Years have passed since white words typed on white backgrounds were enough to convince search engines you were the number one source for any keyword you focused on. And, though still around, black hat techniques like this have generally gone by the wayside as mega engines like Google are closer than ever to using full-blown artificial intelligence to decide which results you'll see. Marketing strategies in E Commerce are changing; or are they?
Even though the last decade has marked huge changes in eCommerce marketing, some of the old favorites, with a little twist, are gaining popularity, and for a good reason. With all the commotion of algorithm changes, spicy marketing campaigns, and the colossal impact of social media, sometimes it's nice to look back five or ten years and realize the marketing tactics you started with are the marketing tactics you can still use today.
Article-Based Backlinks
There was once a day when the new article directory appeared around every corner. There was even open source code that allowed anyone with a little FTP knowledge to create an article directory on their own.
Article directories aren't precisely the powerhouses they used to be concerning marketing strategies in E Commerce, but this method of promotion remains one of the easiest and more effective tactics no one remembers. The key to using this old favorite is to find quality websites that don't work as article directories but do allow for submissions with personalized, outbound links.
B2C not B2G
If you're looking for marketing strategies in E Commerce, there's a good chance you're a B2C company. What does B2C mean? It means business to consumer. However, as Google became the unrivaled king of search engines, a simple algorithm change could drive a successful business's sales, profit, and reputation down the tank. So, what was the average marketers answer to this problem? Instead of focusing on maintaining the best business-to-consumer relationship possible, far too many businesses took on the impossible task of growing a business-to-Google relationship that would hopefully render increased sales, profits, and reputation. This isn't one of the marketing strategies you want to adopt. No one knows Google. No one can learn the complete Google language, and Google knows when you're trying too hard to impress the search engine.
Content Marketing on Steroids
We've discussed article-based backlinks, which is a form of content marketing, but as the old cliche goes content is king, and we're not just talking about backlinks. With the improved intelligence of search engines, the content published on your eCommerce website is no longer one big call to action. The content must be useful to the reader, include keywords related to the topic, head more toward the 800-plus wordmark, and provide meta descriptions to bring the entire piece of content together in hopes of gaining first-page positions in search engines and increased click-through rate.
At Genius eCommerce, we don't believe in keyword stuffing. We don't write for search engines, and we definitely don't buy links. So what do we do? We create success stories. No, not all old school, easy as pie marketing strategies in E Commerce will work today, but we'll never overlook any method in social media marketing, email marketing, digital marketing, or content marketing that will seal the deal for your customer. Check out our blog at GeniuseCommerce.com and reach out to us with any questions or topics you’d like to learn more about.