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Growth Academy

Google Core Update: Focus Your Niche

Highlight your Niche, Don’t Overgeneralize

For many business owners, there is a general perception that their online content should be as broad as possible, drawing customers in from all corners of the web.

That line of reasoning has been stomped by the May 2022 Google Core Update!  Google wants to prioritize content that highlights the E-A-T model:

  1. Expertise
  2. Authoritativeness
  3. Trustworthiness

How do you improve the E-A-T rating of your site?  Get positive reviews on your products, ask for mentions from followers or fellow businesses, and ensure that users feel safe and secure when buying products from your site.  Ask for customers to leave positive feedback on sites like Trust Pilot or Google reviews – that is a surefire way to improve your E-A-T!

Be a Specialist: Highlight your Niche

In doing so, it appears Google wants to boost e-commerce stores and content that demonstrate strong expertise in their niche, and do not try to blast out mundane, poor-quality content on everything from celebrity news to “The best couches of 2022.” 

This is potentially a huge boon for niche e-commerce business owners.  You no longer have to dilute your online content by broadening its scope!  Rather, it’s best now to push the other direction, and make your posts specialized to your niche business.  Google Search wants to reward e-commerce businesses who provide the highest-quality products in their field, and will no longer let retail giants outrank SME competitors based solely on their larger online domain.

Refine Your Search Results with Longtail Keywords

Picking the relevant keywords to buy Google ads has always been important, but the recent Google Core Update makes longtail keywords more important than ever before.  What are longtail keywords?  They are the manifestation of “niche” interests within search engines.  Longtail keyword phrases are highly specialized and specific, meaning instead of a customer searching…

Buy shampoo,”

They search:

“Shampoo with all-natural ingredients and anti-dandruff.”

Instead of searching,

              “Buy new couch,”

They search

              “New cherrywood handmade couch with futon and memory foam cushion.”

Notice the difference?  Longtail keywords are generally longer (3+ words), describing very specific products.  Review your current product line, and make sure you only buy Google AdWords that describe your product in precise detail!  They usually have lower a lower cost-per-click (CPC) as well, so that’s an added bonus for your online marketing budget.

source

Amazon: The King of Longtail Keywords

While they are a retail giant now, Amazon is the classic example of longtail keyword success.  When they were simply a humble bookstore, Amazon did not want to compete by selling 1,000,000 copies of the most recent bestseller.  Bookstore giants like Barnes n’ Noble were dominant on these popular titles.

Instead, Amazon aimed to sell books with niche audiences, maybe only selling 10 copies of each title.  However, if they were able to dig and find 100,000 books that each had a niche audience of 10, guess what… they still sold 1,000,000 books 😉 In essence, longtail keywords are a big reason why Amazon became the retail giant it is today.    

Conclusion: Google Core Supports Longtail Keywords

If you want to benefit from the recent Google Core Update, find longtail keywords related to your product line, bid on low-CPC Google AdWords related to them, and watch your sales grow!  If you are having trouble retargeting customers, or want an advertising option outside Google’s Display Network, contact Ad360 today!  We have the niche expertise to power your digital marketing success 😊

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Growth Academy

Google Core Update: Video Content Wins

Video Clips: The Key to Increasing Online Sales

The biggest beneficiary from Google’s May 2022 Core Update appears to be any blog content with video attached to it. 

When examining the marketing trends on social media platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram Reels, and Youtube Shorts, this makes perfect sense: people love the quick rapid-fire format of watching little video “shorts.” 

It provides digestible amounts of information in a bite-sized format, and it complements online content beautifully by enriching the aural-visual dynamic of your website.

source

A Simple Strategy to Deploy Video Content

Integrating video clips into your regular content is not as difficult as it sounds!  Like we’ve made clear, the clips can literally be as short as 15 seconds to 2 minutes.  The clips do not need to be movie-length features. 

Instead, aim to regularly write blog posts of 200+ words, and simply attach a video summarizing or adding to the thoughts your briefly outline in your post. Make this content marketing strategy part of your daily routine.

The key here is consistency – don’t mind if your videos don’t “go viral” right away.  The goal is to build a library of short-form videos, so when a post finally does gain traction online, customers can appreciate the conscientious of your content!

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Growth Academy

Top 3 Secrets for New Shopify Stores

New e-commerce store owners – learn the vital early steps to increase sales on Shopify!  These tips include effective Shopify advertising tools, as well as a sound (and specific) Shopify advertising strategy.  We’ll also reveal how to advertise beyond Google & Facebook!

Get a website audit

Website audits can check your page loading speed to see if any apps, toolbars, popups, or videos are slowing your site down.  It also provides crucial insight for how to improve your store design (and Shopify advertising strategy) for the best user experience!

Don’t just use Google Ads or Facebook  Ads

Only using the ad networks of large conglomerates – like Google or Facebook ads – can be a problem for new owners, especially if you set a high “daily budget.”  If you don’t know how to collect and analyze your customer data yet, google ads will take your marketing budget before you know how to spend it!

Clear, Written-Down Shopify Marketing Strategy

Here’s the hard truth: most Shopify sites have great products and horrible online marketing.  That is why most end up failing.  

Don’t allow yourself to just say, “Oh yeah, I kind of have the marketing figured out in my head.”  If your advertising strategy for Shopify is that clear, you should be able to write the entire plan down.  Below is a “template” example of what a comprehensive digital marketing “checklist” may look like:

  • Set a $10 daily budget for online ads ($300/month)
    1. Pick (insert favorite site here) to run two “test” ad campaigns on
    2. Create ad banners or auto-generate ads with Ad360
    3. Research competitors and define my “target audience” based on demographics (e.g. – age, location) interests, and previous web behavior
    4. Make sure I have apps ready to analyze my customer data
    5. As my ads are “seen” and “clicked through,” make sure I can interpret data to refine my strategy, pick the more effective ad, and write down key insights while running another “test” campaign with Ad version “A” and Ad version “B”
    6. Don’t change too many elements for each “Ad version” You won’t know what change made the biggest difference!

Alternatively you can download the Ad360 App for Shopify, which will automatically take care of this for you. You won’t need to spend time and effort on this, and can instead focus on your true passion and core business!

Ad360 automatically generates creatives, finds relevant websites and apps to advertise into, focuses budget on outperforming audiences, and gets you the most viewers and buyers possible for your budget. Ad360 gives you the ability to advertise outside Google and Facebook, and tap into new opportunities to grow your business!

Try for yourself the Ad360 App for Shopify with a 14-day Free Trial!

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Growth Academy

Programmatic Ads: Automate Success

Relying on Google & Facebook Ad Campaigns is Holding You Back

Have you felt your Shopify paid advertising has been restricted by Google and Facebook ads?  I mean, there are literally millions of independent websites and thousands of mobile apps not controlled by either the Google or Facebook network!

So, why do so many businesses end up feeling trapped with these online conglomerates being their only options for running ads and increasing sales on Shopify?

Simple – they have not explored and expanded their advertising strategies for Shopify.  Relying on your manual inputs to Google and Facebook can generate traffic, but this is the 21st century! It’s time to automate!

Programmatic Ads – Software that Automates Advertisements for You

The solution to you feeling “stuck” with Google and Facebook ads is simple – programmatic software. Programmatic ad services, once set up to your store, basically scour the entire web and mobile ecosystem for the best deals to place your ads.  They follow your daily allotted budget, and within those parameters, match your Shopify product advertising to your target audience on the web – wherever they are.

Programmatic ads have their own software powering this automated decision-making process, meaning you no longer have to rely on Google or Facebook ads!  Imagine never having to manually create a Google Ads campaign again, while seeing your ROI and data for each audience segment explode.  The clarity brought with programmatic ads will revolutionize any advertising strategy for Shopify.  Not having to rely on Google or Facebook’s networks is a liberating experience – one that brings your Shopify business more opportunities and hypertargeted results.

Ad360 Provides Programmatic Ads in One Click

The software that powers programmatic advertising is at the heart Ad360’s services.  Within just one click, you can set a daily budget and begin running targeted ad campaigns across all websites and mobile apps.  Try downloading our app today to experience a game-changing Shopify advertising tool – the democratization of programmatic ads!  Automation of ads saves you precious time while enhancing the chance to increase sales on Shopify – give it a try to refresh your promotional strategies 😊

Try for yourself the Ad360 App for Shopify with a 14-day Free Trial!

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Growth Academy

Make Sales Explode with Context Ads

A Crucial Shopify Advertising Tool: Context Ads

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.

Try for yourself the Ad360 App for Shopify with a 14-day Free Trial!

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Growth Academy

You Need to Advertise Beyond Google

Why Shopify Paid Advertising is So Costly on Big Platforms

A big issue for small businesses advertising on Google is being overshadowed by the volume of competition.  The space is oversaturated with ads, and you become a “small fish in a big pond.” 

However, you can reverse the roles by advertising on millions of independent sites and mobile apps!  Using a few Shopify advertising tools and apps, businesses can broaden their reach beyond traditional platforms that are glutted with ads.  Instead of being one of millions of businesses promoting on Facebook, you can become one of the few savvy enough to reach potential customers on the mobile games they play or sites unplugged from Google’s network. 

How to Advertise with Shopify Beyond Google and Facebook

There are millions of these sites, and so when you broaden your reach to these corners  of the web, advertising through Shopify becomes a much more lucrative prospect.  You are not competing your user attention of web space as intensely as on Google ads.  There is room for businesses to grow organically and implement Shopify product advertising in places they are more likely to stand out. 

As an example, imagine you are a clothing or cosmetics company, and you begin sending ads to your target demo on games like “Bejeweled” or their favorite news app.  Not only will it be a cheaper webspace to advertise your Shopify store, but the user will get used to seeing your ads there!  After a few times, they associate your store within the context of their favorite mobile app, so they give your products a try.  After that, you are on your way to increasing sales on Shopify 😊

Ad360 is the Perfect Shopify Advertising Tool

If you keep using the same Shopify advertising strategy on Google, and are not seeing any growth, it could be time to advertise beyond highly competitive/traditional platforms.  Reaching millions of independent sites and mobile ads is much easier than you think – especially with the help of Ad360.  Try a free demo today to see how we can help your Shopify product advertising reach every corner of the web 😉

Try for yourself the Ad360 App for Shopify with a 14-day Free Trial!

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Growth Academy

You Need to Run Multiple Ad Campaigns!

Picking Which Platform to Run Ads on

When considering your advertising strategies for Shopify, remember one thing – you need to run multiple ad campaigns at once!  It sounds complicated, but it is easier than it appears and is vital to test the effectiveness of your Shopify product advertising.

Many e-commerce owners get “comfortable” with one platform – like Facebook or Google ads – and fail to take advantage of the numerous options across the web to showcase their products.  To increase sales on Shopify, make sure to branch out and try running ads on a series of sites.  To help jumpstart your Shopify product advertising, we listed some of the top platforms for your consideration below:

  1. Pinterest
  2. Reddit
  3. Tik Tok
  4. Facebook
  5. Instagram
  6. Google
  7. Snapchat
  8. Quora
  9. LinkedIn
  10. Twitter
  11. Amazon
  12. Bing
  13. Youtube

Depending on your product line, your target audience may be spread across these different platforms or all in one place!  For example, if your Shopify store sells high-end business notebooks and supplies, LinkedIn may be the perfect place for your Shopify paid advertising spots.

If you think your demo skews young, aim for Snapchat and Tik Tok. 

LinkedIn is great for B2B Services!

If they skew older, aim for Bing – old folks stick with Microsoft 😊

If they skew female, try out Pinterest!

You get the idea – depending on your target audience, it may help to research the platforms listed above, find out which demographic group drives their traffic, and develop your advertising strategy for Shopify based on those results.  That way, you can test different Shopify advertising tools to see which provides you the best boost in sales.

What’s more is that all these platforms only represent a small fraction of the whole Web. There are hundreds of millions of independent websites, blog and mobile apps out there which you could be running ads on. Your customers are on these sites, so why keep out of these.

The good news is that it’s never been easier thanks to Ad360!

Ad360’s Menadex can Run Ads Across the Web

If you want help running ads across the web – including independent sites – on top of the platforms listed above, reach out to try a free demo from Ad360 today!  We’ll run a site audit to assess your target audience, then help you pick which platforms to run your Shopify paid advertising spots.  That way, you can minimize customer acquisition costs by going where the people are.  With so many platforms to pick from, that may be easier said than done – make sure to do your market research, and happy selling!

Try for yourself the Ad360 App for Shopify with a 14-day Free Trial!

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Growth Academy

The Power of a Central Ad Dashboard

Runnings Ads Across Every Online Platform is Too Complex

There are pros and cons to leveraging multiple online platforms for your ad campaigns.

Web services like Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Google, Tik Tok, Twitter, and Reddit, reach wide audiences – but each platform’s presentation varies in significant ways.  On paper, running ad campaigns across all search engines and social media platforms may seem the best way to boost your brand visibility and increase sales on Shopify!

… It also sounds super complicated.  Imagine having to log into each separate ad interface, and learn the idiosyncrasies of all the different sites.  Even more, you need to find a way to effectively compare each ad channel while analyzing your digital marketing strategy.  Just the thought of lining up sales metrics from these separate ad channels gives us a headache!

That is why Ad360 is here to provide a turnkey solution to managing all your separate channels: a single, streamlined dashboard the brings all your ad campaigns – across every online platform – under one roof.  Ad360’s streamlined ad dashboard makes it simple to run multiple ads at once, helping refine your marketing strategy and increase sales on Shopify 😊 

The Problem with Disparate Ad Campaigns

Without a central ad dashboard, business owners waste energy simply keeping track of each promotion’s progress.  In fact, e-commerce business owners online report that they keep track of their various online ad campaigns through spreadsheets or notes – all manually. 

The time drain and effort wasted organizing and comparing each ad campaign is not only inefficient, but it could make that comparison inaccurate! 

Entering wrong data or forgetting the rationale for running each ad campaign can make your marketing analysis more difficult or even impossible. Manually entering data in notes or spreadsheet offline basically “disembodies” your data, removing it from the context of your various ad channels.  You’re forced to imagine how each ad campaign looks online instead of having them on an interface right in front of you.

It’s a scientific fact that humans only have so much brainpower for decision-making each day.  If you are draining all that energy simply trying to keep each ad campaign in order, you won’t have enough left over to effectively compare them! 

This “scatterbrain” effect disparate ad campaigns cause could lead to poor mental conceptualizations of your ad campaign’s progress.  Instead of being able to simply sit back and think, “How should I allocate my advertising funds from here?” you are bending over backward trying to keep each ad campaign in order.  Think of all the questions that would rush into your mind when comparing the success of different ad campaigns:

  • Was that ad campaign for brand awareness or boosting conversions?
  • Why did I run that ad campaign on Facebook instead of Google again?
  • What was different about these two ad campaigns?  Was it the visual I used, or was it different text descriptions? 
  • Why did I pay-per-click for this ad but paid per 1,000 views on this one? 

A Streamlined Ad Dashboard – The Key to Digital Marketing Success?

Ad360’s streamlined ad dashboard centralizes all your ad channels to one cozy, intuitive interface.  Think of it like consolidating your debt for a lower interest rate – a single central ad dashboard empowers business owners to take their digital marketing to the next level!

Advertising on multiple platform of your choice, and across the entire web – will feel easy.  By broadening your reach and focusing your promotional efforts, a single central ad dashboard gives you the best chance to increase your sales on Shopify.

Instead of having to open multiple tabs to check in on each ad campaign’s progress, manually record them in a spreadsheet, and compare the numbers by hand, Ad360’s central ad dashboard automatically records key marketing metrics for you.  In doing so, business owners can take a “bird’s eye view” of their overall digital marketing efforts, honing in on key areas to improve their brand message.

Experience Ad360’s Central Ad Dashboard for Yourself

Ad360 offers a free demo to e-commerce business owners trying to improve their digital marketing strategy.  Reach out today for a chance to streamline all your ad channels under one roof, along with the ability to create new ad campaigns with a single click.  If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed keeping track of your online promotions, give us a call today!

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Growth Academy

Google Retail Search Released to the Public

Searching but Not Finding: the Phenomena of Search Abandonment

Picture the common scenario, where, frustrated by the lack of results on their search, a customer leaves your site without buying anything.

That simple snafu costs ecommerce retailers over $300 billion a year.

Amazing, right?  Such a simple hitch in the process can bleed billions of dollars in the ecommerce industry.  Even retail giants like Macy’s and Ikea suffer from search abandonment, so you are not alone!

Luckily enough, Google recently released its Google Retail Search to the general public, bringing the power of Google’s search engine to all online retailers.  Read below how this new Google tool can help increase your sales on Shopify!

Why Google’s Retail Search is a Win for E-Commerce

A recent poll discovered that 94% of US customers abandon an online shopping session due to irrelevant search results.  Imagine that a shopper types in, “comfy winter sweater” to your search bar… they probably won’t get very precise results! 

However, with Google Retail Search, backing software would be able to link the customer’s buying intent, no matter how general in their search, to specific products available in your store.  Most ecommerce sites have search bars that, if the specific product name is typed, can provide the result quickly for users.

But what about all the potential customers who don’t know your brand’s products yet?  Navigating around to find the item that fits their match can be a chore they refuse to do, especially when ecommerce giants may be able to provide better search matches.

How Google Retail Search Helps Increase Sales on Shopify

Google Retail Search will help boost your Shopify sales in a few ways:

1. Advanced Query Understanding

This function provides high-quality search results for even the broadest searches.  If you sell footwear, and someone types in, “shoes for the beach,” instead of telling them, “What can’t find that specific product, can you refine your search?”  It will bring up a list of all your products that fit the context. 

2. Semantic Search

You will be able to better gauge “customer intent” to match them with the best-fitting products on site.

3. Personalized Results

Google Retail Search will also factor in each user’s previous searches through their search engine optimizing their experience and providing them tailor-made search results, even on your Shopify site!  All of this is done automatically for your ecommerce business.

4. State-of-the-art Customer Data Security

While the search results provided by Google Retail Search are personalized, Google implements “strong access controls” to ensure your customer data is anonymized and protected

Conclusion: Google Retail Search is Worth a Trial

As a certified Google partner, Ad360 knows the power of leveraging Google’s incredible search engine, ad platform, and analytics technology.  If you want any advice or help implement Google Retail Search to your ecommerce site, contact us at Ad360 today!  We provide a free website review, along with a free trial.  That way, we can test your search query and see what comes up 😊  Less search abandonment could increase sales on Shopify, so don’t hesitate to check out Google Retail Search!

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Growth Academy

Quick Ads: A Story of Success

Introduction: The Difficulties of Ad Campaigns Before Quick Ads

The following is an amalgamation of real stories told online by business owners who, despite their best efforts, did not have the time, tech savvy, or financial resources to successfully leverage their online ads.  While platforms like Google, Facebook, and Tik Tok provide real opportunity to “Get the word out,” starting these campaigns from scratch – and having them increase sales on Shopify – is far easier said than done.

These are their stories.

Ensnared by “Default” Settings

La Fontaine’s Cookies had grown on “word of mouth” advertising locally for years, but the owner quickly realized they needed to shift their marketing strategy in 2022.  So, they got to work using a popular search engine as the first base of operations… and saw there were 18 unique settings that needed calibrating.  The sheer number of options and unfamiliar terms (SEO, Funnels, PPC, etc…) was a bit overwhelming at first for the local business.

Setting the budget was easy enough, but errors started popping up when the rest of the boxes got filled.  Already the manager of day-to-day operations, the owner’s eyes widened as they realized figuring out online marketing would become a massive drain on their time and energy. 

Picking between “search ads” and “display ads” and analyzing which “keywords” worked best was where La Fontaine’s Cookies officially lost the plot.  They were already spending hundreds of dollars on the ad campaign and hours designing specific ads for each of their “audience segments,” which were hard to clearly define in the first place… the conversion rate was so paltry that La Fontaine’s Cookies was in serious jeopardy of going under!

Ad campaigns on social media sites fared no better.  Creating a unique, well-designed ad banner for each part of her audience was time consuming and figuring out how to analyzeengagement data” felt like it would take all day… but the owner had a cookie shop to run!  They didn’t have the time to sit at a computer and crunch numbers, and hiring a marketing expert on salary was out of the budget.

Quick Ads – The “One Click” Solution that Save La Fontaine’s Cookies

Before laying down their arms and walking away, the owner of La Fontaine’s searched, “How to increase sales on Shopify,” as a last ditch effort.  They wanted to find an affordable service that might relieve the burden of going through all these settings and conducting all this research for a successful online marketing promotion. 

Luckily, they found Quick Ads by Ad360 – and the rest, as they say, is history 😊

Right away, Ad360 showed La Fontaine’s Cookies the promotional power of Quick Ads.  All their previous work was not for nothing, as Ad360 automatically extracted all the data from her Shopify store.  Now, instead of over a dozen manual options to toggle, La Fontaine’s Cookies only had to enter two basic inputs:

  1. Daily budget
  2. Location

After clicking “submit,” Quick Ads went to work, a powerful marketing app over 2 years in the making.  With all that technical expertise behind it, Quick Ads automatically generated multiple ad banners using data from La Fontaine’s online store – the owner no longer had to make each one by hand!  Even more, Quick Ads rolled out a “geotargeted” awareness campaign to the entire neighborhood.  Suddenly, old friends and neighbors were calling again for a quick dessert 😉

Perhaps the most incredible, though, La Fontaine’s Cookies conversion rate began spiking after a month.  Overjoyed, the owner asked the Ad360 support team what Quick Ads was doing behind the scenes to increase sales on Shopify. 

“Well, we have begun automatically retargeting any and all customers who browse your site!  Concentrating your budget on these likely customers lets them get to know your brand through multiple engagements.  Sounds like they like what they see, and think La Fontaine’s is the solution to their sweet tooth needs!”

Smiling, the owner of La Fontaine’s Cookies sat back – instead of having to close the store, they were able to hire a part-time manager to help share the burden of day-to-day operations.  Now, they could focus on expanding their e-commerce business, and maybe open up a La Fontaine’s Cookies in the next city!  While management started their market research, Quick Ads continued solving her online marketing issues – all with one click 😊

Conclusion: Increase Sales on Shopify with Quick Ads

If you want to experience online marketing success like La Fontaine’s reach out to try a free demo of Quick Ads by Ad360 today!  We’ll make setting up ad campaigns as simple as “2 inputs, 1 click,” and will be there to support you every step the way as you increase sales on Shopify.  Congrats to La Fontaine’s – we hope to make you the next e-commerce success story!

Increase your Sales on Shopify today!