Registration is Open for Next Digital Superchats e-Event

Registration Open for Next Digital Superchats e-Event

If you’d like to join us at the 13th online edition of Digital Superchats, you can now book your seat to e-attend the online event, which will focus on the area of Digital Strategy, Performance & Effectiveness.

When: Tuesday 21st May 2024
Time: 9.00am to 11.00am (UK Time)
Format: Online Session (Webinar-Based)

At Digital Superchats 13, our industry experts will deliver a series of short talks – Sharing the latest thinking, strategies and real-life examples for accelerating  online growth and optimising digital peformance & effectiveness.

Register to e-Attend

Previous Delegates Include:
Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Iceland, Ikea Group, Next, Wickes,  Argos, Matalan, Dunelm, Benson for Beds, Sofology, ScS, Sharps, Specsavers, Pets at Home, Pooch and Mutt, Barclays, Aon, Aviva, Nationwide Building Society, Lloyds Group, Vitality, HSBC, Nat West Group, Virgin Money, FOOTASYLUM, Hotter Shoes, JD Sports Fashion, Castore, Decathlon UK, Inov-8, Gymshark, Fanatics, Superdry, French Connection, Missguided, Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, NastyGal, N Brown,  Naylors – Go Outdoors, Autotrader, Halfords, Timpson Group, WeBuyAnyCar, Vertu Motors, Select Car Leasing, Confused, MoneySupermarket, The Very Group, Jet2, TUI, Flixbus, Sykes Cottages, The Travel Chapter, Club Med, On the Beach, Talk Talk, Virgin Media, Vodafone, O2, Merlin Entertainments, Interflora, Bloom & Wild, Dominos, Arla Foods, Holland & Barrett, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, The Gym Group, PureGym, Nuffield Hospitals, NHS, Bupa, Well Pharmacy, Priory Group, Currentbody, AO.com, ProCook, Beko, Betfred, Sky Betting & Gaming, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Rayware Group, Irwin Mitchell, Slater & Gordon, Jellycat, The Perfume Shop, The Fragrance Shop, Fox Group International and many many more…

 

Navigating the Digital Landscape: Key Trends for 2024

Navigating the Digital Landscape: Key Trends for 2024

As part of the build-up to next month’s Digital Strategy & Performance edition of Digital Superchats, we wanted to take a closer look at some of the biggest trends that will shape the digital marketing landscape in 2024.

The world of digital marketing is evolving at a fast pace and staying ahead of the curve has never been more crucial for success. Several trends are shaping the future of digital marketing, revolutionizing how brands connect with their audiences. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the key digital marketing trends that are set to dominate in 2024.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Integration:

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are no longer futuristic concepts but integral components of successful digital marketing strategies. In 2024, we can expect AI to become even more sophisticated, enabling marketers to personalize content, analyze consumer behaviour, and predict trends with unprecedented accuracy. Chatbots, powered by AI, will continue to enhance customer interactions, providing real-time assistance and improving overall user experience.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Experiences:

As technology advances, so do consumer expectations. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are set to play a more significant role in digital marketing campaigns in 2024. Brands will leverage AR to allow customers to virtually experience products before making a purchase decision. VR, on the other hand, will create immersive brand experiences, transporting users to virtual worlds that engage and captivate, leaving a lasting impact on brand perception.

Voice Search Optimization:

With the rise of smart speakers and voice-activated assistants, optimizing for voice search is no longer an option but a necessity. In 2024, digital marketers will need to adapt their SEO strategies to accommodate the conversational nature of voice searches. Long-tail keywords and natural language processing will become crucial elements for businesses aiming to secure a spot in the competitive landscape of voice-activated search results.

Blockchain Technology for Enhanced Security:

As data privacy concerns continue to grow, blockchain technology is emerging as a solution to reinforce security in digital marketing. Blockchain ensures transparency and immutability, making it an ideal tool for preventing ad fraud, ensuring the authenticity of user data, and fostering trust between businesses and consumers. In 2024, we can expect more marketers to explore the potential of blockchain in building secure and transparent digital ecosystems.

Personalized Content at Scale:

Personalization has been a buzzword in digital marketing for some time now, but in 2024, it’s not just about addressing customers by their first names. Advanced personalization algorithms will enable marketers to create highly tailored content that resonates with individual preferences and behaviours. From personalized product recommendations to dynamically generated content, businesses will leverage technology to deliver a personalized and seamless customer experience across various channels.

Sustainability and Social Responsibility:

In an era where consumers are increasingly conscious of the environmental and social impact of their choices, sustainability and social responsibility will take centre stage in digital marketing. Brands that align themselves with meaningful causes and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability will resonate better with consumers. In 2024, we can expect more businesses to integrate environmental and social initiatives into their digital marketing strategies, fostering a positive brand image and connecting with socially conscious consumers.

Conclusion

As we embark on a new year, the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve, presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Embracing these trends and staying agile in the face of technological advancements will be crucial for those aiming not just to survive but to thrive in the competitive digital space. Whether it’s leveraging the power of AI, embracing immersive technologies, or championing sustainability, the key to successful digital marketing in 2024 lies in adaptability and a forward-thinking approach.

*This post was part of a ChatGPT experiment

If you’d like to learn more about the key challenges and opportunities for accelerating online performance in 2024, register to e-attend our upcoming Digital Superchats e-Event.

Register To e-Attend Digital Superchats #12

 

Future-Proofing your SEO Strategy & Performance

Future-Proofing your SEO Strategy: Unlocking the Opportunities of Generative AI

At our 11th online edition of Digital Superchats (SEO Strategy & Performance), our panel of speakers examined a number of topical industry issues from unlocking the opportunities of generative AI to implementing a successful E-E-A-T strategy.

The online session on Tuesday 24th October was e-attended by 100+ senior digital marketers from many of the UK’s biggest and most reputable brands in retail, fashion, ecommerce, finance, travel, legal, healthcare, leisure & lifestyle, automotive and consumer products.

Delegates included: Barclays, Sainsbury’s, Superdry, French Connection, Sharps, Farfetch, Wickes, Dominos, Vodafone, The Gym Group, Castore, inov-8, Pooch & Mutt, Pets at Home, Vertu Motors, On The Beach and many many more…

The Talks:

  • Future-Proofing your SEO Strategy: Unlocking the Opportunities of Generative AI                  
  • Brand vs Non-Brand Traffic: Why You Don’t Want To Miss Out On Either 
  • How to Reduce your Reliance on Paid Search with SEO 
  • The Missing E: How to Demonstrate First-Hand Experience in Your E-E-A-T Strategy 

A massive thanks to all our speakers: James Bentham (Head of SEO at Search Laboratory), Ben Garry (SEO Lead at Impression), Paul Norris (Organic Director at Journey Further) and Olivia Day (SEO Lead at Digitaloft).

A special thanks to  our official recruitment sponsor – Forward Role Recruitment and to  Jamie Pollard (Impression) for doing a fantastic job in his role as MC!

Watch the “Official Video Recording” from Digital Superchats #11 below (Complimentary)

Humans v Machines: Harnessing The Power of AI

Humans v Machines: Harnessing The Power of AI

At our 10th edition of Digital Superchats which took place on Tuesday 4th July 2023, our panel of industry leaders examined the rise and impact of AI in digital. 

The online session was e-attended by a quality delegation of senior digital marketers from many of the UK’s biggest, most reputable and fastest-growing brands in retail, finance, travel, legal services, healthcare, online gambling, consumer products and other popular verticals.

Some of our delegates included: Barclays, Virgin Money, Lloyds Banking Group, Decathlon UK, Gymshark, Wickes, Dunelm, Boots, Damart, Asda, Matalan, B&Q, Dominos, Virgin Media, Bensons for Beds, Staysure Group, Pooch & Mutt, Pets at Home, Dr Martens, Hippo Motor Group, Vertu Motors, On The Beach, Sykes Cottages, ProCook and many many more…

Talks Included:

      1. Unlocking Efficiency with AI and Automation (Katie Barnard, SEO Strategist at Impression)
      2. Ensuring Your AI SEO Strategy Doesn’t Fall Foul of Google (Dan Taylor, Head of Technical SEO at SALT.agency)
      3. The Future of AI in Global Content Creation and SEO: Opportunities and Risks (Martin Calvert, Marketing Director at ICS-digital)
      4. AI in PPC: Humans vs Machines (Will Levitt, Group Head of Paid Media at connective3)

A massive thanks to all our speakers, including our official sponsor – Forward Role Recruitment for making the event possible and also a special mention to Smoking Gun’s Rick Guttridge  for doing a brilliant job in his role as MC!

To catch-up on any of our previous episodes of Digital Superchats, simply visit our On-Demand Events library and you can select the event you’d like to watch!

Digital Superchats Group

Another Superb Turnout at Digital Superchats

Another Superb Turnout at Digital Superchats

The 9th installment of Digital Superchats continued to set the pace with another fantastic turnout of delegates who e-attended the online session on SEO Strategy. 

The session was e-attended by a strong roster of senior digital marketers from many of the UK’s most reputable brands in retail, finance, travel, legal services, healthcare, online gambling, consumer products and other popular verticals.

Speakers & Talks Included:

  • Formulating and Creating a Scalable Content Strategy (Luke O’Leary, VP Media Strategy & Operations at NP Digital UK)
  • Harnessing Power from Google’s Free Tools (Charlie Norledge, Head of SEO Performance at Impression)
  • SEO Prioritisation: Knowing Where to Focus Efforts for Maximum Impact (James Brockbank, Founder & MD at Digitaloft)
  • Why Content Should be the Cornerstone of your Cross-Channel Strategy (Hannah Brady, Senior Content Strategist at connective3)

A massive thanks to all our speakers, including our official sponsor – Forward Role Recruitment for making the event possible and also a special shoutout to the wonderful Mikey Emery (Impression) for doing a Top Job in his role as MC!

Digital Superchats Group

Record Attendance at Digital Superchats #8

Record Attendance at Digital Superchats #8

Our 8th edition of Digital Superchats proved a massive success with a new series record being set for delegate registrations and also attendance!

The online event focused on all things digital strategy and performance and brought together many of the industry’s brightest minds in digital and included senior delegates from the UK’s most reputable brands in retail, finance, travel, legal services, healthcare, consumer products and other popular verticals.

Some of our senior delegates included: Lego Group, Decathlon UK, Wickes, N Brown, Sofology, Ice Travel Group, Irwin Mitchell, Tails, Le Col, Twycross Zoo, Key Group, On The Beach, ProCook and many more…

A massive thanks to all our speakers, including our event sponsor – Forward Role Recruitment.

Talk 1. Dan Peden, Strategy & Product Director at Journey Further
Talk 2. Isabella Smith, Digital Strategy Consultant at Impression
Talk 3. Claire Stanley-Manock, Paid Media Director at connective3
Talk 4. Daisy Wolfenden, MD at Wolfenden
Official Master of Ceremonies – Mikey Emery, Director at Impression

You can now watch the full official recording via our On-Demand Events

 

Accelerating Digital Marketing Performance in 2023

Accelerating Digital Marketing Performance in 2023

We’re only a week away from of our Digital Strategy & Performance edition of Digital Superchats; The online event will be our 8th in the popular Digital Superchats series and a great way to see out 2022. 

When: Tuesday 8th November 2022
Time: 9.00am to 11.00am (UK Time)
Format: Online Session

The session will provide delegates with an engaging experience and deliver actionable takeaways on the “Keys To Success” for shaping digital strategy and driving online performance in 2023 & beyond.

Key Areas of Focus: 

  • Accelerating Digital Marketing Performance in 2023
  • Insights Tools to Supercharge your Strategy
  • Connected Channel Tactics to Enhance Performance
  • How to Leverage Machine Learning to Acquire (The Right) Customers
  • More with Less: Auditing & Re-focusing your Existing Content Strategy to Drive Stronger Results

Register To Attend

The Digital Superchats Series is attended by senior marketers from many of the UK’s biggest, most reputable and fastest growing consumer brands – All in a relaxed knowledge share environment (No Sales Pitches).

Previous Delegates Include:
M&S, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Iceland, Ikea Group, Wickes, Safestyle, Argos, Matalan, Sofology, ScS, Specsavers, Pets at Home, Nationwide, Lloyds Banking Group, Vitality, Aviva, HSBC, Barclays, Nat West Group, Virgin Money, FOOTASYLUM, Hotter Shoes, JD Sports Fashion, Decathlon UK, Gymshark, Fanatics, Missguided, Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing,  N Brown Group, NastyGal, Naylors – Go Outdoors, Autotrader, Halfords, WeBuyAnyCar, Vertu Motors, Select Car Leasing, Confused, MoneySupermarket, The Very Group, Jet2, Sykes Cottages, The Travel Chapter, Club Med, On the Beach, Talk Talk, Virgin Media, Vodafone, O2, Merlin Entertainments, Interflora, Bloom & Wild, Arla Foods, Holland & Barrett, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, NHS, Bupa, Well Pharmacy, Priory Group, Currentbody, AO.com, Beko, Betfred, Sky Betting & Gaming, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Rayware Group, Irwin Mitchell, Slater & Gordon, Jellycat, The Perfume Shop, The Fragrance Shop, Fox Group International and many many more…

The Official Partners for Digital Superchats #8

Registe

Digital Superchats #7: The Round-Up

Digital Superchats #7: The Round-Up

At the 7th edition of Digital Superchats, which took place on Tuesday 19th July 2022, our selection of industry experts delivered a series of short 25-minute talks on the “Game-Changing” creative strategies that are shaping SEO right now.

A massive thanks to all our speakers: Thierry Ngutegure (Head of Insight at Journey Further), Rosa Mitchell (Head of Digital PR at connective3), Daniel Liddle (SEO Lead at Impression), Katie Swann (Campaign Manager at Digitaloft) and our brilliant MC – Oli Hopkinson (Joint MD at Bind). A special thanks also goes to Forward Role Recruitment for sponsoring the event.

The Key Topics:

  • How to ensure creativity is at the core of your SEO strategy
  • Understanding why more creative, unique content drives better results
  • How to build a website’s authority & brand awareness for search and beyond
  • How to use divergent thinking to enhance your organic strategies
  • The tools you can use to get started with tracking the brand impact of your SEO activity
  • Unlock the next phase of SEO growth by thinking about brand
  • The process for ideating & identifying opportunities to add value to your search strategy

On such a hot day in the UK – We had a massive online attendance with delegates from many of the UK’s biggest brands including: JD Sports Fashion, Wickes, PrettyLittleThing, Holland and Barrett, FOOTASYLUM,  Bupa, musicMagpie, Interflora, Select Car Leasing, Pendragon PLC, N Brown Group,  Lloyds Banking Group, The Travel Chapter, Sykes Cottages, Confused, Compare The Market and many more…

Produced in association with

Official Partners for Digital Superchats 7 (Creative SEO)

Register To Attend Digital Superchats #7 – Creative SEO

Delegate Registration is Open for Digital Superchats #7

If you’d like to join us at the “Creative SEO” edition of Digital Superchats in July, you can now book your seat to e-attend the online event; Limited spaces available.

When: Tuesday 19th July 2022
Time: 9.00am to 11.00am (UK Time)
Format: Online Session

Our selection of industry experts will deliver a series of short impactful talks – sharing their latest thinking on the “Game-Changing” creative strategies that are shaping SEO right now.

Key Topics Include:

  • How to ensure creativity is at the core of your SEO strategy
  • Understanding why more creative, unique content drives better results
  • How to build a website’s authority & brand awareness for search and beyond
  • How to use divergent thinking to enhance your organic strategies
  • The tools you can use to get started with tracking the brand impact of your SEO activity
  • Unlock the next phase of SEO growth by thinking about brand 
  • The process for ideating & identifying opportunities to add value to your search strategy

Register To Attend

Previous Delegates Include:
M&S, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Iceland, Ikea Group, Wickes, Safestyle, Argos, Matalan, Sofology, ScS, Specsavers, Pets at Home, Nationwide, Lloyds Banking Group, Vitality, Aviva, HSBC, Barclays, Nat West Group, Virgin Money, FOOTASYLUM, Hotter Shoes, JD Sports Fashion, Decathlon UK, Gymshark, Fanatics, Missguided, Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing,  N Brown Group, NastyGal, Naylors – Go Outdoors, Autotrader, Halfords, WeBuyAnyCar, Vertu Motors, Select Car Leasing, Confused, MoneySupermarket, The Very Group, Jet2, Sykes Cottages, The Travel Chapter, Club Med, On the Beach, Talk Talk, Virgin Media, Vodafone, O2, Merlin Entertainments, Interflora, Bloom & Wild, Arla Foods, Holland & Barrett, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, NHS, Bupa, Well Pharmacy, Priory Group, Currentbody, AO.com, Beko, Betfred, Sky Betting & Gaming, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Rayware Group, Irwin Mitchell, Slater & Gordon, Jellycat, The Perfume Shop, The Fragrance Shop, Fox Group International and many many more…

Digital Superchats Group

5 Ecommerce SEO Tips to Improve Search Visibility

5 Actionable Ecommerce SEO Tips to Improve Search Visibility

As part of the build-up to the next SEO edition of Digital Superchats, Tom Armenante, eCommerce Director at GTSE, shares a series of tips on how to improve your search visibility.

There is a huge amount of content out there around SEO advice and best practice. A lot of it will be helpful in creating a well-rounded SEO strategy for your website, to help Google realise the authority and trust provided by your domain.

Unfortunately, not every tool within an SEO’s arsenal will produce the same level of benefit. Within this article I’m going to try and breakdown some of the key areas that will really help your ecommerce website form the best foundation to start ranking for the terms that will drive traffic to convert on your website. This is not intended as an exhaustive list, but it provides some solid starting points for the main areas within an ecommerce SEO strategy.

1. Site structure

The structure of your website from an SEO perspective is hugely important, and if this is done correctly it can really help Google understand which pages should be ranking for which terms. The use of sub directories in the structure of the site, will help Google crawl, correctly index and assign the appropriate amount of authority to each section of the website.

Additionally, if you apply breadcrumbs on the site outlining the hierarchy, Google will pull this into the search results, as seen in the result below:

5 Actionable ecommerce SEO Tips to improve your Search Visibility

In terms of best practise for subdirectories, as with all URLs it is important to get the main keywords in there, however it is also important not to make the URL too long. So, if there are several directories, it is worth taking the length of the initial category URLs into account.

An example of this is below:

https://gtse.co.uk/tape/duct-tape

As with most actions within SEO, doing this well will also benefit the user, as they will have clear and easy to remember URLs.

If you are re-structuring your site to provide more structure, or better optimised URL, it is incredibly important to remember to 301 redirect the old URLs to the new one. This will ensure any link authority from the old URL is passed through and that any existing links to the old URLs are not broken.

2. Title Tags

Title tags are one of the few meta tags that still have an impact on search rankings, though this impact is reduced now that Google has so many additional ranking factors into account. Despite the reduced impact they are still a great way to highlight the keywords you are trying to target a page with. Researching and updating the title tags, so they are as well optimised as possible, is a simple job which would not usually require development resource, with most ecommerce platforms have functionality on the backend to enter title tags at a category and product level.

The first stage when optimising title tags is to do keyword research around the category / product, making sure you have taken every possible way of describing the product and any widely used descriptive words into account. When planning out which pages will be targeting which terms it’s important not to target more than one page with the same terms, as this could cause confusion within Google over which page should be ranking.

In terms of the actual layout of the title tag, best practise is usually to use 65-70 characters and to have the brand on the end of the title tag with a dash. Then have any terms that don’t make an easy-to-read phrase separated by a dash or a pipe. It’s incredibly important to make title tags read well as they are the first thing people will see when they see a Google search result and will therefore directly affect the click through rate.

Meta descriptions are no longer a direct ranking factor, so Google won’t take any of the keywords into account, however they are an indirect ranking factor. If your meta description doesn’t read very well then people will be less likely to click through into your website, which does affect Google ranking.

3. Internal linking

Internal linking is another action that can be completed with relative ease and can provide a positive impact in helping Google understand which page you’d like to rank and pass link authority effectively through your website.

The best places to do this on an ecommerce store are the category and product pages. As there are so many of them, it’s a great way to get more visibility to pages that might not be in the main navigation or just need extra help.

Product pages are a great place to link to content and buyers guide articles, these will usually provide useful information on the product. With the additional authority these content pages are then more likely to rank higher for informational terms within Google.

4. Guide articles

Another great way to help Google understand the authority of your ecommerce store is to provide helpful content on your product range, on everything from technical information to best use cases. This content will have benefits in two-fold, the content itself will start to rank quite quickly, providing long tail Google organic traffic from the more niche queries that the content will contain. The second benefit will be the longer-term view that Google takes of your domain, seeing your site as more of an authority on the certain subject matter, this will start to improve your rankings for more generic product related queries.

A great way to help Google understand which area of the website particular content is meant to help, is by placing that content on the same subdirectory as the category it benefits. For example, on our cable ties category at GTSE we have the guides in the same subdirectory, as seen below:

https://gtse.co.uk/cable-ties/cable-ties-buyers-guides/what-are-the-strongest-cable-ties-size-chart

If you think from Google’s perspective, if your website is a list of products, how can they understand whether your website is an expert in a given area without a demonstration of your knowledge. Doing this with helpful guides that visitors to your site really engage with is the best way of doing this!

5. Inbound links

The final piece of the puzzle in any SEO strategy is getting high quality relevant links back to the site.

Google still use inbound links as a major ranking signal, so any site wanting to increase their organic ranking should factor link acquisition in.

One of the most common ways to do this is using Digital PR, where relevant newsworthy stories are created and pushed out to journalists, where they usually (helpfully) provide a link back. If done well this can return an incredible level of high-quality coverage.

Articles created for these campaigns are often data-led using either data within the company, quotes from subject matter experts or by doing a survey. This gives the Digital PR teams statistics they can use to sell in a story to a journalist.

Other tactics to acquire relevant links that are easier to do inhouse include:

  • Contributing expert opinion articles
  • Links from suppliers & partners
  • Trustworthy higher quality relevant directories
  • Links from customers

Summary

As with most things in SEO all these actions are unlikely to provide an instant benefit. They are the cornerstone of activities that are needed to be repeated over time and accounted into every area of your site. This will then give you an incredible foundation to start targeting the correct terms and build up your organic visibility, hopefully resulting in traffic and conversations!

Register To Attend Digital Superchats #6 (SEO)

About the Author:

Tom Armenante, eCommerce Director at GTSE

Tom Armenante is the eCommerce Director and Co-Founder of GTSE. You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn here. GTSE is an online trade supplies store, that focuses on both B2B and B2C markets. During the life of the business we have grown it from a niche product category leader to an overall trade supplier covering a range of product ranges and demands.