Recognizing the immense value this group brings to my business, I’m eager to contribute by sharing my unique “Holy Grail Copy” methodology. This approach, though unconventional, has been pivotal in building multi-million-dollar businesses for both myself and my clients.

To pique your interest, someone once said about my frameworks:

“Your strategies are like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumb trail leading to the Witch’s House. But in this case, you’re the witch, and what you conjure is pure magic.”

Let’s dive in.

A few years back, I sold one of my companies internally. This move allowed me to amalgamate my diverse passions into a singular, powerful persuasion strategy. When I unveiled it last year, we observed:

• $383 per email subscriber.
• $209 per FB Group Member.
• $1.83 EPC, while the industry average was $0.53.

These figures are far from ordinary. And here’s the secret behind them:

Introducing Holy Grail Copywriting (HGC):

HGC’s core principle is “Start at the Finish Line.” In perception management, you can strategically position yourself within your prospect’s hierarchy of needs. By aligning your product with their most pressing desires, selling becomes effortless.

The 5-Step HGC Process:

1. Identify Your Prospect’s Most Pressing Pain:

While basic marketing emphasizes targeting pain points, it’s crucial to differentiate between passive pain (complaining without action) and active pain (which drives action). The key is to focus on the latter.

Differentiate Between “Moaning” and “Moving” Pain: Understand the spectrum of pain. A stubbed toe is Moaning Pain, a mere inconvenience. In contrast, the urgency of a severed thumb is Moving Pain, demanding immediate action.

Apply the DUG Checklist: Grasp the essence of the DUG checklist, a tool to categorize pain into:

• Desperation: A situation so dire that immediate action is the only option. Example: Think of a business owner teetering on bankruptcy’s edge.
• Urgency: An imminent threat that demands swift action to prevent dire consequences. Example: Picture a smoker discovering early signs of lung cancer.
• Gravity: Deeply held values or priorities that might override other considerations. Example: Visualize a parent prioritizing their child’s needs over lucrative opportunities

2. Tailor Your Product to Alleviate That Pain:

Understand what relief from this pain looks like for your prospect. Then, either create a product or reposition your existing one to offer that relief.

• Craft or Reposition Your Product: Determine the ideal solution for the identified Moving Pain and ensure your product aligns with that vision.
• Introduce Novelty: Unexpected solutions to pressing problems are often the most enticing. Always introduce an element of novelty to stand out.

3. Infuse Your Product with Unique, Attractive Qualities:

Creating allure in a product is an art. At its core, allure is about evoking emotion, creating a connection, and making a product more than just a tangible item—it becomes an experience. One of the most potent tools to achieve this is storytelling. Stories have the power to breathe life into otherwise mundane products.

• Identify Popular Cultural References: Draw inspiration from powerful symbols like the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Integrate Psychological Triggers: Weave in elements of storytelling, unique mechanisms, and shared values.

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4. Use a Religion-Inspired Persuasion Sequence:

Religions have, for millennia, captivated the human spirit. It has an astonishing 83% penetration rate. They’ve done this through powerful narratives that touch upon the very essence of human existence, desires, fears, and aspirations. At the heart of many religious texts is a sequence that resonates deeply with believers: Sin, Salvation, Heaven, and Hell.

• Sin (The Problem): This represents the pain or problem your prospect faces.
• Salvation (The Solution): Here, you introduce your product as the answer.
• Heaven (The Benefits): This is the promised land, the utopia that awaits.
• Hell (The Consequences of Inaction): The bleak future that awaits if the problem remains unresolved.

5. Promote Your Product Using Diverse Marketing Angles:

With AI now optimizing ad performance, the key is to provide it with diverse data. I use the TADA Template, which helps generate multiple ad angles based on dominant human emotions. This approach allows for rapid testing across various channels.

In summary, Holy Grail Copywriting is about creating a magical “escape from moving pain” novel product, pitching it via religious persuasion sequence and shouting it loud via an infinite angle approach on paid and social media.

So there you go. Hope it helps you make a mint!

I hope this enriched perspective proves invaluable to you. If you want to find out how Holy Grail can best be deployed in your business, please email my assistant with the subject line “HOLY GRAIL!” here: john.holygrailoffer@gmail.com

The post Holy Grail Copywriting: The 5-Step Mental Model Behind Blockbuster Marketing Campaigns appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Are you a business owner looking to build a successful ecommerce website?

If so, then SEO should be at the top of your list.

Search engine optimization can make or break an online store – optimizing for search engines is essential for any ecommerce website if you want to stand out from the competition and increase traffic.

This ultimate guide to SEO for ecommerce websites in 2023 will give you insights into how SEO works, what are the best SEO strategies for ecommerce websites, and how to create an effective SEO strategy for ecommerce websites that will help grow your business.

Let’s get started with the burning question, “What is ecommerce SEO?”

What is Ecommerce SEO, & How Does It Work?

Ecommerce SEO is the process of optimizing your online ecommerce store for search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

This means taking all the necessary steps to make your website appear higher in search results when users search for related keywords.

SEO for ecommerce site involves optimizing your website’s written and visual content, as well as its structure and technical aspects. This makes it easier for search engine robots to crawl, index, and understand your website and ultimately rank it higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

What does “indexing” mean?

Indexing is like registering your website on Google’s directory or database.

If your website is not indexed, users won’t be able to see it, which means you can’t rank on search engines.

How Does Search Engine Optimization Work?

SEO is a combination of on-page and off-page optimization strategies.

On-Page SEO

On-page optimization involves optimizing elements on your website, such as the design, content, coding, and URL structure.

Some of the basic on-page optimization tasks include:

• Writing keyword-rich website content, titles, and meta descriptions
• Setting up an internal linking structure
• Enhancing page speed and mobile-friendliness
• Optimizing images with alt text
• Using structured data (Schema markup)
• Adding quality external links

All of these factors help search engine robots understand the purpose and content of your website so they can compare it to other ecommerce sites in organic search results.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page optimization, on the other hand, involves activities outside of your website, such as building links from other websites, using social media to promote your content, and submitting your website to directories and webmaster tools like Google Search Console.

These activities all help to increase your website’s visibility and authority in the eyes of search engines.

These on-page and off-page factors are generally known as ranking factors in technical SEO language.

But what exactly is the purpose of ecommerce SEO besides boosting search engine rankings?

Let’s have a quick rundown of the benefits of SEO for ecommerce website.

Benefits of An Ecommerce SEO Campaign

SEO for ecommerce site is essential because of the following:

1. Boost In Website Traffic & Search Visibility

One of the most obvious benefits of ecommerce SEO is that it increases the visibility of your ecommerce site and promises better engagement chances with potential customers.

Doing so builds your digital presence, drives more traffic, and increases customer conversion rates.

2. Minimize Paid Ad Costs

Investing in your ecommerce SEO campaign could mean a significant reduction in your paid advertising budget.

But, thankfully, it would still offer a higher ROI.

Why? and HOW?

Because “53.3% of all organic traffic comes from organic search.” (Source = Ahrefs)

This means more than half of the users ignore paid ads and click on organic search results.

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So, cut your paid marketing costs, and double down your investment in SEO tools.

3. Enhance Brand Image

Customers are likely to trust and buy from top stores on search engine results pages simply because they are seen more often.

4. Sit Above Your Competition (Literally)

Ranking higher in search engine results not only puts you above competitor ecommerce sites on Google, but it also gives you the edge when it comes to capturing leads.

The higher your website appears in the SERPs, the more likely customers are to click through to it and make a purchase.

5. Improve Your Retargeting Campaigns

Retargeting campaigns involve targeting previous website visitors with personalized ads in order to remind them about your products and win back potential customers.

SEO can help you with this by providing you with data that lets you know how many people are visiting your website and which pages they’re viewing.

This data will allow you to better determine the right retargeting campaigns and optimize them for maximum ROI.

6. Better Usability & Customer Experience

Good ecommerce SEO practices mean that your website is optimized for usability, which in turn enhances the customer experience and makes it easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for.

This can lead to more satisfied customers and higher conversion rates, making SEO a great investment.

All in all, ecommerce SEO is one of the smartest investments you can make for your online store. It doesn’t just help you to rank higher in search engine results; it also helps you grow in every aspect and emerge as a trusted brand.

Now that we’ve covered the working and benefits of ecommerce SEO, it’s time to dive into the ecommerce SEO best practices you should be using.

12-Step Proven & Effective Ecommerce SEO Strategy (+1 Bonus Step)

Here is what a comprehensive ecommerce SEO strategy should include:

1. Registering Your Ecommerce Site On Search Engines

The very first step to kick off your ecommerce SEO campaign is to submit your website on Google, Bing, and other search engines.

Why?

Registering your website with search engines will ensure that your website is visible to search engine spiders and crawled more frequently.

Moreover, it will send you notifications about any technical issues related to crawling or website usability in general.

How to register your website with search engines?

By adding your website’s URL to the respective search engine’s webmaster tools.

For Google, it’s Google Search Console, and for Bing, it’s Bing Webmaster Tools.

2. Setting Up & Optimizing Your Website Structure

Optimizing your site architecture is one of the key ecommerce SEO tools to benefit from. A well-organized and structured website tells search engines that your ecommerce site is easy to crawl and index.

Moreover, a well-structured website appeals to customers and helps them find the information they are looking for quickly and easily.

So, you need to optimize your website structure for both.

How to optimize ecommerce site architecture for search engine bots?

It’s easy. Simply add your sitemap file to Google and Bing using the respective webmaster tools.

A sitemap is basically a visual representation of all the pages on your website that you want search engines to crawl. This should essentially include all of your product pages, category pages, blog posts, and other content.

What does a sitemap do?

It helps search engine bots crawl and index all the pages of your website. Plus, it also helps users see how your website is organized and where they can easily find the information they’re looking for.

You can create a sitemap yourself or take advantage of automated solutions such as Google’s Webmaster Tools. XML and HTML are both used for sitemaps, but HTML sitemaps are a user-friendly option.

How to optimize ecommerce site architecture for website visitors?

Besides adding a sitemap, make sure that all major pages of your ecommerce store aren’t far away from the homepage.

Users like it when a product or category page is easily accessible within three clicks from the home page, as this lets them navigate your website easily.

So, have a clear navigation system with well-defined categories and properly labeled product pages. But avoid adding unnecessary layers of pages; it could make customers feel lost.

Also, add an easy-to-spot search bar somewhere on the page (preferably in the header area). This will allow customers to quickly search and find what they’re looking for on your website.

Bonus Tip: Want to build more trust with your visitors?

Add an About Us and a Contact Us page so customers know who you are as a brand and where they can reach you.

3. Performing In-Depth Keyword Research

The next step to setting up an effective ecommerce SEO strategy is keyword research.

Why?

Because keywords are the foundation of any successful search engine optimization campaign.

They help you understand what people are searching for when they look up something related to your business and the products you offer.

So, how do you find keywords?

Two of the most effective methods are:

Use a Keyword Research tool:

There are plenty of free and paid keyword research tools available online. Ubersuggest, Answer the Public, and Ahrefs Keywords Explorer are some of the popular ones.

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These tools will provide you with a list of keyword suggestions related to your business and products, their search volumes, CPCs, keyword difficulty scores, and more.

Or, you can use a free tool like Google Keyword Planner. It’s a great way to find relevant and popular keywords for your website.

Bonus Tip: You can use the auto suggest feature on Amazon, Etsy, and other platforms to find more relevant keywords.

Google’s Autosuggest:

Another easy way to find keyword ideas is through Google’s auto suggest feature. All you have to do is type a keyword into the search box, and Google will automatically suggest related terms.

For example, if you type ‘running shoes,’ it’ll give you a list of related keywords such as ‘best running shoes,’ ‘running shoes for women,’ and so on.

These keyword suggestions will give you a better idea of what people are searching for, allowing you to create targeted content and campaigns.

Plus, you’ll uncover excellent long-tail keywords with high buying intent — which brings us to another aspect of ecommerce keyword research.

4. Understanding Search Intent & Creating Relevant Content

Search intent refers to the intention behind search queries: the reason why people are searching or looking up a particular keyword.

Identifying search intent and optimizing your content accordingly is the key to driving more organic traffic and conversions.

For example, if someone is searching for ‘running shoes,’ their search intent could be learning about features, pricing, and different options available in the market.

You can optimize your content around this intent and write product-review articles, comparison articles, or guides, including informational keywords.

On the other hand, if someone’s searching for “running shoes for men under $200,” it means they’re almost ready to spend that amount. You can create website pages targeting those keywords and include relevant calls-to-action in your product pages, category pages, and product descriptions.

The key is to understand what people are searching for and create content that aligns with the search intent. This will surely help improve your SEO rankings.

5. Optimizing Your Website

Once you’ve done your keyword research and identified search intent, the next step is to optimize your existing website content.

Add Keywords

Include your keywords in the following:

• Title tags, meta tags, and meta descriptions on your home page, ecommerce category pages, product pages, and blog posts.

Why?

Because users see these tags and descriptions first when they search for a keyword on Google, so it’s important to make sure they are optimized.

However, you would want to stay away from keyword stuffing and place them naturally throughout your content.

• URLs.

Write descriptive URLs including your primary keyword, to get an edge over your competitors.

Having keywords in the URL helps you stand out in the eyes of both the search engine and visitors.

• Alt tags (or alt text).

This is the text you add to images to serve as an alternative text for search engines. This gives Google the ability to read what your image is about, giving you an extra boost in rankings.

Tip: Adding modifiers such as “Coupon,” “Discount,” and “Free Shipping” in your meta description can increase clickthrough rate (or CTR), which is a strong ranking factor in the eyes of Google.

Focus On Link Building

Link building is an indirect ranking factor, but it can make a huge difference in your SEO rankings. There are two sides to it:

Internal links – Link to other pages on your website. This helps Google better understand the structure and content of your website, which can help boost rankings. Moreover, it also helps visitors stay on your site for longer.

External links – Link to other relevant websites and blogs. This helps Google verify that your content is valuable and trustworthy, thus boosting rankings.

But make sure you only link to relevant and credible websites and don’t link to irrelevant or low-quality sources. Not only is it bad for SEO, but it also ruins user experience and reflects poorly on your reputation.

Also, try not to link to direct competitors, as it will give them free traffic and a possible ranking boost to outrank your website.

6. Creating High-Quality Backlinks To Your Ecommerce Website

Backlinks are one of the most powerful ranking signals for Google and an excellent way to strengthen your SEO strategy for ecommerce website. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).

You can get high-quality backlinks from authority websites in your niche. Consider guest blogging, directory submissions, and leveraging social media to get some relevant backlinks. You can also reach out to influencers in your niche to get them to link to your website or products.

Lastly, make sure the backlinks are from credible sites and use relevant anchor text to increase the chances of getting a higher ranking.

7. Enhancing User Experience

Google uses a number of factors to determine the quality and relevance of content, one of which is user experience. It looks at how long users stay on a page and whether or not they find the information useful.

A good user experience is essential for ecommerce SEO success, so make sure your website is easy to use, and navigation is simple.

Here are a couple of things you can do to improve user experience.

Have a Responsive Design:

Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices and has a responsive design. This will ensure that users on all types of devices have a good experience navigating your website.

Reduce Page Load Speed:

Page load speed is one of the most important factors for user experience and SEO. If your website takes too long to load, users will quickly leave, and it will hurt your rankings.

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Make sure the page is optimized for speed by using caching, compressing images, and minimizing scripts.

Add a Search Bar:

Adding a search bar to your website makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for. This helps reduce bounce rate and keeps users on your website for longer.

Create User-Friendly Checkout:

The checkout process should be simple and straightforward. Make sure the checkout process is easy to navigate and keep distractions to a minimum.

Also, provide features like guest checkout and payment options such as PayPal and credit card to ensure customers have a smooth checkout experience.

Following these tips will help you make your ecommerce website more user-friendly and help visitors stay long enough to convert into paying customers. It will, in turn, signal Google to rank you higher than websites with poor design and high bounce rates.

8. Having An Optimized, Simple URL Structure

Having a simple URL structure is super important from an SEO perspective. Why?

Because it simplifies navigation for users and helps search engine crawlers understand the structure of your website more easily.

Here are a few URL tips to keep in mind:

Your URL should be short. 50 to 60 characters is the recommended limit.

• It should be easy to read and understand.
• Include your target keyword in the URL.
• Don’t use stop words in URLs, such as “the,” “and,” “of,” and “a.” This will help keep your URL short.
• Also, make sure you use hyphens (-) to separate words instead of underscores (_).

For example, a bad URL structure would look like this:

On the other hand, a simple URL structure would be:

9. Using Schema Markups To Facilitate Google And Users

Schema markup is a type of structured data that helps search engines understand the content on your website. It’s basically a code added to your HTML that provides additional information about what’s on the page.

Using schema markup can help search engines display your website’s information in the form of rich snippets, like product markup snippets and review snippets. These snippets help users spot useful information faster and easier.

The most common ecommerce schema are:

• Product schema: For displaying product-related information like price, availability, and images. This extension also allows more efficient displaying of product ads.
• Review schema: For displaying review ratings and summaries on the search result page. Users can see the reviewer’s information and verify if the review is credible.
• Video schema: For displaying videos in search results. This extension helps search engines understand the type of video and its content.
• Price schema: For displaying pricing information of products. It is often used to display price ranges for product variations.

Using schema markups will help you get more visibility and clicks from search results, which eventually leads to better SEO rankings (and more sales).

10. Tackling Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is when one page has the same or similar content as another page, which is a common issue for ecommerce stores.

Having duplicate content on your website is bad for SEO because it creates confusion for search engines and makes it difficult to determine which page should be ranked higher in search engine results pages.

You can avoid this by using canonical tags. These tags essentially tell search engines which page is the original or “master version” and that all other pages with similar content are to be ignored.

Or, you can use the Robots.txt file to block duplicate content from being indexed.

Both methods work, but the canonical tag is preferable since it offers more control over duplicate content.

By avoiding duplicate content, you will be able to improve your SEO for ecommerce site and get better SEO rankings.

11. Monitoring & Tracking Your Ecommerce SEO Efforts

Finally, you should monitor and track your ecommerce SEO efforts to measure their effectiveness.

How?

Google Analytics is one of the best ecommerce SEO tools out there, and it can be used to track your website’s performance. By setting up goals and tracking metrics like bounce rate, time on page, and click-through rate (CTR), you can get insights into how well your SEO efforts are working.

You can also use other tools like Screaming Frog, DeepCrawl, and Ahrefs to audit your website and track changes in the backlinks.

You should also use A/B testing to determine which changes have a positive impact on your SEO rankings.

By tracking your ecommerce SEO efforts, you will be able to identify areas where you need improvement and make the necessary changes. This will help you achieve better SEO rankings and more organic traffic in the long run.

12. Keeping Up With SEO Trends

SEO trends are constantly changing, and you need to stay up-to-date if you want to keep up with the competition.

You can do this by attending SEO conferences, reading industry blogs, and staying up-to-date with the latest Google updates.

You should also keep an eye on your competitors’ SEO strategies and use tools like Ahrefs to monitor changes in their backlinks.

By keeping up with SEO trends, you’ll be able to create effective SEO strategies for ecommerce websites, stay one step ahead of the competition, and stay on top of the SERPs.

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And now for some more value, here is a BONUS that most ecommerce brands ignore.

13. BONUS = Leveraging The Power Of Pinterest SEO

Did you know that Pinterest is a search engine in itself?

People search on Pinterest just like they would on Google or Bing.

However, instead of delivering traditional results like Google, it offers visuals.

So, when someone enters a query in the Pinterest search bar, it will work to find the most appropriate (read: optimized) pins for that individual’s needs.

This means with a proper Pinterest SEO strategy, you can increase your profile’s visibility and get more website traffic from this unique search engine.

Here are a few actionable tips to optimize for Pinterest SEO:

• Get a Pinterest business account, as it has more optimization features.
• Use relevant keywords in the pin description and post titles.
• Create visually appealing pins optimized for Pinterest.
• Include links to your website in the pin description.
• Incorporate rich pins into your strategy.
• Optimize the board titles and descriptions for keywords related to the content you are sharing.
• Use keyword-rich headlines on your blog posts and link them to corresponding Pinterest boards.

Follow these simple tips to improve your SEO for ecommerce website, drive more traffic, and increase your overall visibility online.

Build Your Way To Success With Ecommerce SEO

Following the above-listed strategies will surely help you build a successful ecommerce website that ranks well and drives more sales.

But remember, ecommerce SEO is an ever-evolving field, and staying up to date with the latest trends can be a challenge.

This is where an Ecommerce Marketing Mastery Certificate can help – it will equip you with the most up-to-date knowledge and competencies to make your ecommerce business succeed.

Or consider having an expert team that understands SEO strategies for ecommerce by your side to implement the latest tricks of the trade.

No matter which way you decide to go, your ecommerce business will surely benefit from the power of SEO.

The post Best SEO Strategies For Ecommerce Websites in 2023 appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Personal branding isn’t just for entrepreneurial rock stars that want to dance onto stage and hype up an audience with hopes, dreams, and unbelievable case studies.

You don’t have to command an audience like Tony Robbins, make complicated things seem simple like Ryan Deiss, or make buying businesses sound as easy as buying groceries like Roland Fraser.

You can just be you.

The personal brand that you build will not only make it easier to get new clients, but also help you grow your business in a way that you actually enjoy. It’s a win-win-win situation!

Creating a personal brand requires effort and consistency, but the payoffs are more than worth it.

I’m going to show you 3 of the top reasons why personal branding is essential for business growth and why you should start working on yours today.

If you’re not convinced yet, by the end of this post I think you will be. So let’s get started!

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Benefit #1. You Will Attract Clients You Love Working With

Can you imagine being surrounded by people who already like you and want to work with you?

Finding the right clients is like dating. (I know, I’m tired of that analogy too.)

Would you rather go on a date with someone who is clearly interested in you and makes an effort to get to know you OR would you rather go on a date with someone who is lukewarm and doesn’t seem that into you?

Of course, it’s much more fun and enjoyable to date someone who is clearly interested in you and makes an effort to get to know YOU. The same goes for finding clients.

When you have a personal brand, you will attract clients that you actually enjoy working with.

They will understand your language, your jokes, and what you’re all about. They will get a chance to know you and decide if they like (or don’t like) you before even reaching out to you.

So how do you attract the right clients?

Simple – be yourself.

There are a few things you can do to help you stay true to yourself and your personal brand.

• Be authentic. Don’t try to be someone that you’re not. People can see right through it and they won’t trust you.
• Stay consistent. This is one of the most important aspects of personal branding. You need to be consistent with your message, your tone, and how you present yourself.
• Be YOURSELF! This is the most important thing of all. Be genuine, be honest, and be real. People will appreciate and respect you for it.

Benefit #2: Selling Gets Waaaaaaay Easier & Much Faster

Selling is hard.

It’s one of the things that we as entrepreneurs hate the most. We would much rather focus on the fun things – tinkering with our products, brainstorming new features, and talking to customers.

But the reality is, we need to sell in order to grow our businesses.

And personal branding makes selling a lot easier and shortens your sales cycle.

When you have a personal brand, people already know who you are and what you’re all about. They have an idea of what it would be like to work with you and they are more likely to reach out to you because they trust you.

Personal branding makes selling a lot easier because you don’t have to start from scratch trying to convince someone that they should hire you. You already have a foundation of trust that has been built up over time.

Here are a few things you can do to build know, like, and trust so selling is easier and faster.

• Tell Your Story. Your personal brand story is what sets you apart from everyone else. It’s what makes you unique and interesting. Share it on social media and make sure to be authentic and consistent with your message.
• Host events and webinars. Hosting events and webinars is a great way to connect with your audience and share your personal brand story. This gives people a chance to get to know you better and see what it’s like to work with you.
• Write blog posts and articles. Writing blog posts and articles is a great way to share your personal brand story, expertise, and knowledge with the world. This will help you build credibility and trust with your audience.

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Benefit #3. You Will Attract More Employees That You Like

One of the benefits of having a personal brand is that you will attract more employees that you like. They will fit into the culture that you have created and they will be more likely to stick around for a longer period of time.

You get to decide what values and beliefs are important to you and your team and can get them invested in the mission that you have for your clients.

The culture that you create is important because it will determine how happy your employees are — and happy employees are more productive employees.

How do you use your personal brand to create a culture that your employees will love?

• Just be yourself. The culture that you create should be a reflection of your personal brand and the values that are important to you.
• Talk about your clients. Employees want to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Talk about your clients and how they are using your products or services to make a difference in their lives.
• Being authentic and genuine. Let them know what your personal goals are and why you started the company in the first place. Share your vision for the future and let them know how they can help you achieve it.

How Do You Create a Personal Brand?

Creating a personal brand is not about self-promotion or selling yourself.

• It’s about creating a foundation of trust and credibility so people will want to work with you.
• It’s about attracting the right employees that fit into the culture you have created.
• And it’s about making selling easier so you can focus on what you’re good at – running your business.

If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry. Just focus on being authentic and genuine with your personal brand story and move forward with intention to create a strong personal brand.

The rest will fall into place — and you have a great community at DigitalMarketer you can lean on to help get advice to point you in the right direction. 

The post 3 Benefits of Building and Using a Personal Brand to Grow Your Business appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Soundscapes and music can trigger an emotional response, so a well thought out music plan to support your brand identity can help create stronger emotional connections to your brand. Stronger emotional connections stay top of mind and you want your customers and community to keep you top of mind! When that happens, the value you offer is easily accessible when the need for your solution arises. 

In this article, you’ll work through how to decide on the soundscapes of your brand.

3 Tips to Using Music for Your Branding and Marketing Strategy 

These three tips dive into client point of view and holistic brand alignment. You’ll  explore how those factors apply to creating and choosing unique music for your brand. By going through this process you’ll have a sound music planning strategy so that customers can’t get you out of their heads. 

Tip 1: Put Yourself In The Clients’ Shoes

Sebastian, the singing crab from the movie The Little Mermaid, was on to something. Remember the scene where Ariel and the prince were floating on a boat in a lagoon? Ariel needed a kiss from her one true love to become human again. So Sebastian set the mood with—music of course! 

To get your customers to buy, you’ve got to set the mood. 

Music influences our mood for better or worse. You can support your target audience, influence their behaviors, and their perception of you with music. That is why it’s vital to get this part of your branding and marketing strategy tuned in. (See what we did there?) 

Scientific studies have shown the validity and importance of choosing appropriate music for branding to influence the behavior of your target audience. It’s no secret that background music influences how long patrons linger in your brick-and-mortar store. 

And if you’ve ever watched a webinar, you know that music changes how you feel about the presentation. If the music was upbeat and lively, you would probably give positive feedback. If the music was more like house-meets-hold music, you probably wouldn’t give more than a 3-star rating.

Tempo Shifts Shopper’s Energy

One study, from the University of Phoenix, explored music tempo and its effects on shopper responses. The researchers focused on high density retail shopping areas. What did the savvy researchers find? Contrast music to the general “vibe” of the place to keep customers happy.

For example, in a very crowded shopping mall people may become uncomfortable or stressed out. Calming music can balance that energy and keep them shopping longer.

The musical genres most aligned here would be classical, soft pop, smooth jazz, certain types of world music or folk music. The general idea can work the other way around, too. In a less crowded space you may want to keep the energy high to promote excitement, good feelings, and impulse buys versus creating a calming atmosphere which may put your guest in a sleepy or tired mood. A tired customer is probably going to head for the door to take a nap instead of finding more things to purchase after a long day of shopping. 

For many this idea is intuitive, as we’ve all been conditioned to have certain expectations in various environments. You’d never attend a gym that blasted lullabies over the PA system. Of course, if you did that might be your last time at that gym! However, in a yoga studio for example, you’d expect a more relaxed playlist of ambient music. 

Another study of theirs explored the correlation of background music volume and the effects on restaurant patron mood, which was found to influence their food choices. A study found that when customers are relaxed by low volume music, they are more likely to buy healthy foods. High-volume music, however, contributed to changes in customers’ levels of excitement, which enhanced their likelihood of purchasing unhealthy foods.

Tip 2: Be Authentic With Your Music Choices 

It’s important to consider your brand identity. Your brand’s identity is made up of all the various elements to attract your target audience. Most companies have a solid visual brand identity i.e., logo, color, design etc. and either a non-existent, unaligned, or most commonly the cookie-cutter audio identity which is not too different as having a non-existent soundscape. 

People accompany their lives with soundtracks either intentionally or unintentionally. We’ve all heard the cliche “they are playing our song” in some movie or even in real life by associates or close counterparts. This cliché confirms and perpetuates the point that music, certain songs, become so ingrained in our experience, contributing to the memories we develop, either positive or negative. 

As such, if your company uses a particular tune as part of a marketing strategy for branding, you’re in luck if that tune has either no sentimental value to anyone or positive association for many. The other group of people may have an association with a tune so dreadful it may produce a visceral repellant to your brand. You could have the best product or service in the world but if your best customers have an emotional aversion to your brand well you’re out of luck.

Music branding can promote an association with certain values, as often seen in political campaign advertising. 

Tip 3: Be Innovative 

Considering your brand identity, it’s advantageous to use unique music over stock music or overused samples. You want to create a new experience that only your brand provides. 

One big why, is simply claiming firsts. Everyone likes to be a first or only to something, the novelty and bragging rights gives people a sense of importance. Afterall, only the smartest and brightest can claim first rights, right? 

Companies who apply this idea to the music of their brand come away with unforgettable jingles that people automatically associate with your brand. 

The music of these brands is not pre-created, it’s created for you. You can do the task of creating music yourself with the help of educators on places like Masterclass or specialized interactive online courses. It helps to have someone with a background and knowledge in technical music to add that touch of expertise to your project to help elevate your brand or project. That is what you get at WorkFlora.

The theory at WorkFlora is that the best commercials and advertisements are treated like mini movies. Music is composed and orchestrated to provide that unique sound environment in which you want to invite and nurture your client. Those memorable magical musical moments that provide the foundation for a positive brand association. 

One of the most important and overlooked components of getting unique music compositions created for you is that these musical works can add revenue to your brand with intellectual property buyout agreements. 

Without boutique music created just for you, you can utilize certain royalty free music, from places like YouTube Audio Library which gives you a free license to use its music, so long as you follow its rules. The drawback to using the library however, is that you have to know the rules, and many people either don’t read the rules, misunderstand the rules or perhaps just ignore the rules. 

Sometimes, it’s just a case of too much to remember especially for independent owner operators who must make so many decisions in any given day. The ones for whom standing out in a sea of noise is imperative to one’s success. For large enterprises and small shops alike, attention to the audio signature of your brand provides that unforgettable factor. At WorkFlora we help brands of all sizes have one less thing to worry about by specializing in helping you be memorable. 

WorkFlora helps you realize your brand’s unforgettable potential with original music created to help you realize your customer journey with innovation and authenticity. 

The post Choosing Music for your Brand appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

You’ve probably heard the terms, inbound traffic and outbound traffic. This is an important concept to understand because it applies to everything you do with paid marketing. In our Paid Traffic Mastery course, we teach the core concepts you need to win with paid traffic. And understanding what inbound vs outbound traffic is, is a core concept of paid traffic marketing.

Inbound Traffic Is Traffic That Is Actively Seeking A Solution

Potential customers are considered inbound when they come to your website or the network you’re advertising on. In digital marketing, you can achieve this through great content marketing, search engine optimization, or paid advertising.

The best example of this is Google search. Let’s say somebody goes to Google and says, “I need a new garden hose.” If you sell garden hoses, that’s inbound traffic.

Outbound Traffic Is Traffic You Push Your Message In Front Of

Outbound traffic is interrupter marketing. Potential customers aren’t looking for you. They’re not looking for a solution.

The best example of this is social media ads, or more generally, paid traffic. These ads show up inside the newsfeed or inside the Google display network or wherever you’re advertising.

If you’ve done your research and completed a Customer Avatar Canvas, you know who you can successfully advertise to. You target these potential customers because you think they might be interested in your product. So you push your message in front of them.

Is Inbound Or Outbound Traffic Better?

I could spark a nerd war if I tried to tell you that inbound was better than outbound or vice versa. So, here’s the truth…you need both inbound marketing and outbound marketing. But each tool needs to be used when it’s applicable.

My dad says, “if you’re good with a hammer, you think everything’s a nail.” If you’re really good with inbound marketing, you’ll often find yourself trying to use inbound traffic when you might need to be using outbound traffic, and vice versa.

When To Use Outbound Traffic

Say you invented a new whiz bang gizmo that nobody’s ever heard about. There’s no inbound traffic for that, right? Nobody is searching for your product because it’s brand new. At this point, you don’t have a list, so email marketing won’t work. What can you do?

In this case, you have to use outbound traffic to raise awareness.

When To Use Inbound Traffic

Now flipping that coin, let’s say you solve a serious problem. Let’s say you’re an emergency plumber. The second my toilet is clogged, I’m going to be desperate to find you. Where do people go when they need something? They head to the search engines, of course. Remember, social media platforms act as search engines, too.

In this case, the incoming traffic from search is extremely valuable. This is the reason you should pay to put yourself and your business out there. As long as the ads can effectively be monetized, you should pay to play.

Deciding Between Inbound vs. Outbound Traffic

Think about where your business could benefit from inbound traffic. Then think about where it could benefit from outbound traffic.

The answer for many businesses is that you probably need a combination of both.

Search Ads Are The Ultimate Inbound Traffic

What’s cool about search ads is you show up above the fold. What does that mean? When you open a web page, the point where the content ends before you have to scroll to see more, is the fold.

Anything that isn’t visible until you scroll is considered “below the fold.” As a rule, “above the fold” content is the most valuable real estate to own.

The good news is, Google prioritizes ads above everything else.

Before the map listings, structured snippets, or organic rankings, are the search ads. Why does Google prioritize search ads? Because that’s their primary monetization opportunity.

You may hear people say, “well, I don’t click on ads.” The data says otherwise.

The truth is that 95% of all traffic does skip over the ads. They go directly to an organic search result. BUT…67% of high commercial intent searches result in a paid click. High commercial intent means that somebody is ready to buy and will happily click your ad.

What does it tell us if 95% of general searches skip the ads, but two thirds of commercial intent searches click it? It tells us that people use organic traffic to learn. But when they’re ready to buy, paid traffic is the most valuable traffic.

Having a hard time picking between inbound and outbound traffic? The Paid Traffic Mastery course will make you a master at both!

The post The Difference Between Inbound And Outbound Traffic appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

SEO is vital for any business, but how exactly can businesses use it to drive growth?

Search traffic is historically the best web traffic you can hope for.

Google has been the single most powerful traffic driver for ages, and while its power has been slowly declining of the years, no other traffic channel has come close to organic traffic:

Here’s how SEO can help your business in 2022:

Understand Your Customers Better

One of the immediate benefits of starting an SEO strategy is an ability to better understand (and relate to) people’s journeys around the web.

What is your target audience struggling with? What kind of questions are they asking? What drives their purchasing decisions?

A well-defined keyword research strategy can answer all those questions and enlighten your whole team.

Ahrefs is one of my favorite tools to perform keyword research because it offers so much useful data including, common modifiers, popular questions, SERP features and more:

You can also run your (or your competitor’s) domain through the tool to see your current positions in Google.

This can give you a more holistic understanding of your keyword rankings, and tell you how people are finding your business (or your competitor’s business) across multiple platforms.

Build More Detailed Buyers’ Personas

Customer personas (also referred to as customer avatar) are people you make up to describe your ideal customers.

Personas make digital marketing more streamlines and understandable by making your buyers easier to relate to. 

When creating a persona, you assign some human traits and features, like gender, income, occupation, etc.

Personas also help you create a customer-centric business model, the only business model that will make your business successful in 2022 and beyond.

To build a persona, you need some kind of data, and that’s where SEO-driven web analytics somes very much in handy. Google Analytics comes with detailed demographics data that will turn very useful for persona creation:

As a business owner, you are, of course, prioritizing your customers. Thus, their feedback is important for you to improve your product or service. In order to learn from your visitors, install Google Analytics tool that collects feedback so that you can analyze it and listen to your customers in order to make your website better. 

No matter how many professionals work on your website, visitors’ feedback is the most qualitative measure of your success. Using conversational forms on your site will help you collect even more data for your SEO campaigns and create more detailed personas.

Take Control of Your Buyers’ Journeys

Buying journeys have become more complicated over the years. Equipped with diverse devices and tools, a consumer may start their journey on one device and continue on a different one. 

They are likely to turn to Google multiple times throughout that fragmented journey, and if your business shows up for multiple queries in multiple sections, you are more likely to win that customer:

A well set-up SEO strategy is targeting more than just organic results. It aims at optimizing the whole SERP (search engine result page):

Take a look at all those sections:

Most of them provide businesses with additional opportunities to get found and engaged with. For example, ranking in the Google Video Carousel can help you with conversions as videos present products and services in an accessible way. Nowadays, editing videos can be done with an online video editor and a simple keyword research and video page optimization can help you bring it among the top SERPs.

A critical cog in the wheel of customer relationships is how well you integrate the online-offline experience of the customer. Every interaction your customer has with your brand doesn’t result in a sale. Neither does every Google search they do. However, engagement is a virtual cycle — more brand awareness means more branded searches and more branded searches mean better visibility, rankings, and ultimately, clicks.

So the best thing for you to do would be to understand (and match) customers’ “intent” at every interaction. Again, this requires alignment between your marketing, sales and customer service teams. Using the right CRM software, you can consolidate the results of your SEO, email marketing and lead generation campaigns, create your ideal customer profiles and buyer personas, and funnel back the insights into your content creation process to target them at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

Identify Your Promoters

If you are into SEO, you sure know your backlinks. But backlinks are not just about higher rankings. Knowing who links to you helps you build stronger niche relationships!

Ahrefs is a great tool for understanding your website’s structure and its backlink portfolio. Essentially, your website’s backlink portfolio is all the websites that have linked from their site back to yours. 

Another great tool is Buzzsumo that allows you to see exactly who is linking to you, and even the author who was found on that page. You can see what content on your website is the most popular, which is especially useful if you incorporate a blog into your website.

You can also set up an alert to receive an email once anyone is linking to your site. This is a great relationship building tactic: Once anyone links to you, reach out to thank, follow and become a friend!

Control Online Context and Sentiment Better

Finally, being there, paying attention to what people see when searching and trying to optimize for that will empower your business with ways to control what people see when searching for your brand or your important queries.

Imagine your current or future customer typing your brand name in Google’s search box. What are they going to see there? How will that impact their buying journey?

Whether you are there or not, your current and potential customers are searching for you and your brand. The difference is, when you are there watching, you can make your business better and make sure you provide the best solutions to their answers.

Conclusion

Of course, SEO offers many more ways to help your business in 2022, including an ability to position your brand as a knowledge hub by driving your content creation decision. 

On top of that, SEO allows you to create the most consistent traffic channel out there. Organic traffic is one of the most valuable traffic-driving channels out there thanks to matching intent (users actually search for answers and solutions, so they are more likely to engage with your site if you give them those answers and solutions).

Customers expect brands to run websites where they can read more about a product or a service, get useful tips from your brand, or find FAQ sections to save time. If you’re about to set up your business, think about ‘budget’ ways to launch a user-friendly website as it helps to grow your business.

The best advice is to do some research, find the tools that work best for you, and never underestimate the value SEO offers for the success of your business.

The post How Can SEO Help Your Business in 2022? appeared first on DigitalMarketer.