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In today’s tech-savvy world, the mission to grow your business online tops the list. According to MarkinBLog, There are more than 26 million eCommerce sites worldwide, and the number is rising day by day. So, even if you are a small or a medium-sized business, you should look for ways to evolve with the trends and stand out.

Many businesses do not even have physical offices. In other words, they are dependent on Internet’s mercy. The Internet, however, has provided a great platform to ease business operations. It provides equal opportunity to a novice as it does to a multi-million-dollar company’s CEO. Therefore, the rules for online success are the same for everyone.

So, let’s look at the ways that will help you grow your business online so that you catch pace and make a mark in the industry.

The powerful ways to grow your business online in 2022

The following ways are a sure-shot route to the success of your business online. So without further ado, let’s dig in.

1. Structure your website well

If you do business online, website maintenance and optimization should be your top priority. Create a website that is easy to navigate. Everything should be aligned and integrated, from menu sections to contact details, so the users don’t get baffled.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the key to creating your online presence. If you integrate necessary keywords and streamline your website for crawlers to introspect your website, you can gain the upper hand in the search engine rankings of Google and Bing. Meta descriptions, title tags, and image alt text are some of the other areas in which target keywords can be integrated.

2. Stay active on social media

Social media was introduced to bridge the boundaries and bring the global community together. But today, social media is the hub of all businesses. Brands, big or small, must maintain an active social media presence so that more people can know about them.

The best part about all these platforms is that you can grow your brand without spending too much. So, create your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages to stay active and reach a wider array of audiences.

3. Protect your connection

According to Web ARX security, 300,000 malware pieces are created daily. This shows that Internet has its security concerns. You become a prime target for hackers once they know that you gain new user data actively through your website. That is when they sit between you and your customers to see what data is getting transferred.

With an unsecured HTTP connection, it is impossible to protect your communication. That is why you need to add an ‘S’ to HTTP. HTTPS or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure states that your connection is protected by an SSL or Secure Sockets Layer certificate encrypting the data transferred between your website and the user’s browser. With an SSL encrypted website, even if a hacker tries to compromise your website, they cannot read or see what is getting transferred. SSL comes in different types depending on the magnitude of your website. For example, if you have a single domain to secure, then a single-domain SSL would be enough to protect it. But, if you have multiple domains attached, you need a low-priced multi-domain SSL. For this purpose, you can go for SSL certificates like DigiCert Multi-Domain SSL, Sectigo multi-domain SSL protection, etc.

4. Get reviews and ratings

People are more persuaded to buy from you if they hear someone genuinely praising you. And that is where testimonials come in. Today, platforms like Google and Facebook allow customers to rate you. Apart from utilizing them, you can also go for video testimonials and feature them on your website. Good reviews and ratings will also help you gain better rankings as Google recognizes the traction your business is generating.

5. Know your target market

If a business knows whom it should target, they have a very high chance of success. Moving with a planned approach, they won’t be spending their monetary resources and time on spreading their campaign thin across all social media channels. For example, if a business deals in beauty products, Instagram and TikTok can be two of their most viable marketing platform options. On the other hand, if a business caters to middle-aged people, Facebook and email marketing are two of the best mediums.  The knowledge of social media marketing is a must to target your audience effectively and grow your business online.

6. Attend to the Price-Profit ratio

Prices have a deep impact on customers’ buying behavior. If an article is too costly, customers will refrain from buying it. On the other hand, if it is too less, you will bear the brunt of lesser margins and overall profit. That is why you must ascertain the price-profit ratio after considering factors like competitor’s price, market demand, production cost, cost of technology, and taxes. Every company wants to be profitable, but it is best not to go berserk. If you calculate your prices with a practical and rational approach, your company and your customers will be happy.

7. Maintain high standards for customer service

Your relationship with your customer enters its 2nd phase when they complete the purchase. The possibility of them repeatedly buying from you is high only when you provide optimum customer service. In the case of heavy-duty articles, you must integrate a crew of technicians who can provide instant on-site service. Also, have a flexible policy when it comes to returns and replacements. Since your priority is customer satisfaction, you should happily return the item and replace it if necessary.

Bonus Tip

You can grow your business online by integrating these seven tips, but how do you sustain your spot in the market for long? That is where business growth measurement comes in. Tools like Google Analytics can help you determine who your competitors are and where you currently stand in the rankings. So, apart from integrating these tips, you must also conduct research and analysis to monitor your progress. Most top-level websites have an in-house department where experts ensure that the graph of the company’s growth does not go down. So you too can take the help of specialists to take your business to greater heights of success.

Final Thoughts

Online business growth is directly linked to your approach towards the ongoing trends; If you are versatile enough to adapt to changes, nothing is tough for you, and walking on the journey to grow your business online becomes easier. So, follow the above tips and get set to enjoy the benefits that tag along. The time is near when your business will touch the sky.

Running a business of any size requires you to be familiar with what’s happening in the digital landscape. To stay ahead, you need to know the latest digital marketing trends and what you can do to incorporate these into your business to make it more successful.

Imagine having a website that doesn’t load in milliseconds or offering a browser-based service that doesn’t respond well. To avoid such situations, read a little about the current trends to stay ahead of the competition.

Introducing WEB 3.0

The 3rd generation of the World Wide Web is coming, and you should be a part of it. We strongly recommend embracing the trends that are building Web 3.0 because these will be the foundations of how the Internet works in the future. If you sign up for a Web3 bootcamp that teaches you the fundamentals of Web3 coding languages like Solidity, you can get a head start. 

Nowadays, we have Web 2.0 based on cloud computing, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. All the data storage is centralized, and we rely on said centralization to access the necessary files. There are many benefits of Web 3.0, and we’re going to go through a few, including other digital marketing trends.

Cloud Technologies

The current Web relies heavily on cloud computing, but it’s still a centralized structure, as databases and information transactions can be traced. If you’re a successful business owner, cloud technologies are a must for your services.

It doesn’t matter if you’re running a restaurant or a consultation agency dealing with finance. You need to have a website that’s based on the cloud to avoid downtime and make subscriptions, sign-ups, payments, and other services easier for your clients.

AI and Machine Learning

As businesses have access to an enormous amount of data, we need to consider what we can do with it. We can use machine learning platforms to gather data and analyze it to find a solution to any issue.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are a combination that can provide you with the insights needed to stay ahead of your competition. Here are some benefits of AI that can yield profits and increase your customers’ loyalty:

• Improved organization
  Artificial intelligence can help keep up with organizational issues, such as overlapping meetings, project management, resource allocation, budgeting, etc.
• Error reduction
  Integrating AI and machine learning into the data structures helps to identify and rectify almost any kind of mistake, which greatly facilitates the process.
• Customer experience
  Finally, it all comes down to flawless customer experiences because that’s what’s important. If the business is running smoothly, the customer will probably be satisfied. Furthermore, AI technologies play a crucial role in customer journey orchestration, enabling a business to deliver a seamless and personalized customer experience across multiple channels.

Blockchain, NFTs, and the Metaverse

Get onto the blockchain technology expedition. If you’re into finance, the best thing to do is to offer a blockchain technology-based system to your clients. Their transactions become more discreet, and they are more satisfied.

Even if you’re not into any kind of business, investing in a bit of crypto can come a long way. Another thing to look into is NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Similar to cryptocurrencies, NFTs are assets, but they’re not fungible.

Each NFT is unique and one of a kind, and represents a digital piece of art such as a video, a music file, an image, etc. Luckily, you can create your NFT design using NFT creation software. These amazing technologies are building up to the Metaverse.

Metaverse involves virtual and augmented reality and combines features of the digital and physical worlds. If you can help your business become a part of it by building a virtual shop or similar, you’re already ahead.

Incorporating the Latest Digital Marketing Trends

There are three types of digital marketing trends you should focus on in 2022:

1.   Social Media Marketing Trends

Social media marketing should be an integral part of every business’s marketing strategy. Especially now that TikTok is on the rise, overlooking it as well as other dominating networks such as Facebook and Instagram is not an option. Consider these trends to increase your social media engagement:

• Short-form videos
  Instead of using long explainer videos on your social media profiles, try short videos that contain key points. They are more likely to help you get new customers and clients.
• Infographics
  The best thing to do is post infographics that contain bits of information on the product or service that you offer. Think about your experiences. It’s much easier to read all the info at once instead of searching for the specs.
• Influencers
  There are many popular people that influence social media communities. Use influencers to your advantage and get the best possible results on your social media profiles.
• Paid ads
  Advertising is still a superb way to go, but try not to be too forceful with your ads. Show the customers that they need your product or service and try to make it an experience for them.

2.   Visual Marketing Trends

Apart from the suggested infographics and the short-form videos you can post on your social media profiles, there are other visual marketing trends you should look into. For example, think about your logo.

Logo designing is not that expensive, and it makes your brand stand out. Having a memorable logo will help you stay ahead of the competition. You can also hire a web designer to give your website the best possible look and functionality.

3.   SEO Trends

Some other digital marketing tips that should never be overlooked include SEO. At this point in time, search engine algorithms do not solely rely on keywords but instead on relevance to your search query. This relevance is based on:

• Search location
  If you’re searching for a specific keyword across the continent, it’s unlikely that your results are going to be from a country miles away. So, be location-specific in your content.
• Keywords
  Still, these contribute to relevance, as people type a word into the search bar to start the search. So, if a page contains your keyword, it’s likely to appear on the search results page.
• Content
  Finally, SEO professionals put a word on our webpage multiple times and think it is more relevant than the other pages containing the word. Remember, you need to integrate content that’s also quite relevant to the keyword.

Digital Video Formats for Efficient Data Storage

Finally, before posting videos on your business website, you need to consider which format is best for different videos, including how-to videos, informational videos, training videos, etc. Remember, storage is not infinite, so we need to focus on those formats that are storage-efficient.

By far, the best video format you can use is the MP4 format, as it’s supported by most browser apps and is space-saving. Plus, converting to another format like DVD to MP4 format will not affect the quality that much.

Conclusion

Make a smooth transition of your business to WEB 3.0. Incorporate as many trending technologies as you can, no matter which type of business you’re running. If you’re an individual, learn a bit about these because they can mean a lot in the future.

Once you hop onto the latest digital marketing trends journey, there is no stopping you from touching the pinnacle of success.

Terms like direct traffic, paid traffic, and organic traffic can be confusing if you’re only just taking your beginning steps into the world of digital marketing. This article will give you a quick overview regarding organic traffic, why it is important, and how you can increase it with ease. Without further ado, let’s get to it. 

Understanding Organic Traffic

The term organic traffic describes visitors to a website from organic search results rather than paid ads. When users enter queries on search engines like Google or Bing, they get a set of results, including top organic pages and ads. Users that click on organic results to visit a website are recorded as organic search traffic by analytics tools. 

Organic vs. Paid Traffic 

The primary difference between organic and paid traffic is that organic traffic is completely free while paid traffic incurs costs. To get traffic from search engines, you have two options: use SEO to rank your website high in search results without paying for it or place paid ads on top of organic results using Google Ads. 

SEO allows you to get traffic for free at any given time, but it takes some time to work and produce measurable results. On the flip side, pay-per-click (PPC) ads get you quick results, but you will end up paying for each click and visit to your website. 

PPC ads only last until your budget runs out. By contrast, organic results will continue driving traffic to your pages as long as you’re able to maintain good rankings on Google. This makes SEO a much more sustainable model for pulling recurring organic traffic to your target pages. 

Importance of Organic Traffic 

Organic traffic is important for any website. In fact, it is much more impactful in the long run than paid traffic. Even traffic from social media platforms like Facebook pales in comparison to organic traffic. The reason why organic traffic is important has to do with the fact that it is targeted. 

Users entering a query in search engines have a specific concern. If you provide them an answer or solution to the said concern, the chances of you gaining a new follower, email subscriber, or customer will be greater. Moreover, organic traffic is essential for increasing website trust, which has numerous other benefits. 

Users blindly trust websites that rank highly on search engines, increasing your chances of success of converting visitors, even more so than visitors coming from social media platforms or other mediums.  

Increasing Organic Traffic 

The best ways to increase organic traffic to your website involve following effective SEO practices, such as:

1. Only produce content that is of interest to your target audience. 
2. Use search terms/keywords throughout your content. 
3. Get links from reliable websites. 
4. Ensure your website is easy to use. 

These are only the bare essentials of an SEO-friendly website. The optimization actions and strategies necessary for boosting your website high on Google are seldom pulled off so easily. It’s an ongoing process that demands continuous experimentation, performance monitoring, and the marriage of data-driven optimization and creativity. 

You save money, but you expend more time and energy to secure a strong organic position for your website with SEO. And the best part? It truly pays off in the long run by making organic traffic the primary source of visitors to your site.

Businesses that want to establish a relationship with their target audience will need to emphasize branding. After all, branding is essential to build trust, and there is no better way to build a strong brand than coming up with a unique logo design.

However, coming up with a unique logo design is easier said than done. Fortunately, this blog will guide you on developing a unique logo design in no time. Without further ado, let’s dig in.

Simplify your Logo Design

Successful logo designs rely on appropriate shapes and font choices that are simple. Simple logo designs are easier to recall; for instance, people can easily recognize the Apple and McDonald’s logos without breaking a sweat.

When you use too many fonts and colors in your logo, you will only confuse your target audience. Most importantly, you will not be able to communicate your brand’s messaging. By keeping your logo design simple, you tell your target audience that you are organized.

A cluttered logo will leave a negative impression on your target audience, which is why you should take one step at a time to come up with the perfect logo design that best represents your brand.  

Avoid Special Effects

Most brands make the terrible mistake of integrating too many special effects into their logo design. The last thing you need is to do is to overdo your logo design with special effects.

If you rely on too many special effects to make your logo design memorable, you will need to work on your design. Well-designed logos do not have to rely on special effects solely. If and when you design a logo that does not require special effects, you have a robust logo design to work with. Once you have a final logo design, only then should you ever consider adding special effects.

Avoid Copying Popular Brands

Many businesses copy popular logo designs, but what they do not realize is they are doing more harm than good. Businesses that copy popular logo designs leave a negative impression on their target audience since they do not exude originality.

If you want a robust logo design for your brand, you will need to avoid borrowing, stealing, and copying ideas from popular logo designs.

Be Creative

While designing a unique logo for your brand, you should let your creativity take charge. Come up with numerous potential concepts with the help of photo editor software and apps, and work on them until you find one that shows great promise. If you are capable of working with unconventional designs, then there is no reason why you should not take a risk or two for an innovative logo for your brand.

There are several other ways you can develop a unique logo for your brand, but the steps mentioned above should help you get on track in no time. But then again, if you are unable to come up with a logo that best represents your brand, then you should consider hiring a professional logo designer. You can find a list of logo design companies that provide impeccable services. Just make sure the logo designer is experienced, has a great portfolio, and comes highly recommended, and you should be good to go!

If you want to develop a viable and successful web solution, you will need to implement the most recent web development trends. By doing so, you will not only increase engagement but grow your business at the same time. 

Since new technologies are emerging every day, entrepreneurs need to take advantage of them to stay competitive and engage users effectively. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some web development trends and practices worth following in 2021. 

AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Bots

AI bots and assistants can collect data, learn, and solve complex problems. AI bots and assistants can collect data, learn, and solve complex problems which you can store in a customer data platform to build personalized experiences for your customers. This domain will shape the future of web development, which should explain the rising demand for AI for communication in 2021. It should not come as a surprise that there are numerous virtual assistants, AI chatbots, AI voice generators, and so on, becoming a normal industry trend. With these technologies, businesses can engage with humans effectively. Chatbots can enhance customer experiences digitally for marketplace platforms, and even then, their potential is limitless.

Voice Search 

Until a few years ago, information was delivered in text, but now internet users prefer using audio over text messages. For this reason, and many others, the web now utilizes audio because it is a rapidly emerging technology when it comes to web development. 

Recent trends indicate voice optimization is integral for websites. Now, companies enhance their digital products by delivering voice search capabilities. 

Voice search has numerous benefits for business owners and users, out of which the primary ones are as follows:

• Users can order products more quickly and allows them to save time;

• Customer behavior analytics can be acquired. 

To optimize your website for voice search, here is what you need to do:

• Provide direct answers to questions while using natural language. 

• Update important information and remove duplicate pages. 

• Implement voice search by using the Web Speech API. 

Mobile-Friendly Websites 

With a massive number of users relying on their phones to use the internet, it should not come as a surprise that websites now have to be developed using a mobile-first approach. According to DataReportal, mobile phone users are north of 5 billion, and these numbers will continue to rise. 

The future of the internet is dependent on mobile-friendly websites. Businesses adopting a mobile-first approach will see a massive surge in traffic and conversions. Additionally, mobile-friendly websites look good on mobile devices and even desktop computers. 

It is worth noting that Google introduced a mobile-first indexing feature, meaning websites need to be mobile-friendly. Businesses have no other option but to ensure their websites are mobile-friendly, without which their visibility will suffer greatly. So, it is the right time to opt for a website redesign now.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology involves providing a transaction event. Simply put, a decentralized distributed network verifies each transaction, giving users complete transparency. Blockchain has several benefits for web development, which are as follows:

• Reduces business expense;

• Reduces the number of transaction contracts;

• Increases cash flow due to transparency regarding data/records. 

Blockchain also provides additional advantages as:

• Data privacy and security;

• Secure transactions;

• High interactivity with web pages. 

Of course, there are several other web development trends and practices worth following in 2021, but the ones mentioned above will get you started if you do not know where to begin. Continue exploring new web development trends and practices to interact with your clients like never before, and you will see your business reach new heights without compromising on providing an extraordinary user experience. 

If you plan to work on a website, especially if you are running a business, you are making the right call. Website development and design are a fairly large project, accompanied by various important activities from purchasing hosting, registering a domain, installing a website theme, building necessary functionalities, and much else.

As a result, website development can be costly. It’s important to remember that costs will always vary depending on the complexity of the project. However, it’s still possible to approximate the costs of a generic web development project, which we’re going to do here:

Website for Small Businesses

Websites for small businesses generally have little to no customization. They usually have 20 pages or less, featuring stock photos, with zero unique functionalities. Small business websites are as simple as they come and can cost $2000-$8000.

Website for Medium-Sized Businesses

Medium-sized business websites are commercial websites that can have as many as 75 pages. These websites have custom design layouts, imagery, and CMS (Content Management System). They can also have some unique functionality and can cost $10,000-$25,000.

Website for Large Businesses

Large business websites have hundreds of pages. These large-scale websites have imagery, CMS (Content Management System), multimedia creation, blog integration, and other personalized development. Large business websites can cost up to $25,000-$40,000.

Ecommerce Website

Ecommerce websites focus on giving customers the ability to browse and purchase products. These websites require payment gateway integration, copy-writing, imagery, CMS, and extensive beta testing. The cost of an ecommerce website is determined by the intricacy of the products being featured. It can range from $5000 to $40,000.

Other Important Expenditures 

There are several other costs associated with running a website. Here are some unavoidable expenditures that need to be dealt with when developing a new website:

·         Domain Name

The domain name is the URL that people type in to access your website. Without one, there is no way to access a website unless you remember the IP address. A domain name can cost from $9-$20 annually depending on the registrar, the name itself, and domain extensions (.com, .co, .org, etc.)

·         SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate is needed to secure sensitive data like personal information and credit card numbers in your web database. An SSL certificate is essential for ecommerce websites to protect users from losing their private and sensitive data. Certification authorities are responsible for issuing SSL certificates. They can cost as low as $10 per month and go up to $1000 per month.

·         Website Hosting

When considering the cost of website hosting, domain registration, and other necessary components, choosing the right website builder can play a crucial role. For businesses evaluating platforms like GoDaddy and Wix, it’s beneficial to look at their unique offerings. For a detailed comparison of the features of GoDaddy and Wix, such as ease of use, online store features, hosting plans, and more, ensure to research thoroughly before making a decision.

·         CMS (Content Management System)

A content management system is required to display articles, videos, pictures, text, etc. While a CMS may not be mandatory, it can save a considerable amount of time, allowing you to make your website as efficient as possible. The cost for a CMS can depend on whether you are using a customized one or a free one, like WordPress. Moreover, you can also consider a new type of CMS knows as headless content management system which help provide faster and more personalized content delivery.

Wrapping Up

Building a website and taking it live is a multi-faceted process and quite time-consuming. Professional developers charge for their time and effort, but since your website is the most important component of your online presence, it’s well-advised to opt for the best design and development that you can find. PNC Logos offers three different web design packages:

• Beginner: $299
• Professional: $799
• Advanced: $1,099

For details, see this page.

Nowadays, people are increasingly using mobile devices for business purposes, so they have exceeded other devices in importance. According to usage statistics, mobile devices accounted for 63% of Google’s US organic search traffic.

In light of these changing user behaviors, Google announced in 2016 that it is shifting from desktop-indexing to mobile-first indexing. This announcement was met with a great deal of uncertainty by webmasters, but the world is constantly evolving, and Google takes great pride in leading the change.

What exactly is Mobile-First Indexing?

Before diving into all of the practices that website owners should implement to ensure the smooth sailing of their sites, let’s understand the term Mobile-First Indexing. According to Google, Mobile-First Indexing means that Google primarily indexes and ranks mobile versions of data. Google has already begun indexing mobile-first data by default, and any new website added to Google search after July 2019 will initially index the mobile version of the website.

Best Practices for Mobile-First Indexing to Implement Before 2021:

Following are the practices for Mobile-First Indexing to implement before 2021 to ensure an effective and efficient application for your users.

1) Make sure Googlebot can access mobile website’s content

Make sure that Googlebot (a web crawler) can access and render your page content and resources to provide relevant data for the Google search engine. To allow Googlebot to render your content without error for mobile indexing, follow the few directions.

• Use the same robot meta tags on your desktop and mobile websites. When your website is set up for mobile-first indexing, Google crawlers may struggle to index the content if you use different tags.
• Avoid lazy loading your primary content, such as images and videos that require user interaction (clicking and typing), because Googlebot will refuse to index that content. For mobile-first indexing, follow Google’s best practices for lazy loading content.
• Allow Google to crawl your resources. Some resources have different URLs on the mobile versions and desktop versions. If you want Google to index your resources, make sure you are not blocking them.

2) Keep your mobile and desktop sites equivalent with primary content

As Google will only index mobile versions of websites, ensure that your mobile and desktop websites have the same content. Consider upgrading your mobile site if it has less content. Keep the headlines and visual content consistent on both platforms to provide users with a friendly experience.

3) Maintain a nice visual content

For indexing, visual content such as photos and videos should be in the proper size and quality in both desktop and mobile versions of your websites. Google has suggested a few best practices for images and practices for videos to follow.

• Make sure your images are in a format appropriate for smaller screens and have a high-quality resolution, as Google does not prefer low-quality images when indexing.
• Videos must be placed in a suitable format with corrects tag for Google to render them.

All visual content should be perfectly placed on both the mobile and desktop versions of the website.

4) Use responsive websites

Responsive websites are the latest buzz in town as these enable users to view an optimized version of the sites. Responsive website owners should have no issue with mobile-first indexing and search engine results pages (SERPs).

Mobile-first indexing is an evolved and appropriate way of analyzing all data online. Keep in mind that mobile-first indexing is here to stay, and after March 2021, all indexing and ranking will only be done by it, so you can’t opt-out of it. To prevent dysfunction errors, we suggest that you adopt these procedures as soon as possible.

When it comes to the various business models that fall under the umbrella of eCommerce, private label is the most well known one. It is a model that requires more focus and planning than many others. However, it’s the model that can potentially pay off the most.

Starting a private label business on Amazon means that you create your own brand, source your own line of products and sell them on the platform. This is the route that most Amazon sellers take and it’s not something that was easily available in the past.

How to start selling private label items

Step 1 – Product research

This is the first and the most crucial step. It is imperative that you don’t rush this one AT ALL. Other steps can be time sensitive. However, in this case, you should not move forward until you are confident that you have found the right product to sell.

Product research can be done a few different ways. You want to find items that are already selling well (which shouldn’t be that hard to find). You can browse Amazon, especially sections like Movers and Shakers or the Bestseller pages.

You can read the latest Amazon trends report or even use free online tools like Google trends. However, if you want to get the best results, you should use specialized Amazon market intelligence tools like the AMZScout pro Chrome Extension to check your product ideas:

This tool allows you to see beneath the veil of every page on Amazon. You can view crucial information like sales volume and estimated monthly revenue of every product, the age of the listing, and the number of reviews.

Basically, this tool shows every single bit of available information that you need in order to make the best decision possible. You can also examine charts that show you the sales and price history of any item:

There are also helpful scores such as an individual score for any individual search as well as a group score for the entire page of search results called a “nioche score”.

Here, you can access a breakdown of how difficult it would be to enter a niche and what your approximate chances of success are. This way, you can have an idea of the situation in terms of supply and demand and about the unique circumstances surrounding a niche you are interested in.

There are also a few criteria you would be wise to stick to as a first time private label seller, besides the high demand and low supply which you can see with the tool:

Size and weight – Try and find products that don’t weigh more than 2-3lbs and that don’t take up too much space in order to save on shipping costs.

Evergreen – You want to find a product that is not subjected to any seasonal trends.

Margins – You don’t want your manufacturing cost to be more than 25% of your selling price

No moving parts – Avoid sourcing products with mechanical or electrical components.

Step 2 – Find a supplier

Once you find a product that meets your criteria, it’s time to find a supplier that can make it for you. Most sellers choose to go to Alibaba.com to look for suppliers. Odds are, this is where you will find exactly what you need.

You can ask for price quotes and negotiate with potential suppliers. As a private label seller, you need to find a supplier that will print the product packaging with your logo and design as well as customize it and place it on your product as well.

Step 3 – Register on Amazon and fulfill your orders

Once you find your product and your supplier, you need to register on Amazon before you can order your first batch of products. The registration process is fairly easy and straightforward. All you need to do is to input your personal or company information along with your credit card details.

At this point you need to figure out if you wish to sell using the FBA system or not. There is an advantage to fulfilling your own orders, which is that you don’t have to pay Amazon storage and Fulfillment fees.

On the other hand, unless you have your own facilities or a better way to fulfill your orders, it’s best to stick with the FBA. If you wish to see what the difference is between the two models, you can use this free tool to easily calculate the fees for any product.

Step 4 – Create your listing

Once your first batch is incoming, it’s time to put together your listing. You need to perform proper keyword research and include all of the relevant keywords that you can find in the copy of the listing.

It’s also very important for the listing to find a fine balance between actually writing a compelling copy and including those keywords This is not easy to do and it can have a significant impact on your potential sales.

You should also ensure that you have high quality product images. If you are having trouble putting together a well rounded listing, hiring professional help is something to seriously consider.

Additional tips for a good start

Start with aggressive PPC and promotion:

Amazon has one of the best internal marketing systems and promotion is a proven tool of the trade of a successful Amazon seller. This is something that needs to be worked on continuously.

However, at the start you should be even more aggressive than you usually would be. You need to start getting organic rankings for your product, and there is no better way of doing that than with PPC.

To begin with, don’t focus too much on cost efficiency. Just focus on getting sales. Once orders start coming in, you can always adjust strategy over time. If you can afford it, you can also invest some money on off platform promotions using social media marketing or Google adwords so that you can get established more quickly.

Join the Brand registry: The brand registry is basically a partnership with Amazon. Any private label seller has the option of joining. You need to meet a few conditions first. The most important condition is that you have a registered trademark on your brand.

Sellers used to have to wait for months for registration to complete, but now Amazon will let you into the Brand registry by simply showing proof that you have submitted a trademark for registration.

As a registered brand, you receive a lot of benefits such as the ability to customize your listings and storefront to a much greater extent as well as access to more PPC tools.

In conclusion, starting a private label business on Amazon is not at all difficult. What can be difficult is finding the right product and the right supplier as well as making smart movies to facilitate growth.

However, what makes selling on Amazon attractive is the fact that Amazon can take on all of the heavy lifting while you can focus on sales and promotion. With a bit of creativity and diligence, you can create your own success story on Amazon. Good luck sellers!

A majority of sales on Amazon are generated by shoppers looking for products by typing a string of words in the search box.

And like a search engine, Amazon displays the most relevant listings, using a proprietary technology called A9.

So, for an Amazon Seller, the road to success is paved with listings optimized for Amazon’s A9 algorithm, and knowing how this system works will help you rank your products on pages most visible to buyers.

How Does the Amazon A9 Algorithm Work?

Amazon uses a unique system to determine the ranking of products in the platform’s search results. This is the A9 algorithm, which is similar to Google’s in the sense that the keywords entered by a shopper are the basis for displaying the most relevant listings.

Thus, A9 is technically a search engine, albeit operating exclusively on the Amazon platform. You get what you search for – this is how it works on a buyer’s end, in a nutshell.

For sellers, it means making the SEO of their product listings A9-friendly to appear on top of search results. However, for A9, keywords and optimization are not the only factors at play.

5 Ways to Rank Higher in Search Results

Below are the 5 elements you should focus on in your SEO strategy. Not all of them are weighed in by Amazon’s A9 algorithm when ranking listings, but all of them will ensure that you gain a competitive advantage for your products.

1. Optimize Product Listings with Keywords

When optimizing your listings, bear in mind that A9 crawls only on the Title and Bullet Points. So, you must focus keyword placement in these two visible sections.

The third section where you can optimize your listings is on the backend of your Seller Account, where you find the Search Terms field. Here, you may add 250 characters of keywords which will boost your ranking further.

Keyword Research

Don’t waste your time doing this on your own. Many companies provide this service, and all are tailored to Amazon’s A9 algorithm.

All you need to do is to type in the most relevant keyword(s) to your product on the search box. The system will generate which keywords products rank with on search terms that shoppers use on Amazon to look for products similar to yours.

Relevance and Search Volume

The A9 algorithm places importance on these two keyword features. Keep them in mind while looking through your keyword list for the ones to apply to your listings.

Be wary of keyword stuffing because Amazon frowns upon it. A9 loves content written for customers, not for bots. Hence, you have a greater chance of ranking high if your product’s Title and Bullet Points make sense with keywords integrated within.

How to Use Keywords for Optimization

Select the most relevant and highest-ranking keywords for your Title. Ideally, you should find phrases that are an exact match to your product.

Next, create Bullet Point titles using phrases in all caps, preferably the next high-ranking ones that you weren’t able to apply to the Title. Then, use as many keywords as possible – from top to bottom – as you go along writing the content of each bullet.

And lastly, add the remaining unused but relevant keywords to your backend Search Terms.

2. Price Competitively

When assigning a price to your product, there are only two figures you need to decide on: the lowest you can offer (floor price) and the highest your buyers can afford (ceiling price).

Your Lowest Price

When all is said and done, this truth remains: You’re selling on Amazon to make money. So, unless you’re on a clearance sale mode to make room for new inventory, each item sold must be at a profit.

To ensure profitable margins, list down all your overhead expenses, including:

·         Product Cost – product, packaging, shipping from supplier, tariffs

·         Additional Product Cost for FBM – warehousing and shipping to customers

·         Amazon Fees – commission and payment wiring

·         Amazon Fees for FBA – storage, customer returns

·         Miscellaneous Expenses – transportation, digital tools, employees

Your selling price should be more than the sum of all of the above.

Your Maximum Price

Search for the main competitors in your category using the top 3 keywords on your list. Focus on page one of the search results and check the price on each listing. To stay competitive, your ceiling price should be no more than 20% of the most expensive item.

3. Analyze Competitors’ Listings

Next, search for the bestsellers in your category. Go to each product page and study the elements of every listing. From there, you will learn the secrets to their success.Look closely at their images. Read their copy carefully, including the Product Description. Note their price points. Check their Q&A and Reviews sections.

4. Use Amazon PPC to Rank Higher in Organic Searches

Amazon Pay-Per-Click advertising is arguably the best way to ensure success on a platform that has thousands of sellers and where competition is stiff. Over 70% of Amazon sales are for products found on page one.

With PPC ads, you can buy your way to first-page visibility via 3 options: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display Ads.

The beauty of this marketing tool is that you can use it whether your products are FBA or FBM. Also, you pay Amazon only when shoppers click on your ads (hence the name). Meanwhile, your listing enjoys free exposure.

Most importantly, sales from Amazon PPC ads positively impact a listing’s organic ranking. This boost is especially important when your products are new and lack the sales history that A9 requires for ranking.

5. Get Positive Reviews

While reviews do not directly affect your listing’s Amazon ranking, they impact optimization for potential buyers. And quantity and quality both matter. Thus, a product with 200 5-star reviews is more appealing than one with 2,000 reviews at a 3-star average.

Building review numbers is a long and painstaking process, but the increase in conversion rates it brings is worth all the effort.

A word of caution: When doing your review-building campaign, always adhere to Amazon’s TOS (Terms of Services). Never game the system or you risk getting your seller license revoked.

Do Not:

• give away free products in exchange for reviews
• promise discounts or freebies to customers who will leave feedback
• discourage buyers from leaving negative reviews
• convince them to post positive ones

• convince them to post positive ones

Do:

• Build a relationship with your customers through email using an autoresponder like Feedback Genius. Let them know you are available if they need assistance, and then request a review on the third or fourth email.
• Comment on your product reviews. Thank those who left good feedback, and address the concerns of those who wrote negative ones.
• Review your Seller Feedback page and email the buyers who left them, requesting to write a product review as well.
• Respond to customers who email you with an issue. When it’s resolved, request a review.

Conclusion

Having a deep understanding of the Amazon A9 algorithm allows you to optimize your listings so that they will be visible in search results.

However, you shouldn’t stop there. Your goal must be to appear on page one of searches. You can do this by pricing your products competitively, creating product pages better than the bestsellers in your category, building quality reviews, and running an Amazon PPC campaign.