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Homepage Headline Makeovers: 3 Simple Formulas That Sell

Whether it’s an email, an ad, or a blog post, your headline copy must be creative, catchy, and converting. After all, the heading to your text holds a lot of power. The average person sees over 1,300 headlines a day and they ignore 99.7% of them.

Most people often use headlines to evaluate content, especially the homepage of a website since it determines your first impression. If the headline is not attractive, your audience is more likely to exit before continuing to other pages.

So what exactly is a headline and how to create captivating headlines? All can be found in this article. You will also have access to the 3 key formulas that create headlines that actually sell.

What is a headline?

Your headline copy is the title you give to your written content, often conveying what the entire piece of content is about. This can be the heading of a webpage, an article, or any piece of copywriting. 

Your headline is the first thing a reader sees not only because it’s the first line, at the top of the page, but also because it’s often in a bigger, bold font.

Every time your headlines show up is an opportunity to make a first impression with new readers who have never heard of you, by capturing their attention, keeping them interested, and persuading them to click and visit your website.

Then it’s completely up to other parts of your website, such as detailed product description to convert them into customers. Of course, that’s another story.

Check out “Perfecting Your Product Description – How to Create Summaries that Sell”

 

So if your website or article has a high bounce rate and low engagement, it could be likely that your headlines do not generate enough interest and hence don’t encourage action. 

What if we tell you that you only need to make some small tweaks to your current headlines to retain visitors? Let’s get right into the first formula.

Formula 1: State what it is

What’s something that your audience wants to learn from you?

Customers are always busy and they don’t have much time. If your headlines are boring and long, you will be ignored and quickly forgotten. Headlines need to make an impact and do it fast. So avoid specialized terms, complicated words, confusing metaphorical meanings.

Keep your headlines simple, and simply state what you do and how it can help your customers solve their problems. Make an impactful promise that keeps customers interested and want to learn more – making them want to move on to the next step.

Here are some good headline examples:

AirBnB: “Book unique places to stay and things to do.”

AirBnB headline
AirBnB's headline

Rocket Mortgage: “A simpler way to buy a home or refinance.”

Rocket Mortgage's headline

Bear Mattress: “Mattresses Designed to Improve Your Sleep”

Bear Mattress's headline

Formula 2: State what people will get

Most people are not looking for improvisation. They look for specific information, an answer to a question, a solution to a problem. That means they’re going through a bunch of headlines to choose the one that best suits what they’re looking for.

The ability to imagine the reader’s point of view is key to successful headline writing. Empathy is the biggest marketing skill.

Let’s say your audience doesn’t care. Write a headline that highlights all the values customers will get access to once they choose to work with you. 

A headline’s traction/traction comes from its promise. This formula is value-oriented, and it states the benefits your customers will receive when they sign up for your services.

Otterbox: “Less laboring. More outdoorsing.”

Otterbox's headline
Otterbox's headline

LendingPoint: “Get the Credit You Deserve”

LendingPoint's headline

Formula 3: Include CTAs

CTAs are the single most important element of marketing’s conversion funnel. When used correctly, it can dramatically increase conversions and sales. This is due to the fact that CTAs must be specific in order to draw a positive response. This is an important factor that should accompany every homepage headline in order to encourage further actions. 

The most powerful calls-to-action leverage both logic and emotion to drive conversion. CTA’s might be short phrases or an image with a link to the desired action, like “Get Started” or “Claim your Free Trial.”

Below are a few examples of the types of CTAs you might use in marketing:

  • Sign up.
  • Learn more.
  • Join us.
  • Subscribe.

Ideally, the CTA that accompanies the homepage headline should be a nudge to your audience to take action to get their needs met. It’s like saying your job is to help solve their problems and everything they need is only one click away. 

Beyond just a headline

The above are the secrets of writing compelling headlines that any content writer should grasp to reach more readers, but these are only a small part of creating credibility/trust. 

A good headline alone isn’t enough—it needs help. That’s why you should always use headlines as a part of a larger SEO web design.

Remember: People scan; they don’t read. The tips we just listed will help your homepage become scan-friendly and enables you to quickly deliver your main message to visitors.

If you are considering starting a design or redesign project, but you feel overwhelmed with what has to be done, or you are looking to improve your website homepage to increase conversion, Advesa can help.

We leverage many decades of industry experience to help you obtain great returns on your online investment.

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DoNotPay to Offer 1 Million Dollar Reward for People Who Can Argue Against AI

The company DoNotPay announced it will pay one million dollars to anyone who repeats the AI’s arguments in court.

In recent years, AI has been used to  write dissertations, programs, draw pictures and optimize languages, such as in the case of the recent ChatGPT that took the Internet by storm recently. Next month, the company DoNotPay will confirm for the first time that it will use an AI-integrated program called RobotLawyer in the role of a defense attorney

In fact, the program will not appear in court but will be installed on the phone, making arguments over the headset. “DoNotPay will pay any lawyer or person a million dollars in an upcoming lawsuit in the US Supreme Court. Just wear AirPods, repeat exactly what our AI says,” Joshua Browder, CEO of DoNotPay wrote on Twitter, this week.

However, in terms of technology, it is still unclear whether AirPods will be allowed to be used in the US Supreme Court. According to the court’s website, the use of any electronic device during the trial is prohibited. However, there are still cases where defendants are wearing hearing aids or Bluetooth enabled devices. Browder hopes this is a loophole that allows AI to be legally used in the supreme court.

Mr. Browder also admitted that it is unlikely that the court will allow lawyers to wear headphones and repeat what the AI ​​argues. He said that the reward of one million USD can only be done if the legal representative agrees to the use of earbuds.

He also cited some evidence that there was a trial where the defendant was allowed to wear headphones and defend. He believes the idea sounds wacky, but wants to prove that AI can handle complex cases.

DoNotPay claims to be the first company to have a “robot lawyer”. This model will bring together all the data from past cases to argue with and respond to prosecutors in court. If the AI ​​attorney loses the case, DoNotPay will pay any fines.

Gizmodo has contacted the US Supreme Court but has yet to receive an official response.

DoNotPay was established in 2015, specializing in providing legal services. By leveraging the power of AI in the legal field, the company successfully raised $27.7 million. The company has also upgraded the technology based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 super AI platform. This model helps them win a number of small lawsuits such as helping users get refunds for in-flight Wi-Fi fees, fines related to illegal parking, etc.

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5 Marketing Strategies During Inflation and Imminent Recession

Marketing is crucial to the success of a business and its ability to survive a downturn. Brands that come out of recession aren’t cutting their marketing consulting budgets. With the right marketing strategy, brands can give customers a sense of confidence and stability when using their products and services. 

Discover the tips below to secure sales and leads with a successful business strategy during this period.

1. Restructure marketing budget

Anticipating a recession this year is a big challenge for businesses in the face of uncertainty. Businesses are presented with two options to manage their marketing campaigns in a downturn: Cutting or restructuring marketing budgets. 

In times of crisis, other costs take precedence, pushing marketing investments down the line. Paying employees, running operations, adopting new technology systems and maintaining important contracts are seen as more pressing needs for the survival of the business. In addition, companies are concerned that promotions and advertising during this time period could offend customers who currently tend to be more in control of their spending.

Contrary to popular belief, research by McGraw-Hill found that B2B organizations that maintained or increased their marketing budgets during the 1981-1982 recession had significantly higher sales during and the following three years of recession. 

When you are determined to maintain and optimize your marketing strategy during a recession, it ensures long-term sustainable development for your business. The key is to know how to gather and allocate your marketing budget effectively. Fortunately, the Government of Canada offers a number of grants for small businesses to have a digital marketing plan crafted and executed. Since there are almost 5 billion Internet users online, it’s crucial to tap into the digital world and consider inbound marketing to strategically approach and communicate with your audience without  bombarding them with marketing and promotional campaigns and content. 

2. Content marketing

Economic recession leads to changes in consumer behavior, choices and purchasing preferences. That requires businesses to come up with a new marketing message that is appropriate during this time. This doesn’t mean you have to change the vision and mission of your business. It’s about finding a more relevant alternative by producing content that resonates with your audience. Content marketing can be a means to help you reach your target customers at a much lower cost than paid advertising.

Make sure the content you produce reflects recent market trends and resonates with customers to help them figure out how your brand is helping them solve problems in times of crisis.

  • Create content for every stage of your customer funnel to engage potential users and encourage them to buy from you.
  • Use positive language and maintain an empathetic tone in your content, keeping in mind the sensitive moods of your customers during a downturn.
  • Reusing old content works best to drive traffic to your website and double your chances of generating more leads.

Content marketing supports multiple types of marketing  costs less and generates more leads than traditional marketing. Even if you don’t see immediate results, rest assured that your content strategy will ultimately lead to more conversions. Until then, continue to create content to educate your customers and highlight your brand across digital channels.

3. SEO

Over 70% of B2B customers start their product research on the Google search engine. How does this affect your SEO strategy during a downturn?

As customer needs and behaviors change, you can do keyword research and monitor search trends to understand the search terms customers use to find products, services, or answers. for their problem on Google. This way, tailor your content to your customers’ needs, drive more interactions, and ultimately convince them to spend more on your brand.

You can also test your content pieces and optimize with SEO keywords to make them relevant to the current customer and market scenario. These combined efforts will help improve the online rankings of your content and get them in the hands of readers who want the most relevant answers to their Google search queries.

When your competitors are busy debating whether or not to improve SEO  you can gain an edge with SEO Web Design by improving website speed, crawlability, link building, indexing, and more.

Like content marketing, SEO takes time to show results, and you can’t immediately link its metrics to your business revenue. On the plus side, both of these marketing activities cost less than paid advertising while helping to build brand awareness in the long run. In other words, make sure your SEO strategy is still working properly as its effects will outlast a recession when the economy fully recovers.

4. Personalized marketing

Personalized marketing is the practice of companies providing personalized content to recipients through data collection and analysis and the use of automation technology.

The purpose of personalized marketing is to help businesses truly connect with their customers and target customers, through one-on-one communication with each individual.

  • Improve customer experience: A personalized campaign will do wonders to improve your customer experience. In the midst of a flood of advertising information on the market, a personalized message that meets your needs will stand out, bringing a sense of satisfaction to your customers.
  • Increase revenue: Personalizing customer experience is the key to helping businesses increase investment efficiency and increase return on investment (ROI). According to statistics, businesses that have adopted a personalization strategy have 19% more sales on average than businesses that do not.
  • Build customer relationships: Personal marketing can easily turn your customers from unfamiliar to familiar. According to statistics, they attract 40% of users into loyal customers. In addition, it is worth noting that up to 80% of shoppers only buy from brands with good personalized marketing. This will be a very effective way to help build your brand.

Consumers, especially those from the Gen Z and Millennials generation, always want businesses to be able to customize the shopping experience to their own preferences. When you successfully personalize your marketing campaigns, you not only help satisfy your customers, increase brand loyalty, but you can also improve the bottom line for the company.

5. Brand loyalty is more impactful than ever

Loyalty marketing strategies include different types of customer engagement, typically including customer surveys and rewards programs. Customer engagement is the process of interacting with customers to understand their needs and help them solve problems. This can include communicating with customers via social media, responding to comments and questions on social media, and sending targeted emails. 

Customers who are loyal to your brand are less likely to abandon you in favor of a competitor’s products, especially during economic uncertainty. Developing customer loyalty can help protect your company from losing profit in the event of a decrease in sales.

Beyond reaching for their wallet, loyal customers can boost your business in other ways, one of which being brand advocacy. Brand advocacy is a term used to describe actions taken by people who love your brand and continuously support your organization by promoting products and services to new customers and prospects.

Customer Lifetime Value remains high as acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer. And existing customers spend on average 67% more than first-time customers. A focus on the importance of customer loyalty results in higher profits and overall company success. 

Future proof your business with a tailored marketing strategy

Adjusting marketing priorities is not just a recession-friendly strategy. It speaks volumes about how businesses form, value, and maintain relationships with customers when time is not in their favor. From a business perspective, such a mindset allows companies to be proactive rather than reactive to surrounding changes and turn challenges into opportunities at every step. 

Remember, the customer journey does not end with a sale, their life cycle can be extended if businesses know how to connect and care for and enhance their brand loyalty. If you need support from marketing strategy consultants to increase brand awareness and connect with new potential customers, contact Advesa to future proof your business.

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Understanding the Gen Z and Millenial Consumers

More than half of the nation’s total population is now made up of millennials and Generation Z. When combined, these two generations number 166 million as of July 2019, or 50.7% of the nation’s population. That means they now outnumber Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation. 

Only a couple years ago, it was common knowledge that Generation Z (Gen Z) and Millennials (Gen Y) are highly different. While Gen Z is perceived as more entrepreneurial , focused more on saving and constantly craving innovations from brands, Millennials were seen as more committed to their favorite brands and jobs. 

But the past years dealing with a global pandemic has given us a new perspective on their consumer behaviors. People from both generations are highly connected to technology and the Internet and tend to spend the majority of their time online. Despite the significant similarities, there is still some divergence in their behaviors.

It is important for brands and retailers to understand the nuances and personality of each generation so they can cater their products and services to them more effectively. 

What is the Millennial age range?

According to the Pew Research Center, Millennials include people born between 1981 and 1996. This means that in 2022, Millennials are 27 to 42 years old.

What is the Gen Z age range?

Members of Gen Z are those born between 1997 and 2015. In 2023, Gen Z will be 8 to 26 years old. The biggest difference between the two generations is the age gap. The oldest of the Millennial generation are in their early 40s, while the youngest of generation Z are still in grade school and college. It will be interesting to see how their preferences and shopping habits evolve when the entire group is earning and spending its own money.

The differences between Millennial and Gen Z?

Millennials and Generation Z are different in how they shop, interact with brand

Gen Z prefer shopping on their mobile devices, while Millennials are more traditional

shopping on mobile device

As of recent, both generations are immensely connected to the internet and social networks. While Millennials witnessed the growth of the Internet, Gen Z were exposed to technology at a very young age. 

Every day, Millennials spend about 7.5 hours while Gen Z spend nearly 10 hours a day on the Internet. According to Think With Google, Gen Z significantly spend a lot of time surfing the internet on their smartphones, of which about 71% of Gen Z teenagers use mobile devices to watch videos.

In addition, social commerce has become increasingly popular in recent years and is predicted to become increasingly prevalent in the upcoming years. Gen Z enjoys social shopping, with 64% using Instagram, Facebook, and other social platforms to browse and make purchases, and 41% shopping through social influencers. Millennials are less enthusiastic about these channels, with 58% social shopping and just 32% shopping through influencers. 

Different usage of social media platforms

Gen Z vs Millenial Social Platform Usage (Property of YPulse Survery)

While millennials prefer platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Gen Z prefer platforms that mainly post and share videos like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat or most recently with skyrocketing popularity, TikTok.

One of the most frequently used platforms by both generations is Instagram – one of the apps that laid the groundwork for creative video and photo sharing. While Instagram has been around for a long time compared to apps like TikTok or Snapchat, the platform’s innovative features still appeal to Millennials and Generation Z members who love creating and sharing their own content, which fosters the popularity of user-generated content (UGC). 

YouTube is also a prominent social network favored by both Millennials and Gen Z, as the video platform is the second most used search engine. The video platform is also the second-most used search engine and a platform where many in Gen Z and millennial generations go for product research. So, if you want to attract more Millennials and Gen Z consumers, businesses need to strategize to produce creative short videos so that customers can experience the most vivid images as quickly as possible. 

Gen Z prioritize convenience and fast delivery

When it comes to customer experience, gen Z prefers immediate support and services. Since they grow up alongside the on-demand economy, efficiency is at the top of their mind when it comes to making purchase decisions.

 “Gen Z and millennials are changing the future of shopping where convenience and faster delivery hold prominence in choosing their online shopping destinations. An average Gen Z shopper scans four sites before choosing the final shopping destination, and the journey (faster checkouts) is as important as the destination (faster delivery).” says Rachna Prasad, chief of marketing, Vinculum group, an omnichannel retail e-commerce software solutions provider.

It’s not surprising, then, that 76% of Gen Z prefer convenience over brand compared to 70% of Millennials. According to Salesforce research, 27% of Gen Z prefer to have their groceries delivered within an hour, and 23% want their alcohol within that same timeframe. This drops to 12% and 11%, respectively, for Millennials. 

Gen Z prefers a personalized shopping experience, while Millennials appreciate loyalty programs

According to Deloitte’s 2015 consumer report Made-to-order, the need for personalization is on the rise: 1 in 4 Gen Z “are willing for businesses to use their information to deliver products.” or more personalized service”. Furthermore, OC&C Strategy Consultants says 25% of Gen Z consumers say it’s important to have a unique perspective on style and creativity. aTherefore, they suggest retailers focus on personalized services and distinct experiences.

On the other hand, Millennials show more interest in loyalty programs, however, with 61% claiming membership in at least one. Loyalty programs aren’t a big draw for Gen Z, with only 45% enrolled. This could offer future opportunities to brands and retailers, as long as the programs they develop are easy to understand and use. 

Simpler terms and conditions were favored by 48% of Gen Z, and 57% said they could be persuaded to join loyalty programs if rewards were automatically applied, and 62% said they were more likely to join a loyalty program if the rewards were personalized.

Selling across the generations

Despite all the “Millennials vs. Gen Z” discussion, brands still need to build greater trust with both generations. How? By using data to understand what matters most to them, then personalizing offerings that meet their wants and needs.

Both generations grew up in a world filled with advice: don’t trust the surface. Therefore, they highly value the transparency and honesty of the brand. This generation is more wary and skeptical of traditional marketing activities than the previous generation. If they feel that they are being “for sale”, they will most likely get annoyed and start to withdraw. 

Therefore, businesses need to place authenticity and customer’s interest at the center of their marketing campaigns. Companies that focus on consistently providing high-quality content – aligned with customer needs – may see an increase in repeat visits and user engagement.  

To build a lifetime of loyalty, brands need to make every interaction custom and unique, offering both generations products, services, promotions and rewards that speak to their evolving shopping habits and innate individualism.

If you find this article helpful, check out our blogs and articles on how to create effective small business marketing in 2023 and other insights here. 

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ChatGPT: Everything You Need to Know About OpenAI’s GPT-3

ChatGPT is the keyword that brings OpenAI back to the heart of discussions about Artificial Intelligence. But what is ChatGPT and how does it work? Let’s find out in this article.

For years, there was worldwide fear about artificial intelligence (AI) and its impending takeover. No one knew it would begin with the world of art and literature.

After months of dominating the internet with its Dall-E 2 AI image generator, OpenAI is back at the center of people’s social media discussions thanks to ChatGPT – a chatbot created using the company’s GPT-3 technology.

What are GPT-3 and ChatGPT?

GPT-3 (Generative Pretraining Transformer 3) is the most advanced AI-powered language processing model developed by OpenAI. It is capable of generating human-like text and has many applications, including language translation, language modeling, and text generation for applications such as chatbots. This is one of the largest and most powerful language processing models to date, with 175 billion parameters. 

what is chatgpt

What can ChatGPT do?

With 175 billion parameters, it’s hard to narrow down what GPT-3 can do. However, it’s important to note that this application is limited to only language processing. It can’t produce video, audio, or images like Dall-E 2, but instead has a deep understanding of spoken and written text.

This gives it a wide range of possibilities, from writing poetry and cliché romances in parallel universes, to explaining quantum mechanics in simple terms or writing research papers.

What is chatGPT

Specifically, its power lies in its speed and understanding of complex issues. While we can spend hours researching, learning and writing a paper on quantum mechanics, ChatGPT can create a well-written alternative in seconds. 

However, It also has limitations; its software can easily get confused if your prompts start to get too complicated or even if you ask for too much detail.

Also, it cannot handle concepts that are too new or too old. World events that have occurred in the past year will be interpreted with limited knowledge and patterns can sometimes create misinformation or confusion.

OpenAI is also very aware of the behaviors that cause AI to create dark, harmful, or biased content. Similar to the previous Dall-E image generator, ChatGPT will prevent you from asking inappropriate questions or alerting you to dangerous requests.

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT's diagram (property of OpenAI)

On the surface, the technology of the GPT-3 is very simple. It takes your requests, questions or prompts and quickly responds to them. The technology to this process is, however, much more complicated than we can imagine. 

The model is trained using a text database from the internet. This includes the massive 570 GB of data obtained from books, web texts, Wikipedia, articles and other writings on the internet. To be more precise, 300 billion words have been fed into the system.

As a language model, it works on data and probability, which enables it to guess what the next word will be in a sentence. To get to the stage where this can be done, the model has gone through a supervised testing phase.

Here, it is given an input, such as “What color is the wood of the tree?”. If the model answers wrong, the correct answer is entered into the system, teaching the system the correct answer and helping the system to build knowledge.

It then goes through a second similarity phase, giving multiple answers and ranking them from best to worst, training the model on comparison.

What sets this technology apart is that it continues to learn while guessing what the next word will be, constantly improving its understanding of hints and questions.

What ChatGPT can do

Are there any other AI language generators?

While GPT-3 has made a name for itself with its language abilities, it’s not the only AI capable of doing this. Google’s LaMDA made headlines when a Google engineer was fired for calling it so real that he believed it was sentient.

There are also many other examples of such software created by Microsoft, Amazon or Stanford University. Most of these models are not open to the public, but OpenAI has begun opening access to GPT-3 during its testing, and Google’s LaMDA allows a limited number of groups to test it. 

Google divides its Chatbot into features like talk, list, and imagine, providing demos of its capabilities in these areas. You can ask about a list of healthy recipes you can try today,  to create a list of steps to learn how to ride a unicycle, or just chat about your favorite product.

Where ethics and artificial intelligence meet

Artificial intelligence and ethical concerns usually go hand in hand. When you put technology like this into the hands of the public, the teams that create them are fully aware of the many limitations and concerns that can occur. 

Because the system is trained primarily using texts from the internet, it can absorb the internet’s general biases, stereotypes, and opinions. That means you will sometimes find inappropriate jokes or stereotypes about certain groups or political figures depending on what you ask.

Similarly, the model’s fondness for internet forums and articles also gives them exposure to fake news and conspiracy theories. These can feed into the model’s knowledge, in addition to facts or opinions that are not entirely true.

However, as for any computed softwares and applications, there is always room for improvement. Overall, OpenAI did a pretty good job of creating a responsible model. Ask how to bully someone, and you will be told bullying is bad. Ask for a bloody story and the chat system will let you down. The same goes for requests to teach you how to manipulate people or craft dangerous weapons. In the end, whether something is good or bad depends on how we make use of it. 

Check out our other insights to make sure you stay in the loop!

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How to Improve Your Business’s Ranking with Local SEO: Top Ranking Factors Revealed!

Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of digital marketing for small businesses. With the rise of smartphones and voice search, it is more important than ever for small businesses to optimize their online presence for local search.

It is a common problem among businesses. If you’re not easy to find with a quick Google search, you risk missing out on a ton of visitors. 82% of smartphone users say they use search engines to find local businesses. 

In order to get discovered locally, you must rank on page 1 because many people never go past the first page. It is not enough to just put out interesting content and hope for the best. There are a number of factors you should consider to improve your ranking. 

But what if we tell you that it’s actually pretty easy to rank on page one of Google. Of course, it’s not something that happens overnight but it doesn’t have to take you years. We have compiled a list of top ranking factors for your local business all in this article.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO involves optimizing your website and other online assets to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for local-based searches. This means that when someone searches for a business or product in a specific location, your business will be more likely to appear in the search results.

Local SEO is important for small businesses because it helps to ensure that when someone searches for a business or product in a specific area, your business appears higher in the search results. This can greatly increase the chances of someone visiting your physical location or making a purchase.

Local SEO strategies

Examples of local SEO techniques include claiming and verifying your Google My Business listing, using location-based keywords in your website content, encouraging customer reviews, optimizing your website for mobile, building local backlinks, and utilizing NAP citations. By implementing these and other local SEO strategies, businesses can improve their online visibility, reach more potential customers, and ultimately drive more sales.

Google My Business Profile > Your Website

According to a study on local SEO by Moz, the #1 ranking factor for the map frame was the Google Profile of my business.

Local SEO top ranking factors
Moz's Top Ranking Factor Statistics

The content on the page and the links pointing to your site play a big role in Map Pack rankings. But for your business to rank #1 in the map frame, your GMB profile needs to be reviewed.

Name, address, and phone number

NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number) citations are another important Local SEO ranking signal. NAP citations are places where your name, address, and phone number are all listed.

Why is it important?

Google uses NAP to confirm that all your business information is correct. And the more often they see NAP citations for your business, the more confident they are that your address and phone number is correct.

Local SEO Top Ranking Factors

This is why you want to get consistent NAP citations across as many reputable sites as possible.

Pro Tip: Avoid the common mistake of only including the NAP within an image — images can’t be crawled from search engines like HTML text.

The most common location for the NAP is in the footer or header of the site. Additionally, you should include your NAP on a “Contact Us” page, too.

Online Reviews

Moz’s study of local ranking factors also shows that online reviews play an important role. Nowadays customers rely on reviews for most of their purchase decisions. 

Local SEO Top ranking factors
Moz's Top Ranking Factor Statistics

Most customers turn to fellow shoppers and make purchasing decisions based on their online reviews, due to a growing skepticism in traditional advertising. 

As a result, 93% of customers will read reviews of local businesses to determine their quality.

According to an expert who participated in the research, if consumers trust a business, that trust is a fundamental factor in ranking. That means responding to reviews, even negative ones, can help your Local SEO efforts. Knowing how to leverage the power of customer reviews can help your business flourish. 

Build local backlinks

Backlinks from other reputable websites in your local area can help improve your local SEO. Seek out opportunities to get featured in local news outlets, directories, and industry-specific websites. Here are some tips for building local backlinks:

  1. Get listed in local directories: Submit your business information to local directories and business listing sites, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and YellowPages. 

  2. Partner with other local businesses: Look for opportunities to partner with other local businesses in your area. This can include cross-promoting each other’s products or services, guest blogging, or co-hosting events.

  3. Participate in local events and initiatives: Participating in local events and initiatives, such as community events or charity initiatives, can help increase your business’s exposure and build backlinks from local news outlets or organizations.

  4. Utilize local business associations: Join local business associations and participate in their events, initiatives, and directories.

  5. Get featured in local media: Reach out to local news outlets and media outlets, such as newspapers, magazines, or TV stations, to see if they would be interested in featuring your business in an article or segment. 

  6. Create locally-focused content: Creating high-quality, locally-focused content can attract local customers and build backlinks from local websites and organizations. 

  7. Ask for backlinks: Don’t be afraid to reach out to other local businesses or websites and ask for a backlink. This can be done through email, phone, or in-person interactions. Be polite and provide value to the other party, and they may be more willing to link back to your website.

Traditional SEO factors

While local SEO factors usually determine your business’s local ranking, traditional Google ranking factors still apply to local SEO optimization. In fact, Google has confirmed that your organic ranking on the SERPs affects your local rankings.

That is to say the higher you rank in organic search results, the higher you will also rank in the map pane. Here are key traditional SEO factors to take into consideration to leverage your local ranking:

SEO Web Design

SEO, also known as Search Engine Optimization, optimizes a website to make it easier to find on search engines by looking up keywords. However, while SEO helps make it easier for users to find your site, it does nothing to make them stay and make a purchase. On the contrary, it’s excellent web design that keeps users engaged – and coming back for more. 

Good SEO web design is essential for a good user experience. Users won’t want to spend a long time on your site if your site has slow-loading pages, a cluttered navigation bar, and overall poor visual design. Browsing should be a seamless, enjoyable process, not a frustrating one. 

SEO and web design rely on two entirely different skill sets, so it’s natural to wonder how they work in unison. With that being said, here are some of the ways that SEO and web design can work together to complement one another: 

Optimized Navigation

Could you imagine looking for an item at a grocery store that has unlabelled aisles and a maze-like floor plan? That’s what browsing on a site with poor navigation feels like. 

If users can’t find the products they’re looking for, they’re likely to grow frustrated and leave your site. The easier it is for visitors to browse your website and understand its layout, the more pages they can visit and lower the chances they’ll bounce. 

When your site is easy to navigate, Google and other search engines will be more readily able to index your site’s many pages and make them visible on the SERPs. 

Readability

Effective web design doesn’t just focus on the visual components of a site. Great visual design will also consider how well readers can understand and read your site’s textual content. 

Digital content marketing is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to optimize your site for SEO while also providing value for your site’s visitors. Search engines will rank your site higher if your site has content authority on various topics and clear product/service description within your business or industry’s niche. 

However, content marketing relies heavily on content and a lot of it. Blog articles and guides are great but white papers that showcase your business’s knowledge on a subject are better. There is one caveat, though – these content pieces have significant word counts, and if it’s presented in a non-visually pleasing manner, users won’t be likely to read it. 

Loading Time

How fast a page loads is another critical factor for ranking a site high in the SERPs. If Google’s web crawlers have to wait longer than two seconds, it’ll reflect poorly on your SEO rankings. 

Web design directly impacts how fast or slow your website’s pages will load. If high-resolution images, videos and hero banners are used, your page’s load times will become agonizingly slow. At that point, it doesn’t matter how excellent the design is – your users will bounce before they even have a chance to see it!

Mobile accessibility

Local and mobile search go hand in hand (61% of all Google searches are performed on mobile).

Some of the most common ways people will use your site in a mobile environment are to look up reviews, find directions to your location, and search for contact information. In fact, “near me” searches on mobile have increased 250% since 2017.

Make it easy for your prospects and customers by making your site mobile-friendly.

Improve Your Business Visibility with Local SEO

Local SEO is an integral part of any SEO strategy for local businesses. Local SEO will help your audience find you when they search online if you have a storefront or service area. 

With many top ranking factors to keep in mind, If you’re not sure where to start to leverage your business’s ranking, Advesa is here to help. 

Work alongside a team of experts to develop a truly authentic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. We leverage many decades of industry experience to help you obtain great returns on your online investment.

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How the Canada Digital Adoption Program Helps Improve Your Sales and Marketing Efforts?

Through the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), your small to midsize businesses can get access to up to $15,000 in digital grant to work with a digital advisor like Advesa to build a tailored digital action plan for you. 

No matter what industry you are active in, it pays to leverage technology to streamline your operations and to better serve your customers. An effective digital strategy can help you position your business ahead of competitors and strengthen your brand positioning through improved products and services, better insights into customer’s behavior and productivity. 

So how can you get your business started for effective digital transformation? It can be overwhelming with many marketing options and efforts to choose from that will ensure you desirable return on your investment. Fortunately, the Government of Canada and Advesa are here to help. 

Here are how an effective digital strategy crafted by a team of marketing professionals can help you make the most of your effort and budget:

Build and maintain positive customer relationships

Knowing your customers is crucial in building the products and services that best serve them and win them over. You’re more likely to build strong customer loyalty if you can satisfy their wants, anticipate their needs, and deliver consistent and high-quality service. Digital adoption has made it easy for businesses to interact with and understand customers, particularly for small businesses that may not have the funds for traditional marketing and advertising techniques.

Keep Customer in the Loop

Email marketing, company websites, and social media management allow small business owners to keep customers up to date on the latest changes or developments. Business owners can use these tools to inform customers about new products that may interest them, or to inform them of sales, store events or other campaigns. The low-cost nature of these tools means even small or new businesses with bare-bones budgets can maximize customer relations without a major investment. 

Effective delivery

If you’re an online retailer, you will enhance your customer service by integrating CRM tools that help monitor customer interactions with your store. Customer service management software programs track and analyze data and customer feedback, making this information easier for companies to understand. Using these programs, companies can automate personalized emails, phone calls, and other forms of communication to show customers that they are seen and valued. This facilitates clear communications, smooth interactions, and positive relationships.

With data analytics enabled by technology, businesses can now track which website pages and platforms generate the most traffic and allocate more investment in these pages. This way you are delivering what people are most interested in and satisfy their needs without wasting your budget on investment that doesn’t yield little to no results. At the end of the day, every business owner knows that every dollar counts and they wouldn’t want their efforts to go down the drain. 

Increase productivity and reduce costs

Technology now allows consumers to reach a company at a time that’s convenient for them, not just during business hours. Using AI-powered chatbot enables buyers to inquire about products or services and receive a response immediately. Electronic communication is also cheaper and faster for both parties, and the convenience factor may encourage more customers to interact with their favorite businesses.

Your sales efficiency and effectiveness would significantly improve if you’re able to prioritize the leads that have the highest conversion potential, engage your customers, anticipate their needs, know when to contact prospects, etc. Technology can also help companies streamline operations, reduce staff and processes, and cut costs internally, which can then be passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices. Since many consumers actively seek out value pricing, this strategy serves as an effective way of building customer relations.

How the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) can help

The CDAP aims to accomplish this goal by providing $4 billion dollars in total funding to small and medium-sized businesses who want to adopt new digital technologies. The program has two main objectives

  1. To help businesses enhance their existing digital presence and platforms
  2. To help businesses digitize their operations. 

Through the Boost Your Business Technology grant, you can access up to $15,000 in funding to cover up to 90% of the cost of hiring a digital advisor like Advesa to help you craft the best digital strategy for your business. We can help you determine your eligibility and assist you with the entire application process. 

Once approved, you’ll also have an opportunity to obtain a $100,000 interest-free loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to help pay for your technology implementation projects. And we can help you craft a road map to help you achieve your business goals.

Besides CDAP, there are also other grant options you can look into in order to maximize your chance of getting the financial support for your success. Check out Small Business Grants You May be Eligible For.

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6 Trends Shaping the Future of E-Commerce in 2023

The e-commerce market is still on a strong development momentum and innovating. The future is inherently difficult to predict, but thanks to a number of signs, people can somewhat get an idea of ​​what e-commerce will look like in the future. 

With digital transformation, almost all non-digital products, services or operations are digitized to increase efficiency and productivity and improve customer experience. Therefore businesses that adopt digital transformation maintain their relevance in the digital age and accelerate their growth. 

Here are 6 trends shaping the future of e-commerce to prepare your business for:

  1. Omnichannel shopping
  2. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality
  3. Visualization – Virtual reality commerce (v-commerce)
  4. Dynamic pricing based on consumer data
  5. New Payment methods
  6. Web 3 and Metaverse

Omnichannel shopping

Omnichannel retail is a strategy in which retailers engage customers through multiple digital and physical touchpoints. Today, the majority of consumers research brands online before they set foot in a physical store to purchase a product. Since the customer journey now has a multitude of touchpoints across different devices, businesses need to fully integrate channels to provide a comprehensive, easy, and consistent shopping experience

When implemented correctly, the omni-channel strategy is the driving force behind sustainable revenue growth. In fact, according to Google research, an omnichannel strategy can help businesses generate about 80% of store visits.

Creating a better experience for customers across all channels, in turn, fosters greater satisfaction and loyalty. By analyzing the customer journey, retailers can improve their strategies around marketing, merchandising, loyalty programs, and inventory management, and they can dedicate resources where they will matter most to meet their customers’ fast-changing expectations.

Artificial intelligence and virtual reality

Artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are changing the customer’s online shopping journey with tools like AI-powered chatbots; virtual showroom, virtual desk, virtual assistant; AI-powered personalized shopping; AR applications help to recreate the real world on social media platforms.

In particular, the above tools provide an easier, more enjoyable shopping experience for consumers. When combined, AI, VR, and AR technologies and product refinement features help customers choose products that are easier and more appropriate.

The Holy Grail for marketers and eCommerce companies is attracting customers to their store. Whether in a physical or online sense, using both VR and AR technologies shows strong promise in helping to achieve this goal. These new devices allow shoppers to immerse themselves deeper into the commerce experience and they give customers a new attraction to visit both online and physical stores.

Visualization – Virtual Reality Commerce (v-commerce)

In the information age, brands are constantly competing with each other for the attention of consumers. On that basis, visual communication becomes more important than ever.

Businesses are using visual tactics like 360-degree photography, interactive 360 ​​video, and VR experiences to attract more customers. Just like an omnichannel strategy, visual commerce can help a company increase revenue. According to Shopify research, if customers have viewed a product in a virtual reality environment, there is a high (65%) chance they will decide to buy that product later.

Dynamic pricing based on consumer data

Dynamic pricing is the act of businesses adjusting prices to reflect actual consumer demand. While this is not a new phenomenon, AI and new technology have made price adjustment and equalization more precise and accessible.

Of course, the basis for any change still has to be on consumer behavioral data. Companies like Amazon have deployed technology that helps the company optimize its pricing strategy. Other businesses can completely look to Amazon to apply a technology model to significantly increase revenue.

As much as 60% of shoppers choose retailers with optimal prices. Artificial intelligence (AI) can help you optimize prices at any given moment to satisfy your customers and keep your profit margins. This, in turn, lets your pricing managers switch to strategic tasks, allowing you to get incremental profit. In fact, IBM learned that as many as 73% of respondents (retailers) are planning to use intelligent automation to enhance their pricing and promotion by 2021.

New payment methods

Overall, the aim of technological innovation is to make the customer’s online shopping experience as seamless as possible, and checkout is an important part of that innovation process. It is important for businesses to provide customers with as many payment options and to be as minimalistic as possible to reduce cart abandonment. According to a recent Shopify report, the mobile cart abandonment rate is up to 86%, 55% of which is related to payment procedures and order fulfillment costs.

Currently, there are several payment options such as digital wallet, mobile payment, and cryptocurrency. As companies around the world become more open to blockchain technology and use cryptocurrencies as payment methods, cryptocurrencies are more popular than ever.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have seemed to change the ownership pattern of digital assets. NFTs are currently one of the most popular use cases in e-commerce. They typically allow businesses to offer monetizing loyalty programs. For every purchase made, these programs reward customers with points. The points further can be redeemed for products, discounts or even bigger bonuses. Thus, instead of random points, companies can now issue NFT-based tokens with a predetermined value.

Web 3 and Metaverse

For many people, the focus on web3 has become clearer as the metaverse appeared and was widely promoted. Although the two concepts above are closely linked, so far they are not interchangeable.

Web3 plays an important role in realizing the metaverse, especially in the context of web3 using blockchain technology as a platform and cryptocurrency as a means of payment. In general, web3 allows the virtual world to exist in an online environment and be accessible through a web browser.

Technology development is an essential need and has certain impacts on the development of e-commerce. It is expected that consumer expectations will continue to shape the sales methods of brands and businesses. In summary, the application of v-commerce (virtual reality commerce) to the online sales model promises to upgrade the consumer experience.

Future-proof your ecommerce business with digital transformation

Brands are using old platforms along with innovative tools to create the connections shoppers want across channels. But it’s not just about doing the same thing that’s been done for the last 10 years. It’s about listening to customers’ expectations and needs and making their experience as seamless as possible.

Keeping up with trends and news regarding digital transformation is crucial to the success of brands and businesses. Not sure where to start? Advesa has a team of digital marketing specialists that are dedicated to coming up with and executing creative social media strategies that work for you in the long run.   

Connect with us today so we can transform your business vision into reality.

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