Practical Strategies to Increase Wine eCommerce Sales

Post on 31-Aug-2014

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The "Practical strategies to increase wine ecommerce sales" class includes tips and strategies that you can use to increase your website traffic and sell more wine direct to consumers. We'll cover a variety of topics, including basic website search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing strategy, email marketing, and Google Analytics. You'll learn how other wineries use these strategies to effectively drive online sales, increase brand visibility, and make smarter choices using data and experiments.

transcript

Michael Meisner

Manager, Digital Marketing Services

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1:00-1:15 Check-in & Introduction

1:15 – 2:15 Website Optimization

2:15 – 3:15 Content Marketing Strategy

3:15 Break

3:30 – 4:00 Google Analytics & Data

4:00 - 4:30 Email Marketing

4:30 – 5:00 Open Q & A

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The opportunity for DTC wine sales continues to grow each year.

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10% rise in both value and volume DTC shipments of

wine over past twelve months.

Rose, Sparkling Wine and Pinot Noir saw the greatest

increases in volume and value of shipments in 2012

CA dominates as a destination for shipments, receiving

32%. NY, TX, IL, and FL combine for another 30%.

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In Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat,” he provides ten key events in history, such as the collapse of the Berlin wall and the IPO of Netscape, that created a level playing field in terms of commerce.

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“We decided back in 2007 for our @1000 case Sonoma County Pinot Noir Winery to forgo distribution all together, and place our bet on direct sales, starting primarily through a prime location (Tasting Room , on the Healdsburg Plaza Square)

This allows us to build our sales base in a linear fashion (albeit from zero!) meet all of our customers in person, and of course retain 100% of the sale price.

It also allows us to spend more on our product (as necessary), that the 50% of retail (FOB) that we would get in the three tiered system, we don’t have to worry about getting paid from an out of state stranger, licensing issues are minimized,channel management is simplified and we have a way each time to reconnected with our customers, since we’ve virtually met them all!

It’s a slower pace for sure, but a steady one.”

http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2011/05/26/dtc-sales-help-wineries-rebound-study-suggests/

Drive traffic. Get leads. Make sales.

But first, make sure you have a decent website.

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Use keywords and phrases before brand name. Keep it

short and descriptive.

Not bad:

Much better:

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Use descriptive

image name, i.e.

“carneros-pinot-

noir.jpg”

Include ALT tag

“Domaine

Carneros Pinot

Noir”

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http://www.polariswines.com/index.cfm?method=page

s.showPage&pageid=a189049a-ab78-a3c0-2ff4-

d1f9c059f6d

VS. http://www.garyfarrellwinery.com/sonoma-winery-

tasting-room

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Use contextual

links to guide

users to relevant

pages on your

site.

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1. Quality images

2. Product title

3. Teaser

4. Call to action

5. Add to cart

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5.

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Focus on using keywords in titles, headings, images, and

page URLs.

Write descriptive meta descriptions for each page.

Focus on creating a clean product page that guides the

customer’s experience.

Test and revise small elements to increase conversions.

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41% lift in revenue per visitor for wine retailer

Google webmaster tools

Free on-page SEO audit

Why customer experience optimization is the new search engine optimization.

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I don’t really “do” SEO anymore.

Instead, I build brand awareness, positive perception, and

market share by shaping experiences to be found and used

by people.

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SEO

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Add reviews to your product

page with proper data

formatting.

Which provide users with extra

information in search results.

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Crowdsourced content = minimal

effort on your part, big engagement.

Take a photo at winery, or while

drinking wine. Pretty simple.

You can do better.

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Use local search marketing strategies to you connect with nearby visitors and drive more traffic to your tasting room.

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Google delivers

search results specific

to your location, as

shown in the “local

listings” to the left. If

you type “winery” it

will show you nearby

wineries in this area.

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Get listed in the Big 3 (Google, Yahoo, Bing)

Each business listing needs to use a uniform name,

address and phone number.

Encourage visitors to leave reviews on sites like

Tripadvisor, Fodors, Google+, and Yelp. There’s a strong

correlation between user reviews and local search

rankings.

Fully optimize your Google+ Local business page

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If you’re looking for a clever and easy way to help optimize your website for your local region, use these easy tactics.

Use the ALT tag

The image ALT tag gives search engines a description of the image.

<img src="http://example.com/images/logo.gif" alt=“Your Winery, Willamette Valley Oregon">

Image filename

Nobody searches for “logo” so instead, name your image something relevant like, “oregon-winery.jpg” and it will show up in image search results for those terms.

Every major wine region has at least a few websites dedicated to promoting the area, and sharing information about the local wineries. Tourists often use these sites to learn about the different wineries and plan their visit.

Consider building a presence on these sites:

http://www.oregonwine.org/

http://www.sorwa.org/

http://willamettewines.com

http://www.travelportland.com/directory/

http://www.localwineevents.com

http://www.wallawallawine.com/

http://www.oregonwinecountry.org/cities/

http://www.oregonwines.com/

http://sipwithme.blogspot.com/2012/01/latest-list-of-top-10-favorite-oregon.html

http://www.eugenechamber.com

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Be sure to update listings beyond your website to gain

more exposure.

http://www.oregonwines.com/calendar/

http://www.localwineevents.com

http://www.winesnw.com/CalendarOR.htm

http://oregonwinepress.com/event

http://www.oregon.winecountry.com/events.html

https://plus.google.com/events/create

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Google displays local search results using business Places listings as the primary

results.

It’s absolutely crucial to have a

Google+ Local/Places page

claimed and optimized for

your business.

1. Listing is claimed and 100%

complete.

2. Use Adwords Express to

show your listing to local

searchers.

3. Create an offer, such as a

“2-for-1 tasting” to attract

visitors.

For a great overview of

Google+ Local, check out

“Google+ Local Bible for

SMBs”.

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Suppose you notice that a certain winery always shows up when you search for “wine tasting”. Copy their address, and then search for it in Google. King Estate ranks well for a lot of regional searches and if you search for "80854 Territorial Hwy. Eugene, OR 97405" (with quotes) you will find all the websites that list their business. Canvas these sites to create your own business listings.

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It’s important to consider how your website content reflects your region. Do you have a unique page describing the vineyards where you source fruit? What about a useful map of the area? People often search for things like “Willamette Valley map” and it’s pretty easy to rank for phrases like that if you use them in your website.

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Include regional terms in page titles and descriptions. For example, your homepage might use “Extraordinary Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ”. The description should include one or two short sentences about your winery while also mentioning the region.

Create a unique page on your website for each vineyard.

Use descriptive image names, for example “willamette_valley_winery.jpg” is much better than “39848_DCP.jpg”. Also be sure to include a descriptive ALT tag when using images on your website.

Format your business address with local schema markup. Schema markup provides search engines with extra data about your website content. You can use this free tool to get the proper HTML code that you can paste on your site: http://www.microdatagenerator.com/local-business-schema/

Use internal site links that point to relevant regional pages or products. For example, if you have a map of the area, you should link to that page anytime you use a phrase like “map of Willamette Valley”. The same applies to product, where any mention of “Willamette Pinot Noir” should be linked to the relevant product page.

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Be sure to include relevant

keywords and phrases in

your page titles. As you see

here, when searching for

“Oregon wine tasting” the

Pyrenees Vineyard website

ranks high in organic search

results.

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Ubersuggest.org

Type a phrase in the search box, and

Ubersuggest will scrape every single

Google autocomplete suggestion for

the phrase. This is a great way to get

ideas for content, and understand what

people search for.

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Consider monitoring terms

like “wine tasting,” and “winery

recommendation.” Make a

habit of checking to see

whether you can lend some

advice to any relevant

conversations that pop up.

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Use Adwords express to buy local traffic to your places page.

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Notice how adwords express helps you gain visibility for non-branded terms like “winery”. These are highly targeted visits from likely wine tourists.

Any local business looking to increase foot traffic through their door needs to take advantage of the increasing amount of local-oriented searches.

Claim your Google+ Local page, and add as much content to it, bringing it to 100% completion. Do the same at sites like Yelp, Citysearch, and Yellowpages to name a few.

Build a presence on regional websites, which often provide a directory of businesses.

If you notice a competitor ranking for a lot of search terms, try searching for their business address to explore where they’re getting listings.

Use Hootsuite to search for real-time discussions taking place near your location. Monitor phrases like “wine tasting” and “winery recommendation” to find ways to engage with interested tourists.

Use advertising, like Adwords Express, to gain visibility for search terms that you would otherwise not rank for organically.

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Measure your efforts and track success.

Learn and improve.

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