Four Quick Tips for Getting Those Google Hits

You’ve read every article, attended every conference, watched every video on how to get found on the web, yet you’re still not getting those Google hits. What’s an Etsy shop owner to do?

According to Susan Newman of Susan Newman Design, Inc. in Jersey City, NJ, there are a few basic things you could change this very day that could alter your results dramatically. And all it takes is just a little time at the computer.

Newman’s tips come from her years of experience in web design, branding and social media, and the use of these ideas herself in her own business. They’re just a part of what’s being showcased in her current Broadcast Louder seminar, a series of seven classes designed to help creative people brand themselves better. Here’s what Newman suggests:

Name your jpegs with keywords. (NOTE: Etsy renames your jpeg titles once they're uploaded. However, it's still a good practice to name your photos with keywords for when they appear in blogs or web sites.) Very often, we name our images with just numbers or our own internal coding system so that we can best find them quickly in our files. But Newman says this is a big no-no.  What you name your jpeg in your computer is what Google is going to search once it’s online.

Susan Newman
If you’re a jeweler, for example, and you’re selling a gold necklace with some colorful beads, you may want to name that photo “gold_necklace_purple_beads.jpg” so that the item will now come up in Google’s images search.

“The name you give that image is going to follow it wherever it goes on the web,” Newman says, “whether it’s on Etsy or Pinterest or Facebook. You want the image name to be the answer to someone’s query.”

One final tip: Be sure that there are no spaces in the jpeg name; use hyphens and underscores to divide words.

Create a blog…NOW.  Sure, everyone knows that blogging is a great way to draw customers to your shop, but the statistics on those who blog and those who don’t are staggering. And the numbers get even more astonishing depending upon how frequently you post.

According to marketing-software manufacturer Hotspot.com, people who blog daily are 90% more likely to generate a sale than those who blog monthly, who have just a 13% chance of a sale.  And the person who blogs multiple times per day actually has nearly a 100% shot at generating a sale. It doesn’t matter what the subject is…it’s getting your shop name out there on a regular basis that’s important.

“The more you blog, the more content you have streaming to the web,” says Newman, “and the more people you have coming to your site. Of course it has to be good content, but basically the more you blog, the more the return on investment becomes unreal.”

Newman stresses that a blog title needs to be rich with keywords. And if there is an area for a description, don’t overlook it as an opportunity for keyword exposure.

She also explains the importance of “long-tail keywords,” which more clearly refine and define your products. A web designer, for example, might use the keyword phrase “web design” to describe his or her business, but Newman said that would be of no use at all. In the case of her own company, if she used the keyword phrase “web design Jersey City,” she’d see more traffic to her site, but if she became even more specific, using the keyword phrase “custom Wordpress themes Jersey City,” her traffic would skyrocket, as would her placement in a Google search.

“With a phrase like that, I might now be on the first page,” she says, “and quite possibly even number one.”

So switch it up. If you blog just a few times a month, try posting twice a week and see what happens. It’s quite possible that you’ll double your sales.

Create a Facebook page.  Almost everyone has a personal page, but not all Etsy shops have a Facebook page, which are for businesses, organizations and brands to share their stories and connect with people. If a shop posts solely on their personal page, Google has no idea what they're doing.  Why?

“If Etsy store owners just have a personal profile, none of what they say or write is searchable on Google, because that profile is private,  provided they chose that option in their settings,” Newman says. “But a Facebook page is public. That means that everything is searchable…your galleries, your image descriptions, your bio information, plus the images you upload.”

Like your jpeg images, when it comes to your Facebook page, think “keywords” in regards to just about anything you write. By drawing web surfers to your Facebook page, you're in turn drawing them to just about everything else you do, provided you've linked to all of your other social media...your web page, your LinkedIn page, your blog, and, of course, your Etsy shop.

Create a YouTube channel.  As YouTube is the second most searched site on the web (Facebook being number one and Google being number three), if an Etsy shop doesn’t have a YouTube presence, an enormous opportunity is being missed.  Creating video content might not be the first thing an Etsy owner would think of, but Newman says it makes sense.

There are any number of videos shop owners could create that would be of interest to their customers: tutorials, themselves at work in their studios, or a photo stream of their wares (using sites like Animoto, a free video-making site).

“In having a YouTube channel, you’re giving your audience another way to find you and your work,” Newman says. "As with your jpegs and Facebook, be sure to tag your videos properly with keywords and good descriptions, then cross-pollinate your platforms by putting that video link on your Facebook page and your blog. The more variety you have in the formats you give people, the more you’ll be opened up to new audiences.”

Click here for more information on Newman’s Broadcast Louder seminar, a series of seven classes starting April 11 for just $97. And click here to be a featured guest in her Branding You Better series.

Until next time!...
Mary Ann
maryannfarley.etsy.com

For your little treasures...

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Sponsoring the Fall Handmade Cavalcade

The {New New} heads up the Hudson September 12, for a day of shopping and fun. Be sure to check out some of the great sponsors we have for the upcoming Fall Handmade Cavalcade!

The Groovy Baker from nearby East Fishkill, NY, will be inside providing socially conscious treats that are both good for the environment and decadently delicious.




For unique ladies apparel including T-shirts and hoodies that feature their signature Entophilezzz! characters visit Luulay's.

Local Chronogram Magazine reports on the creative and cultural life of the Hudson Valley, focusing on Ulster, Dutchess, Greene, Columbia, Orange, Putnam, and Westchester counties.





Sadie Magazine takes a different approach to teen glossies and focuses on empowering teen girls with stories of risk-taking women.

For all you own DIY knitting needs, you can visit PurlSoho for fine yarns in bamboo, linen, cashmere and more.






Threadbanger is a DIY network for people who create their own alternative fashions to share ideas and look for advice through community forums, blogs and online videos.


Funky Finds is dedicated to promoting independent artists, crafters and designers worldwide with "The Shops @ Funky Finds", an easy to use venue for both sellers & buyers.



While you're at it, check out some of these {NewNew} shops!

For more information visit: www.handmadecavalcade.com

Fall Handmade Cavalcade: Beacon NY

Shop for Fall with The {NewNew} at the Fall Handmade Cavalcade.


Start the season browsing the most unique locally handmade goods that the NY Metro and Hudson Valley have to offer, complete with goodie bags and tasty treats. Join the {NewNew} in Beacon, NY on September 12 for its 2nd Annual Fall Handmade Cavalcade.

We'll be in Beacon, NY, where we've partnered with the Hudson Valley Etsy Street Team to bring you unique handcrafted jewelry, kitschy housewares, handmade soaps, one-of-a-kind paper goods, children's toys in all shapes and sizes, as well as fashion-forward apparel and accessories. Find it all at the corner of Main Street and North Cedar.

With over twenty vendors, the show will be an intimate shopping experience where you are bound to find something for everyone. Make a day of it with your friends and family.

Enjoy delicious snacks from The Groovy Baker and explore the inside and outside spaces brimming with unique handmade wares from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way up through the Hudson Valley.

What: The Fall Handmade Cavalcade
When: Saturday September 12 from 11am - 7pm
Where: Corner of Main Street and North Cedar in Beacon, NY

Vendors
Alexandra Ferguson * Althea Loglia's Eye Candy * Beacon's Bookmarks * Better Than Jam * Beyond the Picket Fence * Blonde Chic Studio * Bungaloe * Caja Jewelry * KimmChi * KnitKnit * Felt It * Nordea's Soaperie * Panda with Cookie * Petite Ami * Pulp Sushi * Studio Petite * Studio By the Sea * Pixie Petals * Waisze Design * WarpeDesign * Wren Willow * Windows of Agate

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Planning to visit?
Let us know
RSVP at Going.com
or on Facebook

- Karin
Betterthanjam.etsy.com