This month we answer a bunch of your questions about marketing, websites, and ranking on Google!
Only in extreme cases. If you can show that the person never purchased from you or is a disgruntled employee, etc., you can get Google to intervene. You are wise to monitor your reviews especially on Google. Your Google review score is how customers pick your shop over another one. It is your most public performance indicator. The higher the score, the more shoppers pick your shop.
You want to have a score of at least 4.5 and you need at least 40 reviews be seen as credible. It is not a fair system because any person can leave a review whether they purchased from you or not. A few low reviews can ruin a great score so you want to reply immediately and sympathetically to any review that is 4 stars or less.
Your first goal in a reply is to show the public that you care deeply about making customers happy. The second goal is to get the person to change a low review or take it off. Smother them in apologies. Ask them to contact you personally as the owner and offer to replace the arrangement. It does not matter if the person is justified or not. Do not take the comments personally – even if they are false.
A bad review can cost you thousands of dollars and it will stay on the site for many years. The goal is to get the review increased to 5 stars or taken off. You might find yourself being taken advantage of. That is part of the power of consumers. Stay cool and keep focused on the steps to get the reviewer to revise the review or take it down.
Absolutely. Google Business Profile is the single most important online representation of your shop because it attracts Google’s attention. The best way to get more sales online is to be placed in a search by Google. You’ve no doubt seen from a search the picture of a map and the box that has 3 shops in it. Those 3 shops get the majority of all search traffic. Your goal is to get in the box. Accomplish this and you will see a surge in online sales.
The number one factor Google uses to pick a shop is the the shop’s Google Business Profile (GBP). Google wants to see a GBP that is completely filled out and is actively getting posts, reviews and questions. You cannot leave your own review but you can post to the site and ask questions (and answer them!). Believe it or not, posting on GBP is more important than posting on social media. Add something everyday if you can.
Unfortunately in most cases the value of a domain name has decreased as it has become easier to conduct online searches. Most consumers go straight to Google even when they know the business’ name or web address. It’s just easier. I would not switch away from your established domain as that will cause Google to rank you lower in searches – it gives credit for longevity.
As for selling it, you can put it up for sale for free and see what happens. There are a lot of online services that broker names. Google “selling a domain” and you will have a lot of options. Good luck!
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a process that helps your business become more highly ranked by Google when consumers search for a florist. You typically hire an SEO Agency to groom your online presence to achieve SEO.
Google Ads is another – but entirely different - way to help consumers find you online. With Google Ads (also called pay-per-click or PPC) you pay Google to place an ad at the top of Google searches. This process should also be handled by an reputable agency because the success depends on the expertise of the person placing the ads.
Not anymore. Years ago, social media posts did encourage Google to rank your business higher in searches for a florist. It is no longer an activity that Google uses to rank a business but it will make you more visible to your customers on social media.
You may be in the #1 position when you search from your shop but that does not mean that you are ranked highly in other parts of your town. When a person searches for a florist, Google gives the strongest preference to the nearest florist. If you search from inside your shop, you will always be #1.
It is important to search from a variety of locations in your delivery area. There are online tools that will show you a map with your rankings displayed in each area. Teamfloral offers a free scan service for florists
The biggest impact on a shop’s average order is not the clientele. It is the variety of higher priced arrangements that are on the site. Florists in most areas can achieve an average of $100 per order without alienating customers that want to spend less. To accomplish this, you will need to have about half of the arrangements on the site be priced at $100 or over.
Have about one-third at $80 or below, the rest between $80-$99. With this price mix, most shops will see more purchases made because the upper end shoppers don’t leave for another florist’s site.
It is the single most important number to know about to your website. Conversion rate is the number of visitors to your site that convert into buyers. It is the same thing as tracking the number of customers that purchase when they visit your shop.
Most sites see a conversion rate of 4%-5%. Well performing floral web sites reach between 7%-9%. It is possible to achieve over 10% but that takes a focused effort and continual tweaking. It may not seem like a big difference but it is important to consider that going from a 4% to an 8% conversion rate doubles the shop’s website sales.
It is not likely to pay off. Most customers look for a florist online these days. When making advertising decisions (or any big decision) it is better to compare alternatives rather then asking a straight “yes” or “no”.
Consider what else other marketing you could do with $15,000. Keep coming up with good ideas until you can’t find a better use for the funds.