Category: Articles

In the overcrowded online shopping space, identifying viable methods of winning customer conversions, brand awareness, and long-term loyalty requires constant vigilance. But what if you could “set and forget” a winning strategy that brings new customers to your eCommerce store more affordably and with a greater chance of purchasing?

Our recent partnership with the innovative Shop with Friends aligns seamlessly with our dedication to client success. By installing Shop with Friends from the Shopify App Store, eCommerce websites can tap into the growing phenomenon of social shopping to do “all of the above” while winning new customers and reducing cart abandonment. 

Shop with Friends founder Kevin Hanna believes his company is a good match with LION Digital because both have proven eCommerce victories and the flexibility to meet client needs. 

Kevin says polls are a “no-brainer” for eCommerce businesses, from start-ups to major brands. It’s easy to install and offers a wealth of opportunities. Shop with Friends mainly partners with Shopify stores with over 100K monthly visitors. The platform can be up and running within 3 minutes, and polls take users 2-3 seconds to create—1 tap to create, 1 tap to share.

What Polls Can Mean for Your Business Growth

Shop With Friends results in 20% lower customer acquisition cost (CAC), with the app’s customers averaging 26% YoY growth and more than 6 million voters engaged. Votes come from shoppers who rely on input from friends before purchasing. Shopify stores that have installed the polls have seen an increase in 4x conversions and 5x user LTV (lifetime value). 

Users can send polls anywhere on all social media platforms using the Shopify Shop with Friends app. It takes seconds for an online shopper to create and share a poll with friends, transforming it into instant viral marketing for your brand while the poll creators become your brand ambassadors. Each poll, on average, acquires 2 new customers for your eCommerce store and often proves the power of social validation for influencing hesitant shoppers.

The app’s Analytics menu tracks useful data to help identify buyer behaviour. The dashboard itemises sales orders, product engagement and performance, how many people are voting, and on which products, what type of devices customers use, customer location worldwide, and revenue gained directly through polls. These insights can help you tailor your inventories to match user demand.

Key Benefits and USPs

Compared to other customer engagement tools on the market, Kevin says, “We’re the first tool to tap into the social shopping behaviour of the younger generations”. Generations Z and Alpha do “most of their shopping from their phones and like to get input from their friends from their phones, too. 

“We’re also 100% performance-based. Shop With Friends is a ‘set it and forget it’ widget that, once installed, lives on the site and will continue to help eCommerce brands grow at an exponential rate.

Shop with Friends benefits include:

• Increase Conversion Rates: Shoppers who send a poll have a 12.5x higher conversion rate due to buyer confidence in their purchase.
• Improve New Customer Conversion: The poll recipients see that their friend trusts the brand, initiating a conversion rate 3-4 times higher for new visitors than on other channels.
• Reduce Cart Abandonment: Poll senders are 19% less likely to abandon their cart than other shoppers.
• Boost AOV (average order value): Poll senders spend about 45% more on average than other customers.
• Grow Word-of-mouth Expansion: Each poll drives about 2 new visitors to eCommerce sites.

Shop with Friends: How it Works

Especially popular with 18 to 30-year-olds, users create polls from your Shopify website’s inventory styled to your brand. Shop with Friends founder Kevin Hanna explains that the polls have been very popular for jewellery, shoes, sunglasses, handbags, and apparel, but they could apply to anything. 

The user experience for creating polls is like an online version of real-time shopping for a party dress with your bestie at a brick-and-mortar store, then taking a photo and sending it to your mum and sister while asking all three opinions. Except, Kevin discovered some astounding data from Shop With Friends, which was that in the eCommerce landscape, the users being asked to vote on the items would often purchase from the Shopify store as well.

“The Shop with Friends app appears over the Shopify website in the background, so the poll creators and voters think the poll is simply a cool feature on the site itself,” says Kevin. But, as he explains, apart from increased engagement and purchasing, once poll recipients “vote on the app, they’re left on the Shopify site. So voters who may never have visited the site before will now decide to buy something from the site” as the inventory has been given the ‘thumbs up’ by their friends. 

Some brand examples showed a 36% increase in sales from the person who posted the poll, with another 33% of their friends buying from the same site. 

Polls Prove the Potential for Social Validation

Polls are yet another initiative sparked by the drastic shift towards online spending that grew out of the pandemic. The polls users create can muscle up your brand with their virality, as they’re social and designed to be shared with friends.

As the 2020 lockdowns pushed people indoors and out of traditional shopping trips with friends and family, shoppers were still relying on opinions from the people closest to them to decide which item to buy: for an upcoming event, a social occasion, or simply to add a new piece to their wardrobe, often via group chats and sharing wish lists on shopping sites. 

Kevin has a long-established career foundation in digital marketing, focusing on customer acquisition. He started the Shop with Friends company with his co-founders as an app to take advantage of this trend of sending polls to friends, focusing on a few verticals, including travel and eCommerce. However, they noticed that eCommerce polls were obtaining the majority of engagement, at about 30-40%, and were “about what to buy, from Amazon, Shopify sites, Etsy, etc”, says Kevin.

Two years ago, the team white-labelled their app to focus on eCommerce but found the development integration quite complex. About 8 months ago, they produced the app specifically for Shopify sites, which was the “game-changer”, according to Kevin. “We went from 20 customers to 200, and instead of taking an hour to add polls on a site, we got it down to 2-3 minutes.”

Performance-based Fee Structure Delivers Less Risk

The business operates on a 100% performance-based model that is free to use for the first month. Best of all, the initial 30-day free trial is extended unless the Shop with Friends App is driving at least USD$500 a month from the app, and you can cancel at any time. 

So, if your business hasn’t generated revenue from the Shop with Friends widget, you don’t pay anything, “as opposed to user-based or subscription-style apps”, says Kevin.

Kevin explains that Shop with Friends operates across 6 pricing tiers, starting from Free and increasing in incremental amounts that a business is charged each month after the 30-day assessment. “Most of our clients make 15x to 20x ROI based on our tier structure,” he says.

“There is greater flexibility in a performance-based fee structure as it’s calculated every 30 days, based on your revenue for that month. So you’re paying for the next 30 days in advance”, which future-proofs your business, “in case you experience a slow month of sales, you won’t continue to pay the higher tiers”, says Kevin.

While polls are geared towards increasing traffic and driving sales, you can have peace of mind knowing that your business can recover without suffering losses based on peak performance, which in turn has created improved client loyalty.

The Social Polls Are Just Like Shopping With Friends 

The trusted word-of-mouth referral method makes up 82% of Americans’ purchasing decisions, while 77% value their inner circle’s opinion when buying something they’ve never bought before. 

Shop with Friends has grown brand awareness and profitability for many stores, especially in America, where it was originally developed. These include 12th Tribe fashion label, Ever-Pretty US and UK wedding and formal gowns, Little Trouble children’s clothing, Erimish stacking jewellery, and Fresh Sends gift boxes.

“We are obsessed with the user experience,” says Kevin, “So we make it really fun for the shoppers themselves.”

Brands can align with new ways of shopping that bring virality to their brand via cost-effective engagement with an exponential reach, boosting sales and rapidly growing brand awareness.

At LION, we only collaborate with businesses that help you amplify your offer and increase your ROI. Install Shop with Friends from the Shopify App Store and contact us about further increasing your reach online. 

Talk to the team at LION and go from ordinary to extraordinary today!

Article by

JENNIFER MCCARTHY –
DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER

As a seasoned eCommerce marketing agency, LION Digital strives to stay on top of industry news and follow best practices. Yet decades of team expertise in digital marketing and thousands of hours of fieldwork in SEO dictate that it’s unwise to count solely on certain universal approaches in attempts to cut corners. The recent info explosion in the form of the most massive Google Leak and subsequent disputes that it provoked in May 2024 has demonstrated how important it has been to maintain healthy scepticism, curiosity, and testing to determine the subsequent unique insights from that testing. 

A lot has been written and stated within the global SEO community regarding Google’s search documentation leak. Some went as far as to call this occasion “the greatest leak of the century.” Considering the magnitude of the leak and the professional forensics going over the information, even more will be explored and shared. At LION, our stance is: 

SEO has always been and will always be about common sense centralised around creating a quality internet environment with the best user experience. In this article, we want to highlight and support this concept.  

Now, let’s start from the beginning. 

Did Google representatives lie?

Direct communication between Google representatives and the SEO community started in 2005. The first initiatives were launched to create a place for webmasters to learn more about crawling and indexing websites and find helpful tools in one single place. Enthusiasts needed direct communication with Google to understand the best practices, and Google needed SEOs’ requests and recommendations to create a friendly environment for further efficient collaboration. Simultaneously, the market filled up niches, where Google’s reaction was not agile enough or unsatisfactory from the search engine professionals’ points of view. 

We are far from advocating in favour of Google. Still, neither the initial nor subsequent Google direct communication initiatives’ objective was to disclose fully or even partially Google’s proprietary information, which consists of the search engine’s core. Instead, they wanted to gently nudge the community in the right direction and facilitate proper thinking. Following numerous Google’s “Webmaster Hangouts”, “Office Hours”, other videos and podcasts, we presume they wanted to clarify some insights from the observations by answering questions like “Why did this happen?” but not to indicate how to manipulate the search engines flourishing at the dawn of SEO. If we look at the recent event from that angle, the significant part of the “lies” accusations in the leak-revealing statements appears in a different light. 

For instance, consider one of the most frequently applied accusations that Google denied numerous times the usage of click logs of user behaviour in the ranking. Let’s leave the PR disputes behind the brackets and presume that Google representatives assuringly confirmed that Google algorithms use clicks for ranking. What else would have prevented the appearance of the abundance of grey-hat services that imitate clicks in SERP?  

Another considerable discussion was around a sitewide authority score similar to Moz’s domain authority or Ahref’s domain rank. One could claim that Google spokespeople played semantics, denying the existence of such ranking factor as the SiteAuthority score appearing in the leak. However, a relatively rational view allows us to conclude that these indicators have very little in common despite similar names. Google’s site authority score seems to be a much more complex concept that doesn’t rely solely on backlinks as DA and DR. Yet again, let’s imagine if Google reps had confirmed Google’s domain authority could be proven as a ranking factor in the way that the general public understood, the surge of the link purchases would be phenomenal. 

These are just two examples to give you the general idea.      

Why is the leak not fully reliable?

The API documentation described two thousand five hundred ninety-six modules with 14,014 attributes (features). There are a raft of reasons to question the reliability of the findings derived from the leak observations, and in honour of the authors, they have also been named:

• The context is limited because the modules and attributes are merely described, but there is no source code about their application, what exactly triggers them, and why.
• What is the purpose of the data? It could be equally used to generate the actual search results as well as for internal data management, search on the web or other verticals, or to train a model to predict outcomes. Originating from Google doesn’t necessarily mean originating from Google Search.
• There is no information regarding the stages in which the modules are activated and the features are used.
• There are many references to deprecated features or others with specific notes indicating not to use them further. Google’s search engine continuously evolves, and until the market is granted another leak, no one can be sure what was actively used in the Google ranking systems at that time and what was not.
• Although the signals and their nuances are somewhat evident, scoring functions are not available, and therefore, outtakes regarding the weight of the features are unknown. 
• The documentation leak contains links to Google’s corporate network assets requesting personal credentials to access additional details about the system’s nuances. Hence, the picture is far from complete. 
• There is a clear risk of falling victim to confirmation bias — searching for, interpreting, and favouring the data through the lens of pre-existing theories in a way that confirms or supports these theories rather than objectively assessing them.

Best Practices for SEO

From Google Search Central: “Google’s automated ranking systems are designed to present helpful, reliable information that’s primarily created to benefit people, not to gain search engine rankings, in the top Search results.”

Good content is, by definition, already aligned with all of Google’s requirements. Yet the outlook becomes more challenging for black- and grey-hat SEO-technique followers. They should imitate the quality: consider and manipulate the ranking factors. Even based on the scale of the modules and features that the leak revealed, it is barely possible.  

Understanding the algorithm and how it might impact search efforts is important, though not by paying the price of competing with industry players who prefer an unfair game. It is possible to not focus on the algorithm itself and instead develop sites, content, and experiences that it will reward.

Considering all that has been said and with all respect to efforts to retrieve useful data from the Google leak and interpret it, search engine optimisation was and remains about common sense, and the latest findings don’t contradict it: 

1. Understanding the target audience, identifying their pain points, aligning the content with the obvious challenges, making it technically accessible, and promoting it to audiences that resonate are key to long-term success.
2. Content that has the potential to rank continuously should be of quality — relevant, unique, and valued. It is an apparent negative signal if pages are indexed and appear in high positions in the SERP with many impressions but don’t attract user clicks. 
3. Good content is tailored, deep and original and anticipates the user’s demand.
4. The authors should have expertise and credibility to guarantee quality content.
5. Fulfil the various types of information-consuming and their representation options in SERP formats.
6. Maintain quality, order and consistency in all website elements, including content design, images, fonts, metadata, markup, alt-texts, etc. 
7. Reinforce SEO with UX. SEO is focused on attracting people to the page, while UX is about guiding them to take action on the page. It’s important to carefully consider how components are organised and presented to help users find the content they’re searching for and to encourage them to remain on the site. 
8. Google has evolved in its ability to understand the real-time world stage and evaluate credibility and authority. Ensuring understanding, credibility, and deliverability establishes a clear identity for all related entities.
9. Link building and digital PR strategy should be centred around relevancy, which guarantees interest, and around high-quality publications.
10. Don’t try to manipulate ranking through questionable techniques. As experience demonstrates, all these actions will be penalised — it is just a matter of time.  

Google spokespeople strive to support and provide value to the community within their allowed constraints. Nevertheless, the SEO Community should take Google communications as input and continue to experiment to see what works best for specific cases. 

The ranking systems are variable. To stay ahead of the competition, not only the website but also the SERP should be tested. When all critical aspects have been assessed, the best practice is to have a personalised experimentation plan for SEO, implement it, learn from it, try to replicate the success and test it once again. Therefore, the cycle remains infinite. 

The momentum of eCommerce is evident all over the world, reaching households in both developed and developing nations and providing a bountiful playground for scam organisations. Recent fraud statistics from the Australian Payment Network revealed that Australians spent $1.055 trillion online in 2023, marking a 15.4% increase compared to the previous year. 

This growth was largely attributed to contactless card payments becoming mainstream, as consumers favour contactless cards for low-value day-to-day transactions. Backing from banks and financial institutions has made contactless payments widely accepted among most retailers in Australia. However, with the surge in card transactions and continued growth in online spending, eCommerce has become a lucrative target for fraudsters. The report also noted a 35.6% increase in card fraud, totaling $675.5 million for the year.

With $73.5 billion of eCommerce revenue lost to payment fraud globally and the cost of chargebacks (or friendly fraud) set to rise to $179 billion this year, businesses must be vigilant. Data breaches caused a 79% increase in account takeovers, while friendly fraud makes up 45% of all scam payments, with some merchants claiming it’s more like 80%. 

The rise in younger customers shopping online using so many methods of payment, including various devices and social media, makes them easier prey to scammers. Cybercriminals are targeting younger shoppers by creating fake accounts and using other nefarious methods as a lucrative pool to steal funds.

While the influx of online shoppers is a boon for eCommerce enterprises, it has heightened the need for quality fraud prevention. Protecting clients from scams is now a top priority for eCommerce business owners. Fake transactions and hacked shopping carts not only impact profitability but also damage brand equity, including reputation and overall customer experience.

For your valued customers, too frequently, online shopping carts provide prolific opportunities for hackers to infiltrate eCommerce websites. Skimming software is used to intercept transaction data at checkouts and payment gateways. So, it’s vital to protect the people who shop with you to foster increased customer loyalty.

In our recent article supported by our partner Kount, an Equifax company and global leader in eCommerce fraud solutions, the LION Digital team delves into the definition of eCommerce fraud. We outline its most common types, review primary prevention principles, and identify tools for detecting and preventing attacks.

DEFINITION AND TYPES OF ECOMMERCE FRAUD

The term “eCommerce fraud” refers to any intentional deception by cybercriminals or fraudsters during an online transaction aimed at financial or personal gain, which negatively impacts businesses. 

There are several types of eCommerce fraud, each with its distinct characteristics and conditions:

1. Credit Card Fraud: Scammers use stolen card information to purchase products or services. The merchant bears the loss since refunds to the cardholder occur after the product has shipped or services have been used.
2. Card Testing Fraud: Criminals test stolen card information on websites by making small test purchases, using bots and scripts to try different data combinations, and making larger purchases when the tests are successful.
3. Friendly Fraud or Chargeback Fraud: Con artists make a legitimate purchase and then request a chargeback from their bank or credit card company, claiming their account was hacked or their credit card details were stolen. Thus, they obtain a refund while keeping the purchased item.
4. Identity Theft: Hackers use data breaches to steal personal data, adopt victim identities, issue credit cards in their names, and make online payments.
5. Account Takeover: Cybercriminals use stolen login details to access eCommerce platforms. These details are often acquired through phishing, where fake emails or messages imitating legitimate companies trick users into entering personal and login information.
6. Interception Fraud: Fake customers place orders with shipping and billing addresses that match the authorised card, then attempt to intercept and change the delivery address.
7. Triangulation Fraud: Scammers create false online stores offering high-quality goods at low prices, attracting victims who unknowingly provide personal information and card details, believing they are making a legitimate purchase.
8. Refund Fraud: Criminals attempt to receive a refund for their purchase by claiming the order never arrived, the box arrived empty, or items arrived with defects, often by sending junk items back or using stolen card details.
9. BOPIS Fraud: Fraudsters exploit buy-online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS) services, making it difficult for retailers to detect fraud since the shipping address is typically not matched with the cardholder’s billing address.

DETECTING ECOMMERCE FRAUD

While each type of fraud has its criteria, there are common warning signs to indicate potential fraud:

1. Multiple orders by the same buyer in a short period.
2. Multiple payment attempts with similar data patterns.
3. Payment attempts from a country different from the shipping address.

PREVENTING ECOMMERCE FRAUD

Ensure PCI Compliance

Follow Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards to guarantee secure online transactions.

Enhance Security During Peak Seasons

Increase vigilance during high-traffic shopping periods to avoid overlooking suspicious activity.

Study Chargeback Data

Analyse chargeback data to understand and address underlying issues that lead to chargeback disputes.

Educate Customers

Ensure your customers are familiar with data security and phishing, and use secure payment methods to prevent fraud.

Assess Fraud Risks for New Procedures

Evaluate potential scam threats before introducing new business processes or expanding into untried markets.

Partner with Fraud Prevention Experts

Work with trusted fraud prevention partners like Kount to protect against scams and recover losses swiftly and efficiently.

Protecting your eCommerce business from scammers is crucial for maintaining profitability and ensuring a positive customer experience. By understanding the types of fraud, being vigilant for alert behaviours, and implementing preventive measures, you can safeguard your business and customers from cybercriminals.

Kount: eCommerce fraud prevention that is easy, effective, and accurate

Article by

JENNIFER MCCARTHY –
DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER

In the fast-paced digital realm, the way eCommerce customers search for and consume information is evolving more and more rapidly. Gone are the days when traditional search engines were the sole gatekeepers of online information. Today, there are so many more ways to target what you’re looking for online, which impacts the search experience and how organisations implement their campaigns. In the Second Part of our blog series on the evolution of online search, we’ll explore the shifting landscape beyond traditional search engines and how you can leverage these changes for your business.

The Rise of Social Media as a Search Engine

Social media has transformed from mere tools for social interaction into powerful search platforms in their own right. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter are now hubs for news, reviews, recommendations, and real-time information. Users no longer just connect with friends; they search for products, services, and answers to their eCommerce enquiries on these platforms. Savvy eCommerce businesses and entrepreneurs can leverage social media to showcase their offerings, gather customer feedback, and engage with their audience more meaningfully.

User-Generated Content: A Game-Changer in Online Search

User-generated content, such as reviews, ratings, and comments, has become a cornerstone of online search. Platforms like Yelp, Trustpilot, and TripAdvisor aggregate user reviews to provide valuable insights for consumers. Clever retailers and entrepreneurs can use this feedback to improve their products and services while building confidence and loyalty with potential customers. By actively managing their online reputation and encouraging customers to leave reviews, businesses can enhance their visibility and credibility in the eyes of consumers.

Vertical Search Engines: Niche Markets, Targeted Results

Vertical search engines cater to specific verticals such as products, services, jobs, and local business listings. These specialised search engines, like Amazon, Google Shopping, SEEK, and Expedia, offer highly targeted and relevant search results tailored to the user’s intent. Smart eCommerce organisations and business owners operating in niche markets can optimise their presence on these platforms to increase their visibility among their target audience and drive conversions.

Artificial Intelligence: Advances in Information Retrieval

While AI is not a straightforward alternative to Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and other search engines, there is search potential in large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Bert, and others as they can enhance user experience. Depending on what the user is searching for, AI can deliver more intuitive, conversational responses that are easier to digest when searching for large chunks of information or explanations. Google still dominates real-time search results, as AI uses stored data to deliver results. 

Search engines are designed to crawl, index, and scour web page indexes to deliver relevant, up-to-date search results from the internet based on keywords and query relevance. Whereas ChatGPT relies only on its knowledge base and training data to generate human-like, contextually relevant, and natural language responses based on input. For example, ChatGPT cannot tell when the flight departs, but it can provide summaries and explanations of aircraft and airport logistics. 

The natural next step in search evolution is integrating LLMs into search engines. In May 2024, Google announced the planned global rollout of “AI Overviews.” The goal is for billions of Google users to see an AI-generated summary at the top of their search results, which Google representatives claim is only the beginning. Thus, rather than replacing search engines, large language models employing AI and Natural Language Processing algorithms would help improve the user’s search experience.  

Points to Consider: Maintain Your Business Focus

Engagement is Essential: With social media and user-generated content, engagement is crucial. E-tailers and entrepreneurs should focus on creating compelling and shareable content that resonates with their audience.

Consistency is Key: Consistency in branding and messaging across all platforms is necessary for building a strong online presence and brand identity.

Analytics and Insights: Utilise analytics tools to track the performance of your campaigns and comprehend what resonates with your audience. This will help you refine your strategies and improve your results over time.

Keep Abreast of AI Advancements: Follow field updates and integrate AI into your business strategy in the early stages. 

To stay ahead, retailers need to be flexible enough to adapt rapidly to the latest developments in online search. By leveraging social media, user-generated content, vertical search engines, and AI tools, eCommerce brands can enhance their online visibility and audience engagement to drive business growth.

At LION Digital, we understand the challenges of the eternally evolving online search landscape. Our team of experts can help you develop and implement strategies to optimise your digital presence across all the abovementioned platforms. From content creation and social media management to search engine optimisation and AI, we have the eCommerce expertise to help you achieve your digital marketing goals.

In the fast-paced realm of digital marketing, Google’s March 2024 Core Update is a significant development, signalling a shift in how search results are ranked. This update requires marketers, online retailers, and entrepreneurs to reevaluate their SEO strategies, as it represents a departure from Google’s usual practices.

Key Features of the Update

The March 2024 Core Update introduces major changes to Google’s core ranking systems, aiming to improve the quality and relevance of search results. One of the main goals is to reduce the presence of unoriginal, low-quality content by 40%. This change reflects Google’s commitment to improving the user experience.

Impact on E-tailers and Entrepreneurs

1. Content Quality is Critical: The saying “content is king” is more relevant than ever. Online retailers must focus on creating original, valuable content that directly addresses customer needs. Quality and uniqueness are key factors in challenging the competition.
2. Adaptation is Essential: The update will penalise unoriginal and low-quality content more severely, so e-tailers must quickly adapt their content strategies to avoid significant drops in visibility. Innovation and a focus on quality are essential to maintain a competitive edge.
3. Link-Building Strategies Matter: The update’s approach to evaluating link signals emphasises the importance of authentic link-building practices. Manipulative link schemes are no longer effective, highlighting the need for natural, high-quality backlinks for SEO success.

Cracking Down on Spam

Google has identified various tactics that try to manipulate search engines into believing a site provides valuable content when it is of sub-standard quality. The spam update targets three main areas:

1. Expired Domain Abuse: This tactic involves purchasing an expired domain and repurposing its content to manipulate search rankings. It aims to deceive users into believing that new content on the domain is part of the original site, which may not be true.
2. Scaled Content Abuse: This includes any method of creating content at scale solely to rank higher in search results. The quality and uniqueness of the content are vital factors in its ranking, whether generated by AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini or created manually. Low-quality and non-unique content will rank lower.
3. Site Reputation Abuse: This practice involves hosting low-quality content from third-party sites to achieve high rankings. While not all third-party content is affected, Google will identify content used to manipulate search rankings and take action accordingly.

These updated policies ensure search rankings prioritise useful content, serving users more effectively. Violating these policies may result in lower rankings or exclusion from search results. Therefore, the LION Digital team recommends eCommerce businesses review tactics and ensure that content meets the highest quality standards.

Adapting to the New SEO Landscape

To navigate SEO strategies after the update:

1. Embrace Ethical SEO Practices: Align strategies with Google’s goal of improving the user experience through appropriate SEO processes.
2. Use AI Responsibly: While AI and machine-learning tools can enhance content creation, it is important to ensure that the content remains user-friendly and helpful.

Contact LION Digital to Guide Your SEO Experience

Incorporating strategies that reflect the Google March 2024 Core Update not only ensures compliance with Google’s policies but also enhances user experience and improves overall search rankings. With Google’s increased focus on content quality, agility, and adaptability are key to remaining ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape.

To ensure your content meets Google’s standards and isn’t flagged as spam, get in touch with our LION Digital experts. Our team can provide tailored SEO solutions and guidance to target your audience and optimise your digital marketing strategies effectively.

Article by

ERIKA MAGPILI – DIGITAL EXECUTIVE & MARKETING MANAGER

Search remains one of the primary ways to access online information, and the term today means more than ever. Search engines have become irreplaceable tools for navigating the internet when customers want to look for products and services, answer questions, connect with interesting people, and satisfy curiosity.

Early Online Search: A Transition to Modern Methods

Remember the days before the World Wide Web? Gathering information online was clunky and incomplete. Decentralised and manual processes made it challenging to find and scale data retrieval.

In the late 1980s, Gopher, a communication protocol used for document distribution, was developed at the University of Minnesota. By the early 1990s, fledgling search programs with quaint names inspired by comics, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead, allowed users to search for files: Archie for FTP archives, Veronica for Gopher servers, and Jughead for keyword-based searches. 

Spurred on by these growing technologies, it was only a matter of time before tech researchers tackled the issue. Gopher’s text-based interface gave way to British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee’s more user-friendly World Wide Web (WWW), fundamentally changing how people accessed online content.

All of a sudden, users could browse topics and find content. Directories like Yahoo! and DMOZ were essentially curated lists of websites, whereby bookmarks and favourites in browsers could save links for easy access. Manual navigation started to appear, involving hyperlinks between web pages, and users also relied on online community-based word-of-mouth recommendations, forums, and link exchanges to discover new content.

The Expansion of the Internet: Things to Come

While these methods were convenient, they had limitations such as scalability and efficiency. They relied on human factors and lacked a centralised database, making them inefficient for the expanding web, yet they laid the foundation for the future of Google search.

The Dawn of Search Engines: Google’s Eventual Domination

Before Google became a household name, the online search landscape was diverse and experimental. Yahoo! initially led the market but lost ground due to reliance on human-curated directories. Many search engines were developed during the 1990s before the new century gave Google its mega-giant status:

• 1994: Yahoo! transitions from a directory to a fully-fledged search engine, initially conquering the market but later losing ground.

• 1994: WebCrawler launches as the first search engine to index entire web pages, pioneering keyword searches.

• 1994: Lycos gains popularity for its user-friendly interface and innovative features like spidering and relevance ranking.

• 1995: Excite emerges with customisable interfaces and personalised search results, resetting the trajectory for future innovations.

• 1995: AltaVista launches with natural language processing and multimedia search capabilities, but closes in 2013 due to losing competition to Google and its footing in the future of search.

The Google Revolution: Evolution of Algorithmic Search

Google’s emergence revolutionised the internet, making vast knowledge universally accessible. Stanford University graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin were the brilliant duo who started Google in 1996. 

Google’s early days showed promise in its innovative approach to web page ranking through link analysis, known as PageRank, which revolutionised the digital landscape by introducing search engine algorithms. Unlike traditional keyword-based systems, PageRank assessed a page’s importance based on the quality and quantity of links pointing to it, providing more authoritative search results. These algorithmic systems remain the pinnacle of search-based digital marketing strategies, making them the Midas’ Gold of the eCommerce landscape.

Keeping Users Front of Mind: How Google Gets It

Google’s success stems from its user-centric approach and persistent innovation. Over the years, Google has introduced various algorithm updates, such as personalised search and machine learning with RankBrain and BERT integration, to adapt to ever-changing user behaviours and technological advancements. 

As content delivery has transformed, consumers access their information in vastly different ways than a decade ago. Plus, with more widespread acceptance of AI dictating future trends, content-related search will continue its unpredictable path ahead. Despite challenges in social search with Google+, discontinued in 2019, Google remains the boss of search technology, so let’s see what the future of Google search looks like. Can Google maintain its leadership position as the latest developments roll out? 

The team at LION Digital has our unified finger on the pulse. As a Google Premier Partner, we are well-positioned to help our clients adjust to the latest Google eccentricities. If you need help navigating eCommerce search rankings to attract more customers that convert, contact our LION Digital team today! 

Stay tuned for the next part of this series as we explore the evolution of online search, uncovering insights into future trends. Don’t miss out—sign up for our LION Digital monthly ROAR newsletter to receive the latest updates directly to your inbox!

🦁✨ This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women around the globe.

At LION Digital, we champion inclusivity, empowerment, and innovation. We’re committed to fostering a culture where women’s voices and leadership are not just recognised but celebrated every day. Join us in honouring this day by supporting women-led initiatives and striving for gender equality in every sphere. Together, let’s inspire change and drive progress.

👭 Happy International Women’s Day from the LION Digital team. Here’s to making a difference, today and every day. 👩🏾🤝👩🏼

LION Digital Employee Spotlight

Highlighting Strengths, Visibility and Inclusion: How We Do One Thing is How We Do All Things

In honour of International Women’s Day, we proudly highlight our LION Digital Content Manager, Jennifer, a creative free spirit who excels at sculpting, massaging and honing the perfect messaging for our clients and our business. Jennifer has transformed the content team, offering insights and guidance from her many years of experience as a writer and content editor for mainstream media and digital marketing.

“Inclusion isn’t just about acknowledging minorities or addressing bias; it’s about realising that poor behaviour is a reflection of a lack of inclusion”

#IWD2024 #InspireInclusion

Join us as we dive into how the power of self-belief and the ability to change can see you re-emerge as a more powerful, vibrant version of yourself and the receptivity of an audience looking for more diversity in leadership roles.

1. Can you recall a book that has deeply inspired you on your personal or professional journey? If yes, which book was it, and what about it inspired you?

Yes, “Pussy: A Reclamation” by Regina Thomashauer. I read this book as I was going through a transformational phase in my life, and it felt like being woken up with a cricket bat. It is a loud, unapologetic essay on stepping out of your Groundhog Day comfort zone and becoming a glowing, successful, energised version of yourself. It taught me a lot about self-care, which, as busy mothers and partners, we women tend to over-give; obviously at our own expense, which can impact our workdays and what we can achieve entrepreneurially. And without this book, who knows?! I may not have confidently promoted my strengths and experience to land this amazing job leading the content team at LION.

2. What role do you believe leadership plays in driving inclusion and diversity initiatives forward?

Leadership plays a massive role! Without leadership toward inclusion, it’s a “leave the gate open and the horse will bolt” kind of ideology, meaning it’s harder to repair damage than to draw up guidelines to prevent it. There is a risk of undisciplined and disorganised attempts to push the agenda or a complete non-acknowledgement altogether. With leadership driving the way, there is a greater chance of fostering the right culture, allocating resources, setting the best example, overhauling policies and legislation, establishing frameworks to deal with prejudice and discrimination and assessing progress and accountability.

3. How do you define inclusion, and why is it important in today’s society?

Inclusion is what makes people feel seen, heard, valued and appreciated. In life, if people are rude or disrespectful to me, I try to rise above it and perceive it like this: Every human just wants to be loved, and if someone feels they’re not getting that from the world around them, it can manifest as a sense of “false entitlement”, which projects onto others in distorted ways and creates disharmony. Therefore, inclusion isn’t just about acknowledging minorities or addressing bias; it’s about realising that poor behaviour is a reflection of a “lack of inclusion”. This cyclical “cause and effect” is what makes positive inclusion so important at work, at home, in global leadership and in our local community.

Our Female Client Spotlight

The Inspiring Journey of Inclusivity and Authentic Leadership: An Interview with Georgy

Georgy is a visionary entrepreneur and advocate for diversity and inclusion in the professional arena. Influenced by strong female role models, she has carved a niche in business by championing authentic leadership and inclusive practices. Georgy’s journey to become co-owner of a successful nail supplies business showcases a leadership style marked by empathy, openness, and a deep-seated belief in providing equal opportunities for all. Through her work and personal ethos, Georgy embodies the essence of transformational leadership, inspiring many to embrace their authentic selves and support inclusivity in every aspect of life.

“I was always inspired by female characters who had overcome great adversity, like in Anne of Green Gables.”

#IWD2024 #InspireInclusion

1. Is there a female figure who has played a significant role in shaping your life or career?

You can never underestimate the support of someone who loves and supports you regardless of what you do. My mum has always been that person for me, always there to listen and offer support and guidance. My close friend, Shirley, also inspires me. Now in her eighties, she didn’t fit the mould of what was expected. She was a tomboy in a time that didn’t embrace girls being wild and free (climbing trees, playing sports, and getting dirty).

2. What role do you believe leadership plays in driving inclusion and diversity initiatives forward?

Seeing females in leadership roles is incredibly important. It’s important they bring their authentic selves to their roles and not lose their identities along the way. I appreciate women who reveal parts of their lives and personalities and remove the “filters” so other women can relate to and truly connect with what’s real rather than what’s expected.

3. Can you share an example of inclusive practices or initiatives that have made a positive impact on your organisation?

Seeing men having diverse roles is equally important. My husband became my business partner and left his IT position to become a qualified nail technician. We employ women and men in our warehouse. All of our amazing staff work 9:30 am to 2:30 pm to fulfill family obligations, such as school pick-ups. Encouraging the work/life balance is important as time to relax and recoup is often sacrificed. The world is made up of so many different types of people with different experiences to share. When we employ people, there are no restrictions regarding these differences. Like our customers, we love learning about them and what has influenced their lives. Listening brings understanding, compassion, and connectivity.

Looking to add a seasonal touch to your nail art? Explore Georgy’s Nail Shop for an exclusive collection of Easter-inspired products! From pastel polishes to playful bunny decals, The Nail Shop’s Easter Nail Collection has everything you need to celebrate in style. Visit The Nail Shop today and bring the joy of Easter to your nails! 🌼💖

LION Digital Employee Spotlight

Empowerment, Habits, and Leadership: A Journey of Personal and Professional Transformation

In honour of International Women’s Day, we proudly highlight our LION Digital SEO Director Emmy, a detail-oriented Digital Marketing professional specialising in Search Engine Optimisation. Emmy has been a valued member of our Pride since 2021.

“Inclusion starts with leadership, where every voice is heard, and diversity is celebrated as the cornerstone of success.”

#IWD2024 #InspireInclusion

Join us as we delve into various themes, illuminating the power of habits, the influence of role models, and the essence of visionary leadership in shaping a more inclusive and equitable world.

1. Can you recall a book that has deeply inspired you on your personal or professional journey?

‘Atomic Habits‘ wasn’t just a book; it was a revelation. Rather than aiming for vague goals, I began focusing on small habits like scheduling “deep work” hours and waking up 30 minutes earlier. This allowed me to start my day with a meditation and prayer routine, making me calmer and more focused, even when faced with unexpected challenges. Now, I approach work with confidence and clarity. As a wife and mother, committing to 10 minutes of daily meditation made me grounded and more present for my family. I can also accomplish more and allocate time by the end of the day to add more self-care habits like yoga, pilates, and preparing meals for multiple days. It’s incredible how these tiny shifts cascaded into such positive change. Now, I’m striving to become a confident leader in my industry, inspiring others to harness the power of habits. My journey continues, one small step at a time!

2. Is there a female figure who has played a significant role in shaping your life or career?

Priyanka Chopra, aka PeeCee. She isn’t just a beauty; she’s a powerhouse of intelligence, confidence, and conviction. I deeply admire how she speaks about gender equality (being a feminist). I loved her explaining the basic difference between “gender equality” and “equality”.

She said, “Physiologically, men and women are different. There is no debate about it. When we talk about equality and opportunity, we talk about cerebral opportunity. We are not saying we want to be able to be like a 200-pound [90kg] man and beat the sh** out of somebody else.”

She went on to say what women mean when they want equality. “To get the job, to be the CEO … nobody should question a woman’s choices or her drive to be someone. So if she is 50, a CEO, and a mother of three, do not question her.”

Her dedication to philanthropy, like being named the Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, helps underprivileged children. Her foundation, called The Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education, even sponsors 70 children, mostly girls. This motivates me to find ways to contribute to the causes I care about.

Chopra shows us that success doesn’t require negativity (bickering and politicking) but a focus on positive impact and staying true to your values – a powerful message for women everywhere.

3. What role do you believe leadership plays in driving inclusion and diversity initiatives forward?

Leaders are the catalysts for inclusion and diversity initiatives. They set the tone by publicly endorsing these values, holding themselves accountable (“walk the talk” as they say), and communicating the benefits. They build an “inclusive culture” through open communication, bias awareness training, and celebrations. They empower others by offering learning opportunities, creating diverse leadership teams, and recognising inclusive behaviours. Finally, they hold everyone accountable with clear goals, reporting systems, and consequences for violations. Effective leadership makes inclusion and diversity a continuous journey, fostering a thriving organisation.

Our Female Client Spotlight

The Champagne Dame’s Love Affair with this Celebratory Favourite: Kyla Talks Bubbles, Bespoke Events and Breaking Down Barriers

When Dom Pérignon discovered Champagne, he said: “Come quickly – it’s like you’re tasting the stars.” For Kyla Kirkpatrick, the talent and vision behind Emperor, Champagne is the drink of toasts and celebrations, where elegance, sophistication, and desire meet.

“Diversity is a choice, and it’s driven from the top down. “

#IWD2024 #InspireInclusion

Over the years, Kyla became a Champagne educator and started hosting masterclasses all around Australia as the Champagne Dame. In 2017, she founded Emperor Champagne and created the first champagne club in Australia. Kyla now oversees all aspects of the business, from bespoke member events and Champagne selection to recruitment and management of her close-knit team at the Emperor headquarters.

1. Is there a female figure who has played a significant role in shaping your life or career?

The female role model who really inspired me in this industry is the Great Dame of Champagne herself, Madame Clicquot. She was the first global businesswoman of all time, the first woman to export Champagne, clarify Champagne, and take on branding, creating one of the world’s most recognised colours and brands with the iconic Yellow Label Veuve Clicquot. Madame did this at a time when women were not allowed to own bank accounts or run businesses unless their husbands had passed away! Such an inspiration and a fascinating story.

2. What role do you believe leadership plays in driving inclusion and diversity initiatives forward?

Diversity is a choice, and it’s driven from the top down. We have an all-female team at Emperor Champagne, even our warehouse staff are women, and I am very proud of that!

3. Have you encountered any barriers to inclusion in your personal or professional life, and how did you overcome them?

Absolutely! Typically the wine industry is dominated by men, and even more so with alcohol importing. I am one of the few female importers in Australia, and the way I do business is quite different. I am often conducting business with men who have a very different approach to negotiation. I have to remain strong in my approach but loyal to my philosophy of conduct. It may be a longer race this way, but I’m proud of how I operate.

The Emperor team are Champagne lovers and connoisseurs based in Melbourne, Australia, who want to share their obsession with you. Join the revolution and shop where Champagne rules, Emperor Champagne.

LION Digital Employee Spotlight

Joining Our Celebration of Female Colleagues for IWD Week is Mary, Who Thrives on the Feedback of Smaller, More Intimately Supportive Teams

After graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Consumer Studies, Mary ventured into market research and customer loyalty management before developing a passion for geodemographic profiling and website reporting that predates the era of Google Analytics. Following her MBA, she honed her skills in project management and boldly embraced Email Marketing over 5 years ago, never looking back! We are thrilled to have her as a valued member of our Pride.

“Prioritizing positive, respectful relationships with colleagues is key to fostering a deeper sense of connection and impact on the company’s success.”

#IWD2024 #InspireInclusion

1. Can you recall a book that has deeply inspired you on your personal or professional journey?

My favourite book as a young girl was “Little Women“. I’ve read it several times, and each time I saw another dimension and element of relevance for that point in my life―so it remains a favourite even now.  I loved how all the March sisters supported each other through their shared and individual challenges and successes despite all being unique characters. I always found this very inspirational and heart-warming.

2. Have you encountered any barriers to inclusion in your personal or professional life, and how did you overcome them?

Building positive, respectful relationships with my co-workers has always been important to me. Professionally speaking, when working in a large company, it can be easy to get lost in the crowd, especially if your manager doesn’t recognise your efforts. For that reason, I’ve found it preferable to work in smaller teams and companies since, by nature, we all have a better sense of connection and how important our efforts are to the success of the company as a whole.

3. Can you share an example of inclusive practices or initiatives that have made a positive impact in your organisation?

I appreciate when a company recognises team member contributions/anniversaries and how it allows other team members to comment and show support. It builds a cohesive and positive environment with authentic human connection. Also, highlighting team members’ traditions (i.e. Christmas in your country) was a great initiative since I joined LION, which gave the season more meaning.

LION Digital has been awarded an exclusive Google Premier Partner status in a thrilling development for our digital marketing agency. This prestigious recognition places LION Digital within the elite top 3% of companies participating in the Google Partners program in Australia. The partnership is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence in Google Ads management and its substantial contribution to the digital advertising ecosystem.

Achieving Premier Partner status is not only a hallmark of LION Digital’s expertise in Google Ads, but also an acknowledgement of the consistently high levels of ad spend managed by the agency over a significant period. This achievement underscores LION’s adeptness in leveraging Google Ads to drive client growth and success in the ever-evolving digital space.

Exclusive Benefits for Clients

With this new status, LION Digital unlocks a suite of exclusive Premier Partner benefits strategically designed to enhance the service quality and outcomes for clients. These benefits include:

Advanced Google Ads Support:

As a Premier Partner, LION Digital gains access to a superior level of service from Google, ensuring more responsive and tailored support for advertising campaigns. This means that clients of LION Digital can expect even more efficient and effective management of their Google Ads, leading to improved performance and ROI.

Strategic Growth Opportunities:

The Premier Partner status equips LION Digital with advanced insights, tools, and resources directly sourced from Google. This access facilitates the development of more strategic and impactful advertising campaigns, enabling clients to capitalise on growth opportunities in their respective markets.

Competitive Edge:

Being recognised as a Premier Partner serves as a badge of honour and expertise, distinguishing LION Digital and our clients in a crowded digital marketing marketplace. This status highlights our agency’s top-tier ads expertise and signals to current and prospective clients that they are working with one of the best in the business.

Google’s Suite of Tools and Resources:

Premier Partnership unlocks the door to Google’s extensive and ever-changing library of education and insights, recognition and rewards, access and support. LION Digital will become an important link in the Google chain, gaining access to product certifications, promotional offers and executive experiences.

A Strategic Partnership for Success

This collaboration enables LION to harness the full potential of Google Ads, delivering outstanding results for our clients and setting new benchmarks in the industry.

LION Digital’s achievement comes at a pivotal time for the industry, with a projected $740bn ad spend forecast for 2024. This projection highlights the significant opportunities within the competitive landscape of digital advertising, where excellence in ad management and strategic partnerships like LION and Google are vital for success.
In celebrating this milestone, LION roars its dedication to delivering unparalleled digital marketing services for our valued clients. This recognition is our promise to our clients of continued innovation, strategic growth, and success for your business. If you’d like to find out how this impressive Premier Partnership can ignite your business growth, book a discovery call today and talk to one of our Google Ads experts.