Adam Sturrock

If you haven't checked out the organic search Market Leaderboards from Pi Datametrics you're in for a treat! The Q3 2024 Market Leaderboards are now live. I love browsing through the different verticals to see who's winning, and who might be... facing some SEO challenges haha.   There's lots of boards to check out across verticals, most covering both UK and US - Beauty, Electrical, Fashion, Homeware, Insurance, Luxury Fashion, Sportsbook, Travel, Banking and Property Check out the leaderboards at https://lnkd.in/e7ZqzAWs #seo #organicsearch #digitalmarketing

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***RippleEffect is not an agency*** Although we do offer services that agencies offer. The problem with #Amazon or #Marketplace agencies is they're incentivised to not rock the boat AND they stay focussed on one channel. In the world of online retail you have to take a cross-channel approach and classic agencies don't cut it any more. Your customers are (hopefully!) seeing your Instagram posts, your website, your Amazon listings and those cool new #TikTok posts you've just started doing. These multiple touch points need to be optimised towards purchase. As a brand you need to know more about how your customers are interacting across your D2C and marketplaces so that you can deploy advertising spend intelligently. The amount of wastage on advertising online is enormous and is often encouraged by a multi-polar agency set up. So how can we help your business streamline your online activity and drive the profitable growth? At RippleEffect we offer four different services: 🌊 Training - Bespoke to your needs, we can impart our knowledge to your teams to help unify your marketplace and online strategy. 🌊 Consultancy - Diving deep into your business to tackle problems or concerns you may be facing with your online strategy. 🌊 Managed Services - Need help running a marketplace, we apply our growth logic to the management of your channels. 🌊 Marketplace Setup - Launching internationally or on a new channel? We can work with you to avoid mistakes and make sure you can deliver the launch within your proposed timelines. Running multiple channels for your brand and not seeing the results you want? Suspect you could be running these more efficiently? Then reach out for an introductory call. We can explore your concerns and run through some ideas for turning things around. Comment below or send a direct message to start your journey towards enhanced brand visibility and more profitable sales! 👇

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Alarming PPC stats in this post below 😿 . 54% of clicks on PPC campaigns were fraudulent. All that cash being burnt for nothing. Critical information for ecommerce retailers who are spending on PPC - it's just filling the pockets of ad platforms like Google. 👇 #ecommerce

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Arguably the most important page on a b2b website (3 ways to share pricing): 1. Within key pages On Breaking B2B for each key service we have a 'starting from' section just below the fold. 2. Dedicated pricing page Great way to: - Share pricing - Back up with social proof - Save your sales team time - Address common sales questions 3. Hide pricing for max "leads" Cognism do it but so do a tonne of b2b tech and service orgs. After hiding pricing on my own sites in years gone by...I'd rather not have my sales team wasting time with folks that will never have cash to invest in our offer. Plus many visitors will leave your site for transparent competitors. Are you team share or hide pricing? PS. join 1000s of legends enjoying my free ultimate b2b website playbook: https://lnkd.in/et7yce7s

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Customers mistyping emails? Boost email accuracy and opt-ins by renaming your checkout's label to “Email (required for order confirmation)” in Shopify In Shopify, go to Themes > Edit Default Content > Checkout Contact > Email Label. Hat tip to Matthew Stafford from Build Grow Scale for the tip.

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We have a guest post by Dii Pooler today over on the PPC Chat web site: "A Simple Guide to PPC Attribution Models" https://lnkd.in/erns_nTk

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graze: a DTC darling failing on Amazon? Let's look at their listing... 🟢 Reviews - Strong 🟢 Main image - Enticing 🟢 Sales - No.5 in cereal bars But look deeper and it falls apart: 🔴 Competitor ads 🔴 Basic secondary images 🔴 Product video from Fiverr?? 🔴 Erratic pricing - £19.22 or £26.99 🔴 Minimal search terms 🔴 55 product options 🔴 Slow delivery And the biggest miss? 𝗡𝗼 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 & 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲! For a brand built on subscriptions, this is mind-boggling. The fix is simple: Fix merchandising. Stabilise pricing. Kill ads. Add SnS. Amazon isn't just another sales channel. It's where 70% of UK shoppers start their search. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲! What would you change first?  Let me know in the comments👇 #amazon #brandstrategy #d2c #dtc #ecommerce #marketplaces #onlineretail #retail #retailstrategy #amazonvendor #amazonseller

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I'm often asked if a .com domain is preferable to a .uk domain. Well, here's something to consider. Google's Gary Illyes recently confirmed that country code domain names (like .uk) actually get a ranking boost in local search results. Here's what you need to know: 👉🏼 Local Preference: Google promotes content local to the user. So, a .uk domain may have an edge for UK-based searches. 👉🏼 Slight Advantage: While .com domains can still perform well, country-specific domains have a "little more benefit" according to Illyes. 👉🏼 Language Matters More: The language of your site matching the user's query language likely has more impact than the domain itself. 👉🏼 User Trust: Country-specific domains can inspire more trust from local users, potentially increasing click-through rates. 👉🏼 Global vs Local: Consider your target audience. If you're focusing on a specific country, a local domain could be beneficial. For a global audience, .com might still be your best bet. Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Your domain choice should align with your overall SEO strategy and business goals. At KickstartSEO, we help clients navigate these decisions to maximise their search visibility. What's been your experience with different domain extensions? I'm Michael Nagles. I talk about SEO, golf, and British weather. If you'd like to know more about KickstartSEO Limited's DIY and Done for you SEO support - including domain strategy - let's have a chat. #SEO | #DomainStrategy | #LocalSEO

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🚨 BREAKING: Is Poshmark's Fee Reversal a Warning for Ecommerce Brands? If you didn't see it (it just happened 15 mins ago, so no worries), Poshmark just did a 180 on their new fee structure. Notably, removing the Buyer Protection Fees and their attempt at an Amazon Prime-like membership. 👎 What went down: * Poshmark introduce a "Buyer Protection Fee" on their marketplace orders to help Sellers make more money, by passing costs onto the buyer. * Surprise! Buyers weren't thrilled about coughing up extra cash at checkout. * Now they're scrambling back to their old model. ✅ Key Takeaways: 1. Focusing on the customer is crucial: Poshmark's attempt to shift fees from sellers to buyers backfired, resulting in reduced overall spending. I can't help but think this was driven internally to increase profits for Poshmark and wasn't actually Seller-first. But this highlights the delicate balance required in marketplace models (like DTC!) - serving your customer and making money as a business. 2. Transparency matters: Hidden fees, like Poshmark's "Buyer Protection Fee" only makes me think of Ticketmaster's infamous "service fees." It can only erode customer trust and satisfaction. 3. The allure of "zero fees": While the trend of "$0 SaaS" or "zero fee" models is appealing in tight-margin industries like e-commerce, it's essential to consider long-term sustainability and value perception. 4. Buyer behavior is key: Poshmark found that buyers reduced their spending on actual products when faced with additional fees, ultimately hurting sellers' earnings. Are these hurting (or helping) yours? 5. Adaptability is strength: FWIW, Poshmark's quick response to community feedback demonstrates the importance of listening to customers and being willing to pivot when strategies don't work as intended. Mistakes happen. But they are only regrettable if you don't change quickly. 🤔 The million-dollar question: I can't help by wonder if we are witnessing the beginning of the end for sneaky fees in e-commerce? Or is this just Poshmark fumbling the bag? (I mean, a lot went wrong here). 🔥 Hot take: Maybe, just maybe, being upfront about costs is the wild idea that could actually work. Revolutionary, I know. So, to my brand folks, is it time to panic? Rethink everything? Drop your thoughts below. Bonus points for spicy takes! 🌶️ #dtc #poshmark #ecommerce

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90% of UK shoppers are registered on Amazon, not your DTC website. If you decide not to include Amazon in your ecommerce strategy, don't expect shoppers to follow. There's a reason Amazon shoppers return again and again.... they know what they're going to get (and when). There is zero friction in making a purchase. Can the same be said for your DTC site? Fight me in the comments. #amazon #brandstrategy #d2c #dtc #ecommerce #marketplaces #onlineretail #retail #retailstrategy #amazonvendor #amazonseller

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In CRO, less is more. Typically you need to reduce stuff, not add more. This was also the case with our client Native Smokes 4 Less, specifically their cart page. So we tackled the overload of information by only displaying 2 items in the cart (by default) and the rest would be under opacity. This means it’d still be there yet there’s also a button “See all items” so users are less likely to scroll and more likely to finish their purchase. Results: ✅ +5.14% increase in Conversion Rate

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Here’s why you need to use Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) this Black Friday 💸 BNPL services like Klarna, Clearpay, and PayPal can boost your average order value by 30-50% and recover 44% of abandoned carts. Plus, you can increase your conversion rate by up to 30%! If you want to supercharge your Black Friday sales, offering BNPL is an absolute must. Don’t miss out on the extra revenue potential!

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Ok, I get it—most popular CMS platforms have pretty solid tracking and metrics built in. (I personally love the granular detail you can get from Wix, and Shopify’s no slouch either!) But I feel like a lot of businesses are sleeping on GA4. Yeah, the transition from the OG Google Analytics was rough, and learning a whole new system is a pain. But having a proper GA4 setup is super important for a few reasons: 🌟 A Single Source of Truth Your CMS metrics are great, but GA4 is platform-agnostic. It collects data from across all your digital channels (not just your website), giving you a holistic view of your customers. That means consistent and comparable data, whether you’re tracking web traffic, app interactions, or something else entirely. 🌟 Future-Proofing Your Data Let’s say you decide to switch CMS platforms down the line. If you’re only relying on your CMS for tracking, you’ll lose all your historical data and be starting from scratch. A solid GA4 setup means no data gaps, no matter how often you switch platforms or tools. 🌟 Hidden Gems in GA4 While GA4 doesn’t come with as many pre-built reports as the original Google Analytics, there are goldmines in there. Features like predictive metrics, cross-platform tracking, and advanced segmentation aren’t always available in a CMS’s reporting. These are key to unlocking deeper insights into user behavior. 🌟 Trust but Verify Got trust issues with your CMS data? GA4 can help. Being able to compare data from multiple sources (like your CMS and GA4) means you can cross-check metrics and make sure nothing’s slipping through the cracks. 🌟 Neutral Ground Unlike your CMS, which might push its own agenda (like driving you toward certain e-commerce tools), GA4 is neutral. It’s not here to sell you on Google Ads (surprisingly!). It just gives you clean, unbiased data. 🌟 Track Third-Party Software If you’re using third-party tools like ticketing systems or booking software, GA4 is your best friend. CMS platforms typically track only the data happening on your site, but GA4 can track interactions across other software and services too. This means you get a complete picture of your customers’ journey, even if it happens outside your website. 🌟 It’s Critical for Google Ads If you’re running Google Ads, GA4 is basically a non-negotiable. Without feeding GA4 data into your campaigns, you’re not going to get anywhere near the full potential of your ads. GA4 powers smart bidding, remarketing audiences, and other advanced features that can boost your ROI. Other reasons? If you’re doing any cross-platform tracking (mobile apps, for example), GA4 excels at unifying data across web and app interactions. And GA4’s event-based model gives you far more flexibility in tracking user interactions than the old session-based model. #GA4 #marketingdata #googleanalytics

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Want a better ROAS on Performance Max? 🔥 We found one counter-intuitive optimisation after $1M+ in adspend... Try removing search themes completely. We saw shopping spend go up 50% in accounts when we implemented this... Alongside significant improvements in ROI. Here’s why this works: Adding in search themes prompts pMax to spend more on the search network. This means that pMax will then begin to cannibalise your existing cold search campaigns. Google says this themselves: "On Search inventory specifically, search themes in Performance Max campaigns will have the same prioritisation as your phrase match and broad match keywords in Search campaigns." Here's why this is bad: We want the majority of our adspend to be on the shopping network… With brand name fully excluded from the campaign. Meaning we’re spending on the highest quality, cold traffic. For 9/10 brands, shopping ads will produce the highest ROI. We want to leave the search adspend for the search campaigns instead. This is because in regular search campaigns we have more control over: ➡️ Ad copy ➡️ Negative keywords ➡️ Cost per clicks So, how do you check if you’re overspending on search? Here's your action plan: 1. Run Mike Rhode’s Performance Max script. 2. If more than 30% of your spend is on search, remove search themes. 3. If shopping spend doesn’t increase after 1-2 weeks, create a new pMax campaign w/o search themes. 4. Add in more exact match keywords to your cold search campaign. Over time, this should produce better ROAS in pMax as more of your adspend goes to the shopping network. Agree? Disagree? Always up for discussion 👇.

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Diversify, DIVERSIFY, dIVERSIFY, d!v3r$fY When your Google Ads CPCs increase and all your eggs are in one Ads basket - where's your budget going to come from to pay for the same level of traffic? (If you have unlimited cash, then ignore me) Diversify your channels a bit. People are looking for your products on Google Search, Instagram, TikTok and many other channels. Why aren't you there? Why aren't you building a presence? Why aren't you trying to build on those platforms and curate content for them? It's all about understanding, which takes some reading and learning I know, how best they can or can't work for your business. If you want to chat about SEO when your Ads costs skyrocket, shoot me a message 📩 😅 I still love you Paid Ads agency friends 😅

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The numbers don't lie, Shopify is on track to become the best commerce platform of the world. 🥇 I always try to be as careful and unbiased as possible, but I'm really impressed by the extent of this comprehensive guide: https://lnkd.in/eRAiNHgG. If you scroll down, you'll find comparisons with all Shopify's competitors, backed by data. Always happy to help if anyone is considering replatforming! #shopify #comparison #commerce

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Doing dumb things should be expected to lead to dumb outcomes.

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