Search Engine Optimization Eblog

Several reports I've come across lately have reinforced what today's online marketers already felt to be true: when the economy slows down, look for those marketing activities that will bring in a higher return with less cash outlay.

Enter search engine optimization. If you're not already optimizing your site and every page on it, there's no better time to start.

Why is SEO a good choice in a recession?

1. SEO costs less per qualified visitor than pay-per-click ads and it adds long-term value to your site.

2. Professional optimization can start showing the effects of traffic within a few months.

3. Optimization for the search engines can benefit desired on-site actions by your site visitors. Research shows that when consumers encounter the search terms they used to find your site actually used in the copy on your site, it helps them to feel more at ease about remaining on your site and can even increase conversion rates.

4. SEO is the most cost-effective way of establishing your company as an authority (or maintaining that status). It has been documented that people automatically attribute more trust and authoritative status to those with web sites that display high in the search results. Organic search results are perceived by users to be better indicators than the paid or sponsored ads which may also appear on the page.

5. SEO lets you focus on helping people find you when you they want your products/services, rather than force feeding it to them through advertising. In today's online environment, it pays more to be "findable" naturally than to plaster your ads everywhere, which is also more expensive.

I'm sure there are more reasons, but that's the gist of why SEO becomes a priority during an economic downturn or recession.

See how SEO Advantage is helping companies market strong even when the economy isn't at its best with graphic design, copywriting, and specialized SEO services.

As consumers check out their options on Google, the position of your listing can influence how they perceive your brand. Enquiro recently conducted a study with Google to test brand perceptions of Honda according to where it fell within the first search engine results page.

A few key points were discovered when Honda appeared in the top organic spot and top sponsored ad simultaneously.

a) Brand recall more than doubled versus appearing in top sponsored spot only.

b) This also resulted in a 16% greater brand association for Honda when participants were asked what brands came to mind when they thought of fuel-efficient cars.

c) Brands that did not appear in the results experienced a 42% lower brand association than Honda.

Key takeaway: By appearing in both top spots on Google's results pages, a company not only gains points but also edges out competitors in the consumer's mind.

Similar studies have long been conducted to test the effects of print advertising on brand recall and association, demonstrating that companies both advertising in a magazine and also enjoying a mention in an article in the same issue enjoyed magnified recall and favorable impressions among readers. It only make sense to see the same happen online, as humans often seek the fastest way to evaluate their choices and create that "shortlist" of options.

Get the white paper here

Internet Retailer reports on what the top 500 retailers online are doing, in order of greatest number of sites deploying the feature. Which of these will you be looking to add in 2008?

On-site keyword search
Daily or seasonal specials
Enlarge product view (zoom)
What's new section
Affiliate program

Advanced search on site
Online gift certificates
Rich media (Flash product demos, etc.)
Outlet center (sales and clearance products)
Email a friend function

Coupons/rebates
Top sellers
Site personalization (shows content relevant to user)
Alternative payments (Bill Me Later, PayPal, etc.)
Store locator

Wish list
Customer reviews
Catalog quick order
Mapping (would someone at IR like to clarify - is this displaying maps to locations or is it referring to product categorization?)
Product customization

Live chat
Online circular
Product comparisons
Syndicated content
RSS/podcasts/social networking

Video
Registry
Buy online/pick up in store
Auction

Last week I started an online incorporation lens for our client MaxFilings on Squidoo (a very informative, addictive social media/marketing site).

Squidoo is adding to the touch points and opportunities available to dominate for your area of expertise, letting you become a lens master for your subject. Not only expanding your "footprint", your lens can also help improve Page Rank for your other sites when incorporated into your online media strategy effectively.

Stay posted, and we'll update you on how this lens is working as the latest component of the MaxFilings SEOBuzz Marketing Program...

Bring out the trumpets... Sarit Jewelry, the acclaimed Israeli jewelry design studio, has just launched its new web site!

The site features amazing one-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry designs by a very talented artist, Sarit Wolfus. She creates each piece by hand from gold, silver, and gemstones, for an effect that speaks to the individuality of the wearer.

My favorite jewelry collection is this one of gold foil-filled murano beads under gifts for her. Very elegant and simple. But no matter your style, you're going to see something you like in their jewelry collections.

The site lets you pay by credit card or PayPal account, and they offer free shipping worldwide for orders over $50. Delivery is fast, too. (I must say, I'm pretty impressed with the attention they've given to making the shopping expeience easy for Americans.)

I'm always pleased to be working with clients who are so diligent in their efforts to provide a great shopping experience for their customers. We help with graphic design considerations and copywriting for much of the site, and they are doing a great job of handling the actual site development in-house. Look for lots more exciting handmade jewelry designs to be posted on the site in the coming weeks and expect to be hearing more about this talented jewelry designer.

Visit Sarit-Jewelry.com here.

If you are a business owner considering incorporating or forming an LLC, you'll love this deal.

We're partnering with MaxFilings Online Incorporation Service to offer a limited number of their customers a free press release when they incorporate or form an LLC through the MaxFilings.com site!

So, if you're growing your business, you'll have the chance to use a super easy online system to incorporate - and you can start promoting your company right away by taking advantage of the exposure of a professionally prepared press release.

Be sure to hurry, as we are offering this free press release on a first-come, first-served basis for a limited time only!

Get the details here:
Press release announcing the online incorporation promotion
MaxFilings online incorporation services home page
Online incorporation knowledge center (Hint: If you haven't decided which is better: incorporation or LLC? Start your research for these and more questions here.

Just got a Google Alert that there's a new mention of me on the Internet this morning (a neat feature by the way - you can ask to receive "alerts" when Google indexes content related to any topic you want to monitor here: http://www.google.com/alerts)

Lo and behold, the new post by John Koetsier (another pleasantly surprised blogger) said that I'd been included in David Meerman's latest book "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" with a thank you for helping him write it!

I do write about using PR on the Web quite often, and it's a service we offer our clients to help them elevate their online media presence. But I do have to clarify that this tactic by David Meerman Scott is less a thank you for helping him write the book than a means to promote it. A fantastic example of his own advice!

I am flattered for the mention and look forward to reviewing the full book for our readers. Thanks, David!

My hard copy of Internet Retailer this month points out that "Price rules, but feedback's gaining" in how online consumers compare and buy.

New research from Shopzilla's BizRate Research shows that 18% said the most important factor when comparison shopping is customer feedback. It was only 7% back in 2003.

Though price is still the biggest factor in consumer goods shopping online (49%), it's down from 58% in 2003.

What's this mean if you sell consumer products online? Well, for one thing, you have the opportunity to distinguish yourself with factors beyond price - great service, reliable, fast shipping, high-quality products - all of these make for happy customers, who are increasingly spreading their opinions around the online marketplace...

Especially when ordering online (where returns are perceived as a hassle), consumers want to know that the product is going to do what they want it to do and they're willing to pay a premium for the one that fills their need as evidenced by the feedback of actual users.

How do you make it easy for your customers to recommend your product to other shoppers?

I just filled out a survey by e-Consultancy on usability, a topic near and dear to our hearts here at SEO Advantage.

The free report that prompted me to take the 5 minutes to add my two-cents worth contains some real nuggets. For example, I especially like this quote:

"It can be argued that the user experience is more important than both brand and price. What use is a brand like Gap when there is no on-site search tool on Gap.com? What use is discounting prices when your checkout process is poor and hemorrhages prospective buyers? Conversely, a startup with no known brand and average prices can get on the map by being more user-friendly than established competition."

The figures included really shed some light on what consumers are doing and where companies are falling down in usability. Consider this:

Approximately 50% of online purchases are preceded by research on a search engine. Search is closing in on email as the primary daily online activity (77% email; 63% search)

37% of US merchants reported cart abandonment rates of between 31% - 60%. 6% claim rates over 80%.

Site navigation, the checkout process and product descriptions are the three most important factors for making a decision to buy over the internet.

Reasons for cart abandonment according to a NetIQ study are:

Additional costs (eg shipping) or delivery times too long - 35%

Too much personal information required - 30%

Lack of product information - 17%

Changed mind or wanted to purchase at offline store - 14%.

Okay, I don't want to get carried away and give up all their great content here... so get your own copy of the usability report here: http://www.e-consultancy.com/publications/user-experience-business-case

Last Thursday/Friday I had the opportunity to attend a conference completely centered around the issue of product attributes, hosted by Channel Intelligence in Orlando.

As an SEO/web developer/content provider, we're looking forward to putting to use the hard advice given during the intense, one-day event for the ecommerce sites we manage. If you want a taste of what was covered, here's their post-conference press release:

Channel Intelligence Product Attribute Summit a Hit with Attendees, Provides Solid Strategies for Improving Online Performance

The Channel Intelligence (CI) Product Attribute Summit held in Orlando April 26 – 27 brought together leaders in online commerce including retail companies that together account for 22 percent of all online retail sales, as well as search engines, data technology solution providers, content providers and manufacturers to discuss the role of product attributes in improving online performance through guided search and other emerging strategies. Attendees, panelists and presenters enthusiastically shared success stories and tactics that are shaping the landscape of online shopping through optimized product data.

Guided product search, which allows shoppers to narrow down their choices by selecting product features (attributes), has been shown to increase web site conversion rates substantially. “Consumer expectations are that the right product they are looking for is in the right place,” said Rob Wight, CEO of CI, in his opening remarks. “The first step is to ensure you have the category right. Then you can give shoppers the power to compare and contrast products according to attributes. We are seeing merchants who embrace consumer-oriented product search strategies through the use of attributes in their product data benefiting from increases in sales ranging from 20 percent to 44 percent and higher.”

Industry wide, currently only 37 percent of online retailers offer attribute-based search on their sites, although an additional 44 percent plan to implement it over the next one to two years. Presentations by Google, Yahoo! and Builders Square outlined how shopping engines are providing guided search options to their users through the use of product attributes. Presenters provided key recommendation for merchants to improve their rankings in comparison shopping engines such as supplying more attributes and unique identifiers for the product category, as well as using generic terms in addition to branded product terms.

During the event, concrete steps to optimize data feeds for product attributes were outlined, and several issues surrounding the use of attributes in online sales were addressed including the role of user-generated content, the potential damage to a brand and resulting product returns due to incomplete or inaccurate attributes, and steps necessary to standardize an attribute categorization system.

Among the industry leaders in attendance were Baby Universe, Bealls Department Stores, Best Buy, Circuit City, Dell, Paragon Sports, Philips, Sierra Trading Post, SHOP.COM, ShopNBC, TheFind.com, Toys R Us, and the Vitamin Shoppe, including seven of the top 20 retailers and 20 of the top 400 retailers as ranked by Internet Retailer. Feedback indicated that the event provided outstanding value with its focus on the increasingly critical topic of product attributes:

“The session about Measuring Success for Product Attributes was great because we were given action points as takeaways,” said Lisa Middleton, Merchandising Manager for ShopNBC. “Also, I found the CI staff very personable and excited to answer questions throughout the event.”

Chelsea Schlunt Director of Business Development for TheFind.com commented, “The location of the summit was great. The meeting itself was really informative and it was nice to focus the whole day on one topic.”

“Discovering emerging opportunities and the ideas surrounding this topic is what I liked most about this event,” added Susan Beebe, Manager of Internet Marketing for the Vitamin Shoppe.

To find out more about the issues discussed at the Product Attribute Summit or learn how your organization can use product attributes effectively, contact Channel Intelligence at info@channelintelligence.com or call 866-559-2300.

About Channel Intelligence

Powered by the patented CommerceIQ™ technology platform, Channel Intelligence (CI) web-initiated commerce solutions make it easy for online shoppers to find and buy products whether they start at retailer sites, manufacturer sites, destination shopping sites, or mobile shopping applications. Using a series of robust data optimization techniques offered through the CommerceIQ platform, CI significantly improves the quality of product data and the placement of products on the Internet. Every day CI manages and syndicates millions of products valued at over $3 billion dollars through its three primary services – SellPath® Channel Solutions for Manufacturers, SellCast™ Retailer Solutions, and SellCore™ Platform Solutions. CI customers include hundreds of the world’s best known brands including Best Buy, Black & Decker, Canon, Circuit City, Fujifilm, LG Electronics, Logitech, Mitsubishi, Neiman Marcus Group, OfficeMax, Olympus, Palm, Panasonic, PETCO, Skechers, SmartBargains.com, Spiegel, The Stanley Works, and Target. Channel Intelligence, a partner company of Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq: ICGE), is based in Orlando, FL with offices in Europe. www.channelintelligence.com