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26 Feature March | 2023 L et's face it: Mother's Day, and all the business that happens during the week(s) leading up to Mother's Day, are crazy! And marketing, for many professional florists, can be one of the hardest parts of what we do. You have to make it easy for people to find you, and you must inform them about the wonderful and creative products you have available and the services you can provide. Marketing is too huge of a topic to cover here, so I am sharing a basic blueprint of what needs to happen on your website for Mother's Day. First, you must get you and your business "found" online. Before any potential customers can find you, the search engines have to be able to not only find you but also know what you are about, the products you have available and the services you provide. The search engines do this in two ways: by means of the text content, especially the metadata you have on your website, and AI (Artificial Intelligence). Search Engine Optimization So, for the sake of practice, let's take an image from your website or one that you are going to have on your website as a special for Mother's Day. First, you must have enough text content for every single item on your website that tells the search engines what it is, what it's for, etc. I have found that three short paragraphs of text work best. The first short paragraph is your opportunity to generate desire for the item by telling the online customer what makes the arrangement, plant or other item special. If you desire, you can describe a specific scenario by creating a mental image for the customer as to why the item is a fantastic choice. Be sure to include some keywords and, more important, keyword phrases that people actually use to search for the kinds of things you have available. At this step, you are starting to generate what is called "on-page SEO." In the second short paragraph, go more in depth about the item, describing, for example, what kinds of flowers and colors are included in a specific arrangement. This is also where you can suggest to customers how it can be displayed in the recipient's home, how to keep the flowers fresh, and so on. Last, and most important for the search engines, the third short paragraph is where you share your business name; where your shop is located, naming the city and state and, possibly, even your specific neighborhood; and to what geographical areas you provide your "professional florist delivery service." (That's a hint.) Also, tell people (and the search engines) what other cities you service. The information that you include in these three paragraphs is what the search engines use to figure out what you have to offer and where you are located. Be sure to focus on local, local, local. Also, all of this information needs to be different for every item on your website. Metadata The next area of importance is the metadata (data that provide information about other data). This is the info with which you are basically telling the search engines directly what content to look for. First is the meta title (a.k.a. title tag) of the item and the page it's located on. It is the text that is displayed on search-engine result pages and browser tabs to indicate the topic of a webpage. It should be brief (between 30 and 60 characters), describe what the page is about, incorporate a primary keyword or keyword phrase for the page, and include trigger words and a USP (unique selling proposition) about the item. Next is the meta description. This is your first chance for a sales pitch or tag line and sharing where you are located. A meta description tag generally informs and interests users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about. It is like a pitch that convinces searchers that the page is exactly what they're looking for. Make sure your description reads like a normal, human-written sentence, but make it as compelling and relevant as possible. And make sure it matches the content on the page. These two pieces of metadata are the most important because once online consumers do a "search" for whatever they are looking for, this is the info they are going to get in their search results. Your keywords and keyword phrases are critical in getting search engines to look what you're offering. Online Marketing Tips Online Marketing Tips By Frank Blanchard, AIFD, CFD ink Flowers Media; Portland, Ore.

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