OPTIMIZING YOUR SITE

CREATE PAID SEARCH ADS

Appearing on the top page of search results can be very challenging with so much competition in the market for flowers. One way to jump to the top is with paid search advertising in Google and other search engines, like Bing and Yahoo. Boost your shop’s ranking in paid results by following these few simple tips.

1. To get started with Google Ads, set‑up an account at ads.google.com. You will need your website’s URL, a credit card for billing, and basic business information, like your address and phone number.

2. Include the name of your business in Google Ads to help build brand recognition among potential customers.

3. If you want suggestions for the copy to put into the Google Ads description, you can do a search and see what other florists are using in their ads. It’s an easy way to get new ideas.

Bonus Tip: Every time you search, the ads will be different. Feel free to search using the same keywords several different times to see a large variety of ads.

4. Always create a few different ads. Google will show the one that is most likely to work for the person searching based on keywords. By giving Google a few options, you will increase your chances of being served up to a potential customer.

BEST PRACTICES TO DRIVE FREE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic, as well as exposure to your flower shop, through non‑paid, or organic, search engine results.

Follow these tips from FTD’s digital marketing experts to improve your site’s SEO.

1. Ensure you have a Google My Business account set‑up and verified for your business location(s).

Bonus Tip: Ask for Google Reviews on your website — more high quality and positive reviews will help improve your visibility on Google.

2. Ensure your site’s homepage has content about flowers, your shop’s city and your delivery area. You should also reference the types of events, occasions and services your shop provides.

• Pages that have unique and well‑written content (e.g. About us) will have higher rankings and will help position your flower shop against competitors.

3. Check that your pages are easy to navigate and easy to find a product, flower type, etc. Always make sure to remove and redirect broken pages.

• Link important pages in your navigation. Deeper pages of your site should be linked to category pages so Google and users can find information.

4. Add content to a page that is empty or create a new page for topics like The Meaning of Rose Colors. Leverage your local area for keyword specific content for the holidays, local events and holiday pages.

• New pages that target holiday‑related information will expand your traffic opportunities, will be less competitive and should be easier to rank for on a local level.

5. Ask for backlinks to your location, events and offerings from local businesses, organizations you belong to, local news sources, and partners, such as a funeral home. Backlinks, also known as inbound links, are links from one website to a page on another website.

• Backlinks to your website are a ranking factor that Google reviews. Sites with a lot of credible backlinks tend to have higher organic search engine rankings because the links are treated as “votes.” The more votes you have the better, as long as they are not spam or from untrusted sources.