Owning the Google Results Page...

Transcription

1 Owning the Google Results Page

2 Owning the Google Results Page Owning the Google Results Page As modern consumers, it s one of the first things we do when we begin shopping for an item: we Google it. We like immediacy. We ve grown accustomed to having reams of information at our fingertips in the blink of an eye. And if we don t like what we see, we just Google something else. As retailers, this online immediacy makes business tougher. You re jockeying for position with more and more competitors to incentivize a shopper in a very limited space, on a single results page, in a matter of seconds. It s called the SERP the search engine results page and you need to know how your products can stake a claim in this extremely valuable piece of online real estate. It s the piece of the internet that every retailer wants and very few get. And it could be the difference between a successful online business and a mere trickle of traffic to your website. The Google results page is broken down into three main sections: paid search text ads, Product Listing Ads (PLAs) and organic search results. In this ebook, we ll dissect these three pieces of the search-page pie what they mean, the advantages of each and tips to get your products there and in front of shoppers.

3 Owning the Google Results Page I. Paid Search Text Ads Paid search text ads are the pay-per-click (PPC) ads traditionally located at the top or near the top of the Google results page that then continue in reduced size along the right side. Though the ads were formerly shaded orange, Google has recently rolled out a completely unshaded version of the layout, which results in an overall cleaner page and a consistent user experience across different devices. The ads are also now marked by an orange Ad label in the URL line. A good Google Quality Score the search engine s estimate for how relevant your ad group is to visitors is essential for earning you a spot at the top of the page. Strategic keyword bidding and an optimized data feed are also key factors here. Because these paid search ads don t include images, it s important that your headline is strong and the incentive is clear and compelling. Also make sure that you have your ad copy squared away from the start. Making a lot of changes to your ad copy can result in a decreased quality score, lower ad position and, ultimately, missed revenue. Keywords Are Key Bidding on keywords to gain space on the SERP through text ads gives you power that you don t get on marketplaces. By building out your keywords strategically and then bidding on them based on actionable data, you can control the number of eyes that see your ads, as well as the number of clicks that take potential customers to your website.

4 Owning the Google Results Page A feature of ChannelAdvisor Digital Marketing, the Keyword Generator tool helps identify opportunities for new keywords. It pulls in reports to show the top queries that have converted, as well as the search queries that have worked well for you in the past but aren t currently part of your paid search campaigns. Additionally, with Actionable Reporting, you can quickly and intuitively view, manage, analyze and take action on your campaigns all the way down to the keyword level. Capture the Long Tail If you re looking to target consumers further along in the buying process, you ll have more success by creating long tail keywords. Long tail keywords are highly targeted, less expensive and more likely to convert. If someone searches for black dress, for example, she s likely at the start of her shopping cycle. If she gets very specific, however, and searches for Karen Kane black lace dress size 6, then she knows exactly what she s looking for and is probably ready to convert. One feature of ChannelAdvisor Digital Marketing is Inventory Driven Search, which automates long tail keyword creation based on existing inventory data. As a result, you re better prepared to help shoppers find exactly what they re looking for online.

5 Owning the Google Results Page II. Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs) Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs) are the image-based ads that traditionally showed up on the top right of your SERP but are now, with Google s new page rollout, even found above the paid search text ads on the top left of the page. The modern incarnation of PLAs launched in 2012 through Google Shopping, which paired together paid search and comparison shopping in a way that the industry hadn t seen before. PLAs require the best of several e-commerce channels an optimized data feed, strong advertising copy and dynamic images and are among the most prized pieces of SERP real estate. PLAs can also now be managed through Google Shopping campaigns, which streamline the process significantly and allow users to directly access inventory and product feed information. When planning your PLAs, keep in mind that they require accurate, comprehensive and frequently delivered product-data feeds. With ChannelAdvisor Digital Marketing, the industry s first holistic solution to Google PLAs, you can quickly adjust how products are organized within the feed based on performance. To further optimize the performance of your PLAs, make sure you have insight into not only product group performance, but also which products are mapping to that group. With Digital Marketing, you ll be able to manage product mappings, along with product group structure and bids.

6 Owning the Google Results Page Configure Your Product Groups With Google s recent move to Shopping campaigns, organizing your products in AdWords has become more important than ever. PLA bids are now determined by product groups, which you can create by segmenting your products by more granular categories, such as brand, item ID, condition and product type. It can be time-consuming to set up and maintain these groupings, but the ChannelAdvisor Product Group Generator can help you quickly and efficiently configure your campaigns. You ll be able to automatically segment products and create ad groups with multiple levels of bidding. Using the Product Group Generator, we were able to build the same structure across 75 ad groups in less than four minutes. That s 37 times faster than manually structuring a typical account. Use Negative Keywords An important distinction to make when thinking about Product Listing Ads is that they function quite differently than paid search text ads. Instead of being based on keyword bidding, PLA campaigns are based on product group bidding. As such, you can use negative keywords to trim down the traffic from categories you don t want, but you can t outright bid for specific keywords the same way you do for text ads. For example, if you sell new designer dresses and you don t want your ads to populate the SERP when someone types in used consignment dresses or dress tailoring, you can disable your ads from displaying there. Additionally, using ChannelAdvisor s Negative Keyword Suggestion feature, you can pull up product listing queries that cost more than they convert and then eliminate them from your campaign.

7 Owning the Google Results Page Don t Forget Promotions It s easy to overlook promotional text when you re scheduling ad copy, but it s a great way to differentiate your PLAs from competitors offerings. We recommend including sales, free shipping or any other benefit you offer that can grab consumers attention as promotional text. And it s easy to manage using ChannelAdvisor Digital Marketing, which includes support for Google Merchant Promotions. Also, don t forget your sitelinks (which can now be managed with our Actionable Reporting tool). Just make sure you pull these ads down when your promotions end. Images Are Important We re living in an increasingly image-driven culture. Strong, dynamic images not only help your PLAs get noticed quickly by searchers eyes, but they also increase conversion. ChannelAdvisor Rich Media ensures that once your products are clicked on, they give the potential customer a view of the product from all angles, with multiple zooms. Additionally, images are vital in capturing the last, often-overlooked slice of the SERP: Google Image searches. Here, both your logo and your products have an opportunity to squeeze extra real estate from the SERP.

8 Owning the Google Results Page III. Comparison Shopping Engines Comparison shopping engines (CSEs) are websites that allow users to see various retailer prices for the same product in one place. Retailers acquire this traffic on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis. Though technically Google Shopping is itself a comparison shopping engine, it doesn t always act like one in the traditional sense. Because CSEs like Shopzilla and Nextag also show up and pay to show up through PLAs and text ads on the Google results page, it s in your best interest to include your products on them as well. In a way, it s like sneaking onto the Google results page through the back door. Harnessing our industry-leading feed technology, ChannelAdvisor Digital Marketing can optimize and send content to more than 100 comparison shopping sites worldwide.

9 Owning the Google Results Page IV. Organic Search Results The third primary area of the Google results page is the one that s most familiar to both retailers and shoppers: the organic search results. This ranking of websites and descriptions (or snippets ) is more difficult to control from a retailer s perspective, but it s still an important part of marketing your products. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing the visibility of a website in a search engine s (in this case, Google s) organic listings, including both where it ranks on the SERP and the frequency with which it appears. While Google doesn t release the exact algorithm that determines search results, we do know that the longevity of your website domain, the freshness of your updates and the amount of people clicking on your site are all factors. Additionally, developing presences on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube can also help your products show up through organic search results.

10 Owning the Google Results Page V. More Strategies for Owning the Google Results Page Start with your best-selling products. To figure out the most effective strategy for making sure your products are seen on the Google results page, start out by listing your best-selling products. From there, you ll be able to experiment with what s working and what s not and determine how you should adjust. Use ad extensions wherever possible. Whatever additional information you can give shoppers, the better chance you ll have of catching their attention and forming a relationship with them at the top of the buying funnel. Details like phone numbers, location extensions and product reviews provide convenience to modern shoppers, especially when they re mobile, and are essential additions to your ads. Know that mobile PLAs have changed, too. With a revised Google results page for mobile devices, consumers can now swipe through more images without ever leaving the SERP. Naturally, make sure your images are dynamic and appealing and in the proper format. And through Google s Enhanced Campaigns, you now need to make sure you re bidding on mobile PLAs separately from desktop/tablet PLAs. Understand the need for speed. How fast your website runs is actually a factor that Google uses to determine your placement on the results page. Make sure your site is not only optimized for mobile devices, but also loads quickly and runs efficiently for desktops as well. Take advantage of what s free. There are lots of tools out there that will give you an edge on the SERP yet don t cost a thing. Getting potential customers to follow you on Google+, for example, will boost your odds of landing on their search pages. This is true of other social media channels as well. Also focus on refining your images and making sure they meet Google s requirements.

11 Get Seen. With 92% of consumers never even clicking through to the second page of search results, you can t afford to have your products land on the third or fourth page. 1 They won t get seen. Your potential customers have already jumped off the SERP and into the webstore of your competitor. The Google results page is changing all the time, and you should stay aware of its components, as well as the various advantages it offers to you as a retailer. With so much competition vying for limited online space, how well you control the SERP can be a defining factor in your business s success. For more information on how ChannelAdvisor can help you own the Google results page, call or info@channeladvisor.com. 1 Trust us. Be Seen. To learn more: Call US UK AU Visit marketing@channeladvisor.com Copyright 2014 ChannelAdvisor Corporation. All rights reserved. The global standard for e-commerce leaders.