As 2013 unfolds, we will be entering into a new phase of e-commerce, where ads will be conversations and people pay with their phones. 2013 will be bringing bricks and clicks closer than ever before. Today, we will consider 3 key trends that will fuel e-commerce growth in 2013.
Foolproof Your On-Page SEO
For 2013, SEO is going to be more important than ever. There are a few changes to SEO tactics that you should make to your website to make sure that your user will be at the heart of all of your on-page optimization.
There are certain tactics that used to be common place but should now be avoided, such as excessive footer links, bolding and repetition of keywords in your content, having a lot of pages with little content for Google recognition, and excessive ads above the fold of the page.
Things to start implementing to foolproof your SEO should include things such as natural writing that is beneficial content for your user, proportioned content above the fold of the page, using natural level variations of your keyword, headings with the keyword variations, regularly updated content, and of course regularly relevant and fresh content.
Credit cards are being used less regularly as smartphones are now replacing them as the new way to pay. Customers will be using Google Wallet more frequently to pay á la digital. Mobile payments will be key for online merchants this year as m-commerce is quickly becoming just as important as e-commerce. Tablets are quickly advancing to be a mainstream shopping device, as well. So, keep your website optimized for both of these gadgets in 2013 to keep the sales rolling in. Inc magazine predicts that by 2014, there will globally be more mobile users than desktop users. Now, that should give you a good reason to start optimizing. To learn more about why and how you should optimize for these devices, read our previous blog posts on The Smart Phone and The Tablet.
Not only should you be interested in the trends of the increased viability of mobile and tablet commerce, but you should also keep in mind the global trends of the digital revolution. China is growing strong with mobile numbers estimated at 1.13 billion, whereas Brazil has the largest app market in Latin America. In Russia, the growth in revenue for Google Play is 250% which is more than twice the growth rate of the US.
Ads are becoming less banner-ads and pop-ups and more discussions and articles. Down with display ads and up with the native advertising. Facebook has shown a 53% greater click-through rate for “sponsored story” ads than display ads in their second quarter of 2012, according to TBG Digital. Being engaging comes with work though. Unlike old methods of marketing with month-long campaigns, new marketing on social media requires constant refreshing. In 2013, focus on what works from a content perspective, even if that means doing something bold and unexpected.