“When people tell me they have learned from experience, I tell the trick is to learn from other people’s experience.”
The same thing can be said about case studies.
Case studies, as I personally think, are the best ways to learn from other’s experiences. Experience is the best teacher (even when it’s not our own.)
Case studies are as old as human civilization, although they were not documented as we see them today.
For example, a hunter somewhere in 500 B.C. might be telling others how he hunted down the lion using specific tools and techniques. The other hunters then adapted the same tools in their campaign.
Case studies are a way to share expertise and solution. On the other hand, they are a great way to learn more practically. They include actual examples and results.
A medical case study shows how the researchers identified the problem and created solutions accordingly. It would help the physicians in the future while tackling the same problem. Similarly, a hotel case study would help a new restaurant looking for a business in that area.
But case studies are not something you saw on teleshopping ads where (fake) audience claims to reduce 10 kg weight by taking a magic pill.
Instead, they include the hard and cold data being used in problem-solving and decision making to achieve the goals. The studies logically show “they-did-this-and-got-this.”
Case studies have been used for years by various organizations, medical and law schools, and artists.
And our SEO industry is not an exception.
In fact, case studies are as important as our analytic tools as online marketing is a trial and error process.
The SEO case studies of others can help you identify the best practices for the same concern, especially in the same industry.
SEO case studies can also be useful if you do not get results instead of doing the right things. Many brands have shared their case studies on how they boost their traffic using specific SEO techniques.
Here I have outlined some top SEO case studies you can learn from.
(Note: Names of the organizations hasn’t been given due to privacy issues)
SEO Case Study # 1: Improving Organic Traffic and Visibility
This is a case study of a website selling food products. They wanted to leverage digital marketing to promote their brand but didn’t know where to get started. Top of that, it was quite challenging in a competitive environment. They adapted specific SEO strategies to see success.
Objectives:
Creating a User-Friendly Website
Improving Visibility
Improving User Experience
Increasing Visitors
SEO Strategies Used by Them
Making the right keyword strategy
Identifying user intent
Organizing the website’s content
Creating a URL strategy
Posting fresh content
The Results:
22% Increased Website Traffic
40% Increased Recipe Sharing
Top Ranking for 10 Keywords
Key Lessons to Learn From This Case Study:
Creating a user-friendly website ensures easy navigation and encourages users to explore more.
A URL strategy can improve user experience and improve current marketing strategies.
Understanding the user intent is equally essential as it helps determine whether visitors will explore a website or leave it for a better answer.
Identifying the right keywords can put in front of the right audience and help your rank as well.
Fresh content not only educates your audience but also helps improve ranking.
SEO CASE STUDY # 2: Increasing Organic Traffic through Blogs
Blogs are also an important SEO strategy. See how this laboratory gets more traffic to its website through blogs by addressing customer’s key concerns.
Objective:
Creating blogs to help customers and to drive traffic as well.
SEO Strategies Used by Them:
Researching the topics using specific tools and Q/A platforms like Quora and Reddit.
Including the keywords used by the target audience in the search box
Using CTAs (Call to Action) in each blog
Promoting blogs through social media
Using real images, videos, and infographics
The Results:
33% Increase in Traffic to Product Pages
50% Increase in Organic Traffic
20% Increase in Page View
Key Lessons to Learn from this Case Study:
Audience-centric blogs are liked and shared by users.
Keywords make the content more discoverable.
Creating visual appeal through video or infographics can add to the success of your blogging.
CTA can prompt users to take the required action, thereby improving the chances of sales.
Social media is a basic yet essential channel to market your content.
SEO Case Study# 3: Boosting Local Inquiries
This case study belongs to a waste management business looking for getting leads through local inquiries.
Objectives:
To appear at the time when users are looking for their services.
Building awareness
Focus on the local searches
Improving on-page local optimization
SEO Strategies Used by Them:
Working on-page local optimization
Optimizing “Google My Business”
Creating high-quality mentions and links
The Results:
30% more booking
Improved visibility in targeted areas
Improved traffic and leads
Key Lessons to Learn from this Case Study:
Google My Business account is important to improve your local visibility.
On-page SEO helps you get better visibility and support your marketing campaigns.
Creating mentions and links on other sites and directories help get traffic back to your website.
SEO Case Study# 4: Ranking for Competitive Keywords
A local travel blogger was looking to compete for the top keywords used by his audiences, such as travel advice or outdoor travel tips.
Objectives:
To get on top with specific competitive keywords.
SEO Strategies Used by Them:
Guest Posting
Choosing the keywords with good volume
Performing competitor analysis
Linkbuilding
Promoting the content
Using other content types such as infographics and videos
Key Lessons to Learn from this Case Study:
Guest post not only exposes your content to more audience but also helps you earn a link.
Link outreach helps increase awareness and visibility.
There is no use in going after highly competitive keywords.
SEO Case Study# 5: Building the Traffic from 0 to 100 k
It is challenging to build traffic for a startup as everything has to be started from scratch. However, getting good traffic is still achievable if SEO is done right. Here is a case study of a software company that increased its traffic from 0 to 100,000 in less than two years.
Objectives:
Building brand awareness
Improving organic traffic
Promoting Sales
SEO Strategies Used by Them:
Keyword research and competitive keyword analysis
Content Creation
Implying link building techniques
Improving blog visuals and readability
Promotion over Social Media
The Results:
Having 100k visitors in less than two years
Top ranking for 30 keywords
Many of their posts still rank on top Google spot for specific keywords
Key Lessons to Learn from this Case Study:
Keyword research is important to find the relevant keywords that can boost traffic.
Link building adds to your credibility and leads to higher site metrics and SEO scores.
Using videos and infographics make content appealing as well as sharable.
Content should be more on the latest issues faced by the audience.
Want to Achieve Success Like These Case Studies? We Can Help
These case studies must have made you familiar with essential SEO ingredients like keyword research, blogging, local SEO, content creation, promotion, and many more. It is well and good if you have SEO expertise to imply these SEO essentials. Otherwise, make sure to choose a professional SEO expert or agency to get the job done. If you are looking for the same, look no further than our digital marketing services.
We can help you conquer the ranking and boost traffic with the right SEO practices backed by our experience. Get in touch now!
Amazon – it is the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace. And it has reached its current stature after decades of updates and enhancements, which provide immense value to both buyers and sellers on the platform. Most online vendors have a product page on Amazon as well. It becomes important for customers to be able to search these product pages, similar to how users search for websites on search engines.
Amazon, like other search engines, has its own search algorithm – A9. Thus, it is vital for you to know how A9 works so that they can get their product pages ranked higher to increase discovery and sales. The difference in how Amazon A9 works as compared to the search algorithms of Google and Bing lies in the fact that Amazon is first and foremost a buying platform, which means that the website-SEO concepts alone won’t be of much use.
Again, similar to other search engines, Amazon also offers sellers to use the Sponsored Ads feature, which helps attract more customers, improve sales figures, and allows the sellers to meet their goals.
WHAT IS A9?
While Google and Bing searches are related to almost every possible topic that humans can think of, every Amazon search query has a sole transactional purpose. For this reason, the A9 algorithm focuses on two primary aspects only – Relevance and Performance. Optimizing these two factors can yield wonderful results for your Amazon seller account, and you will see your conversions increase steadfastly.
Relevance and Performance can further be broken down into multiple sub-categories, as discussed below.
A9 RELEVANCE RELATED FACTORS
Product Title – This is the most important Amazon SEO element for any seller. You should use the most relevant product keywords in the product title, but keep in mind that keyword stuffing will depreciate your Amazon search rankings. Some of the points to consider while optimizing your Amazon product name are:
Inclusion of brand name
A concise and clear product description outlining the use(s) of the product
Include the name of at least one essential material or special ingredient
Include product size and color
If applicable, you should mention the product quantity as well
Seller Name – If the main keyword(s) for your product is included in your seller name, your products get ranked higher in Amazon search results.
Backend Keywords – Backend keywords can be thought of as similar to the meta tags of a website that tell the search engine what the webpage is about. Backend keywords are used to guide the A9 algorithm in figuring out which particular product listing is targeting which specific keyword on Amazon. For backend keywords, sellers get five fields with a 50 character limit for each field. Sellers should make optimal use of these limits by not repeating any keywords and keeping the use of quotation marks to a minimum. Using synonyms will also help.
Brand Field – Your brand name spelling should be exactly right, as many searches on Amazon are based on a product’s brand name.
Product Description & Bullet Points – These are again very vital for your search rankings as they give detailed information about the product to your customers, and hence, the description and bullet points need to be as descriptive as possible and need to include your product’s most relevant keywords.
A9 PERFORMANCE RELATED FACTORS
Product Price – Having a competitive price for your products on Amazon as compared to other sites is a big bonus as it increases the likelihood of positively growing your conversion rate. If a particular category has many similar products that are selling for less than you are, then your sales will take a hit. Pricing for products on Amazon should be done only after thorough research and comparison with your competitors.
Product Images – Amazon recommends its sellers to use high-resolution images with guidelines to be 1000 pixels or larger in either of height or width, while also mentioning that the smallest image should be 500 pixels on its longest side.
Amazon Reviews – 85% of the customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Also, generally, the products ranking at the top of an Amazon product search have more and better reviews as compared to the ones down below on the same list. This concludes that more and better reviews have a positive impact on conversion rates and sales. To ensure that your customers do leave your reviews after purchasing products from you, simply send them follow-up emails requesting them to leave a review. If you have negative reviews, understand what the customers’ complaints are and resolve them.
WHAT ARE AMAZON SPONSORED ADS?
Sponsored Ads work by targeting shopping queries or products and occupy high-visibility sections on Amazon’s website. These work similar to Google Ads or Facebook Ads in the sense that different ads are shown to customers based on their search and behavior patterns.
TYPES OF SPONSORED ADS
Sponsored Products – Available to all Amazon professional sellers, these ads are visible on the Amazon website and are useful in promoting specific products. These are visible in the ad placement sections on product search results and product pages. The primary objective of using these ads is to increase traffic to product pages to boost sales.
Sponsored Brands – This is available only to the vendors registered in the Amazon Brand Registry. These ads include multiple products along with the logo of your brand and a customized headline. Once a visitor clicks on the ad, they will be redirected to a grouping of products or your brand store. This ad type is primarily used to increase brand awareness and boost sales across the entire catalog of your products.
Sponsored Display – These ads are used to build customer engagement by targeting those buyers who either viewed the product detail page of your products or showed interest in categories similar to or related to your promoted products. Specific products or categories that are complementary or similar to your product can also be targeted. The sponsored display can help you reach a wider audience both on and off Amazon. This is available to vendors registered in the Amazon Brand Registry only.
Stores – A store is more like a brand campaign where you can showcase your seasonal collections and bestsellers, share your brand’s story, and even publish videos. Automatic widgets can be used to customize the user experience. It helps maximized user engagement with your brand using a custom-made brand experience, which improves user loyalty and retention. Again, available only to the sellers and vendors registered on the Amazon Brand Registry.
BUDGETING
Each advertiser, before launching a campaign, would want to have a heads up about how much the ad campaign is going to cost. To help sellers understand the advertising costs, Amazon has some points for you to consider.
There is no upfront on a monthly advertising fee. While setting up a sponsored ads campaign, sellers can determine their ad budget along with the bid amount for each click. Sellers only pay when their ads get clicked by customers, and the cost charged for each click is the exact same amount set as the bid price by the seller.
Sellers have complete control over their ad budget as they can set daily budgets or a campaign-level budget. Not a single penny extra outside of the budget specified by the sellers will be charged to them.
A budget, once set, can always be revised. If you are working on a daily budget, you can either increase or decrease it each day. But a campaign-level budget can only be increased from its current value.
A Sponsored Products ad campaign generally takes about 5 minutes on an average to be setup up, and the ads start showing to targeted users almost instantly. In the campaign manager, you can find real-time information, which is also where you create the ads. These ads are designed, keeping in mind the diverse seller backgrounds, which makes it very easy to implement, without having any prior advertising experience. There are even multiple report types to help you understand your ad campaigns better and optimize them.
CONCLUSION
Amazon is a platform in itself, and it is important to know all it has to offer before you become a seller. This will help you optimize your sales and increase your revenue, which is, after all, the primary motivation of becoming an Amazon seller.
A good percentage of Google search queries are in the form of a question.
Whether it’s dating advice, learning magic, making girlfriend happy, or finding the best shoes in the town, everyone prefers to type it in a question form over Google Search.
And Google doesn’t disappoint as it tries to provide the best answer that can go with search intent.
But Google doesn’t answer on its own. Instead, it collects the data from websites, reviews, and trusted entities to match the answer.
It means that if you have the close answer to the user queries, you can show up in its People Also Ask box.
What is People Also Ask box?
It is a Direct Answer facility by Google. It is the set of questions answered that closely matched to the searcher’s intent. It appears in the set of four questions that can be expanded to see the answer.
For example, I want to know how French toasts are made. I use Google search to find the answer and this is what Google shows along with the key answers in the People Also Ask box.
Here is another one (obviously, searched by a curious or jealous female fan of Brad Pitt).
Like featured snippets, the PAA box shows answers in different formats ranging from text, tables to videos (sometimes).
What are Expert opinions on People Also Ask or PAA Box?
Okay. Now you must have understood what the People Also Ask box is. It is a direct answer facility by Google to show you the related questions to your search queries. It helps people find the best answers.
As a business, should you care about People Also Ask Box?
Yeah, you should.
This is because Google pulls out data from several sites, reviews, and trusted entities to provide the best answers.
Showing up in the PAA answers can benefit your website as you get in the front of million eyes looking for the answer. This way, it is a great opportunity to improve your organic search.
EXPERT OPINION
Given their typically high position in search results, the PAA box provides brands and SEOs with an opportunity for visibility in a crucial section of the results page.
– George Nguyen, Editor at Search Engine Land
According to a study by Ahrefs, PAA box appears roughly four times in search results than featured snippets. SEMrush has found that the PAA box appears 75% of the time.
Source: Moz.com
The percent of search results with PAA is higher on mobile devices. In Singapore, they pop up 3 times more often in mobile results. In the USA, they occur four times as often on mobile devices.
Source: advancedwebranking.com
While featured snippets usually appear either first or second in the SERPs, PAA boxes can appear in almost any position. For example, it can be on number two position for the query “how to do SEO” and number five for “how to do digital marketing”.
Source: Semrush.com
How to Optimize for PAA Box?
PAA shouldn’t be ignored if you are looking to improve your ranking.
Make it the part of your SEO or online marketing campaign. Here is how to optimize your online website or other entity to appear in the PAA box.
Choose the Right Keywords:
Find out which keyword set is ideal for the People Also Ask box. You can use a rank tracking tool to find the frequency of PAA results for your target phrases. Also, use the Google Universal search engine ranking data, and look at the SERP feature report.
Brainstorm for the Questions:
Slip into your customer’s shoes and think about what they are likely to ask. Besides, you can use several online tools to explore questions such as Yahoo Answers, AlsoAsked.com, Answer the Public.com, and Usetopic.com. Quora is also an effective way to get insight into people’s queries. Once you generate the list of questions, see if you can answer them all as well as incorporate somewhere in your content.
(Snapshot of Usetopics.com tool for finding the answer)
Optimize Your Content:
Google fetches the data or answers from several online entities such as websites and reviews. But it only considers the content written in the right format. Here are some suggestions to make your content fit for the PAA box:
Write in a plain and natural language
Avoid making it look like a sales copy
Target on the questions you have researched (like on Quora)
Keep your content updated
Use the tools like “Answer the Public” to Understand Your Audience Queries Better.
EXPERT OPINION
When writing about a topic, research it thoroughly and ensure you’re answering all the key questions people have. Thorough keyword research and tools like AlsoAsked will help here.
– Sam Underwood, Digital Search Marketer
Strategically Optimize Your Key Pages:
You can try everything you think that people can search for. For example, many people search for “what is the cost of online marketing”.
You can optimize your pricing page for that. But the answer shouldn’t be built around “Call us for Quote Now”.
Instead, you can mention about the general pricing plans (avoiding sales viewpoint as possible).
Careful planning in advance and active listening in the moment to what consumers want means you’ll learn how to develop your answers. It is an ongoing process of active listening.
– Jeannie Hill
How to See Reporting on Your PAA Listings?
Google Search Console helps you track the data on your PAA listings. However, it only happens when your listed answer on the PAA box is expanded. One more thing—if your PAA box occurs in position five, your listing within the PAA box will be reported in Google Search console as position five, no matter if your answer pops up as one of the original three or the tenth of the listing.
Getting Success with PAA—A Case Study
In the summers of 2018, I have been approached by a US real estate firm looking to increase their sales through an online listing. I thoroughly optimized their site for flaws and found that they lack efficient keywords. However, I also wanted to know how PAA can work for them along with other marketing strategies. Here I will only include PAA strategies and results as the topic is all about PAA. Right?
Our PAA Strategies:
Generating Right Keywords People Used for Buying, Selling, and Listing Homes
Incorporating Semantic Keywords
Adding FAQs Box and Including Some General Real Estate Questions as Well
Optimizing the Content for Voice Search
Using the Q and A Mark Up and Other Schemas
The Results:
Optimizing the real estate website for PAA as well as other SEO strategies improved their traffic and exposure as well. They also saw a 200% increase in People Also Ask results.
OVER TO YOU
People Also Ask or PAA is on the way to becoming a key online marketing strategy over time. Thanks to the ever-increasing question-based search queries and Google’s mission to provide quality search results. If you haven’t optimized your website for the PAA box, do it now or else your competitor will do it.
What do you think? Let me know by commenting below!
How and Why to Understand Your Client or Customer’s Mindset
Creating products and services for your target audience is just the tip of the iceberg.
For example, your workout protein supplement is bought by the gym freaks or athletes. The supplement has everything they need to build muscles. Right? This way, you are meeting their needs with your supplement.
But have you tried to read their mindsets?
For example, some of them might question if the supplement is approved. Some want to know if the supplement is suitable for the elderly. Some want to know if women can use it. For some, the prices can be too higher. Some might not be assured about the quality of the supplement. Some married people want to know if this can affect their reproductive health.
If these questions are not answered, your potential buyers might be doubtful over your protein supplement.
A customer is likely to consider many points before buying your products and services. Therefore, selling a product to their need is just half done. Getting inside your client’s mindset can help you retain them forever.
Why Should You Care About Your Customer’s Mindset?
Not all customers or clients are made equal. Within the same store or website, one might be looking for a particular product to meet an immediate requirement, while others might simply be exploring or browsing. Just as they can have various goals when they visit a website or store, the individual buyer might be driven by the decision made by a different mindset. In other words, the mood or psychology of a customer often impacts his or her purchase decision.
Getting to know your clients or customers helps you build a better product or services and user experience. It also helps you stay competitive as well as earn the trust of clients. After all, you are familiar with the ins and outs of their concerns.
Coming out with the products that match their psyche or mindset means you have hit the bull’s eye.
HOW TO READ THE MIND OF YOUR CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS
Work Over Your Buyer Personas:
Go beyond the usual demographics factors like age, location, and profession. These factors might not provide sufficient information to create messaging that connects with your audience.
Go extra miles by using the Acquisitions tab to check out which social media platform, blogs, and forums you are getting your traffic from. Integrate this data with your personas to figure out where and when to approach them more strategically.
Keyword data can also help to find the terms and descriptions speaking about the concerns of your customers. Use Google Webmaster Tools to create a list of keywords that can drive visitors to your site. These keywords can then be used in the content of your website, social media, and other digital interactions. This will make your business more familiar with your customers and clients.
Consider Their Lifestyle:
Not all of your customers have the same lifestyle. Some might have kids, and their lives might be revolving around pick up times and after-school activities. If they might not have kids, they might have a good time in sports activities, holidaying, and clubs. If they work part-time or just start their jobs, they must be budget-conscious. Everyone is different, so should be your services.
For example, a family person might be worried about his furniture’s safety when mischievous kids are around them. You can offer them a sofa that is durable enough to withstand all wear and tear caused by the kids. A person who is working part-time with a study can be lured by offering an affordable sofa.
Tap into Behavioral Data:
Behavioral data is also a valuable point to understand your customer’s mindset. After all, the behavior is the reflection of their mindset. You can obtain it using tools like Google Analytics to understand how customers engage with your business. This will help you understand what they find easy or don’t prefer. Besides, you can see where they encounter difficulties while exploring your site. Reviews on social media, eCommerce, and other platforms can be the goldmine to find your offerings’ customer experience.
Develop the Art of Listening:
This is one of the skills you need to develop if you often interact with your clients over the phone or in-person. Actively listening to them can hint about their issues and the solution they are looking for.
Active social listening is also essential if you interact with your customers over social media platforms. Explore your review section to understand their pain points. Make sure to activate the alerts when people discuss your brand online.
Figure Out their Whys:
The mindset of clients or customers can be read if you find out some “whys.”
Why are they using your product and services? What brings them to you? Can your product solve their problems?
Last but Not Least—Put Yourself in Customer Shoes:
Thinking like a customer or client is one of the effective ways to understand their mindset.
It is all about feeling what your customers go through.
For example, a wheelchair company owner can take a tour in the wheelchair of his brand throughout any building to understand their customers’ concerns. Do they feel comfortable in a wheelchair? Does the wheelchair come with better control for their safety?
Here is another example—let’s say your app goes down. Think like your customers, and you will find that it is quite frustrating. You would like to get it fixed as soon as possible.
Bottom Line:
These are some essential tips to read the mind of your customers or clients.
I have told you that getting into their minds will surely give you a competitive edge.
You can map out customers’ minds by conducting surveys, polls, and asking for/exploring reviews.
What do you think? Let us know by commenting below!
