Kyle Shamorian: What challenges do you foresee for ecommerce companies in the coming year?

Craig Vodnik: I think there are three. There’s compliance and GDPR, financial management, and maintaining renewals.

So in terms of compliance, each country has its own set of rules and regulations around privacy and personal data protection, with the right to be forgotten and the forthcoming GDPR being the most vital of those regulations. As a company grows globally, managing the complexities of each country’s rules becomes increasingly difficult if you decide to be your own merchant of record through that process.

And there’s a similar issue from the financial side of things, specifically around payment contracts, where selling into other countries becomes more difficult. Brazil is a good example of this, because it’s effectively put up tariffs that require a customer to pay an additional tax if a non-Brazilian company wants to sell into the country. So as it becomes harder to do business outside borders, it’s vital for companies to be aware of these changes and make sound decisions.

And the third challenge is around renewing subscriptions, especially for SaaS businesses. Optimizing monthly or yearly renewals can affect profit curves substantially, even if the renewal rate is increased by even a little. The challenge is to retain  those customers, which is far less expensive than acquiring new ones.

KS: What opportunities do you see for digital businesses to overcome those challenges?

CV: When ecommerce companies reach a certain size, they have the ability to invest internal resources in developing a platform that supports global growth – Apple or Adobe, for example.

But companies that bring in less than a couple hundred million per year may not have the resources, or want to invest the resources, in developing these tools in-house. So for smaller companies who want to focus primarily on the quality of their product, there’s a real opportunity in partnering with a solutions company like cleverbridge.

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Also, education is a critical part of this process, in terms of whether it makes sense to build internally or outsource. My advice is to identify your core competency, whether it’s service, customer success, technology, etc., and build your business model around it. Think in terms of “less is more.” Do fewer things, better, and the “more” part will take care of itself.

KS: What would you say are the main issues that keep ecommerce companies up at night as they go global?

CV: In addition to GDPR and other compliance topics, going global requires a keen sense of local laws, specifically as they apply to consumer protections, taxes, etc.

If you’re a digital product or services company and under 50 or 100 people, there’s almost zero chance you can grow globally without outsourcing these tasks. If you get to 5,000 people, you can probably do it yourself, but it’s up to you if that’s something you want to do. Even if you build the initial solution, there are constantly upgrades that need to happen, so the commitment needs to be for the long haul.

Consider the metaphor of swimming from one island to another. If you only go a little ways, you can go back. But if you’re going to do it, you have to go all the way, and it’s a long, dangerous swim.

KS: As companies grow into new markets, and billing, renewals, tax remittance, etc., become a greater issue, can you talk about the key differences between an ongoing partnership – versus a simple service provider – regarding ecommerce solutions for digital businesses?

CV: The key factor here is that companies need to decide what they want to be, whether it’s simply building a product, or taking on the full slate of responsibilities.

Every company has the ability to develop their own subscription model, but it really comes down to whether or not it makes sense to do that in terms of bandwidth and allocation of resources.

Partnering with cleverbridge allows us to essentially be the canary in the coal mine for growing businesses. If we see something like a lower conversion rate or an unusual revenue day, we can be looking at the data with a larger perspective and identify opportunities, challenges and other trends to support that company’s success.

KS: What are you most excited about as you move into 2018 and beyond.

CV: I’m excited about the renewal enhancements that we’re putting in place, including machine learning designed to achieve the highest renewal rates.

I’m also looking forward to the possibilities of predictive analytics, which use data to identify not just what’s happened, but what will happen. This allows companies to mitigate issues before they occur, as opposed to simply reacting to issues that have already occurred.

Also the opportunities we’re seeing in B2B. Companies that sell to businesses are experiencing the same awakening that B2C companies did about 10-15 years ago. We have the opportunity to allow businesses to self-serve which in turn allows them to achieve higher yield on every order. That’s going to be a big opportunity going forward.

Kyle Shamorian is the content marketer for cleverbridge. 

The post Ecommerce Opportunities and Challenges with cleverbridge Co-founder Craig Vodnik appeared first on cleverbridge.

Developing a product or solution that has value and fulfills a consumer need is obviously a significant part of the success equation. But how do you reach your audience in the first place?

Traditional marketing efforts like email campaigns, affiliate marketing and social media remain an effective way to direct prospects to your blog, landing pages, or to sign up for a demo. But in the world of ecommerce, sometimes that’s not enough.

Ensuring your website is optimized for search engines will increase organic, relevant traffic, and ultimately broaden the top of your sales funnel – a key step in the evolving and competitive ecommerce market.

As 2018 unfolds, here are seven tips to help you supercharge your search engine optimization this year:

1. Develop Relevant, Quality Content

According to Moz, there are generally three types of search queries:

– I want to do something
– I want to know something
– I want to go somewhere

For those new to SEO, when a user enters a query in the search bar, Google will index and rank pages that match that topic based first on relevancy, then filtered by popularity. Whether you’re writing a blog about your latest product, or creating a landing page offering a free trial, create copy that includes keywords specific to your business. Services like Google Keyword Planner or Google Trends can show you which keywords to target based on how competitive it may be to rank for a specific word or phrase, or the size of the search volume.

But remember don’t go overboard with packing as many keywords as possible. You’re writing for your audience, not just for search engines. In fact, Google’s new Latent Semantic Indexing algorithm notes that the relationship between keywords and the overall picture the content frames is just as important as the keywords themselves. So focus on the topic overall and write as naturally as possible while keeping in mind what you want your visitors to do.

2. Lead with a Tight Title and Meta Description

The title and meta description of your page not only have significant impact on index and ranking, they’re also the two items that display for a user when your content appears in a Google search. Therefore, they significantly impact a user’s likelihood of clicking on your website.

For each page, develop a clear and concise but descriptive title that communicates exactly what a user will find on the page. Likewise, note that the meta description is the snippet of text under the title that expands upon what visitors will find when they click. Keep each meta description short (160 characters or less), and use it wisely.

3. Build a Backlinks Portfolio

Credibility remains a key metric by which Google indexes pages. Positioning your website as the authority on an industry topic will get you in the good graces of Googlebots far more easily than sites that seem less legitimate.

Backlinks: Reputable sources linking to the pages on your site will significantly boost your SEO. It shows that other credible sources deem your site credible as well, which Google will use to designate your page as higher-ranking. Pursue sources that have global popularity, are trusted (university sites, non-profits, etc.), post frequently updated content, and maintain thought leadership in your industry.

‘Linkless’ Backlinks: In fact, Google algorithms have become so advanced that even if a source doesn’t link directly back to you – rather it simply names your company or product – it will still have positive impact on your SEO. So have your PR team reach out to thought leaders and reputable tech and software blogs, and start building your link portfolio.

4. Stay Agile By Staying Mobile

According to Google, the popularity of smartphones and tablets has led to more than 50 percent of searches taking place on a mobile device compared to a laptop or desktop. If a consumer is conducting product research, there’s a very good chance they’re doing so from a mobile device.

In fact, Google has hinted at the mass rollout of a mobile-first index, which will prioritize its page rankings based on mobile versions of websites versus their desktop counterparts. Get ready for mobile-first indexing by optimizing the mobile version of your site for design, ease of use, and clarity.

5. Optimize Images

We live in a visual world, and web visitors expect no less. When a potential customer visits your site, they want to see what your product looks like, and how it operates. Not only should you include images on each of your pages, you must also add your keywords into the alt-text of those images.

Download the Ebook: 7 Tips for Growing Your Global Subscriber Base

6. Keep Your Pages Up to Speed

This one’s simple. With as many research options that users have at their fingertips, if your pages load slowly, you can bet visitors won’t stay there for long. Make sure your site is responsive (Google suggests five seconds or less per page load), to keep prospects and customers drilling down and converting.

7. Optimize for Voice Search

Whether Siri, Alexa, Echo or any other digital assistant, Google reports that as many as 20 percent of searches are voice-based. So, how do ecommerce companies optimize for this growing trend? Feature a conversational tone in your web content, include long-tail keywords, and – because voice searches often take the form of questions – design your pages with customer questions adjacent to your company’s answers. For example, a voice search may consist of, “What is the best malware software for my laptop?” versus “Best malware software for laptop.” Then, develop content around how your product fits that criteria in a similar tone.

Keystone

Because Google is constantly advancing its algorithms to ensure users are receiving the most relevant results for their search queries, SEO best practices are evolving in turn. So, stay educated on these trends to keep growing your organic traffic, and ultimately, your business.

Kyle Shamorian is the content marketer for cleverbridge

The post 7 SEO Best Practices for Ecommerce Companies in 2018 appeared first on cleverbridge.