Padawan Series: Image Search Engine Optimization 101

Padawan Series: Image Search Engine Optimization 101

What’s the first thing that online shoppers look for when they find a physical product they’re interested in buying? More pictures, usually. More specifically, pictures featured on platforms like Google Images, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

There’s no doubting that unique, quality images are integral to your web store. The challenge is getting your images in front of the eyes of potential customers when all of your competitors are trying to do the same thing. The aforementioned image-sharing platforms are often a tense battleground where hundreds of photos duke it out to be above the fold when users search for a product keyword.

In that regard, the journey to maximizing the visibility of your images across platforms – and using that visibility to boost traffic to your website – begins with some proper SEO and image optimization:

1. Compress to Conserve Data

Google doesn’t like it when you waste users’ bandwidth – especially mobile users, who are often restricted by monthly data caps from their ISPs. Taking a large image and simply shrinking it down via HTML tags only changes the appearance of the image. The same unnecessarily large file is still loaded on users’ devices, it’s simply displayed smaller on their screens.

That creates a couple of problems. For one, Google’s algorithm notices those oversized image files wasting data and dings your site for not being optimized. Secondly, larger files equal longer load times, which Google also penalizes. Having your website populated with unnecessarily large image files can even make it hang up or freeze on some users’ devices, hitting you with the third and final blow of an increased bounce rate.

2. Create Relevant File Names

It’s only a small bump in SEO friendliness, but every bump counts. Edit the image file names on your server to something unique and relevant. For example, you might name an image of an aftermarket chrome car wheel something like “20_inch_mag_wheel_chrome.jpg” instead of the random string of characters that it’s named by default.

Those relevant keywords in the file name give search engines another opportunity to properly categorize and rank your images. Furthermore, it makes them more user-friendly: users who open your images in new browser tabs or download them will be met with a nice, descriptive file name.

3. Write Unique and Descriptive ALT Tags

ALT tags give you yet another opportunity to sprinkle your images with some SEO- and user-friendliness. Essentially, the whole purpose of an ALT tag is to describe the content of an image for algorithms as well as visually-impaired users. Make sure all of your images have brief, relevant ALT tags peppered with some of the keywords your page is targeting.

4. Surround the Images with Relevant Text

Of course, in the end it all comes down to content. No amount of optimization will propel your site and web images to the top of search results if the written content isn’t unique, relevant, and well-executed.

When it comes to images, the page text will further help search algorithms categorize and rank you by subject and quality. For example, an image of a chrome wheel could appear on an automotive aftermarket web store, a bicycle shop, a page offering Google Chrome icon packs, etc. It’s the text on the page in the vicinity of the image – most notably the caption – that tells algorithms what they’re looking at.

Conclusion

Once you get all of your web images compressed, optimized, and placed correctly for SEO purposes, you’ll have a solid foundation from which to build platform-specific image marketing strategies. Create unique, high-quality images, tag and market them effectively on Google and social media, then you’ll really have a leg up on your competitors’ stores when shoppers go browsing on their favorite image platforms for some shopping inspiration. Reach out to us today and let’s discuss how to make this magic happen on your own eCommerce site.

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Amplify Your Automotive eCommerce Store With a User-Driven Community

Amplify Your Automotive eCommerce Store With a User-Driven Community

Increase Your Sales, Customer Retention, SEO, and Brand Loyalty with On-Site Social Platforming.

Bringing shoppers through the virtual doors of your automotive web store is one thing; turning your traffic into paying, repeat customers is far more than half the battle.

Creating an actively engaged community within and around your web store ensures that you have a steady base of users signing on to browse your products month after month. More importantly, an active digital community holistically optimizes your website for eCommerce by improving your brand authority, customer loyalty, SEO, and social networking outreach.

The Importance of User Engagment 

In the world of eCommerce, increased user engagement translates to increased sales conversions. Essentially, every second that a user spends browsing your website is another opportunity to convert them into a paying customer.

Populate your site with unique content to engage with, integrate some social media features so users can socialize while they browse, then sit back and watch your time-on-site stats climb.

Just as important as the increase in average user on-site time are, the branding benefits you’ll enjoy when you integrate engaging content with social platforming. Quality content makes your site an authority figure on a given automotive niche, while social platforming makes your store the virtual garage in which all your gearhead customers hang out and talk shop.

Establishing a Dialogue with Your Shoppers

Content is meant to be commented on, and social platforming was intended to be a two-way street. 

Take an active role in responding to user comments, questions, and reviews. When users write comments on your blogs and social media posts, jump into the conversation. When they post pictures of their cars and components, comment back and compliment their rides. Doing so personifies your store as an active member of the car enthusiast community, which will do wonders for your branding efforts.

Most importantly, when users post product questions or unsatisfactory reviews, respond professionally with an informative post that addresses all of their concerns. If one user has a product question or negative experience, chances are that other users are concerned with the same issues.

Public comments from your store not only address the specific shopper you’re responding to, they address the unwritten concerns of every shopper who lands on that product page.

How to Build a Community Around Your Automotive Aftermarket Shop

  • Comments and Commentary Everywhere 

Bring your product pages to life with prominent sections for user comments, product questions, and reviews. You want to separate yourself from the myriad of aftermarket shops that feature generic car parts with only a spec listing and stock photo.

Your product pages will become authoritative, with written posts addressing the most common product questions and concerns. All of that quality content will be supplemented by an abundance of user-generated content related to the product.

Google will reward your efforts with improved SEO rankings. Shoppers who land on the page will be more likely to stay on-site and convert into sales.

  • Create a Blog and Integrate It

A site blog can be the centerpiece of your brand and webstore. It’s a hub where all of the best content you post across the web is aggregated. For your shoppers, it’s the water cooler they gather around whenever they sign on to shop for car parts.

An effective eCommerce blog will have a mix of content. Tech articles related to the automotive niches you serve are a great way to showcase your products while adding to your on-site SEO. Insider updates about your shop are a great way to establish a more personal connection between your brand and customers.

Recurring content series such as a shop project car, real-world automotive event coverage, or a product comparison series are all great ways to keep your shoppers tuning back in.

  • Tune Your Shoppers in on YouTube 

YouTube is an especially useful marketing tool when it comes to automotive aftermarket retailers. Whether you’re selling ceramic wax spray or performance exhaust headers, shoppers want to see (and often hear) their aftermarket accessories in action, ideally showcased on the same make and model of vehicle that they drive.

Whether you build a full-blown channel to make your automotive shop famous or you simply use YouTube as a glorified hosting platform, it’s an invaluable tool for creating product videos to showcase on your blog and landing pages. After all, 72% of shoppers prefer learning about products through videos as opposed to written content.

  • Use Social Media as a Megaphone 

Cross-post your content to all of your social media channels. A steady stream of posts will significantly increase your social media outreach over time, and every post is essentially free advertising for your store. Additionally, every social media post is an opportunity to interact with your shoppers in the comment threads. Doing so consistently will further improve your brand awareness and authority.

  • Engage and Interact 

As mentioned above, meaningful customer engagement and interaction are paramount. From the little questions that shoppers post on low-traffic product pages to the headline content you showcase on your blog and social media pages, be pervasive with your user engagement. Treat every comment or reply that you write like a unique piece of professional content capable of adding to your overall branding and marketing strategy – because it is.

Conclusion

Creating a user-driven community around your website won’t happen over night. You have to integrate the framework into your overall content strategy, then grow your on-site community over time alongside your blog and social media channels.

However, once you do have a vital community integrated around your web store, you’ll have a long-term sustainable platform to amp up your marketing ROI. You’ll also have a reliable customer base clicking through your content (and checkout lanes) every day.

Of course, if you ever need help turbocharging any stage of the automotive eCommerce process, get in touch with InteractOne and let’s talk shop.

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How a YouTube “How To” Channel can Turbocharge Your Auto Webstore

How a YouTube “How To” Channel can Turbocharge Your Auto Webstore

Traditionally, home DIY mechanics and weekend garage warriors always kept a trusty shop manual on their workbenches. Even today, Haynes and Chilton still publish comprehensive maintenance books for virtually every make and model.

However, most gearheads have long left their printed shop manuals by the wayside. Nowadays, you’re more likely to find a smartphone or tablet lying on the shop manual’s former garage pedestal, with the screen open to a YouTube playlist of vehicle maintenance and aftermarket installation videos. 

YouTube is ubiquitous in today’s aftermarket automotive world. Car enthusiasts constantly tune into the platform for everything from customized car showcases to racing coverage to basic aftermarket installation and repair guides.

The latter can be a goldmine for your automotive eCommerce store.

Why Your Store Needs a YouTube Channel

One glance at the stats should convince you: video consumption accounts for over 80% of all Internet traffic, and users spend an average of 2.6 times as long on pages with embedded videos versus those without. 

YouTube is essentially a second incarnation of the Google search engine at this point – the majority of users looking for any type of video content search for it on YouTube, mostly by default. If your automotive store isn’t on the platform, your site is essentially invisible to a huge swath of the market.

Going beyond the surface, there are a myriad of additional benefits. Properly embedded, relevant videos can add a ton of SEO juice to your product pages. That’s doubly true when you’re posting unique video content and Google begins to categorize your site not just as another generic web store, but as an authority in the automotive aftermarket world with a library of quality videos to back up your products.

How to Build an Automotive YouTube Channel 101

  • Brainstorm a Personality for Your Channel

Whether you’re writing content for your store’s blog, product pages, social media channels, or video scripts, your content should maintain an effective and consistent voice. Obviously, what that entails will heavily depend on your unique brand and personality.

For example, you could create a series of purely technical how-to videos with straightforward narration and easy-to-reference tips like tool lists and torque specs. Jegs does a great job of this style in their installation and product videos.

On the other end of the spectrum, you could create a lifestyle-focused channel that showcases products and how-to guides with a lot more flair and personality. American Muscle is a good example of this style with their videos showcasing custom car builds, exhaust sound clips, and generally more creative content.

  • Handpick Your Hot-Ticket Products

Obviously it’s not practical to produce a video for every single aftermarket product you offer. You have to carefully choose the products that will benefit the most from a video showcase to maximize the return on your investment of time and money.

One way to do that is with some good old keyword research. Identify which products receive a large volume of searches alongside related DIY terms like “how-to”, “installation”, “guide”, et cetera. You should also research your competition to see which product videos of theirs receive the most traffic, then capture some of their thunder by publishing your own video highlighting the same product.

A third method of research is to engage directly with your customers. Read their reviews and product feedback, search Google and automotive forums for direct information on the aftermarket brands and products they’re most interested in. Use that research to choose which products to highlight, then use your video to address the most common questions and issues that shoppers bring up.

  • Get Your Videos Seen

The biggest barrier of entry to the YouTube spotlight is the sheer number of videos that are out there. Over 500 hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every minute! That’s a lot of competition for attention.
However, if you take it one step at a time – consistently publish quality videos with relevant formatting, SEO, and meta content – your channel will begin to naturally climb up the ranks to the top-tier of YouTube. Of course, you can always throw in some paid advertising or clever viral marketing to shift your channel into a higher gear.

Examples of Automotive Sites That Are Doing It RightWhy Brands Partner with Nano and Influencers

We already mentioned American Muscle and Jegs for the quality of their YouTube channels. Now let’s take a look at how those companies integrate their channels with their product pages.

American Muscle makes their product videos immediately visible by placing them directly in their product image galleries.

A shopper who is interested in the product has instant access to a product review, showcase, and/or installation guide. That keeps them from leaving the store to seek out the content elsewhere, which makes them far more likely to refrain from cross-shopping or changing their mind.

American Muscle does another clever thing with the videos on their product pages by including transcripts. Below the fold of the page they embed the full-sized video so shoppers can watch it straight on the page without a popup or external link. Beneath that is a transcript of the video which provides ample opportunities for additional keyword targeting.

Jegs does something similar with their product pages. They don’t go so far as to post full transcripts, but when available they always include a full-sized video embedded at the top of their product specifications. As mentioned, that keeps shoppers on-site and far more likely to complete a purchase.

It’s a Long Road to the Top

If you want your automotive store to compete with the aforementioned big dogs, you’ll have to use every wrench in the digital toolbox to get your site to the front pages of the Internet. Whether it’s YouTube, Google, product aggregators, or social networks, there are a lot of web shops all clamoring for their spot in the limelight.

Building a quality YouTube channel for your aftermarket eCommerce store is one of many major steps in the right direction. If you need help navigating the rest of the way to the top, InteractOne can help you turbocharge the marketing engine of your website so you reach the summit ahead of your competition.

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Eight keys to Successful Fashion eCommerce Store Product Pages

Eight keys to Successful Fashion eCommerce Store Product Pages

Product pages are key for fashion eCommerce websites because they are generally where customers decide to either make a purchase or leave your website. Therefore, it’s crucial that brands do everything they can to get them right and to keep visitors on-site and shopping.

These pages should provide all of the information that customers need to know about your products, so they must include well-written product descriptions and quality photos—but that’s just the beginning. If you really want to showcase your products and increase your conversion rates, you’ll need to pay attention to the details. Read on for eight keys for creating successful fashion eCommerce product pages. 

 

  • Use a variety of photos
    It might seem easier to stick to either modelled or flat lay (bird’s-eye view) photography, but it’s wise to use both types. Using a variety of photos that are well lit, high quality, and that employ different angles and contexts helps you to minimize customer concern. There’s nothing to hide when the customer can see all sides of the product!

    WP Standard is one brand that depicts their products well, in a range of settings that reflect their shoppers’ realities—or aspirations. The product page for their Vintage Tote Bag includes photos of the bag by itself (with a zoomable function when your computer cursor goes over it), as well as photos of the bag being worn in various settings, and close-up images of the bag with belongings inside it. This allows the shopper to picture themselves with the product.
  • Make variants abundantly clear
    When you offer color or pattern variants of a product, include this information on both the product category page and the product page. Small color swatch buttons alongside each product thumbnail image on your category page are a great way to clearly communicate the options to your shoppers. A note like “more colors available” or a more specific mention of the number of color or pattern variants is also ideal.

    Our client, Sam Villa displays the options available for their shears by size and type (right- or left-handed) via clearly marked buttons. These options are visible on both the category page and the product page (where there are also photos available of all options), making it easy for shoppers to immediately see the variants on offer. WP Standard displays their variants slightly differently—including photos of different colorways of the product on the same product page, so all the customer has to do to view their options is keep scrolling.
  • Include a size chart
    With sizes varying wildly brand to brand, even the most confident shoppers can encounter uncertainty about the size they need. Size charts that are specific to your different product styles can be very helpful in increasing conversions and reducing the amount of returns your eCommerce store has to deal with.

    On each of their product pages, Big Bud Press includes a link to their size charts, which utilize color, illustrations and notes about different styles and how their measurements were taken. They also include a link to their model size guide, which allows customers to view photos and measurements of various models and the sizes of the brand’s clothing that they wear. This is a unique visual offering that enables customers to assess which size they need based on viewing different body types and discerning which model most closely resembles their body type. It’s something the brand is able to do as they regularly work with the same models—if that’s something that your brand also does, it could be a great way to cultivate shoppers’ trust, as well as a sense of community.
  • Keep product descriptions concise and relevant
    When writing product descriptions, consider the most important features or elements of the product, and put those front-and-center. Think of it like a news story—you want the most crucial information right away, so if that’s a special sewing technique, collaboration or inspiration, be sure to include that prominently. You can always go into more detail later on.

    Think about what can be conveyed with an image versus what can only be conveyed via text. For example, it might be hard to capture the comfort level of a pair of shoes via photo, but you can share information about supportive innersoles or special technology in the product description.
  • Reaffirm your brand’s voice and mission
    Whether your brand’s voice is young and witty or angled at a more mature, serious audience, it should shine through in all of your product descriptions. Youthful online fashion retailer DollsKill excels in letting their colorful style come through in every product page, sharing all of the necessary details of the item while keeping the tone of the copy lively.

    Never pass up an opportunity to reaffirm your brand mission. United By Blue does this well, by including the following taglines at the bottom of every product page on their website: “Every product purchased removes one pound of trash,” and “Sustainable materials and ethical manufacturing.” They also include information about the environmental effects of the materials used in that product. This reminds shoppers of the brand’s point of difference and encourages them to click “add to cart” to support their mission.
  • Be clear about costs
    “Unexpected costs” is one of the leading causes of cart abandonment, so the earlier you can communicate, and provide explanations for any additional expenses such as taxes or shipping, the more likely you are to convert visitors. Don’t wait till the cart—put this information on your product pages.

    This also applies to any free shipping, free returns or bundle deals you offer—include that information on all of your product pages, near your “add to cart” button. Transparency is key throughout the eCommerce process. Show your products exactly as they are, and communicate costs clearly up front, and you will gain loyal, repeat customers.
  • Have a simple, well-positioned CTA
    When it comes to your call to action, be mindful of both the clarity of your CTA and the positioning of your CTA button on the page. Something like “add to cart” or “buy now” is all you need—keep it simple.

    If your product page runs long because it includes a lot of photos and information, consider adding a second “buy now” or “add to cart” button at the bottom of the page. That way your shoppers don’t have to scroll all the way back up to the top of the page again after taking in all of the product details.
  • Consider a unique or minimal design
    Don’t be afraid to buck the trends and try different product page designs to let your products shine. Los Angeles brand 69 centers their products with large, animated thumbnails that showcase their commitment to modern experimentalism.This brand’s homepage also doubles as their product page, showcasing their inventory with vibrant, clickable photography that changes as your cursor moves over it. Aside from this, the page remains static and minimal, with a clean off-white background and a simple sans-serif font. It’s eye-catching and effective in showing exactly what they’re about.

As you can see, product pages are about a lot more than just photos and copy. These are just some of the considerations you should take into account. For more, please get in touch with us.

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The Rise & Power of Nano Influencers

The Rise & Power of Nano Influencers

Recently, the demand for nano influencers has grown tremendously as they are considered to have a direct and strong impact on their followers. In fact, this group of influencers has become popular for brand collaboration because they are affordable and easier to work with. In this blog, you’ll learn about nano influencers and their growing popularity among ecommerce brands.

Who are Nano-influencers?

Nano-influencers are individuals with 1,000 – 10,000 followers of their social media account, most notibly on Twitter and  Instagram. This is quite different from micro-influencers who have 10,000-50,000 followers. Although they have a smaller following, nano-influencers are an affordable marketing option for brands and firms as they often have  a loyal and engaged follower base.

Apart from their low follower count, nano-influencers are also narrow on the kind of content they share. They usually post about niche topics or categories like lifestyle, food and beverages, fashion, and other topics depending on what their audience is most interested in. By gaining a following in those specific areas, their audiences tend to be more loyal and trust the expertise of the influencer.

One of the reasons why nano-influencers are effective is because they often feature a small, but loyal fanbase. Nano-influencers can be persuaded for a micro-fee to become brand ambassadors, for a fraction of the cost of those influencers with a larger following. Even though influencers often deliver great ROIs for brands, nano influencers are often preferred because, quite simply, they are easier to work with.

Brands find it easier to work with nano influencers because they offer a specific target market. This way, it is easier to determine the expected results and craft messages that would appeal to that specific audience. In addition, nano influencers are usually eager to get customers and have less of an ego. Therefore, brands can easily work with them for a smaller budget and lesser effort compared to other, ‘larger’ influencers.

Growth of Nano Influencers 

In a survey conducted by Influencer Intelligence, the majority of online brands stated that they have used Nano influencers in the recent past. In fact, about 76% of the brands report having used nano influencers compared to 72% that used micro and niche influencers. Just like micro influencers, niche influencers have a bigger number of followers, usually just under 100,000. Although they focus on one or two subject areas, their higher number of followers limit their ability to personally engage with everyone. The newly emerging nano influencer segment has caught the attention of both brands and customers. With a third of brands that have used a nano influencer claiming it was the most successful, more partnership deals can be expected in the future.

What makes nano influencers unique is that they are not famous celebrities. Instead, they are ordinary digital citizens with good social media skills and a personality that translates well to the digital world. . Their natural propensity to influence means that they can achieve a more intimate reach. They are more genuine, more approachable, and have a better reputation among their influencers. Due to this authenticity of nano influencers and the trust they establish with their followers, brands have achieved higher conversion rates and increased interactions compared to other groups of influencers.

Why Brands Partner with Nano and Influencers

In the early days, brands sought out partnerships with influencers who had the largest follower count. The goal was to ensure that their promoted content will reach the highest largest possible audience. However, the emergence of spam bots and fake followers prompted brands to question the statistics they were seeing and began to look for avenues that would lead to higher conversion rates.. ‘Likes’ and ‘Shares’ aren’t everything, at some point a marketing endeavor must produce a return on investment. Based on all these points, we have begun to see a gradual shift from higher reach to engagement and authenticity.

Nano influencers have shown to bridge the gap between reach and authenticity. Since they have more intimate interactions with their followers, they tend to have a more loyal following. Brands are now finding it more attractive to work with this group of influencers because of several reasons (beyond simply being easier to work with):

Command a greater deal of trust and commitment: Nano-influencers interact more closely with their followers. Since their followers are fewer in numbers, communicating with them directly is easier. This means that the influencer is more likely to  read and respond to more comments and messages. This level of interaction helps in building confidence in a brand as followers are getting the authenticity needed from the nano-influencer.

Provide wide brand visibility: Even with their small number of followers, nano influencers can increase the visibility of your brand. Since they have more time to interact with followers on their social media accounts, they are more effective in increasing the visibility of your brand. They can be directed to constantly share your new content, keep mentioning your brand in interactions and keep your brand ‘top of mind’ amongst their followers.

Offer access to a more specific target audience: Nano-influencers excel in collecting a niche following by focusing on specific categories and types of content. Their channels usually highlight an area of interest such as cooking, sports, fashion, parenting, among others. This also means that their followers are specific and are interested in a narrow content. When a brand uses a nano-influencer, they are sure that their content is reaching the right kind of audience.

More Accessible and Affordable: Partnering with nano influencers can be considerably more affordable than larger influencers. They usually offer affordable deals and will work on a small budget to deliver the needed results. In some cases, brands have entered working relationships with nano-influencers with an exchange of the products they will be advertising.

Finding the Right Nano Influencers

Finding the right influencer for your brand requires you to do thorough research. Make sure they will be beneficial to your company and that they have the right follower base. Apart from matching their follower base with your target audience, check whether they are working with brands that could conflict with your products’ advertising. The law is also evolving to include regulation of how brands interact with influencers. Therefore, we recommend brands interested in any kind of influencer agreement to work with a marketing firm experienced in handling influencer talent and practices. This will ensure you are working with a team that knows what it’s doing and that your agreement is within legal constraints.

If you are  wondering where to start with the tactics described in this article or others, InteractOne offers a variety of digital marketing services  to grow your eCommerce brand. Contact us today and let’s talk strategy.

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