Digital Commerce Market in India to Exceed Rs 1 Lakh Crore This Year: Study

New Delhi: Digital commerce market in India is expected to cross Rs 1 lakh crore this year.  Growing preference towards online shopping helps digital commerce market to a great extent. According to a recent report, in the year 2014 digital commerce market in India had grown 53 per cent to Rs 81,525 crore.

A joint report by IAMAI and IMRB International added that by the end of 2015, this is expected to raise further by 33 percent and cross Rs one lakh crore.

Digital commerce market saw a steady growth from 2010 to 2013. Rs 26,263 crore in 2010 raised to Rs 47,349 crore in 2012 and to Rs 53,301 crore in 2013. Over 61 per cent that is Rs 50,050 crore of the total market was accounted to online travel. E-tailing segment saw growth by 29.4 per cent.

"Significantly, e-tailing has grown by around 1.4 times over 2013 and constitute nearly 29 per cent of the overall share," the report said.

In the year 2014, E-tailing segment was dominated by mobiles and mobile phone accessories (41 per cent or Rs 9,936 crore) in sales. It is followed by apparels, footwear and personal items (20 per cent or Rs 4,699 crore) in 2014. The report confirmed that consumer durables and kitchen appliances added another 14 per cent or Rs 3,404 crore.

Digital consumer devices like laptops and tablets contributed Rs 2,780 crore. Home furnishing and books contributed Rs 1,059 crore and Rs 648 crore. The report confirmed that 45 percent customers, who shopped online preferred cash on delivery as the mode of payment. 21 per cent said that they preferred debit card payment, 16 percent credit card, 10 per cent Internet Banking and 8 percent through other modes like prepaid cash cards and mobile wallets.

The report said that in 2014, segments like financial services, matrimony and classifieds grew at 5.5 per cent and one per cent.

"The financial services market has grown at a CAGR of 20 per cent since 2010. This market was valued at Rs 4,508 crore. On the other hand, the classifieds market has seen significant growth and is valued at Rs 896 crore by December 2014," the report said.

Since 2010 with a CAGR of 73 per cent other market services had grown and by 2014 it was valued at Rs 2,025 crore. Service categories like online entertainment ticketing, online commuting, online food and grocery deliver belongs to this segment.

Last year, maximum growth in emerging service marketing was witnessed by online food delivery market (40 per cent). By the end of 2014 online food delivery market will be valued Rs 350 crore.

Importance of Strategy in Content Marketing

Online businesses must understand the importance of strategic marketing, if they want to stand out. Without it, there will be no structure to the business. To hook the customers, a digital marketing agency has to maintain strategic focus. Proper planning and clarity in goal setting are vital in any type of business. The following aspects can be implemented to improve the strategic content.

End Target

To come up with an efficient strategy, a business must decide on its target. Having knowledge about the consumers helps to hone out the whole business structure. Without an idea of your end goal, you cannot refine the journey. Familiarise with the needs of the customers through proper research and online surveys. Also, have clarity with the product you are offering to them and why it will mean to them. Consumers can make or break a business.

Cohesiveness

Whatever content a digital marketing agency provide the customers, it must make sense. Maintaining cohesiveness from idea conceptualisation to reaching the consumers is essential. It will provide a clear picture of your business and gain the trust of the consumers. There should not be any room for doubts for your product. A customer must be able to earn value from your business without questioning it.

Sales Goals

Define your financial goals. Make sure they are realistic. Lay your strategy on the basis of your sales vision. Determine a timeframe for all your content marketing plans. An online business cannot achieve overnight structure. It does take time to build trust with your customers. Have confidence on your content and let it work for you.

Budget

Don’t swept away by fancy business ideas. Every single aspect of your online business costs money. The budget must be relevant to the sales goals. It’s a fine balance between not spending at all and spending too much. Better decisions can only be made with experience. So it’s wise to leave it to a digital marketing agency.

Size

As contrast to the popular belief, the bigger content doesn’t promise better reach. The quality is directly proportional to the quantity. Lots of content without any sense will actually backfire. Simple content is much more effective. Consumers should not just only read or see your content, they must also buy your service. The more quality content you create, the more money you are going to make. Be smart and opt for a digital marketing agency to offer professional content for your online business.

Platform

Decide on the platform through which you prefer to reach your customers. The site must have efficient user interface and elegant theme. Fast navigation, text size, imagery, integrated social media, versatile payment and shipping system – all make an impact on your consumer. A well-planned online business by a digital marketing agency will drive large traffic.

Branding

An online business must be unique to thrive in a sea of million digital products available. Concentrate on developing brand value for the business with strategic content marketing. From the information you offer to the color of your site, everything matters in the brand representation. Take professional inputs on the decisions that represent your business values. Anything irrelevant to your vision goes out the door.

Clear content, confident representation and strategic business structure will cut cost and time in huge scales. Nothing is impossible with professional help and perseverance. Believe in your online business, devise strategic plans, you are sure to succeed!

Two Secret Ingredients for SEO Success

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is one of the best known methods to create visibility and attract visitors to your website. In today’s fast paced world, where everyone is hard pressed for time, it comes as no surprise that people visiting search engines do not go past the first page of search results. So, it is extremely important to ensure that your site is properly optimized to appear on top positions in the search results. If your site isn’t equipped to do so, you might end up losing countless opportunities and potential customers. So, what is that will make your SEO campaign a success?  Read on, to know the two secret ingredients that are sure to make your SEO campaign a success.

Internal Linking:

Probably the most underrated, a good internal linking structure is also one of the most important SEO measures. Wondering why internal link building is so important? Well! It is because of the way search engines derive their results from. Search engines do not consider websites as a whole. Rather, they rank and index individual pages that are part of the entire web structure.

So it essentially means that when someone searches for a particular keyword, your homepage will not be listed, but the particular page where the keyword occurs will be ranked. This is where internal linking comes in. You have to consider every page of your website, every blog post or article as a landing page for visitors. And you have to make sure that each of these pages has links to your website. Without these links you will end up locking your customers to that particular page and will lose traffic and rankings as well.  Therefore, it becomes extremely important to think of internal linking as an essential SEO tactic.

Internal linking is a sure shot way to encourage your customers to visit your other pages or to showcase other products that you have to offer. So, to rank more consistently on search engines, make sure all your landing pages are properly equipped with both internal and external links. If you are keen on promoting a particular product or an event, then make sure you push the links to the landing page on social platforms, create content like blogs and articles with internal links that will feed back to the landing page. All these internal linking will boost your page to rank in search engine results.

Blogging:

Another secret ingredient that works wonders is blogging. Whether you are looking at driving traffic to your website or improving your SEO campaign, a blog is a necessity for SEO success. If you already have a component for blog on your website, then you job is half done. But, if you don’t have one, then it’s time to start one. While having a blog is one thing, maintaining it with regular and relevant posts is another. A blog that is active and updated on a regular basis reaps the maximum SEO benefits. As stated earlier, internal links are a major ranking factor for SEO. Naturally appearing links or those created by third parties are favoured by search engines. Inbound links that you create to divert back to your website do more harm than good. So, blogging is the best way to earn consistent natural inbound links.

Not only do blog posts ensure SEO friendly inbound links, but they also generate steady traffic over a period of time. One thing you have to ensure for this to happen is to make your content evergreen. Whenever you publish a blog and promote it through social media or other platforms, you will see a sharp increase in the traffic. This trend will gradually decrease and may not reach that peak point again. However, it doesn’t mean the end of all for the blog. It will still continue to generate traffic at smaller spurts. So, as long as your blog is properly optimized with up-to-date content, you can expect it to generate traffic from related search terms.

In this constantly changing SEO world, these are the two secret ingredients you can rely on to taste success.

Video Content Marketing Trends 2015

Human are visual creatures. We believe what we see. To sell any idea, marketers should get consumers to visualize an idea. That’s where video content marketing comes to the scene. Imagine the effect movies, music videos and TV ads have on our psyche. Now, redirect that effect to your business. A digital marketing agency can finish the intimidating task of making videos with ease.

The Emotional Quotient

The video of a silly dog running around a laughing infant has million views in YouTube. Why? The video has no logic or purpose, but it strikes an emotional chord with the viewer. The audience find the video amusing to watch. That’s the strategy. Any valuable product sold with an emotional touch will make all the difference in the revenue.

The videos need not be all about the product. The focus should be on gaining customer loyalty. Make videos of your work culture, the non profit organisations you work with, the brand’s values, team events, etc. When it gets emotional, it gets personal.

Keep It Short

The videos should not lag. The shorter a video, the greater it’s reception. That’s why TV ads are more powerful than full length movies. The tiny-videos put the spotlight on its message before the audience gets distracted. It is the little things that a digital marketing agency does that matters.

Create short Q&A sessions with customer queries as videos for your online site. It will show the customers that you care. Ask your buyers to share their picture with your products and create small montage videos with that.

Entertainment

Video content marketing should never be boring. The visuals should be attractive, well shot and funny. People never forget a famous movie dialogue or a catchy song chorus. It’s because of their entertainment values. Anything wrapped in humour will bring positivity all around. Customers will feel at ease when they see the glamorous or goofy side of your business.

Make funny videos with your workers or share funny stories. Film highlights of the year or show your audience the perks of using your products. Add some catchy tunes to it. There you go! These are some simple equations to videos which one cannot forget.

Information

Boost the value of your products with video content marketing. Watching a video makes a person understand better than reading a book. A digital marketing agency’s videos provide much information about the products in short amounts of time. It’s creative, effortless and efficient.

Make instructional manuals in video formats and upload those to your site. It helps your customers to get the most out of your products. Give a virtual tour of your site to enhance the user interface. Document how your products are made and show them to your customers.

Visual Attraction

The huge advantage of video content marketing over others is that it’s attractive. But, a shabby video will backfire. It’s important to put in efforts to make catchy videos. The length, visual aesthetics, the concept and everything matters. A digital marketing agency can help you with a dedicated video team.

Every single thing that comes on screen is essential and must be given attention. When there are millions of options available, a customer will never waste time on a bad video.

Do follow your competitors’ activities to stay updated with your video content marketing. You learn more by watching videos than reading about videos. It also avoids the same videos being made again.

With many advantages to its side, Video content marketing is a powerful digital marketing tool. By focusing on making quality videos, you help, entertain and guide your customers. When made to feel included, your targets always stay loyal!

5 SEO Factors That Are More Important Than Keywords

Keywords are gradually losing its position as the top SEO factor that determines search engine rankings of sites.

Days were gone, where keywords were the top SEO strategy to achieve better rankings. All websites had to do use relevant keywords in their content and URLs to be rewarded and ranked.Though keyword selection still plays a major part in the SEO process, search engines algorithms and guidelines have changed. So what are the other factors that dominate keywords?

Content still matters: Incredible content that people will want to share can earn links and improve web traffic. Make sure to create content that not only answers a reader’s questions, but is informative.  Include blogs, and web pages that get deeper into the topic and present the reader with information that they may not already know. Images and infographics can also enrich the viewing experience. Social sharing buttons on each page of the site will make it easier for users to share your content throughout social networks, which is sure to influence your site’s SEO. Professional digital marketing agencies will provide services from skilled content writers experienced in writing all types of content.

Responsive designs: Google reports that in the USA, 94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones.With Google’s latest “mobile-friendly” algorithm, responsive web designs are becoming mandatory for any website. Following Google, Bing has also recently announced its launch of a mobile-friendly algorithm in the coming months.Digital marketing agencies are also focusing on providing their clients with quality responsive designs that help them rank them better for search engines.

Site structure and navigation: Easily navigable sites are what users prefer. Ensure that your site’s navigation is cleanly organized. The better navigation your site has, the better are its chances to rank higher on SERPs (search engine result pages).  The site should include sub-menus and a sitemap, as well as traditional standby pages like Contact, About Us, and Services pages.

Focus on loading time and security: Site speed and security are important factors that search engines notice with increasing competition.Users will not be patient enough to wait till your site load. Remembers they have diverse option to leave your site and choose one of your competitors. Both Google and Bing use page loading speed as a ranking factor. By implementing a clean caching system, you can maximize the site loading speed. Also reduce the image size and remove unnecessary clutter in your back end. Site security can be improved with SSL encryption. For instance, while using ecommerce sites, user should feel sure to enter their credit card number or to enter other banking details.

Semantic search: Released as part of the Hummingbird update back in 2013, semantic search is now indispensable feature for any user trying to find an answer to a specific question. With semantic search, users need not have to provide the exact search terms to get the information they search for. Rather this search delivers results based on a range of factors including context, location, what the user is really trying to find, and why they are trying to find it. This advanced search option can take account of synonyms, related concepts and whether the query is specialized or generalized. It also allows users to search for information or content using natural language. Bing and Google are also developing capabilities where users can type a question in their own language, and get back relevant, personalized and accurate answers to that question.

For instance, imagine you are searching for “cheap car washing service in NY”. Instead of looking for any site with the words like “cheap”, “NY” and “car washing” ,semantic search interprets the meaning behind the search query that the user is likely looking for an inexpensive car washing service in New York and then searches for companies that might fit that description.

In their busy schedule, most online businesses will not be able to optimize their website with the latest algorithms. Choosing a reliable digital marketing agency is the right option for them. Such agencies will provide their team with quality training on how to use the latest algorithmic updates.

Why Mobile Marketing Is Going to Be the Next Big Thing

 

Look around you. Can you spot anyone without his phone? You can't. Such is the reach of mobile phones in our lifestyles. When one wants to connect, share, learn, buy, he reaches for his phone out of habit. So the best way to reach massive customer base, is through their little boxes of technology. People prefer smart phones over their desktops/laptops. To know why mobile marketing is going to boom, keep reading.

Accessibility

With lighter weight, high efficiency, very attractive and user friendly, mobile phones can be accessed by anyone at anytime and anywhere. With faster internet connections, it's a tiny world in itself. Everyday a superior phone gets released. Mobile phones can serve anyone who knows how to use it. From ticket booking to developing a business, there is a mobile app for anything and everything.

Immediate

Instant communication plays a vital role in the popularity of mobile devices. A retailer can connect with his customer over a video call. A consumer can contact customer support with very few texts. You can open a store in a matter of minutes with the help of a digital marketing agency. The mobile world provides the instant gratification everyone yearns for. Learning anything is instantaneous.

Effective

Mobile marketing is one of the most effective strategies. It highly cuts down the manual labour and thus reducing the wages. Digital marketing agency can reach the target and gets the reaction for its services immediately. It saves lots of time and effort. Multi screening encourages people to use multiple devices like TV, Laptops, and mobile phones simultaneously. The TV tags everything to their social media, which brings more traffic to their digital presence. It results in more revenue gain.

Consumption

This is the age of consumption. People see, they like and they consume. Consumption equals commercial opportunities. The more we consume, the more products are available, the more online businesses are founded. With the speed a product reaches customers, it's no wonder e-commerce is booming. It gives the option of buying without even leaving their homes. Strolling through a virtual store is much more comfortable than going through the whole physical store. Consumers can filter the products to their needs and buy. Hassle-free payments, well-tracked shipment, Mobile marketing is a way of life.

Connection

Everything connected to mobile marketing feels personalised. Customers feel exclusive, at ease when they buy from their phones. They feel confident in buying any product as they don't need to owe anyone an explanation. It's a pure 'get whatever you want' strategy. So, the customers feel good when they buy online. They have a sense of control and connection. When the digital marketing agencies put in some effort to send their customers personalised messages and free gifts, they end up with brand loyal customers. There are no gatekeepers between the buyers and sellers. The space to receive feedback in real time from consumers is a huge advantage for digital stores.

Relevance

Mobile marketing provides time and location relevance to businesses. These help it to narrow down its target and save resources. This relevance factor improves the quality of interaction between a digital marketing agency and customers. It sells the idea faster with the help of social media.

No matter what new gadget comes out, anything can be integrated and adapted to mobile phones. With millions of ways to reach the target, Mobile marketing is here to stay!

Online Video: The Future of Content Marketing

 

We live in a world of instant gratification. With people not even having time for their breakfast, nobody likes to sit and read page long stories and marketing content. They much prefer to see it rather than read it. They say one must have be futuristic to run successful online business. When that's the case, online video content marketing is the future that spreads like wildfire in the present.

Accessibility

With our hands permanently glued to our mobile phones, we at least see one video per day. We can't say the same for written media. All the consumer has to do is click the link and see your idea. It saves lot of time for people on both sides. There are lot of YouTube channels that regularly drive million views within a matter of hours. People prefer seeing people rather than reading blogs.

Attractive

The main advantage of video marketing by a digital marketing agency over other marketing strategies is it's very attractive. When we add human touch to the content, it engages the viewer. Emotional strategy is always better than intellectual strategy. Say you are selling a dog food product. You write a blog about it with a healthy and playful dog photo. You also release a video ad for the product on Youtube, showing the dog eating your food and playing around in a ground. Which you think would have attracted the customers?

Size

You can make the customer understand your idea better with a twenty second video instead of writing a five page long article. It avoids any confusion the customers may have about your product as they see it in a real situation. It provides transparency between a business designed by a digital marketing agency and its target.

Budget-friendly

There is a false notion that making a video for business is expensive. But, it is not. You yourself can make a simple video with an amateur camera. Idea is money, not the gadget. If we take YouTube, most of the videos there are shot at home with personal cameras. Still they work. Why? The content. A six-second vine by a digital marketing agency can sell idea.

Curiosity

With small teasers before your product release, you can entice the audience. The more curious they are, that much likely they are to buy your products. Once you deliver your products, trust is built with your customers. This can never be possible with any other marketing.

Instant

The most important feature of online video marketing is that it’s instant. You can shoot a video and upload it instantly. The customers can see it and give the feedback instantly. Once you know the reaction, you can improvise the product if necessary. This creates transparency and cuts down the cost drastically.

Variety

The promotional videos by a digital marketing agency need not be boring. With the types of video formats available, you can do anything with online video marketing. You can release

  • video testimonials of your customers to build confidence,
  • show product demos in real time,
  • instructional videos about how to use your products,
  • interviews with the business heads,
  • Q&A sessions,
  • Pop culture stars endorsing your products, etc.

When you are conceptualising your idea, make sure it’s relevant to your customer. Subtle placement of your product in a brilliant video is more effective than exaggerating. Do not hint on any stereotypes or insults on a particular group of people.

With million dollar businesses happening every second through little screens, it’s obvious who’s the youngest online marketing superstar is. Online videos, of course!

This is Why Marketers will love Facebook’s New Sign-Up Ads

Businesses are in constant search for e-mail addresses to find prospective customers.  But to sign up for a newsletter or to request a sales call by typing in the e-mail address is a tough task, especially using a mobile phone. Therefore, Internet users generally refuse to do that.

However, with Facebook’s new sign-up ads, it’s going to be easier. Your e-mail address, phone number and other details can be filled in automatically just by tapping twice. Facebook is still testing these “lead-ads” with small business groups for their credibility.

With Facebook ads, information such as Full Name, E-mail, Street Address, Phone, Zip, City, State, Country, Company Name, Job Title etc. can be filled in.

Facebook ads do care about user privacy and therefore, the information will be handed over only when the call-to-action buttons like “Subscribe” and “Submit” are clicked. Users can also edit the information according to their convenience. Also, it’s up to the user to choose to give away their data to marketers or not.