You know there are more platforms besides Google to exercise your marketing prowess, right? Yes, the Silicon Valley-based juggernaut still remains the bread and butter for digital marketers by a mile, but this doesn’t mean alternative or niche search engines should be left in the dark.
As you map out your strategies and campaigns for 2018, consider these five tips to help you optimize your presence on some of the web’s other heavy hitters including YouTube, Amazon, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and eBay.
YouTube: Focus on Descriptions and Thumbnails
From the drawing board to the edit bay, video production can consume so much time and effort. As a result, some miscellaneous, but nevertheless important, elements of the process might get put on the back burner.
Take it from Wpromote Senior SEO Manager, Justin McKinney: “Take advantage of product descriptions and thumbnails. Long-form product descriptions help YouTube understand what your video is about, and thus help your rankings. Compelling thumbnails entice people to click through to your videos.”
When writing out your keyword-rich description, be sure to put a link to the product page at the top. YouTube only displays around the first 100 characters of description. So, if viewers don’t click the “show more” button, make sure they at least see a strong call to action and link. It’s recommended to keep your description between 250 to 500 characters, but this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Depending on the length of your video, a transcript might be a suitable option if you’re looking to utilize all 5,000 characters that YouTube allots.
Thumbnails can determine whether a potential customer clicks on your video. Creating a compelling thumbnail might take some A/B testing, though. Experiment with bright-color backgrounds, text, close-up face shots, animation and other tactics to see what works. When you decide what’s best for you, ensure your thumbnail design stays consistent across the channel. Take a look at Klipsch’s YouTube page to understand this concept of consistency.
image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Klipsch_YouTube-600×245.png
Amazon: Conversion > Content
Anyone who visits the world’s largest e-commerce store is obviously there to do one of two things: purchase something or dream of purchasing something. Therefore, it’s best to think like a buyer when it comes to your marketing strategy on Amazon. McKinney points out that “unlike traditional search, content is not king on Amazon, conversion is. Optimize your product listings for conversion and you will see ranking improvements.”
While the titles of your listings must include relevant keywords, they should also be easily readable and descriptive enough for buyers to know exactly what the product is.
Images are vital for conversion, too. Ensure your pictures are professionally shot, easy on the eyes, and at least 1,000 pixels by 1,000 pixels so buyers can enlarge the photo. Take time to brush up on Amazon’s image standards before posting anything.
TripAdvisor: The More Photos, The Better
Based on a 2018 digital transformation report, the bar graph below shows travel review sites, most notably TripAdvisor, as the number one source of information during the travel-planning phase, beating out word of mouth and traditional search engine results. These statistics prove that businesses, especially those in the hospitality industry, should establish a presence on TripAdvisor now more than ever.
image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Travel-Review-Stats-600×353.png
Garnering high-rated reviews, responding to reviews and adding booking links to your page are all crucial tactics for optimizing your business on TripAdvisor. The quantity of photos posted on your listing helps keep potential customers engaged with your business longer.
“Imagery is very important to attract the customer, so show them what they want,” according to Wpromote SEO Director Bart Peters. “For hotels, people want to know what the room looks like. For restaurants, people want to see the food. TripAdvisor promotes that businesses with 30-plus photos have a 41 percent higher engagement than locations with 10 or fewer.”
Yelp: Respond to Reviews Regularly and Quickly
Although responding to reviews can be a time-consuming task, your business will thrive in the end since engaging with reviewers helps improve local SEO. Your response times can also affect your Yelp ranking, which can give you an edge over your competitors. A clever way to boost your Yelp ranking is to weave keywords into your responses. For example, if you own a computer repair shop and receive a positive review, write: “Thank you for letting us repair your computer. Please recommend us to your friends who live in the San Francisco area.”
You do not need to reply to every single review. Use your best judgment to decide when it’s appropriate to respond. As for negative reviews, always try to make amends. According to Moz, it’s 25 times more expensive to earn a new customer than to retain an existing one, so be sure to apologize sincerely and accept complete responsibility.
eBay: Be as Specific as Possible
Online shoppers don’t have time to scroll through thousands of listings, especially if they type a broad keyword like “men’s shoes” into the search bar. That why it’s imperative to fill out your item specifics when posting products on eBay. The photo below shows all the specifics that can be included for a men’s shoe listing. The number of specifics vary from item to item, but whether there are 5 or 25 specifics, make sure to provide as much information as possible so shoppers can find your product easily, which can lead to more conversions and higher rankings.
For your listing description, write at least 200 characters with relevant keywords at the beginning and end of your description. To help improve rankings and conversions, you could apply the 80/20 rule. This means 80 percent of your content involves the product itself, while 20 percent is used as promotion for your eBay store.
image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Listing-Description-600×152.png
If your business needs help optimizing on alternative platforms in 2018, these five suggestions are sure-fire ways to improve your rankings and boost conversions.
Read more at https://www.business2community.com/seo/5-tips-alternative-search-engine-marketing-02044433
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