Creating a digital marketing strategy for your jewelry store can be a complex process that may appear to be full of uncertainty and questions as to where to begin. How do you know if your strategy will be successful? Is there anything you are overlooking? Are you scheduling enough time each month to focus on digital? What are the must-haves for your website to be successful online?

If it is one thing we know well here at GemFind Digital Solutions, it is online marketing for jewelry stores and our talented team is always hear to help. With that being said, we constantly are looking at data from our digital marketing clients and optimizing their success every single day.

Although our clients are spread throughout the country and in markets large and small,  the approach in creating a successful digital strategy, when done right and with a great partner, can truly set you apart from your competitors and make tremendous impact on your bottom line.

Here is a "Digital Marketing Road Map" that you can follow when it comes to promoting your jewelry store online. This start-to-finish guide, when put into practice and continually built on we'll undoubtedly help your store flourish in the online marketplace.

Let’s get started:

The best digital marketing strategies can broadly fit under there categories:

1. Search Engine Marketing
2. Lead Generation
3. Website Best Practices for User Experience

Although this completely simplifies what is required for a digital marketing strategy (we continually write entire blog posts just about SEO, Lead Generation, and Website Optimization!) it nevertheless gives you a starting point as you work to optimize your jewelry store website and educate yourself on each of the topics.

Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is all about making your website look good to both the search engine and the people who use it. Search engine algorithms are always looking for more and more relevant content, so by following these search engine optimization tips, you’ll be able to help your site rank higher.

Build Purposeful Landing Pages

The first step in getting search engine visibility is being present when a potential shopper searches for a keyword related to your offerings.

The best practice according to Google is creating separate dedicated landing pages for each keyword that represents your product offering. In the past, it was a lot easier to rank for any keyword. Businesses were able to just list off dozens of keywords on one page. Today, Google is ranking businesses for user experience. The best way to have a good user experience is by creating pages that are relevant to the keyword that potential shoppers are typing in. For example, if someone types in "Engagement Rings" and they land on a page that promotes fashion jewelry, watches, anniversary rings, wedding rings and also engagement rings, this is going to make the visitor have to dig through a lot of noise in order to take the next step and start shopping. This is going to frustrate the user and many of them will just leave, which in turn creates what Google refers to as a high "bounce rate". The higher the bounce rate, most likely the less relevant the landing page is to the shopper.

When you build a dedicated landing page for a keyword, this affords your business to have the opportunity to highlight that product or service that represents the keyword that was typed in to find you. Additionally, the landing page now allows you to address the shopper in a more direct way. You can instruct users to start browsing for products, to educate themselves with featured content and offer incentives for shopping for that product or service. 

Write Informational Blog Posts

Not all blog posts have to be about getting the sale -- and nor should they be. In fact, some of the best and most share-worthy blog posts are informational in nature. Remember that your average person doesn’t know nearly as much about jewelry as you do -- so this is your opportunity to provide information that can help them in their purchasing decision.

Blog posts with titles like “Don’t Fall for These X Common Scams When Buying a Diamond Engagement Ring” or “Little-Known Tricks to Saving $500 or More on Saltwater Pearl Jewelry” will definitely get people talking -- and clicking!

What’s more, search engines love them too. Imagine someone searching for “how to save money on jewelry” or “how to avoid engagement ring scams when buying diamonds” - these are deep queries that search engines really have to look equally deep to find, and this increases he chances that your site will rank higher as a result!

The important thing to remember when optimizing your blog posts (or any page) for the search engines is that you target the right “long tail” keywords; that is, the deep and more specific queries like “what’s the difference between saltwater and freshwater pearl jewelry?” if you’re selling those types of items. This will increase the odds that your site will rank higher than if you tried to compete with bigger sites on just “pearl jewelry”, although these keywords are still extremely important to rank on.

Embrace Content Marketing

This is another great way to direct traffic onto your site. Content marketing can take many forms, but at its core, it involves offering something of value to your prospect that uses content in some form to help promote your business.

It could be as simple as a “free ring sizing guide” or “how to pair gold with your favorite summer outfits”, but no matter what you choose to write about, content marketing does the heavy lifting of keeping your brand front-of-mind when it comes to helping the consumer make a purchasing decision.

It helps with your search engine ranking as well, since search engines are all about helping people find the results they want, quickly. Imagine someone searching for “free ring sizing guide” and happening upon your free report?

Now imagine dozens of people or even hundreds of people doing that over time. The search engine algorithms would quickly realize that your guide is being viewed as something credible and authoritative, and your ranking would increase accordingly.

Paid Search Engine Marketing

There are two important components to Search Engine Marketing. First, organic Search Engine Optimization, which is outlined above and does not require you to pay to show on search engines. The other component is the paid side, which is ultimately utilizing Google Ads to show prominently no search engines. You may know it is pay-per-click as you get charged every time someone clicks on your Google Ad. This may seem counter-intuitive to have to spend money to be prominent, but it's one of the most important factors in your overall digital marketing strategy as it can provide the quality traffic that is important to fill your funnel. Once you get the quality traffic, you can use that traffic for 'remarketing' and finding similar buyer's with lookalike audiences.

The reason why Google Ads gives you quality traffic and why it is so important is similar to why organic Search Engine Optimization is important; it is buying intent. When someone types in a keyword related to a product or service you offer, they are showing interest in that product or service. This is the biggest factor in setting Search Engine Marketing apart from every other type of digital marketing service.

When you use Google Ads, you are able to generate quality traffic faster than with organic Search Engine Optimization as you can essentially show above everyone else immediately. 

One caveat to running Google Ads campaigns is that it must be set-up properly in order to not overspend. Best practice is following what we outlined with the organic Search Engine Optimization section above. You need dedicated landing pages for each keyword. Each keyword should have it's own campaign in order to generate the best results. The better your landing page is, the better the quality score is, which in turn gives you better positioning on your ads. Additionally, you need to make sure you follow Google's recommendations for setting up your ads in order to yield a high optimization score. 

Lead Generation

If search engine marketing is about getting people to notice your online jewelry store, lead generation is about helping generate interest in your products and encouraging a sale. Fortunately, you can do just that with these lead generation tips:

Create Downloadable Content

By creating downloadable content, it gives you the ability to promote that piece of content in exchange for email signups. You can fill your funnel with "top of the funnel" buyers that are interested in the service the content covers. For example, with GemFind's Platinum Lead Generation Package, we create an "Engagement Ring Buyer's Guide" and promote that to people on Facebook and Instagram who may be looking for an Engagement Ring. The Engagement Ring buying process is typically 3.5 months. Therefore, if you create content that addresses many of their pain points, by helping them with those pain points, they may lean more to buying from you for being helpful to them.

Email Nurturing Campaigns

If you promote downloadable E-Books and collect email addresses in exchange for the content, you can create automated email campaigns that can be triggered when they sign up. Give them more relevant content that can be helpful to each stage of their buyer's journey. If you think about it in terms of the inbound marketing buyer's journey of "Awareness", "Consideration, and "Decision", you can time out your emails to send out for those stages.

Create Explainer Videos

These days, simply having a site and saying  “here we are!” isn’t enough. You have to educate users on the reasons why they should choose you over your competitors. That may mean creating explainer videos, for example, to give insights into what a karat is, or how diamonds are graded, or the difference between saltwater and freshwater pearls.

People who learn about the jewelry they’re buying are not only educated in the process, but they can also feel like you’re an ally, helping them to get the most for their money, rather than just a store looking to sell them something.

Share Tidbits of Information with Infographics

Another great way to not only make sure your jewelry store is mentioned but also shared is through the use of infographics. These are graphics brimming with interesting or unique facts in a small, digestible “statistic” form. You have a lot of knowledge to share about your particular jewelry, and presenting it in easy-to-understand tidbits is a great way to get people talking (and shopping!)

Invite Social Media Discussions

Right now, it’s very likely that people are talking about jewelry. However, social media is social first and sales second. You can’t just magically insert yourself into the conversation. However, what you can do is show off some of your products in a way that gets people involved. For example, imagine selling a gorgeous pair of diamond studs that would make a great graduation gift for a college student.

Post a photo of the studs being worn and ask users, “What do you think? Great graduation gift for young ladies?” and of course, a link to buy. Then watch the conversation and the tagging of friends and grads take off! Just take a look at what major jewelry brands and fashion brands are doing to engage with their customer base on social platforms.

Get People Sharing with Quizzes

Social media and quizzes seem to go hand-in-hand, with people lining up to figure out what kind of vegetable they are based on their haircut, or what movie star they’re destined to marry based on the shape of their big toe. All joking aside, quizzes can be a great way to encourage users to interact with your site and, in the process, learn more about what jewelry might fit their needs.

For instance, imagine creating a quiz on “What Gemstone Best Reflects Your Personality?” and showing users a selection of gemstone rings based on certain answers. Will they be a sexy and mysterious black tourmaline, or a bright and vivacious citrine?” This playful approach can really engage users, so don’t hesitate to be creative!

Follow up with an Email Series

Done right, an educational email series (where email messages are sent out sequentially over the course of several days or even weeks) can be a great way to educate customers without forcing them to read long or drawn-out blog posts. Email series can even take on a certain theme, like a seasonal series for the “best pearl jewelry to wear to the beach” (complete with links to your products, of course), or the “warmest gemstone jewelry for fall”.

Remember that users love receiving suggestions that are tailored to their needs and likes, so keep that in mind as you develop and segment your email list to cater to what they’re looking for!

Be Helpful with Questionnaires

Questionnaires are the online version of “How can I help you?” To avoid the standard “just looking”answer, it’s important to ask poignant, direct questions that can help you learn more about your prospect. For example, a happy groom-to-be that’s looking for the perfect engagement ring is going to need a little help finding “the ring” for “the one”.

What better opportunity to send out a short questionnaire with an easy-to-fill in form asking things like:  what’s her style? Is she fashion forward or does she prefer the creature comforts of life? Is her heart set on diamonds or is she all about vibrant colors? Questions like this can help you get to know each prospect better and greatly increase the chances that you’ll have the perfect jewelry pieces for their needs.

Have Fun with Contests

Contests and social media go together perfectly, and there’s no better way to get people involved than by offering something valuable in exchange for something you want. It doesn't have to be huge or extravagant, but when done right, contests can generate a huge amount of participation -- so be ready for an influx of entries!

Website Design Best Practices

By following these steps, your lead generation and search engine optimization will start to pay off in no short order. But your work still isn’t done! When they get to your site, you’d better be prepared to roll out the red carpet. That means following these web design best practices for the best possible results:

Make Your Site Easy to Navigate

Nobody likes dealing with a site that’s difficult or cumbersome to navigate. That’s why you’ll want to pay special attention to how your site’s navigation is laid out, and do everything you can to help shorten the customer journey from landing on your homepage to browsing and buying the jewelry you sell.

The same idea applies to searching your site as well. If someone searches for “diamond rings” and you show them all diamond products (including rings), they’re not going to find that particularly helpful. Remember, people who come to your site are at different stages in their customer journeys. Some want to buy, but many want to learn more or just browse your collections. Make it easy and welcoming to do all of those things!

Responsive on Any Device

It should go without saying that these days, many people are on mobile devices or tablets instead of on a desktop or laptop computer. You want to be sure that your site works equally well for everyone. That means ensuring that it’s mobile responsive. This means that your site is essentially “future-proof” and can adjust to any size on any device.

Include Powerful Calls-to-Action

One of the biggest things missing from most jewelry websites is a powerful call-to-action. Oftentimes, jewelry retailers will do everything except ask for the sale!  If you’ve come this far with modernizing and optimizing your site and content, you don’t want to lose the prospect now! That’s why it’s important to include a powerful call-to-action.

But what exactly does that mean? A call-to-action can be anything that gets the user to take the next step, but is most commonly a button or a link. You don’t want to just slap up a “buy now” or “add to cart” button and call it a day.

A better idea is to include a call-to-action with financing details, for instance  “Own this ring for as little as $XX per month when you buy now”. Another option is to showcase the many ways that you take payment so that users can see that they can pay using their preferred option rather than being shoehorned into something that’s less than convenient for them.

The End of the Road: What’s Next?

As you can see, coming up with an executing a digital strategy for your jewelry store is not something you can do in an afternoon. It takes experience and expertise to formulate, much less put into practice and optimize along the way.

That’s why, if you’re ready to work alongside a digital advertising and marketing agency that’s laser-focused on the success of your online jewelry store, we invite you to reach out to us at GemFind Digital Solutions to learn more about how we can help you.

Our Consultation process is personalized, and we pride ourselves in being a champion for your business and a true partner in your success.

Webinar

This blog was written in tandem with one of GemFind's educational webinars, "The Road Map for a Successful Digital Marketing Strategy for jewelry Stores" which will be broadcast Wednesday, July 29th at 2PM EST / 11AM PSt.