Dec 19 2024
18 Essential Accessibility Changes To Drive Increased Website Growth via @sejournal, @skynet_lv

This post was sponsored by “Skynet Technologies USA LLC”.

Did you know that 1 billion people have not reached you or your customers’ websites yet.

1 billion potential customers are waiting for businesses to step up and do what’s right.

Find out if your website is accessible to 1 billion people >>>

Accessibility isn’t just a compliance checkbox anymore – it’s a growth strategy.

The demand for scalable, innovative accessibility solutions has skyrocketed.

And your competition is already making these improvements.

For agencies, this means an unprecedented opportunity to meet clients’ needs while driving revenue.

Learn how you can generate additional revenue and boost your clients’ SERP ranking by gaining access to:

Ready to get started?

How Accessibility Improvements Can Increase Growth

The digital economy thrives on inclusion.

There is a large market of individuals who are not included in modern website usability.

With over a billion people globally living with disabilities, accessible digital experiences open doors to untapped markets.

Do Websites Need To Be Accessible?

The short answer is yes.

How Does An Accessible Website Drive Traffic?

Traffic comes from people who have needs. Of course, everyone has needs, including people with disabilities.

Accessible websites and tools cater to all users, expanding reach to a diverse and often overlooked customer base.

Global Potential & Unlocking New Audiences

From a global perspective, the global community of people with disabilities is a market estimated to hold a staggering $13 trillion in spending power.

By removing barriers and ensuring inclusive digital experiences, you can tap into this 1 billion-person market and drive substantial economic growth.

Digital accessibility helps to increase employment opportunities, education options, and simple access to various banking and financial services for everybody.

Boosts User Experience & Engagement 

Accessibility improvements run parallel with SEO improvements.

In fact, they often enhance overall website performance, which leads to:

  • Better user experience.
  • Higher rankings.
  • Increased traffic.
  • Higher conversion rates.

Ensures Your Websites Are Compliant

Increasing lawsuits against businesses that fail to comply with accessibility regulations have imposed pressure on them to implement accessibility in their digital assets.

Compliance with ADA, WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, Section 508, Australian DDA, European EAA EN 301 549, UK Equality Act (EA), Indian RPD Act, Israeli Standard 5568, California Unruh, Ontario AODA, Canada ACA, German BITV, Brazilian Inclusion Law (LBI 13.146/2015), Spain UNE 139803:2012, France RGAA standards, JIS X 8341 (Japan), Italian Stanca Act, Switzerland DDA, Austrian Web Accessibility Act (WZG) guidelines aren’t optional. Accessibility solution partnerships ensure to stay ahead of potential lawsuits while fostering goodwill.

6 Steps To Boost Your Growth With Accessibility

  1. To drive growth, your agency should prioritize digital accessibility by following WCAG standards, regularly testing with tools like AXE, WAVE, or Skynet Technologies Website Accessibility Checker, and addressing accessibility gaps. Build accessible design frameworks with high-contrast colors, scalable text, and clear navigation.
  2. Integrate assistive technologies such as keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and video accessibility. Focus on responsive design, accessible forms, and inclusive content strategies like descriptive link text, simplified language, and alternative formats.
  3. Providing accessibility training and creating inclusive marketing materials will further support compliance and growth.
  4. To ensure the website thrives, prioritize mobile-first design for responsiveness across all devices, adhere to WCAG accessibility standards, and incorporate keyboard-friendly navigation and alt text for media.
  5. Optimize page speed and core web vitals while using an intuitive interface with clear navigation and effective call-to-action buttons, and use SEO-friendly content with proper keyword optimization and schema markups to boost visibility.
  6. Ensure security with SSL certificates, clear cookie consent banners, and compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. Finally, implement analytics and conversion tracking tools to gather insights and drive long-term growth.

We know this is a lot.

If this sounds good to you, let us help you get set up.

How Can Digital Accessibility Partnerships Supercharge Your Clients’ SEO?

Partnering for digital accessibility isn’t just about inclusivity — it’s a game-changer for SEO, too!

Accessible websites are built with cleaner code, smarter structures, and user-friendly features like alt text and clear headings that search engines love.

Plus, faster load times, mobile-friendly designs, and seamless navigation keep users engaged, reducing bounce rates and boosting rankings. When you focus on making a site accessible to everyone, you’re not just widening your audience—you’re signaling to search engines that the website is high-quality and relevant. It’s a win-win for accessibility and SEO!

12 Essential Factors To Consider For Successful Accessibility Partnerships

  1. Expertise: Look for a provider with a proven track record in digital accessibility, including knowledge of relevant global website accessibility standards and best practices.
  2. Experience: Consider their experience working with similar industries or organizations.
  3. Tools and technologies: Evaluate their use of automated and manual testing tools to identify and remediate accessibility issues.
  4. Price Flexibility: Explore pricing models that align with both the budget and project requirements. Whether for a single site or multiple sites, the service should be compatible and scalable to meet the needs.
  5. Platform Compatibility: Ensure seamless accessibility integration across various platforms, providing a consistent and accessible experience for all users, regardless of the website environment.
  6. Multi-language support: Enhance user experience with global language support, making websites more inclusive and accessible to a global audience.
  7. Regular check-ins: Schedule regular meetings to discuss project progress, address any issues, and make necessary adjustments.
  8. Clear communication channels: Establish clear communication channels (for example: email, and project management tools) to facilitate efficient collaboration.
  9. Transparent reporting: Request detailed reports on the progress of accessibility testing, remediation efforts, and overall project status.
  10. KPIs to measure success: Review the partner’s historical data, especially those similar projects in terms of scale, complexity, and industry.
  11. Evaluate technical expertise: Assess their proficiency in using various accessibility testing tools and ability to integrate different APIs.
  12. Long-term partnership strategy: Compare previous data with the current one for improvement and optimization process. It is crucial for a long-term partnership that there is a specific interval of review and improvements.

    Scaling Accessibility With Smart Partnerships

    All in One Accessibility®: Simplicity meets efficiency!

    The All in One Accessibility® is an AI-powered accessibility tool that helps organizations to enhance their website accessibility level for ADA, WCAG 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, Section 508, Australian DDA, European EAA EN 301 549, UK Equality Act (EA), Indian RPD Act, Israeli Standard 5568, California Unruh, Ontario AODA, Canada ACA, German BITV, Brazilian Inclusion Law (LBI 13.146/2015), Spain UNE 139803:2012, France RGAA standards, JIS X 8341 (Japan), Italian Stanca Act, Switzerland DDA, Austrian Web Accessibility Act (WZG), and more.

    It is available with features like sign language LIBRAS (Brazilian Portuguese Only) integration, 140+ multilingual support, screen reader, voice navigation, smart language auto-detection and voice customization, talk & type, Google and Adobe Analytics tracking, along with premium add-ons including white label and custom branding, VPAT/ACR reports, manual accessibility audit and remediation, PDF remediation, and many more.

    • Quick Setup: Install the widget to any site with ease—no advanced coding required.
    • Feature-Rich Design: From text resizing and color contrast adjustments to screen reader support, it’s packed with tools that elevate the user experience.
    • Revenue Opportunities: Agencies can resell the solution to clients, adding a high-value service to their offerings while earning attractive commissions through the affiliate program.
    • Reduced development costs: Minimizes the financial impact of accessibility remediation by implementing best practices and quick tools.

    Agency Partnership: Scaling accessibility with ease!

    • Extended Service Offerings: The All in One Accessibility® Agency Partnership allows agencies to offer a powerful accessibility widget – quick accessibility solution into their services, enabling them that are in high demand.
    • White Label: As an agency partner, you can offer All in One Accessibility® under their own brand name.
    • Centralized Management: It simplifies oversight by consolidating accessibility data and reporting, allowing enterprises to manage multiple websites seamlessly.
    • Attractive Revenue Streams: Agencies can resell the widget to clients, earning significant revenue through competitive pricing structures and repeat business opportunities.
    • Boost Client Retention: By addressing accessibility needs proactively, agencies build stronger relationships with clients, fostering long-term loyalty and recurring contracts.
    • Increase Market Reach: Partnering with All in One Accessibility® positions agencies as leaders in inclusivity, attracting businesses looking for reliable accessibility solutions.
    • NO Investment, High Return: With no setup costs, scalable features, and up to 30% commission, the partnership enables agencies to maximize profitability with their clients.

    Affiliate Partnership: A revenue opportunity for everyone!

    The All in One Accessibility® Affiliate Partnership program is for content creators, marketers, accessibility advocates, web professionals, 501 (c) organizations (non-profit), and law firms.

    • Revenue Growth through Referrals: The All in One Accessibility® affiliate partnership allows affiliates to earn competitive commissions by promoting a high-demand accessibility solution, turning referrals into consistent revenue.
    • Expanding Market Reach: Affiliates can tap into a diverse audience of businesses seeking ADA and WCAG compliance, scaling both revenue and the adoption of accessibility solutions.
    • Fostering Accessibility Awareness: By promoting the All in One Accessibility® widget, affiliates play a pivotal role in driving inclusivity, helping more websites become accessible to users with disabilities.
    • Leveraging Trusted Branding: Affiliates benefit from partnering with a reliable and recognized quick accessibility improvement tool, boosting their credibility and marketing impact.
    • Scaling with Zero Investment: With user-friendly promotional resources and a seamless onboarding process, affiliates can maximize returns without any costs.

    Use Accessibility As A Growth Engine

    Endeavoring for strategic partnerships with accessibility solution providers is a win-win for agencies aiming to meet the diverse needs of their clients. These partnerships not only enhance the accessibility of digital assets but also create opportunities for growth, and loyalty, top search engine rankings, boost revenue, improve compliance with legal standards, and make you to contribute into digital accessibility world.

    With Skynet Technologies USA LLC, Transform accessibility from a challenge into a revenue-driving partnership. Let inclusivity power the success.

    Ready to get started? Embarking on a digital accessibility journey is simpler than you think! Take the first step by evaluating the website’s current WCAG compliance with a manual accessibility audit.

    For more information, Reach out hello@skynettechnologies.com.

    Learn More

    Image Credits

    Featured Image: Image by Skynet Technologies. Used with permission.

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    Dec 18 2024
    10 Hosting Trends Agencies Should Watch In 2025

    This post was sponsored by Bluehost. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.

    Which hosting service is best for agencies?

    How do I uncover what will be best for my clients in 2025?

    What features should my hosting service have in 2025?

    Hosting has evolved well beyond keeping websites online.

    Hosting providers must align their services to meet clients’ technological needs and keep up with constantly changing technological advances.

    Today, quality hosting companies must focus on speed, security, and scalability. Staying ahead of hosting trends is critical to maintaining competitive offerings, optimizing workflows, and meeting client demands.

    So, what should you watch for in 2025?

    The next 12 months promise significant shifts in hosting technologies, with advancements in AI, automation, security, and sustainability leading the way.

    Understanding and leveraging these trends enables agencies and professionals to provide better client experiences, streamline operations, and reduce the negative effects of future industry changes.

    Trend 1: Enhanced AI & Automation Implemented In Hosting

    AI and automation are already transforming hosting, making it smarter and more efficient for service providers, agencies, brands, and end-point customers alike.

    Hosting providers now leverage AI to optimize server performance, predict maintenance needs, and even supplement customer support with AI-driven features like chatbots.

    As a result, automating routine tasks such as backups, updates, and resource scaling reduces downtime and the need for manual intervention. These innovations are game-changing for those managing multiple client sites and will become increasingly important in 2025.

    It only makes sense.

    Automated systems free up valuable time, allowing you more time to focus on strategic growth instead of tedious maintenance tasks. AI-powered insights can also identify performance bottlenecks, enabling you to address issues before they impact your website or those of your clients.

    Agencies that adopt these technologies this year will not only deliver exceptional service but also be able to position themselves as forward-thinking.

    Bluehost embraces automation with features like automated backups, one-click updates, and a centralized dashboard for easy site management. These tools streamline workflows, enabling agencies and professionals to manage multiple sites with minimal effort while ensuring optimal performance.

    Trend 2: Multi-Cloud & Hybrid Cloud Solutions Are Now Essential

    In 2025, as businesses demand more flexibility and reliability from their online infrastructure, multi-cloud and hybrid cloud solutions will become essential in the hosting world.

    These approaches offer the best of both worlds:

    • The ability to leverage multiple cloud providers for redundancy and performance.
    • The option to combine public and private cloud environments for greater control and customization.

    For agencies managing diverse client needs, multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies provide the scalability and adaptability required to meet modern demands. Multi-cloud solutions allow agencies to distribute their clients’ workloads across multiple cloud providers, ensuring that no single point of failure disrupts their operations.

    This feature is particularly valuable for agencies with high-traffic websites, where downtime or slow performance can have a significant impact on revenue and user experience. Hybrid cloud solutions, on the other hand, let agencies blend the scalability of public clouds with the security and control of private cloud environments.

    This service is ideal for clients with sensitive data or compliance requirements, such as ecommerce or healthcare businesses.

    Bluehost Cloud provides scalable infrastructure and tools that enable agencies to customize hosting solutions to fit their clients’ unique requirements. Our cloud hosting solution’s elastic architecture ensures that websites can handle sudden traffic spikes without compromising speed or reliability.

    Additionally, our intuitive management dashboard allows agencies to easily monitor and allocate resources across their client portfolio, making it simple to implement tailored solutions for varying workloads.

    By adopting multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies, agencies can offer their clients enhanced performance, improved redundancy, and greater control over their hosting environments.

    With our scalable solutions and robust toolset, agencies can confidently deliver hosting that grows with their clients’ businesses while maintaining consistent quality and reliability. This flexibility not only meets today’s hosting demands but also helps position your agency for long-term success in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

    Trend 3: Edge Computing & CDNs Replace AMP For Improving Website Speed

    As online audiences grow, the demand for faster, more responsive websites has never been higher. Edge computing and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) are at the forefront of this evolution, enabling websites to reduce latency significantly. For agencies managing clients with diverse and international audiences, these technologies are crucial for improving user experience and ensuring website performance remains competitive.

    Edge computing brings data processing closer to the end user by leveraging servers located at the “edge” of a network, reducing the time it takes for information to travel.

    Combined with CDNs that cache website content on servers worldwide, these technologies ensure faster load times, smoother navigation, and better performance metrics.

    These features are especially beneficial for media-heavy or high-traffic websites, where even a slight delay can impact engagement and conversions.

    Bluehost integrates with leading CDN solutions to deliver content quickly and efficiently to users across the globe. By leveraging a CDN, Bluehost ensures that websites load faster regardless of a visitor’s location, enhancing user experience and SEO performance.

    This integration simplifies the optimization of site speed for agencies with multiple clients. By adopting edge computing and CDN technology, you can help your clients achieve faster load times, improved site stability, and higher customer satisfaction.

    Bluehost’s seamless CDN integration enables you to deliver a hosting solution that meets the expectations of a modern, global audience while building trust and loyalty with your clients.

    Trend 4: Core Web Vitals & SEO Hosting Features Make Or Break Websites

    Core Web Vitals play an important role in today’s SEO, as Google is increasingly emphasizing website performance and user experience in its ranking algorithms. Today, loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability impact a site’s ability to rank well in search results and keep visitors engaged.

    That means optimizing Core Web Vitals isn’t just an SEO task for agencies managing client websites. Fast load times and responsive design are critical parts of delivering a high-quality digital experience. For example, metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which measures how quickly a page’s main content loads, depend heavily on hosting infrastructure.

    Agencies need hosting solutions optimized for these metrics to ensure their clients’ sites stay competitive in the SERPs.

    Bluehost offers a WordPress-optimized hosting environment with features specifically designed to improve load times and server response speeds. From advanced caching technology to robust server architecture, Bluehost ensures that sites meet Core Web Vitals standards with ease.

    Additionally, our hosting solutions include tools for monitoring site performance, allowing agencies to proactively address any issues that could impact rankings or user experience.

    By prioritizing Core Web Vitals and leveraging SEO-focused hosting features, agencies can enhance their clients’ visibility, engagement, and overall online success. With Bluehost’s optimized hosting solutions, you’ll have the tools and infrastructure needed to deliver fast, stable, and high-performing websites that delight users and search engines.

    Trend 5: Sustainable Hosting Practices Help Reduce Energy Consumption

    Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword. It’s a key consideration for businesses and agencies alike. As 2025 progresses, more clients will prioritize environmentally conscious practices, and hosting providers will step up to offer greener solutions, such as energy-efficient data centers and carbon offset programs.

    Migrating to a sustainable hosting provider not only supports client values but also demonstrates a commitment to responsible business practices, which will resonate more with consumers in 2025 than ever before.

    Efficient hosting practices reduce energy consumption and create a more sustainable digital ecosystem. It will also allow you to help clients meet their environmental goals without compromising on performance.

    These benefits are especially valuable for clients with higher energy and performance demands, such as those in ecommerce, media-heavy, or high-traffic industries.

    Bluehost has long been recognized as a trusted hosting provider that operates with efficiency in mind.

    Our robust, energy-efficient infrastructure already aligns with the sustainability goals of environmentally conscious clients.

    In addition, our long-standing reputation, proven history with WordPress, and demonstrable reliability enhance your clients’ sustainability objectives, ensuring they can operate responsibly and confidently.

    By choosing sustainable hosting practices and partners like Bluehost, you can contribute to a greener digital future while reinforcing your clients’ environmental commitments and strengthening client relationships by aligning with their values.

    Trend 6: Security Must Be A Core Offering

    Security is a non-negotiable priority for any website. Cyber threats like data breaches, malware, and DDoS attacks are on the rise, and the consequences of a breach, including lost revenue, damaged reputations, and potential legal issues, can devastate clients. As a result, offering secure hosting solutions with proactive security measures is essential to safeguarding clients’ businesses and building trust.

    These key features include SSL certificates, which protect sensitive data while boosting SEO rankings and user trust, and regular malware scans to prevent vulnerabilities.

    They should also include automated backups that enable quick restoration in the event of a crash or attack and provide comprehensive protection and peace of mind. Essential security features are standard in Bluehost hosting plans, including SSL certificates, daily automated backups, and proactive malware scanning.

    These built-in tools eliminate the need for additional solutions, added complexity, or costs. For agencies, our security features reduce risks for your clients and provide peace of mind.

    By choosing a hosting provider like Bluehost, you can prioritize client security, reinforce client trust, and minimize emergencies, allowing you to avoid spending time and resources addressing threats or repairing damage.

    In short, by partnering with Bluehost, security becomes a core part of your agency’s value proposition.

    Trend 7: Hosting Optimized For AI & Machine Learning Is Key To High Visibility On SERPs

    As artificial intelligence and machine learning become increasingly integrated with websites and applications in 2025, hosting providers must keep pace with the increasing demands these technologies place on infrastructure.

    AI-driven tools like chatbots, recommendation engines, and predictive analytics require significant computational power and seamless data processing.

    AI and machine learning applications often involve handling large datasets, running resource-intensive algorithms, and maintaining real-time responsiveness. Hosting optimized for these needs ensures that websites can perform reliably under heavy workloads, reducing latency and downtime and delivering consistent performance.

    If you plan to be successful, you’ll also require scalable scalable hosting solutions. These solutions allow resources to expand dynamically with demand, accommodate growth, and handle traffic surges.

    Bluehost’s scalable hosting is built to support advanced tools and applications, making it an ideal choice for agencies working on AI-driven projects. Our robust infrastructure delivers consistent performance, and flexibility allows you to scale easily as your client’s needs evolve. By leveraging Bluehost, agencies can confidently deliver AI-integrated websites that meet modern performance demands.

    Trend 8: Managed Hosting Helps You Focus More On Profits

    In 2025, websites will become increasingly complex. Businesses will require higher performance and reliability, and everyone will be looking to operate as lean and efficiently as possible. These trends mean managed hosting will become the go-to solution for agencies and their clients.

    Managed hosting shifts time-intensive technical maintenance away from agencies and business owners by including features such as automatic updates, performance monitoring, and enhanced security. In short, managed hosting enables you to simplify workflows, save time, and deliver consistent quality to your clients.

    These hosting services are particularly valuable for WordPress websites, where regular updates, plugin compatibility checks, and security enhancements occur frequently but are essential to maintaining optimal performance.

    Managed hosting also typically includes tools like staging environments, which allow agencies to test changes and updates without risking disruptions to live sites and ensure you can deliver a seamless experience to clients.

    Bluehost offers managed WordPress hosting that includes automatic updates, staging environments, and 24/7 expert support. These features allow you to handle technical details efficiently while focusing on delivering results for your clients without added stress or time.

    Trend 9: The Shift Toward Decentralized Hosting Boosts Your Brand’s Longevity

    In 2025, expect to see decentralized hosting gain attention as a futuristic approach to web hosting. Like Bitcoin and similar advancements, the technology leverages blockchain technology and peer-to-peer networks to create hosting environments that prioritize privacy, resilience, and independence from centralized control.

    While this model appears to provide exciting new opportunities, it’s still in the early stages. It faces challenges in scalability, user-friendliness, and widespread adoption, which agencies can’t typically rely on for client sites.

    Decentralized hosting may become a viable option for specific use cases, such as privacy-focused projects or highly distributed systems. However, centralized hosting providers still offer the best balance of reliability, scalability, and accessibility for most businesses and agencies today.

    For these reasons, agencies managing client websites will continue to focus on proven, reliable hosting solutions that deliver consistent performance and robust support.

    So, while decentralized hosting may gain traction this year, Bluehost will continue to provide a trustworthy hosting environment designed to meet the needs of modern websites. With a strong emphasis on reliability, scalability, and user-friendly management tools, we offer a proven solution agencies can depend on to deliver exceptional client results.

    Trend 10: Scalable Hosting For High-Growth Websites Is Key For Growth

    As businesses grow, their websites will experience increasing traffic and resource demands. High-growth websites, such as e-commerce platforms, content-heavy blogs, or viral marketing campaigns, require hosting solutions that can scale instantly. And scalable hosting is critical to delivering consistent user experiences and avoiding downtime during peak periods.

    Scalable hosting like Bluehost ensures your clients’ websites can easily adjust resources like bandwidth, storage, and processing power to meet fluctuating demands. Our scalable hosting solutions are designed for high-growth websites. Our unmetered bandwidth and infrastructure were built to handle traffic surges, ensuring websites remain fast and accessible.

    These features make us the ideal choice for agencies looking to future-proof their clients’ hosting needs.

    As the digital landscape continues to evolve in 2025, keeping up with the latest trends in hosting is essential for agencies to provide top-tier service, drive client satisfaction, and maintain a competitive edge. From AI and automation to scalability and security, the future of hosting demands flexible, efficient solutions tailored to modern needs.

    By understanding and leveraging these trends, you can position your agency as a trusted partner and deliver exceptional results to your clients, whether by adopting managed hosting or integrating CDNs.

    Bluehost hosting will meet today’s demands while helping to prepare agencies like yours for tomorrow. With features like 100% uptime guaranteed through our Service Level Agreement (SLA), 24/7 priority support, and built-in tools like SSL certificates, automated backups, and advanced caching, Bluehost offers a robust and reliable hosting environment.

    Additionally, Bluehost Cloud makes switching easy and cost-effective with $0 migration costs and credit for remaining contracts, giving you the flexibility to transition seamlessly without the high cost.

    Take your agency’s hosting strategy to the next level with Bluehost. Discover how our comprehensive hosting solutions can support your growth, enhance client satisfaction, and keep your business ahead of the curve.

    GET STARTED TODAY

    Image Credits

    Featured Image: Image by Bluehost. Used with permission.

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    Nov 20 2024
    Wix Rolling Out AI-Powered Site Planning & Visualization Tool via @sejournal, @martinibuster

    Wix announced it is rolling out an AI-based tool that simplifies the site planning and visualization step, dramatically compressing the time from planning to site rollout.  The  new tool enables agencies and enterprise users to create a visual map and wireframe website representation for planning new websites, simplifying one of the most fundamental tasks of creating a high performing website.

    Wix

    Wix is a cloud-based website builder for small to medium size businesses to enterprise level companies that handles all of the back-end technology necessary for creating a professional online web presence with a state of the art website performance and search optimization features. It offers complete customization, marketing and integrations with Google business features that small businesses, agencies and advanced users require.

    Site Planning And Visualization

    One of the first steps for creating a high performance website that is user friendly, easy to navigate and search optimized is planning the site structure. This is important for every website but especially important for large websites with thousands of products or topics. A taxonomical topic structure that makes it easy for users to locate what they’re looking for begins with creating a visual representation of major category sections with hierarchical nodes that represent subcategories and all of the associated web pages.

    Wix’s new tool is an AI-powered tool that can create the visualization after users input the project details. The visual representation allows agencies and designers to view what the site structure will look like and make decisions ahead of time. The visual representation can then be exported to share with clients and stakeholders. The AI can even pre-insert content suggestions. The resulting visual representation can be fully customized and edited. A task that ordinarily can take weeks to months is compressed to days.

    Wix explains how it works:

    “Agencies and web professionals can input project details, including business type, site description, goals, target audience, and tone of voice. After filling in the information, a tailored sitemap structure is created detailing pages and sections.

    If preferred, bespoke wireframes can be generated to kick off the creation process. Both the tailor-made visual sitemap and wireframes are created with pages, sections and relevant business applications.”

    The tool’s built-in collaboration functions can reflect changes made to the sitemap in real-time, speeding up the process of getting project buy-in and moving forward.

    Read Wix’s announcement:

    Visual Sitemap And Wireframe Generator: Site planning, accelerated

    Featured Image by Shutterstock/Graphic farm

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    Sep 30 2024
    AI & Automation for SEO: Scale Efforts and Drive Revenue [Live Webinar] via @sejournal, @lorenbaker

    Are you ready to leverage AI to transform your digital marketing approach and drive unparalleled results?

    AI is no longer an option. It’s essential to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced digital world.

    The question isn’t if, but how quickly and efficiently you can integrate AI into your SEO strategy and marketing operations.

    Join us for an insightful webinar, AI & Automation for SEO: Scale Efforts and Drive Revenue, where Manick Bhan will guide you through how to automate your SEO strategies and implementation, saving you time, resources, and money while maximizing results for your clients or business.

    Why You Should Attend

    AI is reshaping how digital marketers approach SEO. In this webinar, you’ll learn practical strategies for integrating automation into your workflows and discover real-world examples of agencies leveraging AI to produce massive results for their clients.

    In This Webinar, We’ll Show You

    • How to automate your SEO process: Learn the steps to turn your business or agency into an AI-powered marketing machine.
    • Real-world case studies: Explore success stories from agencies that have harnessed AI-driven SEO strategies to achieve impressive outcomes.
    • Scaling your operations: Get insights into how automation helps you scale your business and drive more revenue.

    Meet Manick Bhan

    Leading this session is Manick Bhan, Founder of Search Atlas and SEO automation expert, who will equip you with the tools and knowledge to enhance your services, improve campaign performance, and scale your marketing efforts.

    Exclusive Live Demo of Search Atlas!

    Don’t miss our exclusive breakout session after the main presentation!

    We’ll offer a live-only demonstration on how to harness the power of Search Atlas, giving you a real-time walkthrough on AI-driven SEO automation.

    Who Should Attend?

    This webinar is ideal for:

    • Digital marketers aiming to integrate AI into their SEO strategies
    • SEO professionals looking to streamline operations and improve performance
    • Agency owners interested in scaling operations and delivering high-value results

    Live Q&A Session

    Following the presentation, there will be a live Q&A session where you can ask your questions and get expert advice on implementing SEO automation in your workflows.

    Don’t Miss Out!

    AI-powered SEO is the future, and the future is now. Reserve your spot today to learn how to supercharge your business using the latest in AI and automation.

    Can’t attend the live session? No worries—sign up anyway and we’ll send you a recording of the main presentation.

    Register Now

    Get ready to elevate your SEO with AI. Register today!

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    Sep 24 2024
    Preparing For The Feedless Future With Google Merchant Center Next via @sejournal, @gilgildner

    For some years now (ever since Google Merchant Center was introduced in 2010), ecommerce advertisers have been working with product feeds.

    It’s historically been a complex and often fragile process, but thanks to the introduction of Google Merchant Center Next, we have some new tools at our fingertips.

    Here’s a look at how things are changing with Next.

    The History Of Google Merchant Center

    Back in the very beginning, we remember having to download CSV files from the website with all product information, and embarking on a long process of cleaning up and formatting the data so that it could be manually uploaded into Google Merchant Center (GMC).

    In the early days, before policies became more strict, you could even use Merchant Center to advertise anything from repair services to round-the-world gap year vacations!

    But in time, GMC became far more sophisticated (and also more restricted). Along with increased restrictions came the ease of use. Uploading data became much easier and more stable.

    Eventually, plugins and connectors began doing most of the job for you, then platforms like Shopify got native integrations, and now with the advent of Google Merchant Center Next, you almost don’t need feeds at all!

    Common Complaints About GMC

    For most of the past 14 years of Merchant Center history, you’ve likely heard a few bits of common wisdom repeated ad nauseam:

    Optimize your shopping feeds inside of GMC! Keep your Google categories accurately assigned inside of GMC! Add your metadata inside of GMC! Fill out all the boxes in GMC!

    The world is slowly changing, and now, with GMC Next, you don’t have to make these changes within the GMC interface.

    The changes need to happen on the website. While feeds won’t totally go away overnight (and neither will the need to optimize products), Google Merchant Center Next is ushering in a new feed-less era.

    Announced at Google Marketing Live 2023, Merchant Center Next actually hasn’t taken hold as rapidly as expected. Even over a year after its announcement, most but not all of our client accounts have shifted over.

    GMC Next started rolling out for new users first, but Google has stated the full rollout should be completed sometime in 2024. Whether this is the actual date is yet to be seen.

    What Is Google Merchant Center Next?

    The core differentiator with Merchant Center Next is the simplification of website verification and the automatic population of product feeds from your website. This means that Google will scrape product information, pricing, imagery, and more directly from your site.

    Additionally, it has integrated a new feature called Product Studio that allows you to use AI to update or change your product images and offers more comprehensive performance insights.

    Screenshot from Google Merchant Center NextScreenshot from Google Merchant Center Next, August 2024

    Many marketers had a negative gut reaction to the announcement of Next, but our entire team at Discosloth was actually pretty excited about this development.

    Feed management (and especially the involvement of any third-party integrations, connectors, and tools) has always been a bit clunky, so the removal of any friction is a welcome feature.

    While you can still use Shopify to upload your product data, many people have found it to be more difficult with some products not being uploaded properly. As it turns out, feeds have technically gone away, but in a way, they have actually just been renamed to Data Sources.

    Screenshot from Google Merchant Center NextScreenshot from Google Merchant Center Next, August 2024

    It appears that product feeds, as we know them, might be going away.

    This doesn’t mean that product data management will become obsolete; rather, it indicates a shift in how this data is handled within the Merchant Center Next ecosystem.

    The Mindset Change

    I ultimately think that removing feeds is a fantastic approach because it shifts the mindset of marketers. Rather than focusing on incremental metadata optimization on hidden feeds, it will instead encourage advertisers to update & improve the actual listings on the actual site.

    Rather than just making sure endless attributes are filled out in the backend, it means that the actual website and associated metadata will need to be correctly optimized. This eliminates double work and conflicting data.

    When the website itself is the primary focus, it has positive effects on performance for all channels, like organic or social – not just paid.

    While many paid marketers have been focused only on optimizing products and images within the Merchant Center, without paying any attention to the website listings, now may be the time to change that approach.

    Thanks to this, the website owners may start seeing a better overall conversion rate for the entire website, across all channels.

    This is a great step in the right direction. Contrary to what many naysayers think about the onset of AI and generative automation, I’m a fan of taking away the grunt work from marketing and handing it all to the robots.

    A more automated approach to feed management will undoubtedly grant us a lot more bandwidth to make actual strategy and content decisions on the products themselves.

    While we’ve been seeing more comprehensive data on product performance appearing in Google Merchant Center over the last few years, now may be the time to dig a little bit deeper.

    While GA4 has widely become useless for advanced data analysis, the new GMC Next allows us to see website traffic for both paid and organic traffic from product listings, review competition and visibility, and get better data on the best-selling products and new trends.

    Perhaps the feature I like the most: comparing the prices of your stock-keeping units (SKUs) vs. competitors. This is the kind of data that has been classically underused.

    Instead of a misguided focus on inserting our favorite keywords into descriptions, we can finally focus on the quality and competitiveness of your products.

    Screenshot from Google Merchant Center Next, August 2024

    Taking Merchant Center Beyond Optimization

    Performance Max and Demand Gen campaign types have given us some new tools and strategies to use in ecommerce advertising, but it’s become harder to see granular data on where your ads are appearing, detailed performance metrics, and perhaps most notably, which keyword terms & specific audiences these campaigns are appearing for.

    Many advertisers are afraid that Google Merchant Center Next may be on a similar path of removing even more granular data and making it even harder for advertisers to be specific in our ad targeting.

    But so far, most of the early complaints people had when Next was introduced have already been fixed. We got access back to supplemental feeds, we can now make bulk changes (even though it’s not as easy as it used to be) and we can once again appeal any incorrectly disapproved products.

    Of course SKUs and product feeds need to be optimized, but this shouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary.

    Optimizing this should be an assumed baseline for any ecommerce storefront.

    Merchant Center Next, as we’ve found, is most effectively used for tactics far beyond what the old Merchant Center offered. Some of the most important tactics we now use include things like getting insights on specific SKUs to make sure you always hold in inventory, and diving deep into competitive visibility and pricing in order to massively increase sales.

    More resources: 

    Featured Image: N Universe/Shutterstock

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    Aug 26 2024
    Survey Shows Where SEOs Get Their Clients via @sejournal, @martinibuster

    Aleyda Solis recently published the results of her SEOFOMO survey that revealed actionable facts about where SEOs are getting their clients, what kinds of clients they’re getting and how they’re promoting themselves to get more clients.

    Aleyda Solis (LinkedIn) is a popular digital marketer specializing in International SEO. She publishes the SEOFOMO + MarketingFOMO Newsletters, is well known for promoting best practices in SEO and speaking at search conferences around the world.

    This survey, conducted with a self-selected group of 337 respondents, offers a view of how SEO businesses get more business, who their clients are and what they do for them in 2024. The data offers valuable insights for digital marketers who want to grow their businesses.

    For example, most of the respondents indicated that their area of specialization is Technical SEO. That makes sense because fixing website issues that make it easy for search engines to crawl, index and understand content is at the hear of what it means to optimize a site for search engines.

    This is the kind of work SEOs specialize in:

    • 64% Technical SEO
    • 60% Content Focused SEO
    • 54% SEO Generalist
    • 51% SEO Management
    • 14% Link Builder
    • 8% Other

    Only 14% of respondents answered that they build links for clients. That doesn’t mean that link building is not a priority but rather it may reflect that link building continues to be a difficult area to specialize in because of its complexity.

    Who Answered The Survey

    Aleyda’s survey consists of a sample of 337 respondents who self-identify as SEO specialists.

    44% of respondents are Full-Time Agency SEO consultant
    32 % are freelance and independent SEO consultants
    24% are part-time SEO consultants
    6% identified simply as Other

    Data About SEO Clients

    The results of the survey indicated that most of the respondents work with small and medium sized clients, with 49% working with sites less than 100K URLs and 33% working with client sites containing between 100k to 1 million URLs.

    Local search SEO is perhaps the largest segment of small to medium businesses. This market, once challenging to scale with quality service at a reasonable price, has evolved. Today, agencies can partner with platforms like Wix or Duda, which both offer a high-performance website building platform that integrate marketing and SEO tools and also streamline client management and billing. These new technologies enables SEO agencies of any size to more easily scale, allowing them to focus on marketing and SEO rather than the underlying platform technology.

    SEOs who self-identified as working with larger clients represented a total of 18% of the respondents. I’ve worked with large multinational B2B companies and there’s good money in it but it’s also can be frustratingly limited to how much influence you can have with the SEO. You just have to take your wins where you can get them and accept that you’ll never get your wish list fulfilled.

    This Is Where SEOs Get Their Business

    There is a great diversity in where SEOs get their business, which perhaps reflects individual priorities and strengths. Not everyone has the time to be a social media influencer nor the ability to get up and speak in front of audiences at industry events, right?

    Referrals

    The most highly cited source of clients is referrals from other companies and clients, accounting for 77% of responses. Putting in the hard work to cultivate happy clients and to promote an SEO business pays off in referrals.

    Ranking In Search Results

    SEOs who focus on ranking for phrases that brings them more clients was the second largest reported source of new clients. This approach makes sense for SEOs who have a geographic reach or who focus on a single vertical like personal injury. Combining a vertical (like personal injury or HVAC) with a geographic market could be easier to rank than trying to rank for the general term, especially given that Google tends to personalize general search queries.

    Social Media

    Participating in social media was reported by many respondents as a source of SEO clients, with 26% indicating that social media is a source of new clients and referrals.

    That totally makes sense. I’ve seen SEOs with little experience come out of nowhere and get SEO business by extensive social media posting and participation in conversations as well as starting conversations. There’s a strong validating component that comes with cultivating a large social media following so it makes sense that social media is an important channel for obtaining referrals.

    Something I see in the most successful SEOs who promote with social media is that they don’t tend to post on controversial topics like politics but do tend to get behind popular causes. Social media is a lot of work but the SEOFOMO survey validates social media as an important channel to focus on for building a client base.

    Events

    Twenty five percent of respondents cited Events as a channel for cultivating clients. Speaking at events can be a good way to get clients or at least to build a good reputation that leads to client referrals.

    Speaking at events can be tricky because you have to have something interesting to say but it can’t be too complicated because you’re going to lose or bore the audience. I’ve been speaking at events since around 2004 and have seen others freeze in fear, spontaneously utter crazy things or bore the audience with a monotone speaking style (which is why I sometimes choose to speak first!).

    Here are the top sources of SEO client business:

    • Client Or Company Referrals 77%
    • SEO 39%
    • Social Media 26%
    • Industry Events 25%
    • Blog Posts, Studies, Research
    • Other 15%
    • Cold Outreach 14%
    • 9% Paid Outreach

    Getting Clients Requires Proactive Work

    Despite that so many SEOs reported receiving client and company referrals, reaching that point requires putting in the time to cultivate happy clients, marketing their business in person and online, and demonstrating thought leadership. Everyone has their superpower, some are great speakers, some are great thinkers. Some SEOs find happiness making videos and while others are more comfortable sharing on podcasts. Whatever your superpower is, get out there to discover it then be the best at what you excel at.

    Read the results of the survey here:

    The SEOFOMO State of SEO Consulting – Survey 2024 Results

    Featured Image by Shutterstock/Khosro

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    Jul 4 2024
    10 Creative Ways To Motivate Your Marketing Team via @sejournal, @jasonhennessey

    Everyone loves a good pizza party, but there are many more fun and creative ways to motivate your marketing team!

    Motivation is about creating an environment where people can do their best work, offering incentives that meet real needs, and building a healthy team culture.

    Giving incentives for hard work can significantly increase company loyalty, prevent burnout, and keep the creative juices flowing.

    It’s not only about rewarding performance. Your team should feel supported and that they have the trust and appreciation of their peers and managers.

    In this list, we share some unique ways to motivate your marketing team while promoting a positive company culture and continued performance.

    1. Convenient Rewards Programs

    Gift cards, vouchers, and other flexible perks can address the needs of employees by letting them choose how and when they use the rewards. These can be merit-based, but making them permanent perks for all team members can help increase retention.

    Many companies offer business-focused rewards programs to make implementation easier on your end.

    Uber for Business is a great example of a program that allows businesses to offer perks to employees, such as ride and meal vouchers.

    Regularly improving an employee’s day or making their commute a little easier is a great way to show that you care about their wellbeing as well as their performance.

    2. Remote Flexibility

    Since the boom of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (or from a cozy coffee shop) is now easier than ever.

    If your company still requires your marketing team to come into the office, it might be worth considering a more flexible work model.

    Remote or hybrid work allows employees to enjoy greater flexibility in their schedules, which reduces commuting time and lets them structure their day in a way that suits their needs.

    Not only does this promote better work-life balance, it can also lead to improved employee retention and productivity.

    3. “Weekly Wins”

    Allow your marketing team to share their wins and gain encouragement from other team members.

    Daily stand-up meetings are often all housekeeping and business; this is a missed opportunity to showcase the amazing things your team is working on.

    Dedicate a time each week to share “weekly wins” – or any other catchy name to match.

    Announcing accomplishments can boost morale while encouraging all the marketers on your team to participate, identify their wins, and strive for success.

    4. Mentorship Hour

    Most employees identify longevity and upward mobility as essential factors when deciding to stay with a company.

    Unfortunately, many managers create an environment of stagnation by not providing mentorship, training, or opportunities for growth. Implementing a mentorship program could be a great way to keep your team motivated and feeling supported.

    Whether that’s pairing some of your senior team members with junior marketers to hone their skills, or allocating a portion of your training budget to coaching or learning platforms, continued education in the workplace shows your team that you are willing to invest in career development and skills.

    5. Local Activities & Events

    Team Happy Hour is always a favorite, but it can also feel overdone.

    Why not mix it up with some more creative activities? Some great ideas include mini golf, escape rooms, sporting events, hiking, wilderness retreats, and concerts, to name a few.

    Now, not every type of event will be everyone’s cup of tea. Attendance should be optional.

    However, getting creative with your team events can help you build rapport and nurture relationships between team members. You could always survey your marketing team to field ideas about cool things to do in your area.

    6. Friendly Competition

    Turn mundane tasks into a friendly competition by creating games, charts, or leaderboards tracking success. These don’t have to be highly structured; in fact, the more fun, the better!

    For example, marketing team members can place a sticker every time they post a video that goes viral.

    Or, create funny bingo cards with various milestones that your team can check off – and then win a prize.

    7. Lunch-And-Learn

    Even the junior team members have something to share, and a “lunch and learn” allows them to share knowledge.

    Team members can volunteer to share a unique learning from the week, a tutorial on something they’ve accomplished, or a think-piece on something they find super cool to the group.

    This allows team members to share their insights and learn from their colleagues.

    8. Office Aesthetics

    If your marketing team works from a company office, then you’ll want to make sure their workspace is as inviting as possible.

    Office aesthetics do matter – from incorporating elements like artwork and plants, to comfortable furniture and community spaces.

    A comfortable yet focused space both helps to promote productivity and collaboration between team members. Yes, ping-pong tables are still a thing.

    9. Workshops (Without The Work)

    Give your marketing team time off from the daily grind by bringing in guest speakers or hosting a workshop.

    This can be a time for your team to hear fresh insights, learn new techniques, and explore industry trends.

    It can also be inspirational to hear from marketing leaders on what works well and the lessons they’ve learned.

    10. Join The Club

    Give your team a piece of the company culture by offering participation in the brand’s podcast, YouTube channel, or blog.

    These channels can allow team members to share their own insights, grow their professional brand, and build trust in the company.

    Your team likely brings a treasure trove of experience to share with your audience. Giving your team these platforms can be a great motivator and vote of confidence in their skills.

    A Little Support Goes A Long Way

    Many business owners forget how important it is to provide continued support and incentives for their marketing teams.

    Your team wants to feel that you respect their work, energy, and contributions to the company. There are many effective and creative ways to show your marketing team you care.

    From career growth opportunities to remote flexibility to customizable perks, every business should incorporate some incentive program to encourage team retention and promote well-being.

    Not only do happy marketers do better work, but they are more likely to stick around for the long run. This can pay off for your company for years to come.

    More resources: 

    Featured Image: Lucky Business/Shutterstock

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    May 28 2024
    How Agencies Can Have Successful Client Partnerships [Part 2] via @sejournal, @coreydmorris

    Let me start by saying that I know you’re successful and probably wonder what you can learn from me as an agency owner, leader, or staffer.

    I will humbly admit that I can and do continue to learn from you; I have some great relationships with other agency owners and always learn something when I’m in the room with them – even if it sometimes feels more like a therapy session than one where we solve all of our problems.

    The agency business is hard.

    Whether we’re talking about advertising, digital, PR, or other niches and specializations, we’re in a hard industry. We care deeply about people – our own and those who are our clients – as well as the missions and causes that factor into the reasons we’re in our current gigs.

    This article is my companion and “part 2” in this series. The first was about how brands can have successful relationships with agencies. In this one, I’m taking the other side.

    I’m here today to share the 8 things I’ve learned over my nearly 20 years in agencies – mostly from the mistakes I have made – so if there’s anything you haven’t experienced, you don’t have to go through it yourself.

    1. Know What You Want Or Need

    This seems blunt, and I apologize if so. But it probably should be.

    If you don’t fully push clients to share their goals or help define what success looks like for your partnership and their investment in an agency (or any resources), you’ll risk wasted dollars and time (for both sides) in getting to their ROI goals and risk churn or attrition of the client relationship.

    For some clients, it is a process to figure out what they want and many agencies (including mine) have a robust planning and strategy process to help get to the definition and strategy mapping stage.

    However, if you don’t work to elicit objectives and truths for their ROI math and measures that show if something is profitable or not, they might not be ready to go down the path of evaluating an agency partnership and, unfortunately, may sign on with you, but not last long.

    2. Be Clear On Communication

    I often emphasize to prospects and clients that I want them to be bold and honest and to share with us the details of when and how they want to be communicated with.

    That is definitely not a one-way street.

    Whether you have highly defined communication processes and cadences or typically adapt them to the client, I want to encourage you to be clear early in the relationship about what works best for your agency.

    Be open to sharing how you like to communicate. That could be through email, Slack, text, phone calls, scheduled meetings, tickets, or messages in a project management system. Whatever it is, when it is, and what the response times they can expect, you are definitely best served in sharing about your communication parameters.

    We never want clients guessing or our staff being caught up in out-of-cycle, off-hour messages or misaligned response windows.

    Despite the constant change in subject matter (that we have to contend with), algorithms, and attribution, one of the biggest reasons prospects and clients still reach out to me is that they weren’t getting the communication they expected from their previous agency.

    I know this is a two-way problem, and in many cases, the agency would probably acknowledge communication was an issue, too – or wish that they knew, as it is something that is, in many cases, easy to correct compared to the other challenges we face in meeting performance goals in an ever-changing marketplace.

    3. Remember The Scope

    My companion article mentions scope, and I want to make sure it isn’t lost or forgotten on the agency side as well. I’m as guilty as anyone of wanting to add value (aka over-service) to clients to show them love in the relationship.

    Despite the goodwill built and the potential for growing lifetime value with a client, we have to make sure that our teams understand the scope.

    If you have tailored scope documents to different clients, then maybe your team is really dedicated to scope management. However, regardless of what your scope management looks like, if you aren’t tracking utilization, efficiency, and profitability in your agency – down to the client level – then you’re likely operating without all of the information you need.

    It is really easy for an owner, salesperson, or anyone to get a scope approved in a contract, SOW, MSA, or other document and then for the team to take over and not look back at it.

    Be diligent about what is in scope and what is out of scope, and have dedicated processes to monitor and implement the proper change orders and management techniques to stay on budget in a professional manner.

    4. Be Invested

    This is a weird one. We all say that we are invested and excited about any client who comes through our doors and chooses to work with us—and that we choose to work with. However, I have seen a lot of strange things in my career.

    Again, no judgment here, and I can’t say that my team has been fully engaged or invested in every single relationship. Naturally, there are clients and brands in some less-than-sexy industries.

    There are clients who are not the easiest to connect with on a personal level. There are clients who are not themselves invested in the work. Or, there are clients who are not pleasant to interact with, and for any number of reasons, you can’t fire them at this moment.

    In any situation, it shows when we aren’t invested in the client. Maybe they were the first to show it, or maybe we were. They could be quiet quitting on us.

    Whatever it is, we need to show our commitment to not just the day-to-day but to being the idea-bringing, problem-solving, solution-seeking, and proactive communicating member of their team that we can be. We must show our commitment and do all that we can to be fully invested in the relationship.

    5. Share Your Expectations

    Understanding and managing client expectations is important in the agency/client relationship. It has been talked about forever and will continue to be.

    Expectations, however, are a two-way street. We want to know what our clients expect and to help shape those expectations to be realistic based on the scope, our expertise, or the scale of the services we’re offering.

    However, what if we also stated what we expect of our clients? I’m not saying it is a perfect process, as the party who is paying the bill typically wants to feel catered to and have their expectations met.

    At the same time, as I think back on some of my team’s biggest challenges, they often stem from some type of asset, approval, deliverable, or step that a client hasn’t followed through on or done in a timely manner.

    Did we do our best to clearly state our expectations on what we expected from the client? Did they know the consequences of not delivering?

    Whether it is a balanced, mutual client agreement, a manifesto, bill of rights, or some other expectation-setting tool or document, I believe that agencies (including mine) should do a better job of stating our expectations while also trying to understand, manage, and set those of the client.

    6. Be Patient, Yet Expect Accountability

    This one is hard – sometimes really hard.

    Accountability can be intimidating and something that is hard for agencies to accept as we typically, by default, don’t have control of client branding decisions, sales teams, ultimate marketing approvals, product roadmaps, or financial performance.

    Yes, we often can get transparent ROI math, access to CRM, and possibly a seat at the marketing table.

    The difficulty of accountability is that when we don’t have full control, we often can’t be fully accountable for results and actions. In relationships with little digital agency accountability, it is easy to stay on the search or marketing side of the table. That means doing what we can from the outside or a couple of levels deep.

    We can report marketing metrics and KPIs and collaborate, but ultimately, it is up to the client to judge the effort’s ROI and connect all the dots.

    On the other hand, to get to the depth we need in order to fully prove our ROI, we might not agree with or like the decisions being made and still have to settle for a certain level of accountability that isn’t totally fair to us.

    In any situation, we must find a balance between being patient as we navigate getting as deep as possible with our clients versus pushing too hard or being walled off from information.

    7. Provide A Clear Escalation Path

    Most people in the business world are respectful and professional and want to maintain a positive reputation.

    This leads to cordial relationships and often great camaraderie between people on the client and agency sides of the relationship.

    However, if the day-to-day person on the agency side is close to the work or close to the client contact, chances are that the client contact may not feel super comfortable providing negative feedback.

    Feedback is a great tool in general, as getting it early and often in a relationship allows for minor adjustments to strategy, communication, or other factors in the relationship. However, if someone doesn’t know where to give objective feedback or doesn’t feel they can do it without hurting feelings or being confrontational, then that is a problem.

    I mentioned quiet quitting earlier.

    I have observed a lot of quiet quitting of clients in agency relationships over the past couple of years. While I don’t know that having an escalation path is the biggest factor, I can definitely recommend making it clear and comfortable for the client to know how to give direct feedback, anonymous feedback, and feedback to others in the chain of command in a way that will be handled professionally so they aren’t shy about giving it.

    8. Celebrate

    This is possibly the most overlooked aspect of any agency relationship. It might be easy to keep the client at arms distance or even to assume they are celebrating their own wins separate from yours.

    Assuming they have real wins in their company that have any attribution to or opportunity to bring in your agency for, then encourage it!

    Good agencies care about their clients and their success. Companies who see that success and feel like their agency is a partner, not a vendor, should naturally want to celebrate together.

    If you have a partnership that isn’t at arms length, please share your successes with the client and push them to share data and reasons to celebrate with you as well.

    With how many years I’ve been doing this, I know our type. I know that we’re agency people who know how to properly party and celebrate things and love to hear about wins and share them.

    Chances are, if we are good at sharing wins and cultivating a culture for our clients to share wins with us, we’ll be able to properly party with our clients and be one team instead of two in the relationship.

    It might not seem like a big deal, but believe me – in the post-COVID era and in a decade with a lot of burnout, we need to celebrate wins more than ever.

    Have Honest, Clear, and Difficult Conversations Earlier

    While some of what I talked about might feel like tough love, please know that I will be the first to say that I’m not perfect, nor is my team.

    Everything I have shared is what I believe in and is also something I want to be accountable for.

    Whether it is setting expectations, making sure the fit with the client is right for both sides, being open to honest feedback, managing scope, or any number of other things that you can do to enhance the client experience and have smooth client relationships, I want to challenge you to test these things out and see how they improve retention, performance, and efficiency in your agency.

    More resources: 

    Featured Image: LightField Studios/Shutterstock

    Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
    May 1 2024
    How Brands Can Have Successful Agency Relationships [Part 1] via @sejournal, @coreydmorris

    Welcome to the first of a two-part (and possibly more in the future) article series.

    I hope you gain some valuable insights for your brand or organization.

    I’m writing these articles from my point of view, having been on the agency side for nearly two decades. I’m the first to admit that I’m not perfect, nor is the agency that I own – or any of those that I have worked for over my career. Let’s get that out of the way right now!

    The agency/client relationship and dynamic involve all kinds of perceptions, including assumptions that range in accuracy.

    As I get deeper into my career in digital marketing, I’m picking up on some trends.

    Some of these aren’t new, but I can attest to what I’m seeing in the marketplace with people (agency and client-side) moving jobs more quickly than in the past and the tech changing more rapidly than it has before.

    Whether you’ve been with your current agency for a long time, are considering hiring one at some point, just started with one, or have been burned by many, this is the inside scoop for you.

    Yes, you’re paying the agency money, but successful relationships take work from both parties. I can tell you that there are things you can do to get the most out of it.

    Here are seven tips for getting the most out of your relationship.

    1. Make Sure Your Companies Align

    As with most of these tips, this one applies both at the time of considering agencies to partner with as well as if you’re already in an agency relationship. Companies change over time, or new things emerge when you have the chance to start getting into actual work with each other.

    Regardless of where you are in the relationship (or if you’re considering one), how it started, or where it is now, you want to ensure you’re never out of alignment for long.

    There are some definitive non-negotiables when hiring an agency, and one of them is in your company’s core values. If the agency’s values (just like those of an employee or anyone else you partner with) don’t match up with yours, there will be friction.

    Yes, this is one of the hardest or possibly subjective or “fluffy” things to analyze and measure.

    However, I can guarantee that if you have a data-driven, accountability, and performance-focused company and the agency you’re working with doesn’t align, then you will have problems – no matter how well people get along.

    Or conversely, if you’re a people-first company and you partner with a laser-focused, type-A performance agency only focused on numbers, then your brand, community, and mission-focused goals might not align.

    Speaking of goals – you have to be clear about what those are and share them openly.

    If they are financial and super tangible, then getting them on paper, doing the math together with the agency, and making sure it is clear how efforts by the agency, as well as your company, come together to reach the ultimate goal for the partnership is important.

    In the absence of clear goals or alignment on them, you run the risk of just receiving reports, having reporting meetings, and putting yourself in the middle with having to interpret the agency’s data or deliverables against your company goals.

    That can be a challenging spot to be in as you are the one determining whether things are working or not.

    2. Have Clearly Defined Communication

    We’re in an era of some of the most technical digital marketing and AI-driven strategies ever.

    Yet, I often hear from people frustrated with their current agency that the primary reason they are dissatisfied or firing them is about communication; it isn’t subject matter expertise.

    Getting communication right and sharing your own expectations about it, including the type, frequency, and ways that you do it, are important.

    Want more than just a monthly meeting? Want to be on a texting basis? Do you expect to get a response within minutes versus hours or days?

    There are so many misfires and invisible walls that get built by agencies. Sometimes, that’s on purpose to protect scope and to triage things, and in other cases, they don’t know when you’re not getting the level of communication that you expect.

    Be vocal about what you expect and make sure it matches up with how the agency works – or can work – if you’re already in a situation where it isn’t where you want it to be. That includes sharing expectations and feelings.

    If you struggle with knowing if you’re being direct enough or feel like maybe you’re too direct, then I would encourage you to make sure that all of your communication, and that of the agency, is done in the spirit of shared values.

    Beyond that, I strongly recommend Kim Scott’s book “Radical Candor.” It has been a great resource for my team for internal communication and has great examples we use for communication with clients, too, as we work to be tactful, respectful, yet caring and direct.

    And, one last note here, wearing my agency hat: If you know that you’re potentially a blocker for frequent communication, then be upfront about that as well, please.

    I know the agency will appreciate that so they aren’t filling up your inbox and getting frustrated not knowing how hectic your schedule is. They should be willing to adapt their communication to match your availability, and my hope and assumption is that you’re willing to be available to them (or you wouldn’t be hiring them).

    3. Get The Expertise You Need

    In the past year, my agency has undergone a pretty dramatic change in how we are niched and focused.

    Many agencies are doing so, but there are still plenty of full-service and integrated agencies and those working to expand into new service offerings. I recently wrote about what type might be right for you.

    No matter which type is right for you, you definitely need alignment in terms of the expertise offered, both horizontally and vertically.

    Know the range of services, channels, and offerings, as well as how deep they go. Plus, how well they layer all that onto your specific industry vertical.

    If you’re going to a primarily B2C ecommerce agency and want B2B lead generation, you will likely be out of alignment.

    Or, if you’re trying to gain quick sales and are working with a long-form content marketing agency, you might not be properly aligned.

    4. Make Sure You Have Your People

    Do you know the people you’re working with? Do you have deep conversations? Are you on a texting basis with them? Do you know what they know and what they don’t? Do they often change or are you working with interns?

    I’m not here to blow up or bash on other agencies. I believe there’s a right fit agency for every brand. Until we’re all robots or fully replaced with AI (joking), the people will be one of the most important parts of every agency relationship.

    If you like who you work with, respect them, have a great communication cadence, and they perform to your expectations, then you have the right people.

    Change is inevitable and will happen within your staffing or at the agency. It is important to know upfront how changes will be communicated and handled and what type of “new” people will be in the mix.

    Don’t wait for something to happen to get clarity on transitions, the plan, and what level of transparency will be in place if people change, if you have any issues with the people you work with, and how escalations will be handled.

    5. Be Clear On Accountability

    This is an often misunderstood word.

    Most of us don’t love being told that we will be held “accountable” for something if we don’t want to be. Or if we don’t have full control or all the information needed. Or if we’re already wearing too many hats.

    I strongly advise that you have a defined level of accountability you’re seeking from an agency. That can include everything from how they communicate, what reporting looks like, how deeply they have visibility into your company, and what lanes to stay within.

    If you want them to constantly bring new ideas, follow your processes, define what performance looks like for you, or have ownership in the relationship in other ways, be clear and upfront with that.

    Without putting on the table what you expect and want accountability for, the agency can’t be the partner or part of your team that you want, as they’ll default to their standards or be left guessing, leaving you frustrated along the way.

    6. Know The Scope

    This one is probably obvious, but I can say from the agency side that both agencies and clients sometimes forget what is in scope.

    Sometimes, despite the most detailed MSAs, contracts, or SOWs, there are gray areas. Sometimes, agencies are bad at setting expectations and overdeliver or do value-added things that are really nice, but then when they pull back on those, it can be a surprise.

    We’re in an era of many value-based, deliverable-based, productized, or flat-rate services. That’s great in the sense that you get all of the things included at a single price, no one has to scrutinize every hour, and we’re more focused on production versus performance.

    However, I don’t know any clients who like to hear the words “out of scope” or “change order,” or who get a cold shoulder with the agency slow playing on requests, avoiding the “s” word altogether.

    You don’t want that, and I don’t want you to experience that. Agencies aren’t always the best at communicating until things are more acute versus in the moment.

    My advice is to be very clear in your understanding of what is in scope, what is out of it, how the agency will manage it, how they will communicate about it, and whether there’s a process for ongoing communication to ensure the scope is the right fit on an ongoing basis if you’re in a retainer or ongoing agreement.

    7. Be Willing To Make Resources Available

    No, this is not a greedy agency owner saying this. The reality is that, as I mentioned earlier, agencies typically don’t love to surprise you with hidden costs.

    However, if they’re constantly thinking about your business and opportunities to grow it, some of those new ideas might be out of scope. If you have this type of agency partner, you’re in a good place and can evaluate each new idea.

    Even within the day-to-day scope of your agreement, things might come up. I recently wrote about how SEO isn’t just SEO.

    That’s a great example of how even if you have engaged with an agency for search, some of their recommendations might be beyond the scope of what you’re paying them to do within the SEO aspect of things.

    Maybe you need to invest in your website, content creation, or IT. Some of these things may or may not be within the agency’s scope. You might have other partners or internal resources that need to help out.

    Being willing to make internal resources, software, data, tools, people, or outside contractors available to your agency will go a long way in ensuring you don’t get limited or siloed services that max out below the ROI expectations that you have.

    If you’ve budgeted up to your last marketing dollar and don’t have room, let the agency know that upfront, as they can likely stack their work in a way that leverages creative solutions rather than hitting roadblocks along the way.

    Build A Relationship That Spans Years

    My hope is that if you’re doing an agency search or currently have an agency relationship, this article will help you avoid some of the misalignment or pain that wrong-fit relationships can incur.

    Regardless of where you are on your journey, there’s a big two-way street with agency relationships, and getting your right-fit partnership can go a long way in terms of peace of mind and performance.

    Starting with values alignment and drilling down through accountability, communication, and resources, you can have a relationship that spans years or decades and don’t have to make sacrifices or find the hidden issues as you go.

    Look out for part two next month, which is focused on how agencies can have successful client partnerships. I strongly believe in transparency from both sides of the agency/client relationship, so there are no secrets here.

    More resources:

    Featured Image: fizkes/Shutterstock

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    Apr 30 2024
    How Small Businesses Can Use AI To Create And Measure Ads [Interview With Ex-Googler Logan Welbaum] via @sejournal, @gregjarboe

    Appeasing the advertising algorithms on social media and Google has always been a mix of art and science – but there are plenty of rewards, not only in terms of active engagement but also in terms of lowered ad costs.

    So far, AI tools have proved useful as an algorithm-cracker for the biggest digital marketing and ad agencies.

    The problem is that small businesses and boutique agencies are still working to find the entry point with AI to pinpoint the recipe for ad success – from creation, targeting, testing, and reporting. This raises some thorny questions:

    • What are the key AI tools marketers should be using?
    • How can they be used between creative, ad deployment, and measurement?
    • How much should a business plan to invest in AI tools?
    • Is this more or less expensive than traditional advertising strategies?

    I recently interviewed Logan Welbaum, an ex-Google and Meta employee who worked directly with the ad platforms at both companies.

    Today, he is the founder and CEO of Plai, a Y Combinator-backed platform focused on advertising automation.

    Welbaum has a precise understanding of social media ad algorithms and, specifically, how AI can be used to optimize ad strategies in line with them.

    Logan Welbaum, a veteran of Google and Meta Image from Logan Welbaum, April 2024

    Below is a lightly edited transcript of my questions and Logan Welbaum’s answers.

    How Google And Meta Leverage User Interaction Data

    Greg Jarboe: “From your experience at Google and Meta, how were large companies utilizing AI for ad optimization? What key functionalities did these solutions offer?”

    Logan Welbaum: “Platforms such as Google and Facebook leverage user interaction data to optimize their ad serving. Their AI technologies offer advertisers the highest level of performance for their advertising campaigns.

    Their approach is different from that of ad agencies and Plai, which own inventory data and optimize campaign creation. They offer features that allow for the uploading of additional data and the targeting of more specific audiences, because the inclusion of more data and signals enhances the performance of their AI systems.”

    How Can Small Businesses Leverage AI-powered Solutions?

    Jarboe: “How can smaller businesses, without the resources of large corporations, leverage similar AI-powered solutions for their advertising needs? Are there affordable, accessible options available?”

    Welbaum: “Understanding ad metrics and following changes in social media ad algorithms requires experience. Plai trains our AI model to learn our experience in digital marketing and observation from our existing campaigns, so that it can assist small businesses.”

    Jarboe: “Beyond basic automation, what unique functionalities can AI offer smaller businesses in ad creation, targeting, and measurement that traditional methods lack?”

    Welbaum: “Ultimately, AI can save small businesses and agencies time and money. AI allows them to generate and analyze ad content in a much shorter amount of time and with fewer people than it would normally take. AI can build detailed plans and lists for targeting and help track the success of a campaign.

    With Plai, small businesses can use our tools to launch things like video or Facebook ads in seconds and keep track of each ad’s progress all the way through its lifecycle. Our tech is a text-to-advertising approach, so a small business can just plug in their criteria and Plai will generate an ad with relevant keywords and images or videos.”

    Jarboe: “Can you elaborate on how your platform specifically uses AI to address the needs of smaller businesses in ad creation, deployment, and measurement?”

    Welbaum: “Taking Google Ads as an example, Google Ad Manager gives customers full control over a campaign but requires experience and knowledge to create a performing campaign. On the other hand, they have a product like Smart campaigns for those with little experience in digital marketing, but it lacks control and transparency.

    Plai utilizes AI to guide small businesses to create a performing campaign. This allows advertisers to save time and reduce mistakes, but also gives control if they want to update AI’s recommendations.

    Similarly, in terms of measurement, Google Ad Manager offers a comprehensive view of a campaign through an extensive array of metrics, whereas Smart campaign provides a more limited set of metrics. Our AI analyzes all available metrics, interprets them, and then delivers actionable insights in language that doesn’t require any digital marketing expertise.”

    What Are The Challenges For Small Businesses Arising From Social Media Ad Algorithms?

    Jarboe: “What are the key challenges small businesses face when navigating social media ad algorithms? How does Plai utilize AI to help them overcome these challenges?”

    Welbaum: “SMBs want to grow revenue and run their businesses. Ads that are relevant and creative perform better and win and SMBs a cheaper ad cost because of it.”

    Jarboe: “Can you provide concrete examples of how smaller businesses have achieved success using Plai’s AI-powered advertising solutions? What metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach?”

    Welbaum: “Plai customers have seen 90% decrease in ad-cost as well as 105% higher click-through rates than the industry standard. Not only do Plai customers spend less on ads and see better click-through results, but the platform also allows them to generate ads more quickly and effectively, reaching their desired target audience ultimately generating more business.”

    How Will AI-Powered Advertising Tools Evolve In The Next Few Years?

    Jarboe: “In your opinion, how will the landscape of AI-powered advertising tools evolve in the coming years? What new functionalities can we expect?”

    Welbaum: “Ad creative will improve dramatically for brands of any size with any budget.” 

    Jarboe: “While AI offers significant advantages, are there any potential drawbacks or limitations smaller businesses should be aware of when employing AI for advertising?”

    Welbaum: “We automate everything from a single prompt, but we still provide features and options for customers to take over and control or make edits. Still having that control is essential.”

    How Can Small Businesses Prepare To Integrate AI Into Marketing Strategies?

    Jarboe: “Looking ahead, how can smaller businesses best prepare to fully integrate AI into their overall marketing strategies?”

    Welbaum: “Small businesses can prepare to implement AI into their marketing strategies through the creative process and general optimizations – these two elements of advertising will naturally be a first step for AI to fit within SMBs.”

    Jarboe: “ChatGPT, while impressive, represents just one facet of AI. Can you elaborate on other AI applications beyond language models that can be beneficial for smaller businesses in advertising?”

    Welbaum: “Recommendation algorithms, such as Amazon’s ‘customers also bought’ feature, serve as one example. Plai has a wide range of clients. This enables our model to identify successful strategies among a subset of customers and then recommend those insights across our entire customer base.”

    Jarboe: “How important is it for smaller businesses to possess a basic understanding of social media ad algorithms to effectively utilize AI-powered advertising tools?”

    Welbaum: “SMBs want to grow revenue and run their businesses. Ads that are relevant and creative perform better and win and SMBs a cheaper ad cost because of it.”

    AI Is Leveling The Playing Field In Advertising

    When it comes to advertising, AI offers significant advantages – and it’s not just for big businesses.

    With advertising platforms leaning into AI technology, incorporating it into your process can help you navigate their algorithms. Automated campaigns are just part of the equation. AI can power more efficient analysis and unlock new customer insights. As the technology improves and more platforms and service providers lean in, it will become more accessible.

    Incorporating AI into your marketing approach can help you stay competitive as a small business.

    More resources:

    Featured Image: BestForBest/Shutterstock

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