out the following links: How it works, Amazon Ads FAQ, Advertising specs and policies
and Amazon Sellers Education YouTube channel.

Bid Strategies
Amazon weighs many parameters to choose a winning bid across campaigns. The ad ranking system includes the following factors: daily budget, keyword relevance, ad rank, ad relevance and buy box eligibility. The advantage of an aggressive spending approach is that you’ll get data more quickly. The more insight you have into impressions, clicks and sales, the more effectively you can build high-performing campaigns and decrease spend as optimization strategies make an impact.

Measurement
Be sure to build ad campaigns to be profitable, which means understanding your break-even Advertising Cost of Sale (ACoS). As a key performance indicator, the ACoS indicates the ratio of ad spend to targeted sales. The chart below from SELLICS outlines the basic ACoS math:

Additional Amplification
Beyond optimizing product pages for organic Amazon searches and mastering AMS offerings to increase reach and sales, there are other ways to increase traffic to your Amazon store, like social media and blog posts. Product posts and promotions can perform well on social media, but descriptive blog posts linking to product pages can perform even better, both in terms of organic search rankings and conversions, since shoppers are already engaged with your brand. Email marketing is another way to drive traffic to Amazon product pages, especially if you do not sell direct on your website. Don’t forget to create an affiliate link to maximize margins.

With more than half of all product searches beginning on Amazon, manufacturers and retailers can no longer afford to ignore the marketing juggernaut. A successful Amazon presence requires research, planning and a long-term commitment. After conducting competitive research, setting pricing and optimizing product pages, focus your efforts on advertising to maximize reach and conversions. As the old saying goes, ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.’ If you need help with your Amazon marketing program, help is available.

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I first discovered the power of incorporating keywords into websites to boost rankings in 1996. By adding a desirable keyword into the META keyword tag and repeating it frequently in the text, I ranked clients’ websites on popular search engines like WebCrawler and Lycos. It wasn’t simple however, as I was optimizing client websites for 14 search engines, which all had differing algorithms. While much has changed since Google introduced PageRank, many of the fundamentals I refined in the 90s still apply.

I originally shared my philosophy on search engine optimization (SEO) a decade ago with The 3 C’s of SEO. In my article, I identified three primary areas of focus for successful SEO: content, code and credibility. While social media has influenced Google’s algorithm, the 3 C’s still apply today. In this article, I will outline the most common (and timeless) mistakes and misconceptions about SEO.

Content
One of the most formidable challenges with SEO is the creation of fresh, unique, relevant and compelling content. Creating copy, photography, infographics, video or other forms of content is both time-consuming and costly. Over the past few years, Google has dedicated substantial time improving the algorithm’s understanding of natural language. With the BERT update in 2019, context came into play, and marketers were presented with another challenge: supporting search intent. As Google’s search algorithm develops and matures, marketers make a few common mistakes when attempting SEO without adult supervision, most of which centers around quality, relevance, and search intent.

For starters, marketers often mistake the value of quantity vs. quality of content. Nowadays, Google has thousands of page graders who manually review individual web pages, and their major criteria includes E-A-T which stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. In short, Google wants to ensure that websites within their search engine provide up-to-date, factual information that users can trust. Google places strict responsibility on pages that offer medical information, financial information, or other highly impactful topics. These pages are aptly referred to as “Your Money or Your Life” pages because the information could significantly affect one’s livelihood, happiness, financial situation, or safety. Ecommerce sites are included within this category as a result of customers imputing credit card information. Thus, marketers should avoid generic, unprofessional or generally low-quality content, which includes outdated information, short blog posts, fact-less articles or poor-quality images and video.

When creating new content for a website, too many marketers fail to keep voice search in mind. While voice search can be performed through voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, the majority of voice searches are now completed through smartphones using Siri and Google Assistant. Not only are queries more informal and conversational, but they also tend to be phrased in the form of an actual question instead of 3-5 topical keywords. A related oversight by some marketers is the failure to localize content for different countries, languages or business locations. The internet is both global and local and Google rewards brands that understand this fact.

Even if marketers can create truly compelling content, some are still working off outdated strategies. The biggest mistake website content can make is not supporting search intent. If the information on your page does not provide a valuable resource to what a searcher needs, Google will never offer your site to their users. How can we begin to understand search intent? Break down queries and target keywords to construct your content. Does the searcher need an answer to a question? Is the searcher looking to do research or make a purchase? Developing your content to address the answers will help prove that your website will provide the best possible support to searchers which gets rewarded with better rankings.

Technical/Code
Google cares a great deal about the technical makeup and performance of websites which involves site speed, schema markup, and user experience. Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress and Shopify are incredible tools that allow novice website owners to create complex and personalized websites without coding knowledge or experience. Even so, there are a handful of technical strategies to consider, and to forego any could significantly impact a website’s visibility. First and foremost, the code must be clean, fast, and responsive. Second, a website should always utilize some form of schema markup which not only provides a search engine with coded information about elements on a page, but it qualifies your website to show in Google’s Rich Results which means more attention and engagement.

The most common problem with CMS platforms is that users rely on plugins to install advanced functionality onto a website which comes with large amounts of code that slows down site speed. Site speed is not only important from a user-experience perspective, but poor site speed can impact how many pages a search engine can crawl. Google recognizes and rewards exceptional user experiences, which includes designing with mobile users in mind. Also known as responsive design, mobile-friendly websites render a page differently depending on screen size. Luckily, Google provides several testing tools that provide clear opportunities for improving site speed.

With or without a CMS platform, websites should be designed with CSS, minimal JavaScript and optimized image and video files for maximum speed and usability. Far too many websites rely on outdated versions of HTML or other coding platforms, or have been built or rebuilt over the years, making them slower, less reliable and more difficult to index. I still come across prospective clients that do not have a current XML sitemap or robots.txt files to help guide search engines. Marketers may also not realize the impact of a sites’ architecture and structure can impact rankings. Historically, Google has preferred a flatter site hierarchy, which sometimes directly conflicted with a deeper structure that was more challenging to navigate and spider.

Google is constantly changing how information gets displayed and how users can interact with results. This means that marketers have endless opportunities to enhance the appearance of their website which ultimately helps to stand out against competitors. To qualify, websites must utilize structured data on appropriate pages. The most accepted form of structured data is JSON-LD which stands for JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data, and there are hundreds of acceptable schema types that websites can use. Currently, FAQ schema is the popular type; however, the other commonly used types include local business schema, product schema, and video schema.

While I haven’t experienced code trickery like cloaking for years, some marketers are still committed to black and grey hat SEO, meaning they are willing to bend or break rules for short-term gains. Unfortunately, Google always catches up and once penalized, websites may not recover for months, if ever. Along the same lines, many sites are not properly secured with an active SSL certificate which means trustworthiness suffers. While we’re on the topic of trickery, it should be noted that Google does not like duplicate content, whether intended or not.

The final area of oversight relating to code best practices, revolves around a website’s metadata. Believe it or not, despite a proactive focus on SEO, many marketers fail to incorporate keywords where it matters most: Title and header tags. While meta descriptions no longer directly impact rankings, they do serve as the elevator pitch to a webpage which means they do impact click-through-rate (CTR). To Google, a website with a lower CTR means it was a bad match or a poor resource to searchers. Additional keyword-optimization opportunities include ALT tags, anchor text and file names.

User Experience
Search engines want to provide their users with the best possible resources available which does not include a website that is slow, unaccommodating, or malfunctioning. Throughout the content development and technical support, marketers often overlook whether or not their website provides a positive experience.

Recently, Google has announced that the Core Web Vitals scores will be considered as ranking signals come May of 2021. The Core Web Vitals scores measure page experience and focus on three major components: loading (CLS), interactivity (FID), and visual stability (CLS). Google rarely provides warnings on algorithm or ranking signal updates, and it would be a mistake to not take advantage of it. It is also important to note that the Core Web Vitals and technical makeup of web pages go hand in hand, so websites with poor technical components will most likely have poor Core Web Vitals scores.

Another major mistake marketers make with regards to user experience – ignoring or unfamiliarity with ADA Compliance. Websites are now responsible for ensuring that websites are fully accessible to all users, and that can be harder than it sounds. For example, visually impaired users rely on screen readers to navigate throughout a website. A button simply labeled “Click Here” makes it impossible for that user to know where that button will lead to. Other common web features that are not ADA compliant include: flashing graphics, videos that auto play without the control to stop it, and images without any set alt-text.

Credibility
While the need for quality content and clean code has not changed in the last 20 years of search engine marketing, credibility factors have changed dramatically. Since Google came on the scene in 1998, with an innovative algorithm that focused on the hub-and-spoke model of authority, SEO professionals have put a good deal of effort into securing inbound links. Unfortunately, too many marketers have forsaken quality links (from popular and reputable websites) for quantity (typically lower quality websites with questionable domain authority).

We’ve known for years that quality trumps quantity when it comes to inbound links. Some marketers are holding out on that insight and continue to purchase links from high domain authority websites or even create or buy into link farms, which has been out-of-vogue for nearly a decade, but still retains the allure for desperate marketers.

While links continue to be a major focus for SEO professionals, there has been discussion around the weighting of inbound links in Google’s algorithm. Recent research unveiled by Stone Temple Consulting at SEMpdx Engage Conference, indicates that links are still a significant factor in the ranking algorithm. The vote of confidence an inbound link (or citation) provides a website is still a key factor and should be considered heavily in marketing efforts.

One area that marketers continue to debate is the impact of SEO initiatives on graphic design, copywriting and coding. In the early days of Internet marketing, I would get into arguments with my interactive agency counterparts about copy, code and design, in which SEO best practices would appear to conflict with design best practices. That issue has largely resolved itself, as Google has become more sophisticated and focuses more on the user experience and high value content. As a result, sites that are beautifully designed with unique content and artful coding tend to out-rank sites designed solely for SEO and not the user.

Credibility covers a host of elements, many of which are unknown or misunderstood by unwashed marketers. One example is domain history, which includes the age of the domain and when it expires. Google likes old domains that expire many years from now, so stop auto-renewing annually and renew every 5-10 years. Domain authority, which is available via Moz, indicates how likely the site is to rank for unbranded terms. A strong domain authority is over 50 out of 100. Off-site factors including quality and quantity of inbound links weigh heavily in the Open Site Explorer domain authority ranking.

A clear majority of businesses have a formal address. Regardless, every business should claim and optimize its Google My Business local listing. The biggest mistake in this aspect is most marketers believe small, local businesses should have an optimized Google My Business profile. However, all businesses and corporations should have an up-to-date GMB profile which is now the top consideration for local SEO rankings. Far too often, marketers overlook the claiming and optimizing of local listings, including Facebook, Yelp and other third-party feed providers for maps and business directories. Another factor related to local listings is reviews. Business reviews can make or break a business, and to take this a step further, reviews must be addressed, particularly reviews on your GMB. Marketers are particularly bad about ignoring bad reviews and not securing a meaningful number of positive reviews, which directly impact revenue, per recent research. Adding one additional star in the 5-star economy, adds 9 percent to topline revenue.

Learn from the mistakes of others and follow best practices when optimizing your website. I’ve included a few helpful SEO resources below, to ensure you are up-to-speed on the latest SEO strategies, tactics and tools.

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