Wednesday 21 October 2015

Tips To Improve Performance in Google Shopping

If you are an online shopping store owner looking to drive sales then Google Shopping is your best bet in that endeavor. Actually the competition in this channel is pretty low due to the large volume of work involved in developing the product data and then maintaining that data. Means currently setting up ad campaigns in Google Shopping is a profitable option. Here are some useful techniques which you can apply to boost performance in Google Shopping, including tips that can help you reduce your work time.

Develop High Quality Data

In order to develop a high quality data feed you have to concentrate on 3 factors –  perfection, applicability & fine points. Fill your feed with plenty of relevant information. Try to stretch beyond minimum requirements. Put as many relevant attributes regards to your product as are feasible. In order to achieve your objective you'll have to invest a bit of time reviewing diverse websites of the product manufacturer to gather plenty of images, collecting ASINs, etc. Probably you will also have to modify titles and descriptions of items.

Here are key guidelines you need to follow to boost quality:

Images
  • Go for top quality images (max file size 4mb).
  • Maintain a square (1:1) aspect ratio and stick to 800 pixels height and width.
  • Use all possible angles, positions, features to show the  product images.
  • In case your product has variations in color, size, shape get an image of each & make a separate list of each variant.
Titles
  • Make sure to insert key specifics, for example, color, size and manufacturer part numbers.
  • Put the vital sections of the title to the front.
  • Don't try to use irrelevant words.
Descriptions
  • Keep in mind that Google is gonna use your text to locate an item.
  • Write descriptions focused on pattern, texture, shape and technical aspects.
  • Don't exceed the 750 characters limit.
  • Avoid promotional text.
  • See there are no grammar and punctuation errors.
Look for Authentic Source for Your Data

In order to improve quality keeps data fresh. Means you must keep the data feed up to date to avoid going ‘out-of-sync’ with website the after a price revision or deletion/addition of products. Of course, searching for new product info and then populating it can likely strain your resources so you must try to lessen the length of time spent on this activity. Use the following ‘shortcuts’ to collate the basic data for the feed, so that you have more time to concentrate on improving its quality.

Content API Will Make Things Easy

If your product range changes frequently then this is the best solution for merchants like you. I agree that the initial development work will be tough; however, once everything is in place it will automate the process of organizing the data and keeping it fresh. You will end up saving both cost and time. The API will deliver your product data straight to Google Merchant Center & regularly update it thus keeping the data up to date. If you cannot install the Content API for Shopping you'll have to create the data feeds manually.

Ask For Exports From The Shopping Cart’s Database

A short cut method to get the product data is to ask for an export from the shopping cart’s database & then compile it. Some merchants may deny direct access since the database can have sensitive data like history of customer transaction, contact details, etc. It's not a bad idea to ask if they can export the product table from the database, or ask whether the shopping cart incorporates an export feature. Lack of common structure to URLs means you'll have to get the product URLs manually.

Google Sheets' IMPORTXML’ Feature Can Come In Handy To Collect Data From The Merchant’s Website

It's one of the quickest ways! Use the Google Sheets'  function termed IMPORTXML to import data from an XML document. Simply make use of Xpath to discover data on a web page at a defined URL &  import the data into Google Sheets. Just develop an ‘import template’ to collect data and later re-visit this template  for updates to the info. Look within the ‘Inspect Element’ attribute of the browser to find the Xpath for each element. Make sure you repeat this for every single element of the product page that includes the Name, Description, & Price. Later populate the sheet with each product’s URL. Just drag the formulas down the columns to get info on product from varied URLs. Getting URLs is easy. Use a spider program like ‘Screaming Frog SEO Spider’ to crawl the website.

Data & Campaign Optimization

Product Groupings

After finishing the data feed work your next focus is seeing how you’re using it. Initially consider using custom labels. It's a handy attribute. This feature enables you to group and filter your products into separate Shopping Campaigns in Google AdWords. Groupings like profit margin, seasonal promotions, offers, and so on will allow you to carry out bid management and develop relevant Product Listing Ads.

Splitting Product Groups

Splitting  product groups by Item ID is another smart option. It enables you to fix Max CPC bids at a product level. Plus gives info on the performance of each product. Although the overall ROI you see from Google Shopping is positive, possibility is there that some money is being lost on specific products while profit is coming from others. So make sure to fix bids at a product level. For instance, if one of your products value is $100 while another is $1,000. To get profit you have to  spend max. 20% of the product’s sale price on AdWords. You have a Max. CPC bid of $0.50 fixed for the entire product range in your feed. All that means mere 40 clicks will be enough to lose money on your first product. While 400 clicks will mean you lose money on the second. If you go for splitting the product groups on the basis of  custom label, brand, category etc. you'll be able to see which products are not performing. Means you'll be able to spot varied problems with product data, products that are under-performing, even your website. After getting this info you will be able to adjust the data feed, modify the website, plus change product prices.

Review Your Incoming Keyword Search Reports

Your campaigns' outcome hinges on this factor. Because you can't insert vanilla keywords to your e-Commerce campaigns you can instead set up a level of control via usage of negative keywords. Google will consider a host of factors, to identify the keywords that prompt your products. However, the key ones are title and description of items. Often ‘generic’ keywords are not very effective with Google Shopping so I recommend you must exclude these at an early stage. The logic is that customers avoid buying at the beginning of the buying cycle. Means showing an image of a product together with price won't prompt a sale. What searchers usually look for is image of a product with a price underneath. Means searches specific to a product are awesome since customers are willing to buy. For instance, if you are putting Nike Trainers on sale. Probably your title of the item is “Nike Air Max 90 Men’s Trainers” and your description lends the keywords in the item title a natural boost.

On your keyword search report you see this:

As you can see the CPC of search keyword ' mens trainers' is a bit higher. Reason for this is that competition on the keyword is high compared to search specific to the item. Implying clicks are gonna cost more, while users making a search on the keyword haven't yet decided to buy.I conclude my article with the hope that now you'll be able to greatly improve your Google Shopping campaigns.

Friday 11 September 2015

Top Updated SEO Do's And Don'ts To Try Out In 2017-18

Search engine optimization was the key way of drawing visitors to the website and even today it is used as a preferred marketing tool, to get the message across to your potential customers. There are certain elements of search engine optimization which are important from the marketing point of view. Your website's layout, along with the fonts you're using, the images which are being placed, and finally the content in the form of articles which are being added – all have their own individual importance. All these things which you try out are done with a single goal in mind, and that is driving target audience to your website.


Here are top updated SEO techniques you need to try out in 2017-18:

Form Strategy With Your Audience in Mind

The key things you must focus on are what colors to use, what images to opt, and of course words to incorporate, including titles. After all you have to fulfill needs of your audience at any cost! Whatever strategy you are trying to make have to be based on your target audience. Forming a strategy without your audience in mind, is purposeless and a waste of your valuable time.

Make Website Easily Navigable

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Another key thing is making your website easy to navigate. If users can easily find what they are searching you have won half the battle. If they fail to quickly find the information they are seeking they will move away and try to find it on some other website. Your navigational structure should be based on the age, & technical prowess, of your target audiences, and last but not the least the demographics.

Pay Special Attention To Details

Sofftrix Call To ActionVisitors to your website can come from all directions and it's not definite that they will get into your website via the homepage, which was meticulously designed by your best designer. So, check out all the pages of your website and ensure their look and feel is in accordance with the liking of your audience. If you want to make money focus your attention on details. Make clear descriptions on each page, create content based on specific keywords & exclusive for every single page. Make navigation super easy and add a call to action in each page.

Keep Adding More And New Content

Make it a habit to add keyword rich content centered around users on a regular basis. A great option I recommend is to start a blog and keep filling it with new content. Updating your blog no less than three times a week prompts search engines to index your pages frequently, and on top of that motivates audience to repeatedly pay a visit to your website, to find out what new content you have added. It helps engage your audience.

Create Sitemaps

Sitemaps are a wonderful SEO element that makes it easy for the search engines to index your website. By including an XML sitemap you convey to the search engine what pages need to be indexed on priority. Today you have the software and the technology to develop an XML map automatically. So make use of it and let search engines index your website on a regular basis. 



Try To Link With Relevant Websites

The thumb rule when it comes to generating links is to make quality content and which is liked by your potential audience. If others like your content they will really love to link to this content and you will end up earning lots of links in the process. 

Keywords

Pick relevant keyword phrases for your niche. Generate a database of around 100 keywords and then target each of these keywords on each page via unique content. Put keywords inside the body of content, use them as anchor text, and within descriptions for your website. But ensure that keywords used look natural otherwise they will spoil the content. Use them just to make your point. And use them sparingly so that your website doesn't get penalized for keywords stuffing.

Learn And Apply New SEO Tools

Google has a policy that it updates its algorithms on a constant basis so you have to adapt your website as per those changes. Means you have to be abreast with the changes happening and learn all the new techniques being used in search engine optimization. The only way you can do that is by experimenting with latest techniques. My suggestion is to use Google Web-master tool  and Bing Web-master tool as often as possible.

Keep in mind that forming an SEO strategy comes prior to designing a website. And secondly this industry keeps transforming. So, if success is eluding you in the beginning, with time it will come automatically. So no need of getting frustrated. Your focus must be on how to keep your target audience engaged, and offering easy solutions to the problems of your target audience. SEO is a long term strategy and requires constant efforts from your side. So be ready for that!