Massachusetts prom dress stores turn to search engine optimization to boost sales

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of trying to cater to Google algorithms to enable a website to appear as high up as possible in search results. That allows an organization’s website to increase its visitors, and for businesses, to help drive sales. Outsourcing SEO services can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $40,000 per month for a large company, said David Wilson, executive vice president of digital marketing and analytics at Zozimus, a Boston-based agency.Get TrendlinesA business newsletter from Globe Columnist Larry Edelman covering the trends shaping business and the economy in Boston and beyond.“It is the channel that gives you the highest [return on investment] across anything that you do,” Wilson said. “It’s essential or critical for any small business to be investing or spending time on SEO.”For Lady Black Tie, a prom dress store and e-commerce business in Hudson, SEO is a way of life.Nyasiah Rodriguez, 17, of Lawrence, tried on a prom dress at Lady Black Tie in April.Ken McGagh for The Boston GlobeMarissa Tilley, owner and founder, said she learned how to optimize her store’s search results not through a class or formal training — but because of Reddit. When she first opened the store in 2018, she didn’t have many customers sometimes, giving her time to master SEO through research.She wrote words on her website, then Googled terms she guessed shoppers would search for like the names of certain designers whose dresses she carries, and then tweaked the wording to try to improve her placement on the results page. Tilley said she also added more details about the dresses to Lady Black Tie’s site through YouTube videos, photos, and descriptions, to rank above other websites and increase the store’s authoritativeness from Google’s perspective.“It’s kind of like one of those things where you plant a lot of seeds and you might not see the growth for a little while but eventually you’re getting a lot of fruits in a couple of years,” said Tilley. “SEO takes time.”And it’s paid off for the store, which she said sold more than 45,000 dresses in 2023, compared to under 6,000 in 2019. And it’s on track to sell the same number in 2024 as last year, according to Tilley. The store’s floor-length gowns range in price from roughly $69 to $879.Lady Black Tie also has a strong social media presence. The store’s TikTok account has amassed nearly 318,000 followers and its Instagram account has drawn more than 153,000. In its most viral TikTok video, which has more than 8 million views, the store shows off a girl described as a “tomboy” transforming from wearing an every day outfit to a royal blue, flowy prom dress “to slay prom.”Tilley said the key to the store’s marketing success is diversifying across platforms. She’s branched out her marketing efforts to Pinterest and YouTube Shorts in efforts to increase the store’s reach.“You just have to follow the market,” she said.Knowing your market is also crucial. Tilley said that when it comes to dress trends, New England girls have their own look: plain and fitted. Poofy dresses aren’t as prominent; mermaid cut dresses, which only flair out at the bottom, are the closest thing that sells well here.This year, bright colors, including neon, and corset-style dresses are also in. But while flowy so-called “Easter” or “church” dresses with pastel floral patterns are trending online, those styles are less in demand here, Tilley said.Another store, Alexandra’s Boutique in Fall River, has also invested in SEO and digital marketing, and saw a 10-percent jump in store traffic this year compared to last year, which prompted a “couple-point” increase in sales, said Zachary Leone, owner of Alexandra’s Boutique.More than 8,000 people came to shop for prom this year, he said. Girls start shopping for their dresses as early as January to get the best pick, he said.“Nobody wants to wear the same dress,” said Leone. “People want the most choice, so they want to get out as early as possible.”In fact, students at some schools launch Instagram pages where girls can send in their prom dress to ensure that nobody else buys the same one, Leone said.In order to spread the word about the store, Leone said, Alexandra’s Boutique outsources digital marketing services to a company called Logical Position and utilizes social media, where a multiweek influencer program gives girls a chance to get their prom dress for free if they post pictures promoting the store’s dresses.Lady Black Tie stylist Lexi Milllette returned prom dresses to the rack at the store.Ken McGagh for The Boston GlobeMark Czarny, SEO account manager at Logical Position, said he’s seen his firm’s efforts benefit the boutique, which has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram between its prom and bridal accounts. He said successful online marketing hinges on the credibility of the site and the key words, which enable Google to best identify which store’s website to put first when a person searches something.“The nice thing about SEO is that it’s essentially a popularity contest in Google’s eyes,” said Czarny. “If you can build enough exposure organically, Google likes that and can essentially give you more credit or authority and then kind of help you rank better for some other marketing channels.”Some of the keywords the company uses in its website text for Alexandra’s Boutique, which also sells bridal and formal dresses, Czarny said, include: “wedding gown boutique,” “bridal dress boutiques,” and “bridal shop Massachusetts.”Amari Prom, located in Littleton, said its social media channels bring in customers. On Instagram, the store has more than 1,000 followers, and it spends money on Facebook advertisements, in addition to old-school direct mail, said owner Kate Williams.“We’re very busy,” said Williams.For industries with a busy season like prom dress retailers, SEO and other online techniques are important to work on year-round, said Wilson, the digital marketing executive.“It’s such a short-term window for prom, similar to Halloween,” Wilson said, adding: “You have to have your SEO lined up in advance in order for that to work.”Esha Walia can be reached at [email protected].

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/09/business/prom-dress-seo-sales/