Learn How To Evolve Your Marketing Initiatives for Changing Consumers’ Behaviors
A lot has changed since the “birth” of the Internet. With millions upon millions of pages flooding the web, consumers have an endless choice of places to go to for their shopping needs. What makes them choose your site or product over a competitor’s?
It’s about knowing how they think, and what they did, to get to the point of purchase. The thing is, consumers’ behaviors have evolved over the past 10 – 15 years. In its infancy, the Internet was an exciting place where consumers could get answers they never thought were possible. Today, the Internet is a jungle, and consumers have to hack away through the weeds to get to the fruit of their labors. By adapting your online marketing strategy to reflect the modern-day consumer’s behavior, you can stand out among your competitors and win over clicks and conversions. Here’s how.
- Long-tail keywords – SEO experts and online marketers have been heralding the power of the long-tail keyword for the last few years, and here’s why: consumers are using longer search terms to find what they’re looking for. This is the first step they take to hack away the unwanted weeds. Typing in a word like “bicycle” isn’t going to yield them the results they want. It may show them some sites where they can buy a bike, but it may also show them a page on the history of the bicycle, or a news article that mentioned “bicycle.” Today’s online consumers don’t have time for this. They want a results page that gives them what they want, and so they add descriptors and modifiers to their search term (Schwinn 10-speed bikes for sale) or they phrase their search into a question (Where can I buy a new Schwinn road bike?). The days of 3-word search terms (or fewer) are long gone. Unless you’re looking up a celebrity, you’re likely going to use search terms that are 4+ words in length.
In order to make your product show up on these types of results pages, you need to incorporate long-tail keywords into your marketing strategy. And the type of long-tail keyword used will depend on where in the buy cycle your consumer is. Early stages of the cycle will have searchers researching information (Types of digital cameras used for outdoors), while further stages will have your consumers comparing products (GoPro cameras vs. Canon) or learning more about specific models of a product.
- Picture Pages – Back in the 1980’s, Bill Cosby had a kid’s educational show called Picture Pages. It’s off the air now, but the idea of Picture Pages is back with a vengeance. Images make an impact. In fact, Search Engine Journal reported that product images were the leading driving force behind purchase decisions, ranking above product details, descriptions, ratings or reviews. And it’s not just any ol’ image that’ll do. Your images need to be optimized and provide clients a glimpse into exactly what they want.
- Reviews – with a twist – Even just a few years ago, reviews on Yelp helped consumers make purchasing decisions. But these types of reviews are losing steam, and are being replaced by far more personal reviews made on consumers’ social networks. Perhaps it’s because of all the potentially “fake” reviews out there, but the modern-day consumer is more likely to trust (and act upon) the suggestions and reviews of their social media friends than by a stranger. What’s this mean? It means that despite the hype, social media is necessary. Having followers and likes does matter. Social media is designed to help you connect with your consumers in a way that establishes a community of sorts. By encouraging your followers to review and suggest your product/brand to others, you’re greatly improving your market reach.
- Cut the fat for facts – The Internet is flooded with fat (carefully spun words and phrases that mean very little). Consumers are being pitched at, and sold to, all the time, to the point that they’ve grown immune. Yes, good consumer-based content is important, but not at the expense of facts. Consumers have tons of information at their disposal, making them far more educated during their purchase process. They want to know the actual facts about your product (size, shape, megapixels) and not just that it “Rides great” or “Captures amazing images.” Don’t insult your consumers by loading your content with fat. Speak to them with facts and you’ll persuade them to buy from you.
Using Your Data Feeds to Make It All Work
Product data feeds are a great way for you to cover all of your bases. Product data feeds allow online retailers to create long-tail keyword phrases, include images, reviews, factual data and more. Thus it’s worth your while to fully optimize your data feeds for each of your search and shopping engines. The problem is, each engine has different styles and requirements for their feeds. How can you be sure you’re optimizing each feed appropriately? OperationROI can help. Armed with the knowledge and expertise of every data feed in existence, we help you modify and optimize your feeds to reach the modern-day consumer. Call us at 1-888-277-5429 or fill out our contact form to learn how we can help you adapt your online marketing strategy to the behavior of today’s consumers.
