Now, don’t get me wrong… I love pretty much everything about my job here at Solid Cactus. Being an SEO Manager gives me the opportunity to be innovative, creative, and just have a good time. But, as is the case with anything in life, I like some things more than others. One of my favorite parts about this job is helping clients manage their Facebook business pages. In the time since it started, Facebook has evolved into something that we all pretty much rely on to keep in touch with one another. Any good business mind knows that you need to be where the people are. And the people are on Facebook.

But you knew that, right? You have a Facebook page for your eCommerce store already. That only leaves one question…

I can’t even tell you how many businesses I’ve “hidden” on Facebook because they just get too annoying. Either they post too often (or not often enough), they don’t answer questions, or they aren’t finding ways to connect with their audience. The thing you need to remember about Facebook is that it’s first and foremost a place for friends and family to connect and catch up with one another. You have to find a way to make your business fit into that model.

As a business, you’ll likely want to promote what your business does, your products, and some special offers now and then. The people that “like” your page are there because they somehow feel connected to your offerings and want to know about them. In that sense, they’re already a little engaged with you. But what should you do to keep them engaged?

Your goal should be to post in a relaxed and conversational style. Don’t post in an over-casual tone, though. Something like “Our new deal is crazy awesome, LOL” is not appropriate. On the flip side of the coin, something copied word-for-word from other marketing channels isn’t appropriate, either. Facebook needs to fall somewhere in that happy medium. Here are some tips to help you use the right voice for your Facebook page:

• Stay as timely as possible. That means monitoring your wall regularly—try to respond to people within a few business hours. Let’s face it, people are on Facebook all day long, and having to wait for your response is something that they’ll notice.
• Be as clear as possible when you post. You don’t want people to get confused and require a large amount of follow up comments.
• Being on Facebook is supposed to make people feel good. That’s why you need to make sure that you’re optimistic and upbeat. What happens if someone leaves a less-than-pleasing comment on your wall? Don’t ignore it—simply reply with polite assurance that you’ll address their issue. And make sure to express appreciation for positive comments.
• Share things that are relevant to your industry. If your fans find it useful, entertaining, and interesting, they’ll really respond to it.

When you get these ground-level things right, you’ll be able to do so much with your business Facebook page. Then you can take advantage of some other great extras (like paid Facebook advertising and Facebook Stores) to really boost your brand.

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It still amazes me when talking to people about Pay-Per-Click that few know how truly versatile PPC campaigns are. They can be modified, paused and activated literally within seconds. They reach searchers on desktop computers, mobile devices and high-tech tablets. They reach English speakers, Spanish speakers, French speakers and more. And they can appear all over the world – from right here in the United States to practically any country around the globe.

It’s all up to the advertiser to decide where they’d like to target their efforts. Google AdWords, as a rule, opts all PPC campaigns into United States and Canada targeting by default. It’s up to the advertiser or the dedicated PPC Manager, of course, to exclude Canada from these initial campaigns. (Note: A PPC best practice is to create separate campaigns for different countries and, in some cases, states or regions, but it’s not the end of the world if Canada gets lumped in with some US campaigns from time to time).

The beauty of geo-targeted campaigns is that they usually see high click-through-rates, bring in qualified traffic and can really “speak” to the consumer, if done properly.

At Solid Cactus, we have clients who see the value in geo-targeted campaigns and those who do not. It all depends on the client’s business model, target audience and shipping setup. Geo-targeting is especially ideal for smaller clients who don’t want to waste money paying for clicks throughout the entire US, and would rather allot their $500 budget to just the few states in which they receive the most orders. By using Google Analytics or simply looking at order receipts, this information is readily available and can help a client maximize his or her ROI.

In situations such as these, it’s important to use ad copy tailored to that specific state. Wording such as “Free Shipping to Texas” and “NY Shoppers: Shop & Save Now!” can make all the difference. Think about it, wouldn’t you rather buy from a store that is specifically marketing to your part of the world as opposed to others?

As mentioned before, these campaigns generally have higher CTRs because of how specific they are, which makes for higher conversion rates as well.

Just like you can target specific states, it’s similarly as easy to exclude certain states from campaigns, too. Many online retailers complain of higher shipping costs to areas such as Hawaii and Alaska, so instead of wasting advertising dollars in those areas, clients choose to not even bother with those states and simply stick with the continental US, especially in the beginning of a PPC account. The choice, again, belongs to the advertiser.

Targeting to countries – everywhere from Indonesia to Iceland – is easy, too. If it’s worthwhile, consider targeting campaigns to other countries in which you or your clients ship. On the same note, you can target more refined areas and regions within states, so if you provide services specific to metro areas such as Pittsburgh or Denver or even smaller spots such as St. Peter, Minn. or Carbondale, Pa., then geo-targeting is for you, too.

Geo-targeting is especially helpful for advertisers during off seasons. For instance, a bathing-suit shop may not want to have ads showing to “window shoppers” in the North during the cold months of the year. If that advertiser just wants to show in southern states such as Florida and the Carolinas, they can easily select a group of states to which they can target a campaign. That way, they’re assured only shoppers searching in areas where they may currently need a bathing suit will be clicking.

So, how do you do it?

Once you create a campaign within Google AdWords, go to the “Settings” tab on the top of the interface. Under the section that says “Locations” you can easily select to add or exclude hundreds of different areas. Check it out, even if geo-targeting isn’t for you right now. It may be someday as your budget fluctuates, your shipping rates change and your target audience expands.

Remember, also, to separate geo-targeted campaigns. Reason being: certain areas have different searching patterns (like any demographic does), ad copy can be tailored, keyword costs and daily budgets may need to be adjusted differently, etc. Don’t make the mistake of lumping your campaigns together. You’ll end up with a mess on your hands – no matter what continent you’re on!

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Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but they really don’t provide any SEO value (unfortunately). But a blog is a totally different story. Far too often, eCommerce store owners discount the benefits that can come from having a quality blog attached to their site. A blog is a great way to give your business some personality, credibility, and an SEO boost on top of that. In fact, there really isn’t an excuse not to have a blog in conjunction with your eCommerce store. Sure, there’s a bit of time and effort involved—but the benefits simply can’t be ignored. (And, hey, if you don’t have the time… We have an SEO team that can help make it happen!)

• A quality blog adds instant credibility to your website. People have a tendency to respect an expert in the field, and a blog is a place for you to show that you have the know-how that potential customers are looking for.
• There really is an audience for everything out there on the internet. Having a blog can help you reach the right audience for your business.
• It’s important these days for businesses to be social. When your eCommerce store has an active blog, your customers will see that there really is a personality on the other side of their computer screen.
• A blog can even increase your traffic. Think about it… When you have a blog connected with your site, you’re just giving people more opportunities to find your store.
• Search engines actually pay attention to new and fresh content. Having a blog for your eCommerce store ensures that you’re constantly adding something new for those spiders to crawl.
• A good blog can also get your rankings for some long-tail search terms.

Doing your blog, and doing it right!

With benefits like that, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would decide against having a blog for their business. With all that said, though, there are certain things you need to take into account in order to do it right. First and foremost, you need to remember that your blog is essentially a window to the inside of your business and industry. It has marketing benefits, but it’s not an advertising platform. People are bombarded with advertising constantly, and they don’t want to read advertisements in their free time.

So how should you think about beginning a post for your business’s blog? Just imagine that a friend came up to you and asked you about your business. How would you explain what you do? What would you tell them to make them love your industry? That’s how you begin writing a blog post. You don’t want to write like you’re trying to sell the product or service. (I know, I know. You have an eCommerce store so you can make some money doing what you love. But your customers come first, here.)

Instead of a sales pitch, write about your products or services openly and honestly. Think about the sort of people that benefit from what you do and what your business has done for them.

And that’s the key right there. You want to keep the focus on people. People love reading about people and relating to people. If you can explain why people need your products to make their lives better, then you’re on the right track.

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