Consider this: you open a video game merch store online. The products are cool; the website is user-friendly, the graphics are eye-catching. The direct traffic, on the other hand? Or social media engagement? The number of unsubscribes on your YouTube channel regularly grows while the conversion rate is still poor. Sounds familiar? Well, this is why search engine optimization becomes crucial.
Search engine marketing is the strategy that allows video game merch stores to expand. It is the key to drive more traffic to your website, increase that lead conversion rate, and give your website the push it needs to become a successful online store. Have a brick-and-mortar store? SEM and SEO are still super important.
The thing with search engine optimization is that it can transform your business. It allows your business to go global without costing too much.
If you were ever worried about questions like how to generate content for your website or how to create SEO content, then read on. Here’s a step-by-step guide for how search engines work for video game merch stores and how you can use them for your store.
How to Generate Content for your Website?
Before coming to the question of how to generate content for your website, let’s tackle the other question: why to generate content for your website? The simple answer is to drive organic traffic to the website.
Remember, traditional marketing where you used banners? Well, now is the time of Facebook banners. A video game merch store relies on thriving gamers. To get these gamers to your website, you will need content. Why should someone visit your website? That is what good content does. It adds value to your brand. It creates a customer base with which you can engage daily.
More than 164 million people in the US alone play video games. This whopping number could be your average daily attendance.
But how do you make them lift their eyes from their game screens to check your website? By talking about games! Fandoms are usually easier to access, which is why merch works so well. To generate traffic on your website, all you need is a clever game plan.
This is what search engine optimization allows you to do. It is a cleverly devised, unique marketing strategy to allow your website to be discovered easily on search engines.
Search Engine Optimization – What is SEO?
Nearly 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine. It is no wonder then that search engine optimization is a top priority. If you’re wondering how to increase social traffic to your website, SEO is the key. If you Google anything, it automatically shows you 115,000,000 answers. Unreal? No. The world is going through a content explosion. To cope, SEO and SEM strategies are a must.
But what is SEO?
Well, SEO or search engine optimization allows your site to become more search engine friendly. This helps your site to be ranked highly on any search engine. If you’re looking for organic traffic, SEO-optimized content is the answer. Specific SEO strategies like meta description, alt tag optimization, keyword analysis, and links to external content make your website SEO optimized.
Why is SEO important? Search engine optimization helps you with ranking. But what does the ranking do for you? Organic Traffic.
Imagine this: you’re looking for an art supplier in your area. How often do you check the organic search results if they’re not on the first page? There’s your answer. Consumers are not very dedicated. Only in very rare cases do they proceed to results beyond the first in a search engine result.
Your online merch store for video games won’t fare well with a poor ranking. This is when you use the search engine itself to generate traffic and increase the sale conversion rate.
How will SEO-optimized content help you? Well, search engine optimization is the only way to increase organic traffic. It will gain you visibility as an online presence which will help you with organic traffic sources. All you need to do is generate content for your website.
Search Engine Marketing – What Does SEM Mean?
SEO and SEM; what are the differences between the two? Well, search engine optimization is concerned with organic traffic. SEM or search engine marketing, on the other hand, refers to paid marketing services. Search engine marketing means that you pay a search engine to help you reach your target audience. This can allow you to receive direct traffic or organic traffic on your website.
Understanding Social Media Engagement
Social Media Marketing or SMM is the driver of any business these days. Social media engagement allows you to connect with your potential customer base. It gives you a global customer base. Social media engagement also enables organic search results.
How? Well, imagine your video stories go viral on Instagram. It will increase Instagram engagement rate and Instagram impressions. Being regular on social media is the most important rule. Use a social media calendar (yes, they exist!) to preplan your posts. Remember that visual storytelling is a social media generator and will increase social traffic.
Here are some social media platforms that help in social media marketing:
Instagram Marketing
Social media engagement cannot be imagined without Instagram. The algorithm may be faulty, but consistency is key. Generate content on Instagram by using all their features like reels or even guides. Socialize with other businesses. This will give you a good Instagram engagement rate.
Since short-form video stories are on the rise, use their reel feature. Do a live stream or attend a live stream of hardcore, famous gamers. Prevent Instagram abandonment, which is when your followers leave you by consistently creating content.
Facebook Marketing
Facebook has some of the most active users. Join relevant groups to generate Facebook engagement. Allow others to collaborate with you, promote your website organically. Facebook also has paid advertisements which are used by several businesses to target the right audience.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a popular social media campaign. An email marketing strategy includes drip campaigns and newsletters. The key is to avoid spam complaints.
Social media marketing today has spread across channels. You could always experiment with the platform you want to choose. For instance, Twitch or Discord, even Reddit can be used as part of offbeat social media generator strategies.
What are the different kinds of traffic?
It may sound the same, but your website traffic differs, and this difference becomes important key performance indicators.
Organic Traffic vs Direct Traffic: These are two different kinds of traffic. Organic traffic refers to the site visitors who land thereafter a search result. Direct traffic is when visitors actively seek your website by typing the URL in the search option.
Referral Traffic: The traffic resulting from a reference on some other site or social media. There can be both paid and unpaid referral traffic.
Organic Search vs Paid Search: As the name suggests, paid search involves some form of marketing service like Google AdWords.
How to Create SEO content for your online business?
The first pointer on how to create SEO content is the niche of your products. Irrelevant content is usually ignored and can lead to site abandonment. Use the tools of search engine optimization for visibility. How do you SEO optimize content? Through simple research.
Keywords for SEO Optimization – Search engine optimization hinges on keywords. Repetitive keywords allow the search engine to understand your content better and provide an accurate result.
Meta Descriptions – A meta description that provides a summary of your content to your website traffic and search engines. The summary needs to be under 160 characters. You could use meta description generators for accurate summaries.
Link Building for SEO – Link building for SEO is crucial. A good-quality link makes it easier for Google. SEO experts stress link building for search engine optimization for higher rankings.
Tags for SEO – Some tags are essential for SEO ranking. This can include alt tag optimization, meta tag, title tag, and header tag, among others.
Link to External Content – Always add a backlink to your blogs and website content. When you add a link to external content, it allows your website to show up on a domain other than the targeted domain.
Search engine optimization and search engine marketing are a must for your business. It is more convenient and cost-effective than traditional marketing. Search engine marketing allows you to pay per click or pay per acquisition, which is cheaper than the obsolete version.
Add a CTA or call to action for customer engagement, conversion rate, and client retention rate, and you are good to go. This extends to email marketing – for which you need an email marketing strategy or social media marketing.
Try to be relevant and memorable with your SEO-optimized content. SEO is a dynamic tool. It is still evolving. To keep up, you need to be aware of all the recent trends and patterns. Be informed by referring to SEO experts and educate yourself constantly. When you do, your merch stores are bound to see increased sales and traffic.
