3 Integrated Marketing Ideas for Wineries For wineries looking to grow their online shopping revenue, here are 3 ways to take a more integrated approach to wine marketing. Creatively combine SEO, Public Relations, Content Marketing, and Conversion Rate Optimization to stand out in a crowded, dynamic market. As a preview of what I’ll be covering in my talk at the Wine Sale Symposium, here are three different integrated marketing approaches that can be used to boost online wine store, tasting room, and wine club membership revenue. Online Wine Store Sales: SEO + Content Marketing Search engine optimization is the practice of improving the search engine visibility on website content. Therefore, the practice of SEO and content marketing go hand-in-hand. Focus on Niche Keywords: Instead of broad, highly competitive keywords, identify niche keywords related to your specific winery, varietals, and vineyard practices. It’s very difficult to come up first in Google for a keyword like “Chardonnay” or “Merlot.” Even if you were to rank for that term, the probability of a sales conversion would be low because the searcher’s intent is more likely to be informational than transactional. On the other hand, a term like “best Carneros Chardonnay” or “Alexander Valley Merlot” may have lower search volume, but it also has higher commercial intent. Focus on niche keywords with transactional intent that your winery has the accolades to convert on. Editorial is More Powerful than Promotional Content: It’s more challenging to SEO promotional content. Produce editorial content that informs potential customers with an unbiased, impartial point of view. Create content around topics instead of your specific wines. Write about winemaking trends instead of your website promotions. SEO is not a huge opportunity when it comes to promotional content. Produce worthwhile editorial content that respects journalistic practices. Help wine enthusiasts make informed purchasing decisions. That’s not to say you can’t rank product landing pages, too. But content is much easier to earn top rankings for. Tasting Room Sales: Local SEO + PR Customer loyalty is born in the tasting room. Winery visitors are more likely to buy wine at the point of sale, and more likely to join your club. For this reason, local SEO is a huge opportunity for wineries. Optimize for Local Searches: Google Maps uses a different algorithm than Google search. Google displays the top three Map results in universal search, and those businesses get the majority of the local traffic for those services. Make sure your winery is listed in local directories and on wine-specific platforms. Use Local SEO practices to optimize your website for “near me” searches and by including region-specific keywords and phrases in your website’s meta titles, descriptions, and content and by sending geo signals from local websites. Local Journalism and Event Sponsorships: Write articles about local events for community news outlets in exchange for backlinks. These articles need to be solid news reporting articles that respect journalistic guidelines. Local news organizations are struggling to stay solvent. If you’re a good writer, providing them with valuable coverage in exchange for a byline may be something they’re open to considering. In addition to directory listings, this may help increase your Google Maps rankings. Wine Club Sales: SEO + CRO We make buying decisions online based on ease of use. The easier it is to complete a transaction online, there more likely we are to buy. Optimizing club pages for search without optimizing them for conversions is only half the battle. SEO Your Club Page: To boost SEO traffic to your wine club pages, hone in on specific niches like boutique and small-batch, regional, varietal-specific, or organic and natural wine clubs. Creating content tailored to these interests attracts an audience searching for unique offerings. Reference educational aspects and exclusive benefits, such as access to limited releases and special winery accommodations. A targeted SEO strategy aligns better with what your most engaged visitors are seeking. It also increases the chances of purchase consideration. Optimize Your Club Page for Conversions: SEO gets them to the page, but it doesn’t make them convert. For wine clubs, a seamless checkout process and options to customize orders are vital to both conversions and retention. Selecting bottle counts, varietals, shipping frequency, gifting, and shipping options requires a user-friendly interface to keep potential customers from leaving. While popular shopping cart software helps, the product page and process must be configured to work to your winery. A conversion rate optimization specialist improves the user experience and boosts conversion rates. Combining Channels for Synergistic Winery Marketing Effects By focusing on niche keywords, producing editorial content, optimizing for local searches, engaging in local journalism, and fine-tuning your website for conversions, wineries can boost their winery website traffic, and convert more visitors into customers. This marketing strategy not only attracts a more targeted audience but also ensures that once potential customers land on your pages, they are met with an engaging and seamless buying experience. In a market as competitive as the wine industry, integrating these marketing methods is not just a recommendation—it’s a necessity for growth and success. If you can’t make it to the WIne Sales Symposium and would like to discuss how this applies to your winery website, click here to schedule a time to meet. Remember, it’s the synergy of these efforts that ultimately drives revenue, making integrated marketing the cornerstone of your wine marketing strategy. Integrated Marketing Services Integrated Marketing Services
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