Don't Leave Money on the Table
By Lisa Wehr
We probably shouldn't be having this discussion. For the third time in the last four years, Oneupweb has looked at who among the leading 100 online retailers have optimized their websites--and to what degree. Research has consistently shown that well-optimized sites position better on the search engines. Those websites that position higher generate more traffic, and that traffic equates to greater sales. Simple, isn't it? Search engine optimization (SEO) works.
But our latest study shows that even the largest retailers have not learned that lesson. Specifically, we found that only 40 percent of the largest online retailers had websites that were well optimized or moderately optimized. Furthermore, a remarkable 27 percent of these same sites showed no signs of SEO activity whatsoever. Overall, there has been little or no improvement over the three previous studies.
One conclusion might be that these major retailers are sophisticated marketers; they have examined search marketing as a strategy and found it not worth the effort. Our study found just the contrary. A hefty 84 percent of the top 100 online retailers are paying for search marketing services (SEO, pay per click, vertical search, affiliate marketing or any combination of these). Only 5 percent of the moderately or well-optimized sites reported using no such search services.
SEO LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD
Our study found many examples of smaller companies with well-optimized or moderately optimized sites competing successfully with less-optimized, larger rivals. There are many reasons for this phenomenon. One may be differing marketing plans, where a large company places less emphasis online and more on brick-and- mortar stores. Another explanation may be contrasting corporate cultures. And we should not rule out archaic management thinking that discounts the value of search marketing. Whatever the reason, online retailers with large competitors have reason to be encouraged.
|
Pharmacy Site Comparison |
| |
Backlinks |
Total Links |
Optimization |
| Walgreens |
152,326 |
313,532 |
Nominal |
| CVS |
74,992 |
75,263 |
Well |
WALGREENS AND CVS
Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy compete toe to toe for online pharmaceutical sales. Walgreens is older and larger (by sales), both online and overall. CVS has a slight edge in brick-and-mortar stores, but Walgreens sells a greater range of products. This yields a huge advantage in the number of backlinks (links from other sites to yours) for Walgreens (see chart).
The major search engines place high importance on the number of quality sites that link to a website. This should provide an insurmountable advantage for Walgreens' online visibility, given its number of backlinks. But it doesn't. Why? CVS does a better job in its optimization efforts. Never underestimate the power of a well-optimized website.
OPTIMIZATION MEETS THE BUSINESS MODEL--SEO THE APPLE WAY
Apple.com was the 15th-largest online retailer in 2007. Until recently, the core of the company's product offerings has been its easy-to-use Mac computers. It came as a bit of a shock to some, therefore, when Apple dropped "Computer" from its name this year.
Apple does not optimize for the term "computer" or "printer" or any of the expected keywords for a computer manufacturer. It does optimize for terms such as "iPod," "shuffle," "Nano, " "iTunes," "MP3" and various product names such as "Mac."
This strategy runs contrary to commonly held SEO best practices. However, Apple is an extremely well-optimized site. The reason is the international Apple business model, which combines direct sales with a broad authorized retailer network, each building on the popularity of its exclusive products.
Many companies make MP3 players, but only Apple makes the iPod. As such, it is at a distinct advantage in terms of optimization because not all MP3 players are iPods, yet all iPods are MP3 players.
An iPod is an iPod in any language and Apple builds on this product familiarity by offering its website through multiple language sites that interlink. Apple gets more mileage from the same copy, and creates new instances of keyword occurrences in a way that search engines can index. It also gains backlinks.
Apple registers millions more links than its closest competitor. Add this to the links to and from authorized dealers, continual news-making product introductions such as the iPhone and ensuing agreements with highly visible partners such as AT&T. Top it off with well-orchestrated social buzz, which includes an extremely popular ad campaign featured prominently on YouTube and other social sites, and you have an optimization juggernaut--all done the Apple way.
THE SEO SHOE FITS AT ZAPPOS.COM
A lightly promoted brand, Zappos.com, has become the largest footwear retailer on the Internet. It currently ranks higher on footwear terms than Nike or Foot Locker and had more 2006 online sales than both companies--combined.
Unlike its competitors, Zappos.com has two primary concerns: how to be found online and how to keep customers coming back. It gets found online by having a well-optimized site that ranks high on even the most generic footwear-related terms such as "shoes," "boots" and "footwear." It also offers lots of content for search engines and backlinks that support targeted keywords.
Zappos.com regularly solicits advice from consumers and structures its page design accordingly, while keeping search engine optimization in mind. The other aspect of customer retention is customer service. Zappos.com offers numerous ways for customers to order. It offers free overnight shipping and encourages users to sign up for e-mail notifications about when new products are arriving, allowing shoppers to get the newest shoes delivered to their front doors the day after they're available. Clearly, it's a business strategy that works.
SOME LESSONS LEARNED
Oneupweb's latest online retailer study reveals there's much work to be done--and many opportunities to be had. Improving SEO can level the playing field and open new competitive opportunities. Business models that ignore SEO face an uphill battle with increasing competition for visibility online.
Also, SEO is clearly not a "set it and forget it" proposition; sites that show initial signs of optimization decline in effectiveness when efforts are not maintained. In addition, the study indicates that universal search has introduced a social dimension to online marketing that well-optimized sites are addressing as part of their SEO efforts. Also, linking remains an integral part of an overall SEO strategy.
Coordinating SEO with other marketing efforts not only improves performance, but it's absolutely vital as search integration becomes more prominent. Finally, we learned that even the largest online retailers get outside online marketing help.
Lisa Wehr is CEO and founder of Oneupweb, an integrated online marketing firm. She has partnered with clients to improve website ROI and search engine marketing since 1995, and can be reached at (231) 922-9977, ext. 116. To download the entire 2007 study, visit the Oneupweb library at www.oneupweb.com.
