How To Create a Content Strategy That Actually Drives Traffic (2024)

by admin | Nov 30, 2023 | Blog

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If you don’t have a good content strategy, you’re kinda screwed.

Think of your content strategy as a map—you need one if you want to get where you’re going.

No map? You’re going to get lost. This is a perfect recipe for burnout and, ultimately, failure.

You’ve got to be strategic and intentional if you’re going to succeed. Especially when competition for attention is so tough.

So how do you create a content strategy?

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know to create a successful content strategy that consistently drives traffic to your website.

What is a content strategy?

A content strategy is a plan of action purposely designed to guide content marketing activities and ensure they deliver against a specific business objective.

This includes content planning, production, publishing, promoting, tracking, and SEO optimization. It also includes every type of content you produce, such as videos, blog posts, podcasts, and social media posts.

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Different types of content serve different purposes. For example, you might create a blog post to rank on Google for certain keywords so that you can hook in new leads. Or you might create a case study video to show your products in action to educate leads about your products.

Bottom line, a powerful content strategy framework will enable you to maximize the return on the time and money you invest in content marketing.

How to create a successful content marketing strategy

1. Define your goal

Every single piece of content you create should have a clearly defined purpose, such as:

Earning backlinks from other websites and social accounts to drive traffic to your website
Ranking high in the search results on sites like Google and YouTube
Educating and nurturing your customers, leads, and existing social audience
Moving readers or viewers further along the sales funnel by taking an action (e.g., signing up to your mailing list)

So before you begin, make sure to set clear goals for your content marketing efforts.

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These goals should be SMART:

Specific: There should be no room for interpretation.
Measurable: Your goals should be quantifiable.
Attainable: Be ambitious, but also be realistic.
Relevant: Your goals should lead to the final outcome you want.
Time-bound: There should be a clear start and end date.

Here’s an example of a content marketing SMART goal:

Specific: We aim to boost blog traffic by increasing our publishing frequency from two to five times a week.

Measurable: The goal is to boost traffic by 12%.

Attainable: We grew our blog traffic by 6% last month when we increased our publishing frequency from one to two times a week.

Relevant: Increasing content production will boost brand awareness and generate more leads from SEO and social sharing.

Time-bound: We will do this by the end of this month.

SMART goal: By the end of this month, we will increase blog traffic by 12% by increasing our publishing frequency from two to five posts a week.

To create a content marketing strategy SMART goal, consider questions like:

How does this contribute to our overall marketing goals?
Is this the most effective way to achieve our desired end result?
Do we have the necessary resources to make this goal a reality?

Once you’ve set your content strategy goals, it’s time to move on to step two.

2. Define your target audience

What is a target audience exactly?

In short, a target audience is a group of people who are likely to respond positively to your content—which is why every single piece of content you create should have a target audience.

The power of a defined target audience is best explained by Elizabeth Gardner, founder of Garnish Media:

“It’s hard to target a message to a generic 35-year-old middle-class working mother of two. It’s much easier to target a message to Jennifer, who has two children under four, works as a paralegal and is always looking for quick but healthy dinners, and ways to spend more time with her kids and less time on housework.”

By defining your target audience, you can better understand how to create content that appeals to their interests, needs, and emotions. In turn, this will lead to a stronger brand and higher conversion rates.

So how do you do it?

First, you’ll want to create a buyer persona. Let’s look at an example.

The Buyer Persona Institute provides a detailed example of a buyer persona. This includes all of the basic demographic information and psychographic information such as their priorities, potential objections, criteria for making decisions, and what they consider valuable.

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OK, but where do you get this information?

Well, if you already have an existing customer base, take a deeper look and try to draw out commonalities. And if you don’t, start by investigating your closest competitor’s customer base.

Ask questions like:

Where do they live?
How old are they?
What gender are they?
What are their interests?
Who do they follow online?
What is their level of education?
What kind of jobs do they have?
How much money do they make?
What motivates them to purchase something?
What concerns them most when making a purchase?

Once you’ve defined your target market, you can begin to identify effective content topics.

3. Develop effective content topics

Your target audience should define everything about the content you create.

Simply put, if you want to generate leads from search engines or boost your social media engagements, you need to create content your target audience will love.

How?

Find out what your target audience is currently searching for and interacting with. There are plenty of ways to do this, but one of the most effective is to use SEO tools to see what people are searching for on search engines.

There are tons of tools out there, such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMRush. There are even plenty of browser extensions like Keywords Everywhere.

Conducting keyword research to identify content opportunities

You probably already have some knowledge of your target audience. So begin by making a list of some relevant and important topics.

Then, it’s time to see how many people are searching these terms.

In this example, we’ll use the browser extension Keywords Everywhere—this tool is simple, quick, and easy to use.

Once you’ve installed the extension, you’ll see keyword information whenever you use a search engine like Google, YouTube, eBay, Etsy, Bing, or Amazon.

Specifically, Keywords Everywhere will show you following for each keyword:

Volume: How many searches a keyword receives per month.
Cost-per-click: The average cost-per-click of the keyword when engaging in pay-per-click advertising.
Competition: How competitive the keyword is.

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When starting out, try to find keywords that have a monthly search volume in the thousands or tens of thousands.

This way, the volume is large enough to draw in substantial amounts of traffic but not so large that your content will be lost in the noise.

With these tips, you should have some solid keywords that you know your target audience is actively searching for.

Turning your keywords into content topics

For example, if one of your keywords is “snowboard helmet,” you could brainstorm the following topic ideas:

The Top 10 Snowboard Helmets in 2024

How to Choose the Best Snowboard Helmet for Your Needs

7 Reasons to Always Wear a Snowboard Helmet

Just remember the golden rule of content creation: It’s never about you, it’s about your readers.

So aim to be helpful and engaging.

If you’re struggling to come up with great content ideas, then consider checking out BuzzSumo.

BuzzSumo is particularly powerful because it allows you to see the top performing content for certain keywords:

Once you’ve got some great topic ideas, it’s time to choose your content’s format.

4. Identify the most effective content format

Today, there are tons of different content formats available. Here are some of the most popular types used by content marketers:

Blog posts

Emails

Videos

Photos

Graphics and infographics

Webinars

Social media posts

Podcasts

Now, each of these formats also has plenty of options.

Take video marketing—you could create vlogs, reviews, how-tos, behind the scenes, interviews, skits, or Q&As.

You also need to decide on the length of your content and which platform you plan to publish it on according to where you hope to engage your audience most.

For example, if you plan to create a video, will you publish it on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram Stories, or your own website?

It’s vital to answer these questions ahead of time as they will define the type of content you need to create.

For instance, a Facebook Story needs to be filmed in portrait, but a YouTube video will perform best when filmed in landscape.

But here’s the thing: You can’t do them all and you shouldn’t do them all.

Unless you have a massive team and an endless budget, trying to produce content in many different formats will overstretch your resources.

For small businesses, it’s best to just have one or two content formats that you can really throw yourself into.

5. Determine your posting frequency

Consistency is key.

Without a consistent content strategy schedule, you won’t build the necessary momentum to attract organic traffic.

Now, the type of content you create will largely inform how often you should share it. For example, it’s likely you’ll post more social media updates than long-form blog posts.

There are two main things to keep in mind: Your limited resources and your audience’s appetite.

Creating long-form blog posts or videos takes a lot of time—or money, if you decide to hire a writer or video producer. This will restrict how often you’re able to create quality content.

In short, the longer the content, the less often you post.

You also want to provide the right amount of content for your target audience.

Too little and you won’t effectively nurture deep customer relationships. Too much and you’ll overwhelm them send them looking for the Unsubscribe button

Curata’s content marketing pyramid provides a helpful way to see how often you should post different types of content. And if you’re still unsure where to start, check out competitors that use content marketing successfully.

You also need to decide when to share your content.

To do this, think about when it’s most convenient for your target audience to consume your content. Plus, check your social media analytics to work out when your audience is most engaged online.

Once you’ve decided on a posting frequency, create a content calendar.

You can use a simple spreadsheet to keep track of your content or use a tool like CoSchedule, Asana, or Trello.

Start by making simple columns to track where each piece of content is in your overall content strategy.

6. Plan your content promotion activities

Every great content strategy includes content promotion.

Marketer and entrepreneur Derek Halpern recommends spending 20% of your time creating content and 80% of your time marketing it.

“If you spend time writing a piece of content, and that content only gets 1,000 readers, chances are there are one million other people in the world who can benefit from what you wrote,” writes Halpern. “Why then, would you spend more time creating content when you already have something that your ideal customers can benefit from?”

So how do you go about marketing your content?

Here are a few ways you can promote content you’ve already published:

Promote your content to your existing mailing list to deepen customer relationships.

Share your posts on your social media platforms.

Repurpose parts of your content into different formats (e.g., take short clips from your long videos to create Facebook and Instagram Story videos).

Pay to promote high-performing posts on social media.

You can also use social media tools like Buffer or HootSuite to schedule your social media posts in advance.

To supercharge your content marketing promotion activities, it’s best to build them into the content itself, such as:

Creating new research in your niche that other people will link to

Including material and sources from prominent brands in your niche, then email them in the hope that they read, share, and link to your content

Asking influencers for a quote to include in your content and then asking them to share the finished piece

Remember to circle back every now and then to promote previous content that still performs well.

7. Continually improve and optimize your content and strategy

This is when the magic happens.

By doing a content audit, you can extract valuable takeaways that you can use to improve your content strategy in the future.

Ideally, you should have a simple spreadsheet that allows you to clearly measure your content’s performance.

Here’s an example from the Content Marketing Institute:

A simple spreadsheet like this will allow you to track your key performance indicators over time.

The data that you track will depend on your goals and the format of your content. For example, you might track:

Video metrics (e.g., views, subscribers, watch time, etc.)

Website data (e.g., pageviews, clicks, signups, bounces, etc.)

Social interactions (e.g., comments, shares, likes, etc.)

You could even use URL shorteners to track clicks from individual videos and social media posts to your website.

8. Update and expand on previous content

An important part of search engine optimization is refreshing previous content. Thankfully, these changes don’t need to be massive.

For example, it’s inevitable that parts of your blog posts will become outdated. When this happens, you should remove those parts, add new relevant information, and optimize the keywords.

This simple practice can be extremely effective since newer content is more likely to be relevant to searchers. That’s why search engines like Google prioritize up-to-date content.

Of course, you can’t update or change parts of videos on YouTube or podcasts on Apple. However, you can revisit the topic.

If you have a high-performing piece of content that your audience loves, why not create more content on the same topic?

All in all, it comes down to one simple phrase: Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.

Content strategy summary

A content strategy is your roadmap to content marketing success.

Without one, you won’t be able to create effective content or enable your performance to consistently improve into the future.

In summary, when creating a content strategy make sure to:

Define your goal: Create SMART goals to ensure you effectively utilize your resources.

Define your target audience: Make sure you know exactly who you’re creating content for.

Develop effective content topics: Identify the topics that your target audience will love.

Identify the most effective content format: Create content in the formats that your audience prefers.

Determine your posting frequency: Post enough to engage your audience and not so much that they feel overwhelmed.

Create a content marketing calendar: Be consistent in your content marketing strategy to build momentum.

Plan your content marketing strategy promotion: Spend 20% of your time creating content and 80% of your time promoting it.

Track and improve your content marketing efforts: Have a documented strategy to draw out insights that you can use to learn and improve your content efforts.

Update and expand on previous content: Refresh old content to improve SEO and expand on high-performing topics.

Don’t start producing content without a proper strategy. Have a plan and an end goal in place to get the most out of your content efforts.

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The Hidden Mystery Behind Building Trust with Potential Customers

by admin | Nov 30, 2023 | Blog
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Understanding the importance of building trust with customers is crucial in today’s market. We don’t just purchase products, services, or companies; we buy from those we trust. In highly competitive industries, the deciding factor for customers often isn’t the product itself, but the trust they have in the people behind it.

This is why building trust is key to successful customer relationships.

Importance of Building Trust With Customers

Understanding the significance of trust in business, it’s imperative that our actions consistently contribute to building this trust. The most effective way to establish trust is by genuinely caring more about the prospect than our own sales objectives. This approach may seem counterintuitive, especially when the instinct is often to focus on the sale.

However, it’s crucial to embrace the concept that a sales-centric mindset can actually be detrimental to achieving sales goals.

Realizing this truth is a significant step towards earning trust and expanding your business. By shifting focus from a transactional perspective to one that values the relationship with the customer, we lay the groundwork for long-term success.

Traditional Sales Approach vs. Trust-Building Approach

Understanding the differences between traditional sales tactics and trust-building strategies can be pivotal for developing lasting customer relationships. This comparison table illustrates key contrasts between these two approaches:

Criteria Traditional Sales Approach Trust-Building Approach

Focus Closing the sale Understanding customer needs

Customer Perception Salesperson is self-interested Salesperson is genuinely helpful

Communication Style Often one-sided Two-way, with active listening

Relationship with Customer Transactional Long-term and relational

Sales Strategy Product-centered Customer-centered

Outcome Expectation Immediate sale Building a lasting relationship

Customer Feedback Less emphasized Actively sought and valued

To build trust, it’s essential to concentrate on understanding the prospect. The more we know about them – their needs, challenges, and goals – the better we can assess how our services or products can be of genuine assistance. Customers are primarily interested in solutions to their problems, not the products or services themselves.

They are looking for ways to overcome their challenges and achieve success. By demonstrating how our offerings can be tailored to their specific situation, we significantly increase the chances of not only making a sale but also establishing a lasting relationship.

It’s about connecting with the customer on a level that transcends the product or service, showing them that their success is our priority.

Moreover, it’s important not to fall into the trap of assuming that our solution is a one-size-fits-all. This mindset can be a major misstep in sales. While we might believe our offering has universal appeal, this is often not the case. Value is subjective and varies from customer to customer.

It’s only those who perceive and trust in the value of our offering who are likely to engage with it. Establishing this trust goes beyond the product or service; it involves demonstrating a deep understanding of the customer’s needs and showing a commitment to providing real solutions.

This approach not only helps in making a sale but also in building a foundation for ongoing customer loyalty and advocacy.

Consider these three steps to being the person your prospect will buy from:

Assume nothing

Do discovery

Really listen

Assume nothing

Understanding your prospects is crucial, and this begins with the realization that initial assumptions can be misleading. You can’t be certain if what you’re offering is what they need until you truly understand their situation. Similarly, deciding whether a prospect is the right fit for your business requires in-depth knowledge about them.

Surface-level observations aren’t enough; looking beyond appearances to understand their actual needs and compatibility is key. This approach avoids the pitfall of stereotyping based on superficial attributes, leading to more meaningful and potentially fruitful engagements.

Do discovery

This step involves curating a set of detailed questions aimed at thoroughly understanding the prospect. The goal is to delve deeper than the immediate problem your product or service might solve. Inquire about their operational methods, what they prioritize, their budget, and timelines, among other aspects.

This holistic understanding of their situation and needs will not only help in providing tailored solutions but also in building a more nuanced and empathetic relationship with them. It’s about gathering insights that go beyond the transactional nature of business and into the realm of strategic partnership.

Really listen

Active, intentional listening is the cornerstone of trust-building. When you listen attentively and purposefully, it resonates with the person speaking. This level of engagement allows you to truly assess whether you can offer meaningful help and whether this is a partnership you wish to pursue.

Genuine listening provides a foundation for a thoughtful and appropriate response, demonstrating that you value the conversation and the potential relationship. This approach is not just about hearing words but about understanding the underlying needs and concerns of your prospects.

Implementing these steps leads to the cultivation of deeper, more meaningful relationships where they are most beneficial. It fosters trust, which in turn positively influences your business over time. When trust is established, the people or companies who are the right fit for your business will naturally gravitate towards you.

They will not only be inclined to do business with you but also become advocates for your brand, referring you to others. This is because at the core of successful business transactions is a human element; people prefer to buy from those they trust and connect with on a personal level.

Photo via Shutterstock

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How to Start a Business in 2024: A 10-Step Guide

by admin | Nov 30, 2023 | Blog
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Starting a business involves planning, doing market research, and acquiring knowledge of the legal aspects of opening a firm. You’ll answer questions like, “How do I find a product to sell?” “What’s the right business model?” “What are the best channels for marketing?”

Let’s go over the key steps on how to start a business, including creating a business plan, registering your company, promoting your offering, and more.

1. Choose a business idea

It all begins with an idea. Many small business ideas are available for you to pursue, including ventures you can run from home.

2. Research your product and audience

Upfront research is necessary to determine whether there’s an audience for your business or product idea.

3. Write a business plan

A business plan helps you get clear on how to manage key aspects of the business. It includes everything from your executive summary to your financials.

4. Make or source products

If your product is a handmade item, you can choose an appropriate space in your home to carry out its production. If it’s designed to be manufactured in a factory, you’ll likely need to find a supply partner.

5. Develop a brand

A strong brand is crucial for building trust with customers and the wider audience.

6. Build a website

A website lets you introduce your business to the world, and it’s easy to create one thanks to website builders like Shopify’s.

7. Register your business

In most countries, you will need to officially register your business. Check with your local government agency to clear any doubts.

8. Manage your money

Getting a grip on finances is important for streamlining your business operations. This involves everything from opening a business bank account to choosing accounting software.

9. Market your business

Marketing is essential to launching a successful business. It’s how you can get products in front of your target audience.

10. Grow your business

Once your business is up and running, consider taking steps to make it grow. New business owners can take several measures, from seeking additional funding to selling in overseas markets.

How to start a business in 2024: summary

Choose a business idea

Research your products and audience

Write a business plan

Manufacture or source products

Build a brand

Create a website

Register your business

Manage your money

Market your business

Grow your business

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16 Common SEO Mistakes You Don’t Want to Be Making

by admin | Nov 30, 2023 | Blog
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Digital marketing relies in part on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to foster the success of a website. Effective strategies drive organic traffic, boosting both sales and conversions.

Mistakes like not optimizing for essential keywords can lead to a drop in profits and sales. Remember, potential customers looking for online goods and services use keywords and phrases to start the process.

The Impact of SEO Mistakes

Understanding SEO is crucial for online success. For businesses considering how to start an SEO company, knowing these common mistakes can provide a solid foundation for offering effective SEO services.

Other SEO errors can cause problems for a website’s search engine rankings:

  Mistakes like broken links can cause a drop in organic traffic.

   Misleading meta descriptions can damage the site’s credibility.

  Duplicate content can result in a decline in visibility on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS).

The 16 Most Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid

Along with these mistakes, focusing on video SEO and YouTube SEO is equally important, as video content increasingly dominates the digital landscape. Sidestepping the following 16 SEO mistakes can help your site rank higher and boost sales.

1. Ignoring the Importance of Keyword Research

The Mistake

Neglecting this research reduces a website’s visibility and potential traffic. Keywords are the basis of SEO. In effect, they are the phrases your audience uses to look for the goods and services you have to sell.

The Solution

You can use several research tools, including SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner. These can help you find high-volume, low-competition keywords. One strategy is to target long-tail ones and their variations.

2. Overlooking the Power of Meta Descriptions

The Mistake

Don’t underestimate the critical nature of meta descriptions. Not using them properly can affect your visibility and click-through rates.

The Solution

A meta description should be around 150 to 160 characters, using the active voice to highlight unique selling points.

WordPress Has some excellent SEO plugins for these descriptions. The same goes for Yoast SEO.

3. Failing to Optimize for Mobile Users

The Mistake

Ignoring mobile optimization leads to lower rankings on mobile searches and higher bounce rates.

The Solution

A responsive design is the solution. These designs need to adapt to various devices and screen sizes.

4. Neglecting Internal Links

The Mistake

User navigation can be affected when you overlook these links. Another consequence occurs with indexing by search engines.

The Solution

An audit will help you identify pages with outdated links or lacking internal ones. Creating an internal linking strategy prioritizing relevant content is a good idea.

It’s also an excellent strategy to optimize your menus and navigation bars to incorporate internal links

5. Overusing Keywords (Keyword Stuffing)

The Mistake

Overusing keywords can do much more than lead to a poor user experience. Search engines impose penalties for keyword stuffing.

The Solution

Writing content that appeals to users is part of the solution. Use words naturally so there’s a sense of flow and readability.

Keywords need to be placed in strategic locations like a meta description, headings and titles. Density matters, and you should aim for what’s organic, which is typically up to 2% of all of the content.

6. Not Utilizing Google Search Console

The Mistake

Google Search Control can help you troubleshoot, maintain and monitor the presence of a website in Google search results. You’re missing valuable insights if you’re not using it.

The Solution

Fixing this problem starts with going to Google Search Control and adding your website URL. You need to upload your site’s XML sitemap.

7. Ignoring Local SEO

The Mistake

Ignoring local SEO is a big mistake if you’re looking to target local prospects. Not using the strategy will lower your rankings in local search results.

The Solution

Fixing this problem means creating a Google My Business (GMB) listing. It’s also essential to optimize your content and website with location-based keyword phrases and keywords. Remember to ask satisfied customers to leave reviews on your GMB page.

8. Not Optimizing for Voice Search

The Mistake

Voice Search is a growing trend that you want to take advantage of. It can amplify your visibility.

The Solution

Finding conversational keywords that prospects might use when speaking is a solution. Usually, these are long-tail keywords. You’ll also need to ensure your website is mobile-friendly because most searches are done that way.

9. Forgetting to Regularly Update Content

The Mistake

Your website’s authority and relevance will suffer if you don’t update content regularly.

The Solution

It’s easier to schedule updates when you use a content calendar regularly. You can also consider updating old posts with brand-new information or statistics. New formats are another way to increase your rankings. Think podcasts, infographics and videos.

10. Overlooking User Experience (UX)

The Mistake

Lower engagement numbers and higher bounce rates result when ignoring user experience (UX).

The Solution

Make sure that your website performs well on mobile devices and is responsive. Optimize images and reduce unnecessary scripts. Streamline your navigation with user-friendly categories and menus and a logical site hierarchy.

Don’t forget to use bullet points and headers to make content easy to read.

11. Poor Site Speed and Performance

The Mistake

Poor performance and slow speed can hinder user experience and your SEO rankings at the same time.

The Solution

A faster hosting provider might be the answer. Or you can minimize HTTP requests by reducing redirects and utilizing browser caching.

Start by using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify any performance issues.

12. Failing to Utilize Social Media Signals

The Mistake

Your brand’s visibility can be limited if you ignore your social media presence and don’t maintain it properly.

The Solution

Sharing infographics, articles, blog posts, and videos will help engage with your target market. Remember to run contests and respond to any comments made on these channels.

13. Not Using Analytics to Drive SEO Strategy

The Mistake

Optimizing your SEO strategies begins when you utilize the information you get from analytics. Ignoring this critical part of the puzzle deprives you of the tweaks necessary for any campaign.

The Solution

You can track user behavior and website traffic using Google Analytics. This tool helps you identify trending topics and high-performing keywords. The information you’ll get through analytics will help you align your strategies with your target market preferences.

14. Inadequate Backlink Strategies

The Mistake

Your website authority will suffer, and your SEO performance drop if you don’t use quality backlinks.

The Solution

Ensure you reach out to relevant locations for these. Guest posting to relevant and reputable websites is a great way to get links back to your website.

15. Overlooking the Importance of Meta Tags and Title Tags

The Mistake

Pay attention to title tags and the meta version. Your search visibility and click-through rates will be hampered if you don’t.

The Solution

One solution is descriptive, compelling titles of less than 70 characters containing your keywords. Encourage links with a meta description that is less than 160 characters.

16. Not Addressing Broken Links

The Mistake

You’ll need a constant effort to stay on top of these links that can negatively impact your SEO. Ignoring them or not checking them can cost you rankings and sales.

The Solution

You’ll need to check for these periodically, and you can use tools like Screaming Frog.

SEO Best Practices

For those looking to deepen their SEO knowledge, exploring SEO courses can be incredibly beneficial. Additionally, learning how to improve writing and SEO can greatly enhance content quality and search engine rankings.

Here are five strategies to help you build a successful SEO strategy and avoid mistakes.

Optimizing your site’s speed means minimizing HTTP requests and compressing images.

Active profiles on social media mean engagement. Respond to comments and integrate social sharing buttons.

Make informed decisions using Google Analytics to track popular content and website traffic. That includes deciding on relevant keywords.

Look for reputable backlinks from quality websites through guest posting and quality content.

Don’t forget to optimize title tags and their meta counterparts.

Beyond these practices, creating a well-rounded SEO strategy and improving blog SEO are crucial steps. Remember, understanding mobile SEO facts is key in an increasingly mobile-first world.

Best Practice Description Tools/Resources Key Tips

Keyword Research Identify relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for. Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush. Focus on long-tail keywords for less competition.

Quality Content Create valuable and informative content that meets user needs. Content management systems, Grammarly. Regularly update your website with fresh, relevant content.

On-Page Optimization Optimize individual web pages to rank higher. Yoast SEO, Moz SEO tools. Include keywords in titles, headings, and meta descriptions.

Mobile Optimization Ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, responsive web design. A mobile-responsive website is crucial for better ranking.

Loading Speed Improve website loading times for better user experience. Google PageSpeed Insights, website caching tools. Fast loading speeds are crucial for both ranking and user experience.

Quality Backlinks Build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites. Backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs, guest blogging. Focus on building organic backlinks over quantity.

Local SEO Optimize for local searches, especially if you have a physical location. Google My Business, local directories. Ensure your business is listed on local directories and Google My Business.

Image Optimization Optimize images for faster loading and descriptive alt-text. Image compression tools, descriptive file names. Use relevant alt-text and compress images for faster loading.

Regular Analytics Review Regularly check analytics to understand traffic and user behavior. Google Analytics, Google Search Console. Use insights to refine your SEO strategies over time.

SSL Certificate Secure your website with HTTPS for safety and ranking. SSL certificates from hosting providers. Websites with HTTPS are favored by search engines.

FAQs: Common SEO Mistakes

Here are some answers to common questions asked about these mistakes.

Should a small business pay a specialist to optimize a website for search engines?

Hiring a professional will give you expert implementation of the most innovative SEO strategies.

How often should a SEO strategy be reviewed?

Reviewing your strategy every 3 to 6 months will help you adapt to changing user behaviors, algorithms and market trends.

What are the key factors search engines consider when ranking websites?

The factors search engines evaluate include:

Content quality and keywords.

Backlinks and user experience, which include mobile-friendliness and website speed.

Technicalities like sitemaps, schema markup and proper website structure.

Domain Authority, which judges the credibility and trustworthiness of the site.

Engagement metrics, which include click-through rates.

How costly can an SEO mistake be?

An SEO mistake can lead to a significant drop in website traffic, visibility, and rankings. That can spell a decrease in organic search traffic and a loss of revenue.

Image: Envato Elements

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7 Fashion Ecommerce Trends for 2024

by admin | Nov 30, 2023 | Blog
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According to Statista, the fashion ecommerce industry composed about 21% of the overall ecommerce industry in 2023. This has been spurred by several trends, like growing globalization, rapidly evolving innovation, and changes in consumer spending habits driven by factors like COVID-19 (among many others).

So what can ecommerce fashion retailers expect? And for those looking to break into the space: what considerations should you keep in mind as you develop your product line, business model, and marketing plan?

Let’s take a look at some of the top trends we predict for the fashion ecommerce industry in 2024.

1. More eyes are on sustainability

In recent years, there’s been a steady shift toward more sustainable practices and mindsets among both consumers and the fashion industry. This trend isn’t going anywhere.

Research shows that this trend is especially strong in younger consumers: millennials and Gen Z. Here are a few stats from thredUP’s annual research:

58% of millennials and Gen Z say that the items they wear contribute to climate change, as opposed to 43% overall.

63% of them holds the belief that they can help reduce their carbon footprint, as opposed to 55% overall.

61% of them would call themselves sustainably focused or eco-conscious, as opposed to 51% overall.

So if your target market includes younger age groups, you may benefit from implementing more environmentally friendly practices into your product sourcing or business model. This may be a critical tool in helping you carve out a lasting piece of the market.

2. Growth of online resale

Another contribution to the sustainability mindset is the growing preference to buy secondhand clothing as opposed to new items. This has a twofold benefit: it helps to reduce waste while also reducing the need to manufacture new items, which often negatively contributes to climate change and other potential social issues.

According to a recent report, the online clothing resale market is projected to hit $38 billion by 2027, nearly doubling from 2023. This projection means that the online resale market will grow at nearly double the speed of its parent market of secondhand clothing. (The secondhand market includes four channels: online and offline resale, as well as online and offline thrift and donation.)

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Many members of Gen Z will search for an item secondhand before buying it new. But the concept of resale doesn’t apply only to buying: research shows that Gen Z shoppers are actually starting to consider the resale value of clothing they purchase—and are less likely to make a purchase if the resale value seems low. This shows that they’re active participants in a secondhand life cycle that includes both buying and selling.

3. AI to power personalization

We all know that personalization creates better shopping experiences. We also know that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are changing the game for virtually every industry.

So it’s only natural to see these two concepts marry.

Ecommerce fashion trends show that AI is helping brands find the proverbial sweet spot of personalization: too much can creep out online shoppers and cause them to leave, while a lack of personalization can lead to inefficient and frustrating experiences.

AI helps to find a balance, using a virtually infinite set of data points to analyze the best moves at the best time. From product recommendations to dynamic pricing to customized marketing to targeted customer service, AI is making the fashion retail market smoother and easier to jump into.

4. Fashion brands getting social

We spend about 2.5 hours per day on social media—a figure that’s been steadily climbing year after year. So it’s no wonder that savvy ecommerce fashion brands (and brands in every other industry, for that matter) are using this as an opportunity to sell more products.

According to Statista, the US social commerce market hit about $992 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach a whopping $2.9 trillion by 2026.

Online retailers are using several strategies to tap into this market. These include:

Product videos that showcase and highlight certain products, which can then be purchased in-app or through a direct link

Influencer marketing partnerships with familiar faces, who promote items and encourage sales (often as a part of an affiliate marketing plan)

Multichannel and omnichannel ecommerce strategies that integrate offline buying paths with social media

Leveraging native selling tools within social media platforms, like Facebook Shops, Pinterest buyable pins, and Shopping on Instagram

5. Brick-and-mortar plays better with online

Now that the days of quarantines and social distancing have lessened, brick-and-mortar stores are getting their groove back. This presents a world of opportunities, but also some potential challenges for online retailers with physical stores: how can we optimize the omnichannel landscape, with seamless integration of web, app, and in-store experiences?

Fashion ecommerce retailers are getting more and more creative with how they work to answer these questions.

Take natural shoe brand Allbirds for example. It started exclusively online, eventually having so much success it opened select brick-and-mortar stores. At first, when a customer wanted an item that wasn’t in store, associates needed to email them a link so they could finish the purchase at home. But now, they use a “buy in-store, ship to consumer” model.

“[Buy in-store, ship to consumer] allows for a much higher conversion than if we tell them to go back to their home and order it when they get back.”

—Travis Boyce, Head of Global Retail Operations, Allbirds

The metaverse is really shaking things up in fashion. For those unaware, it’s a virtual landscape where augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies combine to create immersive experiences. This new environment is changing the way we shop and interact with clothing and accessories.

Fashion brands realize the potential of this new environment and are quickly adapting. For instance, Forever 21 partnered with virtual game creator Roblox to create Forever 21 Shop City, an unique virtual world in the metaverse.

In the Forever 21 Shop, customers can manage their own fashion stores and style avatars with Forever 21’s latest collections. The goal, according to chief merchandising officer Katrina Glusac, is to expand how the brand engages with customers, extending its presence and product in new ways

Overall, the fashion metaverse trend is revolutionizing the online shopping experience, turning it from a simple transaction into a fully interactive and engaging activity.

7. Buy now, pay later’s popularity soars

Installment payments are making a big splash in fashion ecommerce. Shoppers, eager to stay stylish without breaking the bank are finding a friend in buy now, pay later (BNPL) options. This approach lets them shop the latest trends today and pay over time—a real blessing for budget-conscious fashionistas.

Fashion ecommerce brands are quickly jumping on the BNPL bandwagon. They’re partnering with popular BNPL providers like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay. These services split up the total cost into smaller bites, making that must-have jacket or pair of shoes more wallet-friendly. It’s shopping made easy, without the full-price sting at checkout.

The surge in BNPL’s popularity is backed by impressive numbers. In the US, BNPL lending in fashion is forecasted to reach more than $90 billion by 2023, and it’s not slowing down—experts predict it will cross $100 billion by 2024. This trend shows that shoppers love the pay-later perk.

In essence, BNPL is turning “window shopping” into “winning shopping.” It’s helping people stay in vogue without the upfront financial load. As we head into 2024, BNPL looks set to be a staple in the online fashion world, keeping both style and savings in vogue.

Stay on top of the ecommerce fashion market

As you’ve probably seen firsthand, the trends of today might be ancient relics by tomorrow. If you want to last in the ecommerce fashion industry, it’s important to stay on top of evolving trends.

Keep these tips in mind, and remember that they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The most strategic fashion and apparel retailers will be the ones who come out on top for years to come.

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Square’s Q3 Report Shows Resilient Dining Trends and Emerging Innovations

by admin | Nov 30, 2023 | Blog
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Square’s latest quarterly Restaurant Industry Report offers a comprehensive analysis of the dining landscape in American downtowns post-pandemic. The report, drawing on data from Square’s extensive network of food and beverage sellers, delves into consumer spending patterns, restaurant wages, and the adoption of new business models in the industry.

Thanksgiving Dining: A Shift Towards Convenience

With Thanksgiving around the corner, Square’s data reveals a growing trend of consumers opting for take-out Thanksgiving meals. In response, many restaurants are now offering prix fixe Thanksgiving meals, providing a blend of luxury, choice, and convenience. Square’s Thanksgiving Meal calculator, a new tool, allows consumers to estimate the cost of a take-out meal, averaging $34 per person.

Stabilization in Downtown Dining Traffic

The report indicates a stabilization in dining out in downtown areas, maintaining roughly 72% of pre-pandemic levels as of September 2023. This trend is attributed partly to the continuing work-from-home culture. However, cities like Detroit, Los Angeles, and Miami have seen significant growth in food and beverage transactions, signaling a varied recovery across different metropolitan areas.

Technology’s Role in Adapting to New Trends

Ming-Tai Huh, General Manager of Square for Restaurants, highlights the importance of technology in adapting to these changing dining trends. Solutions like handhelds for line-busting, efficient Kitchen Display Systems (KDS), and automated marketing tools are recommended for restaurants to manage demand fluctuations effectively.

Marketing and Loyalty Tools to Enhance Customer Engagement

Restaurants are encouraged to utilize tools like Square Marketing and Square Loyalty to attract and retain customers. These tools aid in promoting new items, events, and deals, and enable the creation of loyalty programs that provide insights into customer activity and sales impact.

Wage Trends in the Restaurant Sector

The Square Payroll Index shows that wage growth for restaurant workers, which peaked in March 2022, has started to slow down. Despite this, certain metropolitan areas like Cincinnati, Las Vegas, and Jacksonville are experiencing above-average earnings growth.

Innovation Through Subscriptions

Facing challenges like inflation and economic uncertainty, restaurateurs are diversifying revenue streams through subscriptions, such as monthly wine clubs or quarterly specialty food shipments. Square notes a 54% year-over-year growth in food and drink sellers with active buyer subscriptions.

Square’s report paints a picture of a resilient restaurant industry, adapting to post-pandemic changes and embracing technology and innovation to meet new consumer preferences and challenges.

Image: Squareup

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Criteria	Traditional Sales Approach	Trust-Building Approach
Focus	Closing the sale	Understanding customer needs
Customer Perception	Salesperson is self-interested	Salesperson is genuinely helpful
Communication Style	Often one-sided	Two-way, with active listening
Relationship with Customer	Transactional	Long-term and relational
Sales Strategy	Product-centered	Customer-centered
Outcome Expectation	Immediate sale	Building a lasting relationship
Customer Feedback	Less emphasized	Actively sought and valued

Best Practice	Description	Tools/Resources	Key Tips
Keyword Research	Identify relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for.	Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush.	Focus on long-tail keywords for less competition.
Quality Content	Create valuable and informative content that meets user needs.	Content management systems, Grammarly.	Regularly update your website with fresh, relevant content.
On-Page Optimization	Optimize individual web pages to rank higher.	Yoast SEO, Moz SEO tools.	Include keywords in titles, headings, and meta descriptions.
Mobile Optimization	Ensure your website is mobile-friendly.	Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, responsive web design.	A mobile-responsive website is crucial for better ranking.
Loading Speed	Improve website loading times for better user experience.	Google PageSpeed Insights, website caching tools.	Fast loading speeds are crucial for both ranking and user experience.
Quality Backlinks	Build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.	Backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs, guest blogging.	Focus on building organic backlinks over quantity.
Local SEO	Optimize for local searches, especially if you have a physical location.	Google My Business, local directories.	Ensure your business is listed on local directories and Google My Business.
Image Optimization	Optimize images for faster loading and descriptive alt-text.	Image compression tools, descriptive file names.	Use relevant alt-text and compress images for faster loading.
Regular Analytics Review	Regularly check analytics to understand traffic and user behavior.	Google Analytics, Google Search Console.	Use insights to refine your SEO strategies over time.
SSL Certificate	Secure your website with HTTPS for safety and ranking.	SSL certificates from hosting providers.	Websites with HTTPS are favored by search engines.