Google Reviews are an essential way to get more visibility online. These are the reviews left by people on your Google My Business profile, with a rating out of 5 stars, and a comment. Users can add photos too to their reviews (and you should encourage them to do so if you’re selling products!).
These reviews are super important for many reasons!
First of all, they show other people that your business is well respected and liked!
Secondly, more and more people are using these reviews to get more insights about a company and their products & services before making a purchase decision.
Thirdly, they are increasingly taken into account by Google’s search algorithms to determine your rank on Search Engine Response Pages (SERP).
These reviews appear on the right hand side of the search results when users type your business name, or find you from a keyword if you’re sufficiently highly ranked. They are also prominently featured on Google Maps, which can be a great channel to acquire new customers!
That’s why you should definitely ask your customers to leave reviews whenever possible!
This is what we do at Ad360, and we’re super proud and thankful to our customers that they left us our 10th 5-star reviews this week.
Shopify just announced that they will be shutting down the Oberlo app on June 15th, 2022. This is the end of an era, as Oberlo has been one of the key pillars of the Dropshipping movement for the most part of the last decade.
For a long time, Oberlo was simply a must-have app for any newly created Dropshipping store. It popularized Dropshipping to vast cohorts of young business owners who enjoyed its simplicity. With a few clicks, you’d be able to add products from marketplaces like AliExpress to your Shopify store. Dropshipping is still very popular, as it allows you to start an e-commerce business with very little capital, without ordering and managing stock, and with limited working capital needs.
Oberlo, which was acquired by Shopify in 2017 for $15 million, is still used by 100 000 active stores, making it a super popular app.
However, Shopify has delisted the Oberlo app from its App Store on May 12th, 2022. It can no longer be installed, including from any other 3rd party source.
More critically, if you already have it installed, the App will be automatically uninstalled on June 15th, 2022. It will then be completely unaccessible.
This is a serious move by Shopify, which could be linked to recent issues with many Dropshipping stores’ shipping delays. The global supply chain disruptions have created many issues for websites that relied on shipping overseas products from China. This may also be linked to the recent news by Shopify about the Delivery acquisition and its ambitions to creating a more integration shipping experience within the Shopify app.
Right now, there isn’t an official communication from Shopify or Oberlo really explaining the reasons behind this decision. In this video, we discuss in more detail this piece of news and try to understand its repercussions on Dropshipping.
The end of Dropshipping? Shopify is shutting down Oberlo
If you’ve ever felt getting in-depth, specific advice on your website would help improve your advertising strategy for Shopify, get a full website audit! Read below to learn more about the benefits of a site audit, and how they help increase sales on Shopify.
Why is a Website Audit Important?
To begin, a website audit assesses the structure, function, useability, and overall “look” of your e-commerce store. Specifically, site audits ensure you know what changes to make to increase your sales on Shopify, and how to change them without affecting your store!
Therefore, getting a fresh evaluation of your online store’s presentation helps boost conversions by improving the user experience and upping your site rank on Google!
What are the Key Factors a Website Audit Analyzes to Increase Sales on Shopify?
In addition, site audits also evaluate your social media presence and engagement levels through market data analysis.
2. Website Speed & Technical Performance
Site audits make sure your site is literally “up to speed” and loads quickly with no broken links. Otherwise, the user experience suffers – and so does your Shopify paid advertising!
3. Design Features that Boost Conversions
Knowing where to put your “call to action” (CTA) buttons can make a huge difference in your sales conversions – same with toolbars, ad popups, and your overall site presentation!
As a result, it’s not one big thing, but a bunch of little mistakes may be affecting the user experience. So, if you want a service to ask a whole bunch of questions related to “What can I do to improve my e-commerce store and my Shopify paid advertising?” get yourself a website audit ASAP!
Want the support of a step- by-step review of your e-commerce store? To expand our business, Ad360 is currently offering a free in-person website audit.Get all your questions answered in a valuable, step-by-step evaluation. Above all, we’ll provide actionable insight for how to make your e-commerce store stand out from the pack 😉
Contextual And Retargeting form a powerful combinations
Since we covered the basics of context ads in our previous post here, this entry provides the 3 key steps to making your context ads a success. Hint – the third step is the most important to increase your sales on Shopify, so read all the way to the bottom 😊
1. Use the Right Shopify Advertising Tool
Because context ads are powered by “web crawling” software, you want to make sure you pick a service that allows you to scour the entire web. Even better, pick an ad service that reaches mobile apps, too.
You’ll find lists of the best “context ad” providers online, but we’ll let you in on a secret – most only cover a few networks.
Furthermore, some services don’t offer the chance to combine contextual ads with other digital marketing strategies, hamstringing its effectiveness! Make contextual ads a key Shopify advertising tool in your repertoire, but don’t make it the only promotional tactic you use!
2. Reach Beyond Google and Facebook Networks
When advertising a Shopify store, don’t limit yourself just to Google and Facebook networks. Sure, social media and search engine platforms are great, but there are Shopify advertising tools out there that empower you to place ads on independent websites and across the web!
When setting up context ads, don’t rely solely on the tools provided by these networks. They are powerful, but some Shopify advertising tools and apps can easily extend your reach to millions of independent blogs and sites.
3. Pair Contextual Ads with Ad Retargeting
Marketing data shows that contextual ads are best when paired with ad retargeting. That means that, after retargeting users who have previously visited your site, you place ads on sites that share similar interests related to your product lines!
To increase sales on Shopify, contextual retargeting can encourage you to partner with other sites within your industry’s ecosystem. Using the custom car accessory example from above, that same business could partner with auto repair shops and auto hardware firms. Both sell different products related to cars, but the customer overlap would make contextual retargeting a winning advertising strategy for Shopify.
Conclusion: Ad360 Can Help you Reach Across the Web with Contextal Retargeting
Download Ad360 for Shopify in the app store today for access to the entire web – sites beyond Google and Facebook – while also learning how easy it is to deploy contextual retargeting to your customers. Please reach out if you have any questions how these incredibly digital marketing techniques can help increase your sales on Shopify!
Context ads are a must for Shopify business owners. Instead of targeting potential customers based on demographics or “behavior” – like ad retargeting – context ads provide a refreshing alternative when advertising a Shopify store.
That’s because context ads don’t require any heavy analysis or previous user data! Instead, business owners simply pick key phrases and subjects related to their line of products. From there, context ads automatically “crawl” the web, searching for blogs and site that cover similar material. That way, only customers with interests specific to your industry see the ads!
Who Benefits Most from “Context Ads” Shopify Advertising Tools?
This powerful Shopify ad tool is great for new business owners, who do not have a cache of customer data to inform their promotional outreach. In fact, the “web crawling” service offered by “context” Shopify advertising tools is very similar to the way Google “crawls” webpages when indexing and ranking sites.
For example, let’s say you sell car accessories – think seat covers, custom paints, sound systems, and other little gadgets for a smooth driving experience. Using “context ads” your Shopify advertising tools will place paid advertising on sites that are found to use keyword phrases like, “cars,” “auto parts,” “customized car accessories,” and “personalized car items.” Maybe you even include terms like “gearhead” and “car lover” to catch a wider crowd!
People seem to respond well to contextual ads – one marketing study found context ads produced 2.2x better recall in potential customers than other ad channels. That could be due to the fact users are seeing the ads in a more relevant online environment, meaning their mind is already primed and ready for products related to your industry!
Furthermore, contextual ads have a place in in your future Shopify advertising strategy for a simple reason: they are far less invasive in terms of private data than other targeted ads. As the web looks to tighten up access to user data, contextual advertising spots will be unaffected by more stringent data protection measures.
Conclusion: Increase your Shopify Sales by Deploying Contextual Ads
Contextual ads were valued at $140 billion in 2020 and are only growing every year. If you are struggling with your advertising strategies for Shopify, it is highly recommended that you check out context ads!
If you prefer some assistance revitalizing your advertising strategies for Shopify, reach out to try a free demo from Ad360 today! Check out our app in the app store to refine your online marketing tactics and increase your sales on Shopify.
Thank you all for your support, it is wonderful to build a small (but growing!) community of ecommerce business owners focused on sharing tips & best practices to maximize our collective success!
Our pupose with this channel is to share as much knowledge as possible to business owners, entrepreneurs, ecommerce & marketing professionnels, or simply anyone curious about all things digital business.
We’re grateful to the persons that have shared our channel, talked about us, commented and liked our daily videos. It’s for you and thanks to you that we create new content every day!
Here is a short video we made to celebrate this milestone and thank all our subscribers:
https://youtube.com/shorts/HVm5CI_wZBw
EcommerceSuccess is the community where ecommerce business owners share advice, tips, and best practices to help each other succeed.
Amazon revealed yesterday a new service for merchants: “Buy with Prime”.
For the first time, merchants outside of the Amazon.com marketplace will be able to offer the same benefits to Prime customers as they get on Amazon. This includes free shipping, next-day delivery, and free returns!
To be eligible, members will need to be part of the “Fulfillment by Amazon” (FBA) program in which Amazon takes care of the warehousing, shipping, and returns.
Through this new service, Amazon clearly wants to accelerate with FBA and take on additional market share, especially with Direct to Consumer (DTC) and long-tail merchants.
That’s why many analysts see this move as a jab at Shopify’s business.
YouTube – Amazon reveals Buy with Prime – Is this a direct attack towards Shopify?
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You don’t need to be a design expert to give your e-commerce store a little creative flair 😊 A simple, bold, dynamic aesthetic will attract customers to your site, and keep them there. Read our refresher of how to increase sales on Shopify through upgrading your store design.
Aligning Theme Colors with Your Brand
There is no need to clutter your e-commerce site with pictures and text if your background is aesthetically pleasing. In fact, online stores that are well-spaced, and give the customer a chance to “breath” as they browse from webpage to webpage, outperform ones crammed with “too much.”
Thus, picking simple, bold, consistent theme colors is an easy way to increase sales on Shopify. Remember that the colors don’t have to take up the same amount of space on your site! Some may color the toolbar across the top, while others dominate the space behind your pictures, text, and product listings. Check the links here and here to get some new ideas on how to freshen up your theme colors – it could help boost your Shopify sales!
Dynamic Media: How Should You Incorporate Pictures & Video?
If you are going to utilize lots of multimedia, make sure your site’s speed is optimized. Big files uploaded to your e-commerce site can make it clunky and slow to users.
Every online store is different, so you can play around with your incorporation of pictures and video. Some opt for a central image to focus user attention, while others break up their homepage into “blocks,” with each section conveying a different feature of their products and services. Other put a video front-and-center to engage the user right away, and give a flavor of what their product looks like in action!
Check out a list of excellent online stores here and here – you may pick up a key tip to increase your own Shopify sales!
Well-Placed Interactive Buttons
Another aspect of site design to consider is where you put “clickable” buttons – including the following dynamic items:
“Call to Action” buttons
Social media links
Trust badges
links to specials or products on sale
To increase your Sales on Shopify, having these “clickable” buttons across your webpages make it more interactive and easier for users to navigate. If you have a product on sale for the next month, for example, you may want to update your site to reflect that! Adding in a “click here for our new special” button may entice customers that would otherwise keep browsing.
We’ve talked about the importance of CTA buttons placed strategically across your homepage and product pages. They should land in spots where a customer has taken in key text, images, or videos, and may be pushed to buy items if you make it easy for them. Place CTA buttons around key text, images, and videos! It makes shopping easier for the customer and will help increase your sales on Shopify.
At the top of bottom of your page, have your clickable buttons for links to social media, as well as certificates from your trust badges. They are easy to place and bring extra layers of connection and credibility to your Shopify site,
Conclusion: Shop Design is Fundamental to Increasing Sales on Shopify
Re-evaluate your Shopify store design regularly – testing out different layouts and designs is not as hard as you think. It can have a marked impact on your store’s success, so be sure you are keeping a fresh, open perspective on the options for your Shopify theme and store layout!
If you want help evaluating your online store’s design, reach out for a free demo by Ad360 today. We can audit your current site, giving you actionable tips to increase your sales on Shopify 😊 Cheers, and happy selling!
They say content is king, and for good reason: blogs are a proven method to boost your Google ranking and increase sales on Shopify. This post explores how consistent blog posts can benefit your e-commerce business while also providing a few tips to inspire your own original posts!
Authentic Blogs Support your Shopify Sales
Recently, Google announced that any AI-generated content online will be labelled “spam.” Business owners should reassess the content they are putting out to catch their audience’s audience. Marketing data shows that, while helping increase your Shopify sales, online users primarily read blogs for entertainment and information.
So, when writing your posts, keep an informational, educational, and entertaining tone at the heart of your piece. There’s no need to push your products too hard. Customers who have just discovered your site or product will appreciate quality, authentic posts for their enjoyment. Combined with social media posts and audio-visual entertainment, consistent blog posts can become a crucial element to increasing your Shopify sales.
Blogs Complement Social Media & Video Ads
Think of regular blog posts as an extension of your social media posts. In fact, it’s best to link your Shopify blogs directly on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tik-Tok! All these engaging posts provide a comprehensive narrative you can build regarding your brand and business.
You can embed key infographics, images, and videos into the blog to push your most important audio-visual content across your ad channels. It not longer takes a tech wiz to combine text, picture, and video content, as Shopify has boiled down adding these functions to one click. It’s simple on a technical level, but it does wonders for your reputation online.
An e-commerce store that has an active blog and social media presence appears dynamic, consistent, and trustworthy to your audience. Over time, your Shopify store will increase its traffic and sales by coming across as an authority in your industry. If you can find the time or hire the talent, consistent, quality blog posts will become a key marketing strategy to increase your Shopify sales.
Inconsistent Blog Posts Harm your Google Ranking and Brand Reputation
You ever surf a website, impressed the professional layout, but find that their last blog content post was from 3 years ago…? Not a good sign! It gives the impression the brand is withering, and, despite its clear informational benefit, the business abandoned regular posts.
Not only does infrequent blog posting harm your brand reputation – it costs you ranking on Google’s search engine! Less blogs posts means less webpages for Google to index, and the longer you go without posting, the more you lose authority on Google’s Search Engine.
Even if you can only find time to write a 500 word post – maybe with a video embedded – remember that not each one has to be your magnum opus! Some weeks, it is simply the consistent effort that will benefit your store in the long run. Marketing research shows that e-commerce sites with 11+ blog posts a month experience a spike on monthly traffic. Furthermore, sites with 400+ blog posts archived gain an edge on Google’s search rankings, as the sheer number of webpages indexed bumps them up the rankings ladder! As we all know, a higher spot on Google’s rankings means increased sales on Shopify.
After providing valuable, entertaining information to your audience for free, drop them a hyperlink or “Call to Action” button at the bottom. In this world, everyone could use a little self-promotion, so have it!
If you want a good “rule of thumb” to follow when deciding what to blog, ask yourself this question: “What would I want to read? What kind of post would I sit back and appreciate someone putting into words for me?” If you know your audience, they’ll appreciate your work, too.
For further assistance and information on the value of blog posts, you can try a free demo by Ad360 today. Our app provides 360 degree coverage on all aspects of your digital marketing, giving you a sense of clarity on how to best promote your product and boost your Shopify sales. See what we did there? 😉 Reach out today!
Convert more by highlighting your offer the right way
Welcome to Ecommerce Success by Ad360, the channel where we share tips, news, best practices to help business owners be happy, productive, and successful!
This e-commerce business owner wants to increase conversions for a specific offer.
Let’s review their website and how they present this offer.
The way you introduce an offer, the level of detail you give, which Call to Action (CTA) you use, and how you highlight it on your website matter a lot to maximize your conversions.
YouTube Video: How to Present your Offer to Convert MORE
Subscribe to our YouTube channel “Ecommerce Success by Ad360” to watch daily videos that share tips, knowledge and best practices with merchants to help your business thrive!
If you’d like me to do a more in-depth analysis of your advertising setup / targeting options / campaigns data, feel free to book a call using the link below:
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