With the continuous growth and dependence of today’s population in technology, it’s no surprise that eCommerce is now one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

One of the most essential things for eCommerce businesses to have is a good domain name and a reliable hosting provider, as these will affect your company’s success in the online retail industry and even your marketing strategies later on.

Here are some things to consider when choosing a domain name and hosting provider:

Domain

Uniformity is key

To establish credibility and brand recall for your customers, it is suggested for your domain name to be the same as your company name.

Keyword

Your domain name is an important factor in your search engine rankings. That’s why you should choose a name that contains relevant keywords for your business. For example, if you’re in the pharmacy industry, you may want to include the phrase “pharmacy” in your domain name.

Target your location

The “.com” domain is common used for most websites,  however, you should keep in mind that your domain’s extension can also be targeted towards your preferred market. If you’re a company targeting local consumers, you may want to add country specific extensions such as .ph, .uk, .us and so on.

Make it simple and easy to remember

Similar to choosing a company or brand name, your domain should be short, simple and easy to remember. Avoid using hyphen and numbers in your domain name as this can be confusing for most people.

Hosting

Server Uptime

Unlike a physical store where you’ll only be open for a certain number of hours a day, your eCommerce website will be operating non-stop. With this, it is important to choose a hosting provider with a high server uptime to keep your website running 24/7.

Page Loading

One important factor that Google takes into account in its algorithm is a page’s loading speed. A page’s lading speed is very important for SEO rankings. A slow loading website can decrease your website’s traffic and often leads to users abandoning your site.

If you’re looking for a professional, reliable and industry-trusted domain and hosting provider, check us out at iManila.

With years of experience and a vast portfolio of clients here and abroad, iManila is one of the leading domain and hosting providers in the country.

Let us help you maximize your eCommerce business’ potential, email us today at [email protected].

If you’re someone who follows a lot of brands online, then for sure there are a few brand names that’s caught your attention. Customers like to follow brands who offer lots of discounts and promos online, but oftentimes, others follow brands that have really valuable content.

Branding and content can be really challenging for most brands, but some brands put their best foot forward when it comes to publishing online content. Content is very important if you want to stay relevant and keep your customers engaged. Here are 5 local brands who has their branding and content on point! Let’s see if we can take a few notes from them.

1. Sunnies Face

One look at Sunnies Face’s Instagram page and you won’t be able to stop scrolling through their feed- the photos are just so good! Check out their IG page, and you’ll see a lot of product photos and user-generated content, which honestly, is the basic ingredient to getting more people interested in purchasing your products. User-generated content makes your brand relatable and authentic as it shows actual testimonials from ordinary people. Partner that with aesthetically pleasing photos and you can just sit back and wait for the sales to come in!

2. Angkas

Angkas’ branding is the perfect example of treating your brand like another person. Angkas’ online persona your 20-something, fresh out-of-college millennial, and is basically a walking meme. With a hundred thousand followers on Twitter and with almost never less than a thousand engagements in all their posts, you know Angkas has got their branding on lock down. Their content is very engaging; funny and witty, sometimes a bit rude and NSFW, but totally expected from them. The most important thing is that their audience is LOVING it!

3. Boysen

This brand may be a bit unexpected from our list here but you’ll know why they’re included in this list once you check out their Instagram page. Boysen Philippines’ Instagram feed is GOALS. They’ve got the color blocking done right. It’s simple yet very effective, and it really highlights what they sell. The main takeaway? Sometimes simple and clean sells too.

4. Oishi

Oishi’s content may be an underrated one but trust us- it’s one that’s worth checking out. Lots of people have been sharing and reposting content from Oishi’s Facebook Page because of their funny (and honestly, kinda weird) content. Theirs is a different kind of content but is still very engaging and one that truly resonates with their audience. If you’re thinking of viral posts? Oishi’s got a few.

5. Dove 

Here’s a brand that doesn’t need aesthetically pleasing and colorful posts to get their message across. Dove’s social campaigns, especially their women empowerment campaigns, are very notable that one look at their content, you know it’s Dove. It helps a lot if brands focus their marketing towards a specific advocacy. It shows that they aren’t only after sales, but also, they are a brand that wants to contribute something meaningful to society.

There are a lot of key points to note on how to get your branding on point from these brands. Even if they are key players in the digital marketing world, there’s definitely room for more brands, especially more local and new brands, to play along with them. Don’t be scared to define and establish your brand online.

If you are looking for an agency who can help you with branding and online content, iManila is the team for you. You may reach us at [email protected] or call us at (02) 490-000 for inquiries.

In a day and age where most companies rely on the internet, computers and other digital platforms, there is without a doubt a rising demand for a tech support team.

As we grow to be more dependent with technology, it has also become a tedious task to keep track of security and maintain the performance of some of our devices. From upgrading systems to keeping our files secure, these are things that most individuals, and even bigger corporations tend to overlook. That is why people opt to turn to professionals who can get tedious tasks off of their hands.

Technical Support, as some may deem redundant or unnecessary, is actually a vital department to have especially for companies who rely on technology heavily.  However, technical support requires intensive product knowledge and a special skill set. Thus, it can be challenging and expensive for companies to set-up their own technical support team.

To save you from the hassle of hiring, monitoring and maintaining a team of tech support specialists, it is best to outsource it to companies who specializes in this service. Here’s why:

Expertise

Getting a reliable and industry-trusted tech support company saves you from the hassle of setting up a team with responsibilities you have limited knowledge. By outsourcing, you can expect that the tech support provider can assess, address and immediately repair tech issues that your company is experiencing.

Professional Assistance

As industry experts, you can rely on your tech support provider to deliver professional assistance and efficient solutions to technical issues within your company.

Learning

While this may not be commonly advertised, working with an outsourced technical support team can familiarize you with tech issues that you most often overlook. They should be able to provide you with basic and simple solutions that you can resolve internally or via phone conversations before calling for on-site service.

Collaboration and Partnerships

Hiring an outsourced tech support team does not just address your day to day tech needs, as it can lead to successful partnerships that can help you continuously innovate your company.

Getting a tech support team relies greatly on who you choose to partner with.

For an expert, professional and industry-tested tech support company, check us at www.iManila.ph.

As one of the leading digital companies in the Philippines, iManila provides tech support services specially designed to cater to your company’s needs. We also offer 24/7 customer support for fast, timely, and reliable assistance to our clients.

For inquiries, call us at + 63 2 490 0000 or email [email protected].

It’s no secret that online ads have a big influence on a consumer’s buying decision.

With the rise of online marketing, platforms such as Facebook and YouTube are getting saturated with sponsored ads, from global brands to SMEs alike.

But one Ad platform that is often overlooked is Google Shopping Ads, also known as Product Ads.

When done right, it can be highly profitable for businesses. So, if you’re having second thoughts about doing shopping ads, here are some points that might change your mind.

Optimizes and Organizes Content on Website

Google Shopping ads can enable your eCommerce business to be strategically well-optimized. Having a content with search terms that uniquely determines your brand will most likely bring you web traffic as well as potential conversions/sales.

Helps Segment the Business’ Target Market

A budget for a winter sale product collection, for example, will most likely be maximized if the target segmentation will be applied. In this case, people who are looking to buy winter items and people who are going to a country for winter, can be targeted as they are most likely to buy, thus better conversions for your campaign.

Bid Adjustments for better ROI

Having a shopping ad campaign enables you to control how much budget you’re willing to pay for every sale/ acquisition. Once you find the right bidding strategy for your campaign, you are most likely to see an increase in your ROI.

Enables remarketing for added conversions

Remarketing is what makes digital ads, particularly shopping ads superior to any other marketing campaigns.

Integrating a remarketing strategy for your shopping ads campaign will enable you to target those who showed interest in your products but did not complete a purchase. People who added to their cart, or just visited your website are the ones that can be utilized when running a remarketing ad campaign. This increases brand awareness as well as an added conversion to your usual sales performance.

As mentioned, running a shopping ads campaign requires a tedious amount of work as it requires an overall production- from organizing and uploading all your product pages to having an excellent copy and graphics for your ads, so you might find yourself needing some professional help in this department.

iManila is a trusted digital marketing agency who can help you advance in the digital age. Our goals are to help brands achieve their objectives and help turn effective strategies into revenues. You can count on us to help you and guide you towards achieving a better ROI and sales for your business. You may contact us at +632 490 0000, visit our website at https://home.imanila.ph/ or you may also send us an inquiry at [email protected].

Working your way through the digital world can be a tedious task, especially for a business owner who already has a lot on his plate. As a company, it is important to look for a trustworthy and efficient team that can help you manage your digital needs.

Over the years, more and more digital marketing agencies are trying to make it in the industry, which makes it difficult for companies to find the perfect agency for their brand as most have limited experiences under their belt.

Choosing the right digital partner can make or break your bottom line. Choose the wrong one and it’s money down the drain or worse, it can even hurt your brand. But choosing the right one can bring your brand to great lengths. So, before you choose your digital marketing agency, here are some things you need to ask yourself.

What are my objectives?

Understanding your business needs and setting your objectives will be the driving factor of your digital campaign’s success. Identify the platforms that you need and where your customers would be most engaged in.  Whether it’s a website, SEM campaign or social media marketing, identifying these beforehand can help you find and communicate better with your prospective agency.

How much am I willing to spend?

It’s important to know how much you are willing to spend for your digital marketing campaigns. However, there is no “fixed” budget as digital marketing is not a product that you buy off stores. Rather, your prospective agency should be able to provide you with a reasonable budget that will meet your expectations accordingly. They should also be able to recommend appropriate digital marketing strategies for your business. For example, a plumbing business may focus more on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) compared to social media, while a travel agency might invest more on social media than SEM.

Is the agency credible?

Before contacting a prospective agency, do your research. How active and transparent are they online? Do they have good reviews from previous clients? Is their basic information like their address, contact numbers, and portfolio available? If an agency is not transparent enough, then that should set a red flag for you. Many smaller agencies offer big promises with cheaper rates and often, they can’t deliver their promises.

Another way to check on the credibility of an agency is through their website. Is it decent? Does it appear in high search results, indicating SEM and SEO activities? Are their social media accounts properly maintained and are their posts of good quality?

Do they have a well-rounded view of digital marketing?

When it comes to working with an agency, most marketers tend to only see the client-side or the agency-side. But another side that is overlooked is the technical-side. Your agency must be able to explain to you the process and the terms of the service you are availing in such a way that you are able to understand it. It’s also a bonus if your account manager is experienced on digital marketing, as his/her experience will allow him/her to develop better strategies that is best for your brand.

Are they easy to get along with?

You don’t just want an agency who will work for you, but you want an agency who you can work WITH. Meet with the people who are supposed to handle your account. You want someone who understands your products and is aligned with your brand. This is a more personal step, but it is an aspect that is very important as this allows for a smoother communication between client and agency.

At the end of the day, you want an agency who understands your vision and who can help you achieve your goals. Keep these things in mind and you’re off to working with the perfect agency for your brand.

If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency who can help you navigate your way through the digital world, then you might want to consider working with us. iManila houses digital marketing experts who are trained to produce the most effective digital campaigns for your brand. Let us help you achieve your digital marketing goals. For inquiries you may reach us at [email protected] or call (02) 490-0000.

A new year means, new business plans and strategies for companies. Chances are, your company is in the works of new marketing strategies that will surpass your numbers the past year. As for digital marketing, there are a lot of factors that will play into the success of your marketing strategies, but your website will definitely play a huge role in your success. Revamping your website need not require you to give an arm and a limb- a little tweak in the design and content makes a lot of difference to give your website that extra push in the digital space. The main objective? More leads and conversions, and of course revenue for your business! What exactly are some points to consider when you want to revamp your website? Here’s 7:

Mobile-Responsiveness

Technology evolves so quickly that sometimes you can’t help but be left behind. The challenge now is that your brand has to be able to adapt to these changes immediately. People are also looking for information in many kinds of devices, so you have to make sure that your website is able to adapt to the specs of these devices, so your information is available to anyone anywhere. Aside from your website’s responsiveness, it also has to be friendly. Once your user finds your website intimidating to browse through they’re sure to click out of your site immediately.

Boast your Statistics

Been around for 10 or more years? Partnered with 100+ clients? Rendered 1 Million Work Hours? If your numbers are great, then you have every reason to put them front and center on your website. In this case, numbers speak louder than words- lengthy paragraphs are frowned upon but straight to the point facts are celebrated.

Revise your Written Content

It’s a cliché at this point, but the key is to really keep it short and sweet. Especially now that users’ attention span is so short, you have to make sure that your written consent gets the messages across in the first 2-3 sentences. Sift through your ‘About Us’ page, revise it and make it powerful. Make sure your website’s pages convey the right messages with the right call to actions (CTAs). Lastly, make sure all pages are optimized- SEO is key!

Lead Generation-Centered Design

Your website needs to be your driving tool for lead generation. Old websites tend to lack the design and functionalities that will get your customers to stay longer on your website. Get in with the times. Update your website’s design according to what is trendy so as to attract your customers. Create simpler and more effective flows that will lead your customers to the right pages that they can engage with.

Make it More Personal

In the past, companies would use stock photos on their website. But ever since the internet turned stock photos into memes, it seems like using stock photos has been attached with being less credible and less serious. If you’re still using stock photos on your website, then you definitely have a lot to think about. Why not consider doing a photo shoot with your employees that you can include in your website to make it more personal? Before engaging, netizens love to research on a brand first and if they are able to immediately see your brand’s authenticity online, then they are more likely to engage.

SEO-friendly

If you want your website to be seen by many, then optimizing your pages is a must! Your website must have a site-map that leads to search engines, efficient navigation, unique and optimized images and graphics, and use the right keywords.

Are these some of the things you want your website to have? If your answer is yes, then you’re off to a great start! Revamping your website is definitely one of the best ways to start the year right.

The one you can trust for all your website revamp needs

A successful website revamp wouldn’t be complete without a trusted web development agency. iManila has been in the industry for 22 years and we can assure you that all of your website revamp needs can be taken care of. Our web development team consists of people that are adept in various coding platforms such as WordPress, Java, and many more. We are also continuously learning of new website trending platforms that we can incorporate in our future projects. Let us help you further establish your brand in today’s digital space. Contact us at +632 490 0000 or visit our website at https://home.imanila.ph/

Some relationships reach a point wherein things start to slow down. Maybe one person becomes less responsive, and the other ends up not feeling safe or secure in the relationship anymore. When it reaches that point, sadly, sometimes it’s better to accept the situation and move on to better things.

This same situation can happen with your website hosting provider. If you feel like things aren’t where they’re supposed to be, maybe it’s time to get up and get moving. But what exactly are the signs you should look out for in order to say, “Yup, it’s time to move on”? Here are 5 simple reasons for you to consider:

At a Snail’s Pace

Slow speed means lost revenues. Think of all the visitors and potential customers you could have converted, but have bounced away because of your site’s slow speed. Ideally, your website should load within 2-3 seconds. Anything more than that could drive your users to leave your site. If that’s the case, then it’s time to change your hosting plan or provider. Google hates slow speed too! The company has been known to devalue slow loading sites.

Can’t Keep Up with Traffic Spikes

As your business grows, you want your hosting provider to grow with you as well. When there is a spike in traffic on your website, is your hosting provider able to expand your capacity automatically? A good hosting provider should be able to anticipate your site activities and recommend a plan that best suits your requirements to avoid unforeseen issues that could cost you additional expenses.

Frequent Downtime

No website should experience unexpected and repetitive downtime. While there are no hosting providers that can guarantee a 100% uptime, you should expect at least a 99.9% uptime. If you’re getting less than that, then it’s definitely time for a change.

Inadequate Security

The #1 question to ask is: What can your hosting provider do to keep your website safe? No website owner wants their site to get hacked – files missing, corrupted, and moved around – especially for companies that handle sensitive information. A great hosting provider should be able to offer you and your customers strict security measures and strategies.

Unresponsive Tech Support

As much as we try to avoid it, things can still go wrong at any time. And when it does, your hosting provider’s support team should be on top of everything. A support team is crucial for site owners who have limited experience in solving technical issues. Your web hosting’s support team should be able to help you solve any issue, be responsive to all your queries, and be able to properly monitor all activities related to your hosting plan, 24/7.

There are a lot of hosting providers whose services you can get for cheap. But sometimes, lowered prices means the quality of the service is compromised. Rather than opt for the cheapest service, consider partnering with a hosting provider that will address all your needs and protect your online assets.

iManila’s Hosting services guarantee a 99.98% uptime, and access to a highly-skilled and responsive technical support team to assist you with your web hosting concerns. If you need help choosing a hosting package, check out https://home.imanila.ph/hosting/ or send us an email at [email protected].

Google has been the #1 go-to search engine of most Internet users that in 2006, the Oxford Dictionary officially included it as a word that refers to any kind of researching done on the Internet, regardless of the search engine you use.

There is no denying that google has the answer to almost all of our questions. With an average search of 3.5 billion per day, and roughly around 1.17 Billion users worldwide, it’s no surprise that many digital marketers see Google as an opportunity to reach more people and drive them towards their brands.

Today, tons of businesses – big and small alike fight for ad space on Google. Why? Because there is a big chance that your click may eventually lead to a sale. And if not, you’ll be able to measure the data to make adjustments to your marketing strategy.

So what makes Google Ads a good investment? Here are 8 reasons!

No business is too big or too small

One of the good things about advertising on Google is that any kind of business can do it. You can be a start-up business or a traditional corporation – you have the freedom to set your ad budgets daily. As long as your content is valuable and relevant to your customers, your ads will be effective.

No minimum investment

With Google Ads, there is less risk compared to other traditional ways of advertising, as it does not ask for a large or fixed amount to spend. It is also much easier to play around with your ad budget, goals, and target market, so you can really maximize the cost per result.

Easier to control and maintain campaigns

With traditional media, there are a lot of processes and hurdles that you have to go through before you can run a campaign. Google Ads on the other hand, can easily be set-up in just a few clicks. Easily access your dashboard, which contains your target market, ad budget, and the actual ad collaterals. Unlike traditional media, you can also make adjustments to your campaigns at any time, if there are metrics that you want to update.

Easy to scale and measure

When it comes to budget-result ratio, as long as an ad is performing at its best, then there is absolutely no reason for you to cap your budget. With Google ads, the more you increase your budget, the better your results will be. This makes Google Ads highly effective for businesses that need a lot of leads but are pressed for time and manpower.

Faster results compared to SEO

Your Google Search Engine Ranking Placement (SERP) is one factor that will make your  website credible. Doing SEO alone can get the job done, but it can take months for you to see valuable results. Thousands of new websites are being published on the World Wide Web, so your SERP has tendencies to change depending on how aggressive your competitors are with their online marketing strategies. By partnering your SEO efforts with Google Search Ads, you can immediately get impressions and clicks to your site.

Stay Connected to Your Target Audience with Remarketing

If you’re a digital marketer, then you know that remarketing is your best friend. When you do remarketing strategies, you target the customers who have previously shown interest in your brand. Google Remarketing Ads can easily track past visitors of your website, and allow you to ‘follow’ them by serving them other ads to encourage them to return.

Better Conversions Compared to Organic Traffic

We love organic traffic any time of the day, but paid ads are almost always better. Conversion rates are said to be 2x higher than organic traffic due to its nature of being more targeted and qualified. However, conversion rates vary from industry to industry. Paid ads may not work for certain businesses but hey, it doesn’t hurt to try

Your competitors are doing it

What are you waiting for? You surely don’t want to be left behind. Competition within certain industries is getting tougher as more businesses are investing in Google Ads. The more competitors there are fighting for certain keywords, the higher the cost per result may be. Try searching about your industry on Google. If you can’t find your business in the top of the page, then it’s time to put your money where it matters.

iManila is a full service digital agency based in Manila. Get a free consultation by sending your digital marketing queries to [email protected].

Growing a business through digital means is not a sprint in which you go all-in for you to reach your goal as fast as possible. You will just end up exhausting yourself and may quickly lose the build-up that you have attained for your business. It is rather a marathon wherein you need to experience the many bumps in the road in order for you to fully reach your business’s potential.

Though digital marketing has a lot of advantages from other type of marketing strategies, it still requires a thorough testing in order for a campaign to be successful. The right images, audience targeting, schedule optimization are just some of the factors that need to be considered in a digital marketing campaign. Same as with marathon, you will probably have an excellent start to your campaign but at some point you will experience what runners call “hitting the wall”. Problems such as the increasing of your CPC (cost-per-click) and decreasing of result acquisitions are just one of those walls that you will face. But worry not! This guide is for every businessman or digital marketer who wants to break through those walls and push themselves towards their goal.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is probably every business’s bread and butter towards their connections and potential partnerships. LinkedIn is crucial for businesses looking to make connections, generate leads, and ultimately, build their brand. It is a platform that can be utilized by business to business (B2B) companies to spread awareness and attain potential partnerships.

• Utilizing native videos in promoting content write-ups such as blog articles
• Acknowledge those people who like your posts or commented. The more people with large networks you tag, the bigger your posts will blow up on LinkedIn.
• Utilize automation tools such as LinkedHelper to ask and collaborate with other professionals about the content you are planning to post.
• Make your sales team 4X more effective by integrating automation tools in order to increase their connections and create awesome content of the product or service they are offering.
• Dominate B2B retargeting with LinkedIn dynamic ads

Facebook

• “Pattern interruption” to get your ads get noticed. This pertains of utilizing new form of ads such as 3D images, canvas type of images, carousel that will make your audience stop from scrolling and potentially engage with it.
• Using video content/ads that lets you garner 2x engagement more than still ads or text only content.
• Integrating the 3S (short, succinct, special) on your video content.
• Utilize a suitable type of content for every ad objective. It was found out that video-type ads cost more than the still images when they are use for lead generation ads.
• Messenger apps will soon replace email for communication. Start utilizing messenger ads to increase inquiries on Facebook.
• Provide promos or giveaways to increase message subscribers
• Use Facebook live during special events and announcements as a way to broadcast your company’s activities and offers.

Google

Google is the world’s leading source of information in today’s digitally adept society. Thus, it is more reasonable for every marketer to invest and know the benefits that Google ads can bring to their business. Here are some tips and hacks that can help you fully utilize Google marketing tool for your business.

• Utilizing Google Analytics to learn the different digital touch points that a person undergo before acquiring a product or service.
• Avoid losing ad traffic with the use of remarketing tool (Facebook pixel, Google tracking codes)
• Avoid losing 40% of your visitors by prioritizing the page load speed of your website that will be use on your online ads.
• Use WhatRunsWhere as competitive analysis tool to track what display ads your competitors are running.
• Create conversational videos on YouTube and remarket those audience that you have garnered from your LinkedIn InMailing list.
• Use long-tail keywords on your SEO campaign.

Digital marketing offers a whole new opportunity for businesses. However, it needs a thorough learning process and experimentation to fully take advantage of its facets. These tips are just the tip of the ice berg of what digital marketing can do. Hence, you need a trusted partner that can assist you in fully developing your digital marketing campaigns. Here at iManila, we provide digital marketing services that aims to reach every businesses’ KPIs. Our team consists of digital natives who are adept with different digital marketing tools and are continuously discovering potential digital marketing strategies.  For inquiries, visit our Contact Us page or get in touch with our team at (02) 490 0000 or (+63) 917 845 6005.