Podcast Audio – E2M Solutions: Recent Episodes
Welcome back to another tidbit-packed episode of The Marketing Microscope!
We welcome Kristina Azarenko, technical SEO specialist and founder of Marketing Syrup – a Toronto-based digital marketing company. In addition to running her own firm, Kristina offers a course called SEO Challenge. The course teaches 24 of the most important SEO skills to build a career.
I am joined on this podcast by Darshak Patel, SEO analyst at E2M, and Taral Patel, SEO Manager. This podcast was Taral’s last hour at E2M after spending six awesome years with the company. We wish Taral all the best in his future endeavors in Bangalore!
On the show today, we’re talking all about technical SEO and how it applies to an eCommerce site.
We start off by asking Kristina about the trademarks of every successful eCommerce store, which include:
– Excellent user experience (no annoying ads and pop ups)
– Categories optimized with long tail keywords
– Optimized product pages/category pages
– Fine-tuned product search (tracked by Google Knowledge)
To flip the script, we discuss some of the trademarks of an unsuccessful eCommerce store, including:
– Many categories with only a couple products in them
– The homepage having “home” in the title tag
^ It’s definitely worth listening to the podcast to dive deeper into this one!
We take the conversation more general by discussing the most important things to understand about eCommerce SEO, the impact the site builder platform has on SEO, and what the “perfect” product page looks like.
The next stop in the show is keywords. Every SEO specialist knows transactional keywords are essential on an eCommerce site. But what role do informational keywords have? How does this impact content marketing?
We close out the first segment by discussing how to allocate time and budget to content marketing on an eCommerce site.
After a quick intermission, we get right back into it by talking about the biggest technical challenges in eCommerce SEO, including:
– Faceted navigation
– Dynamic stock
– Expanding categories to account for long-tail keywords
We dive deeper into these challenges, especially faceted navigation. Next, we get some excellent insight on the auditing process, as well as a list of Kristina’s favorite tools for the job.
As the show begins to wind down, Kristina discusses some ways to optimize crawl budget – and the key signs it’s time to change the SEO strategy for an eCommerce site.
In normal Microscope fashion, we close the show by getting some parting advice from Kristina for technical SEO analysts.
For more useful tidbits on technical SEO, check out Kristina’s eBook, eCommerce SEO Master: 10 Huge Wins for Any Online Store
Kristina also has a free extension – SEO Pro
If you’ve got a large eCommerce site and are trying to crack Google’s code, this episode is worth every second!
You can find more episodes of the Marketing Microscope on iTunes and Stitcher.
The post Technical SEO & eCommerce – with Kristina Azarenko appeared first on E2M Solutions.
Welcome back Scopers! We’ve got a slight change of pace on this podcast. In this one, I welcome a published author and writing coach to talk about long-form content.
Mary Adkins and I chat about personal branding and how to do it right using long-form content – whether it be a memoir, autobiography, or inspirational story. When we look at some of the biggest businesses in the world, it’s easy to pair a face to it. Apple and Steve Jobs; Tesla and Elon Musk; Amazon and Jeff Bezos, etc. A lot of this has to do with personal branding.
In this podcast, Mary gives us some excellent insight on how to approach personal branding from a writing perspective.
We start the show by chatting about the importance of long-form content, the biggest misconceptions about producing it, and we share some of our favorite examples.
Mary talks about some of the early mistakes she sees in the writing/personal branding process – and how to set yourself up for success. The convo shifts to outsourcing – and Mary gives us her take on what to look for in the perfect writer. From the writer’s perspective, we talk about what makes the perfect client.
After a short intermission, we get right back into the nuts and bolts of long-form content and personal branding. Mary elaborates on the process involved, setting goals, and the common points of resistance to be wary of.
We then get to hear about Mary’s Four Notebook Method – and understanding when exactly a piece of content is truly complete. For more information on Mary’s program, apply for The Book Incubator.
If you’re looking to expand your personal brand with a memoir or autobiography – or just write a book in general – this episode is a must-listen!
You can find more episodes of the Marketing Microscope on iTunes and Stitcher.
The post Personal Branding & Storytelling with Long Form Content – with Mary Adkins appeared first on E2M Solutions.
Happy November marketers and branding experts!
This episode is all about rebranding from a writing standpoint. My guest today is Steven Johnson, longtime copywriter and founder of Savor Content – a full-service writing + content marketing agency.
Our discussion today is about breathing fresh life into a brand with copy. We start the show with Steven’s general take on rebrands and why businesses need to do it. We discuss some good examples of rebrands over the years – namely Dunkin’ Donuts (now just Dunkin”) and Old Spice.
Steven talks about some of the biggest misconceptions about rebranding. In short, many companies assume a rebrand is a surface-level change of color, logo, packaging, etc. A rebrand goes much deeper – it requires a great deal of research, customer analysis, and problem-solving.
As we get into the main topic, Steven gives us his take on the role of copywriting in the rebranding process. Maybe we’re biased, but copywriting plays the most important role. Without words, a brand is little more than a jumble of colors and images. Copy is what brings the values, messaging, and feel of the company to life.
The next item we discuss is the main pillars of copywriting in a rebrand. At a glance, these are:
- Providing real answers
- Establishing credibility
- Conveying features and benefits
- Creating uniqueness
The conversation then shifts the process itself – and the mindset needed to approach it. As a common thread throughout this episode, a lot of it comes down to making sure everyone is on the same page.
Steven then discusses some of the major mistakes in the rebranding process, as well as some tips for setting yourself up for success. Shortly before the break, we touch on an interesting aspect: outsourcing in a rebrand.
Steven and I talk about the benefits of doing this – an outside perspective can be extremely helpful in taking a step away from the emotional ties to the brand.
After the intermission, we get into the nuts and bolts of conducting a rebrand. We kick off part two by discussing the first major steps to take, the most important questions a brand needs to answer, and what should be understood before the process kicks off.
We then shift to the touchy subject of managing clients in a rebrand. Steven talks about the major areas of pushback copywriters can expect, which include:
– Clients being too emotionally attached to the current brand
– Keeping goals aligned
– Having too many cooks in the kitchen
– Breaking a level of distrust as an outsourced creative
These answers lead to a chat about the major red flags of a toxic client:
– Refusal to collaborate
– Client does not fill out the questionnaire
– No alignment/communication across the company
Steven and I talk about the common scope of work in the rebranding process, managing a 180-degree turn, and how to get your feet on the ground in showcasing the new brand.
As in normal wrap-up fashion on this podcast, Steven gives us some parting words for copywriters conducting a rebrand:
– Don’t give up – even after some poor client feedback.
– Get out of your comfort zone with writing.
– Failure isn’t the end of the world.
Are you a creative professional – or a company – about to undertake a rebrand?
If so, this episode is full of valuable nuggets!
You can find more episodes of the Marketing Microscope on iTunes and Stitcher.
The post Rebranding with Words – with Steven Johnson appeared first on E2M Solutions.
Hello marketers and landing page enthusiasts!
Welcome to the 22nd installment of the Marketing Microscope Podcast!
In this one, I am the solo host welcoming one of San Diego’s finest marketers, Tim Ash! Tim is a keynote speaker, author, and advisor. Prior to recording the show, Tim sent me two of his published books titled:
- Unleash Your Primal Brain: Demystifying How We Think and Why We Act
- Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions
As you might assume, the topics of discussion in this episode are focused on landing pages and human psychology.
I begin the show by getting Tim’s expert take on the core responsibilities of landing pages, the most common types we see every day, and the unique functions they serve. I wasted no time in getting into the landing page book by asking Tim to elaborate on a few misconceptions about building landing pages – as well as the myth of the “perfect conversion.”
Spoiler: the “perfect conversion” does not exist!
As a copywriter who has written hundreds – maybe thousands – of landing pages, I got to share my expertise on how to formulate a reliable flow, then get Tim’s opinion. We were both in agreeance that a landing page should:
- Introduce the problem – or the visitor’s pain point.
- Discuss the solution to this problem, or as Tim put it “show them what heaven looks like.”
- Explain how you provide that solution better than everyone else.
To elaborate on identifying problems/solutions, Tim and I discuss how neuromarketing factors into this process, as well as the difference between buyer personas and roles.
We then get into one of my favorite topics in marketing: psychological triggers and how to use them to influence decision-making. Tim gives us a few of his favorite examples of how neuromarketing is used – then we wrap up segment one with some key tips on breaking into a niche market as a new brand.
After a brief intermission, we get right back into Tim’s book discussing critical evaluation. Tim provides a great analogy in that evaluating your own landing page is like evaluating your own child. We discuss some ways to get around this natural bias and really dive into the root of your landing page’s performance.
To bridge off this topic, Tim gives us seven key sins webmasters commit in building landing pages, as well as how it impacts human psyche.
We then switch gears to discuss web design as a whole – which involves some of the key trends and how it has impacted decision making. A great takeaway from this portion of the show is that design trends are not what influence human psyche – more that design trends are ways marketers are trying to better understand human psyche.
As the show winds down, Tim provides some excellent advice on what to do if your landing page is not converting – whether it’s getting tons of traffic or not. As in typical Marketing Microscope fashion, I ask Tim to provide some parting advice to newbie webmasters on fine-tuning landing pages. In short – check out the landing page optimization book!
Here are the links:
Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions
Unleash Your Primal Brain: Demystifying How We Think and Why We Act
Are landing pages a part of your everyday work life? Are you interested to learn more about how human psychology factors into them?
If so, definitely check this episode out!
You can find more episodes of the Marketing Microscope on iTunes and Stitcher.
The post Empowering Landing Pages with Human Psyche with Tim Ash appeared first on E2M Solutions.
Welcome back, marketers! Thanks for checking out the 21st Installment of the Marketing Microscope Podcast!
Joining me on the E2M side is Darshak Patel, SEO Analyst, and Taral Patel, SEO Manager. Our guest of honor in this one is Julius Fedorovicius, Google Tag Manager Expert and owner of Analytics Mania.
As you could probably guess, this episode is all about Google Tag Manager. The show kicks off like most other Marketing Microscope segments – we get to know Julius a little bit and his background in digital.
Darshak takes over host duties and gets Julius’s take on the low adoption rate of GTM across mobile and web platforms. We then discuss some of the top features of GTM that need to be on every digital marketer’s radar.
Julius provides some excellent insight on server site tagging – as well as the pros and cons attached. Right before we break for intermission, we get some awesome tidbits on the most important KPIs to track in GTM – and what they all mean.
After a quick intermission, we get right back into the thick of things by discussing the most common mistakes GTM users commit – Julius spares no details answering this question.
The conversation then shifts to Google Analytics 4 – the difference between Universal Analytics Event Model and the GA 4 Event Model. From here, we discuss how GA4 might be laying the framework for a cookie-less digital marketing world.
As the show comes to a close, Julius tells us a bit more about Analytics Mania – and some of the courses he offers on GTM.
Browse all Analytics Mania GTM classes.
For more insights from Julius, check out his YouTube channel!
If you use Google Tag Manager and/or have questions about Google Analytics 4, definitely check out this episode!
You can find more episodes of the Marketing Microscope on iTunes and Stitcher.
The post Google Tag Manager: The Inside Scoop with Julius Fedorovicius appeared first on E2M Solutions.