segmenting the customer journey via search
DESCRIPTION
Defining and Refining Customer Journey:How integration of SEM and SEO Segmentation Can Enhance Your Brand Identity Throughout the Customer Shopping JourneyTRANSCRIPT
Defining and Refining Customer Connection:
How integration of SEM and SEO Can Enhance Your Brand
Identity Throughout the Customer Shopping Journey
Overview
• About PM Digital
• Defining the Customer Journey
• SEO/SEM Blended Reporting (Deep-Dive Study)
• SEO Strategies / Tactics for Each Stage of the Journey
• Case Study
• Key Takeaways
2
About PM Digital
We are a full-service marketing agency that helps leading brands achieve their highest online ROI through an unmatched combination of strategy, solutions and expertise.
22 Years in Business 300 Experts 8 Offices 200+ Media Buying Power
Internet Retailer Top Search Engine Marketing Vendor 2011
Paradysz Named to Crain's New York 50 Fastest-Growing Companies
Bronze award for Marketing Agency of the Year from the Stevie Awards
eTail Best In Class: Search
Industry Associations Awards & Recognition
3
Defining the Customer Journey
• Search data from Google or Bing provides a quantitative understanding of consumer shopping behavior. That data can be analyzed and classified into the customer’s journey/sales funnel.
• The goal is to create brand awareness (visibility) and a compelling user-experience throughout the customer journey that engages the user and encourages activity (conversions).
• According to Hitwise, search engines drive 37% of retail online traffic.1
• A PM Digital study revealed that search engines drive over 70% of retail traffic and 55% of online revenue.2
• SEM (40%), SEO (30%) – traffic• SEM (35%), SEO (20%) - revenue
41. Upstream traffic, Shopping, Hitwise, 10/12 – 09/13 avg.2. % of total retail traffic and revenue driven from search engines, PM Digital Study
The Customer Journey According to Google
5http://gweb-think-tools.appspot.com/customer-journey-to-purchase/, retail
• The role of SEO is to create brand visibility, increase awareness, assist other channels and conversions throughout the journey.
Broad non-
brandkeywords
Category non-
brand & brand
keywords
Sub-Category, comparison non-brand &
brandkeywords
Product attribute, price, size/color
non-brand & brand
keywords
The customer shopping journey can classified into sequential stages.
Awareness
Consideration
Intent
Due DiligenceDecisio
n
Refining the Customer Journey
6
• Intent: beginning the shopping journey, looking for general product categories
• Generally shorter key phrases
• Typically core business terms or category terms
• Very high search volume• Lower conversion rates• Example:
• handbags• sweaters• dresses• The North Face
Awareness
Consideration
Intent
Due Diligence
Decision
Awareness
7
• Intent: identifying / refining products, brands, price point, needs
• Generally 2-3 word keywords• one identifier + the root• Lower search volume• Better conversion rates• Higher amount of keywords in
this stage• Example:
• Brand + categoryCoach handbags
• Gender + categoryWomen’s sweaters
• Need + Categoryplus-size dresses
• Brand + DiscountSteve madden coupons
Awareness
Consideration
Intent
Due Diligence
Decision
8
Consideration
• Intent: finding a purchase destination, product (brand + model), price/ personal benefit
• Generally 3-4 word keywords• two identifiers + the root• Even lower search volume• Even better conversion rates• Example:
• Local (keyword)coach handbag store scottsdale
• Brand + model (keyword)steve madden troopa boot
• Price identifier + brand/product category + productsteve madden womens boots on sale
• Best + brand/attribute + model/product typebest waterproof mens winter jacket
Awareness
Consideration
Intent
Due Diligence
Decision
9
Intent
• Intent: understanding purchase commitments, final product evaluation, customer feedback
• Common for high-ticket items• Benefit/return of post-purchase,
warranty, return policy, reviews (product specific), comparison
• Example:• Brand + model +
reviews/customer service/aftermarket• steve madden troopa boot
reviews• steve madden boot return
policy• whirlpool gold refrigerator
reviews• kenmore elite dryer vs
whirlpool gold dryer• 2012 honda civic resale
value• Less common for most retail
shopping
Awareness
Consideration
Intent
Due Diligence
Decision
10
Due Diligence
• Intent: identifying source for final purchase, product by exact specs
• Generally 4+ word keywords• Four or more identifiers + the root• Can include “Buy” or “Shop”• Example:
• Buy + brand + model + attribute + value prop• Steve madden black troopa
boot size 8• Brand + model + color/size
+ pricing + value prop• north face thermoball jacket
blue free shipping• Generally fewer keywords in this
stage, many customers convert via direct load
• Typically last touch in journey
Awareness
Consideration
Intent
Due Diligence
Decision
11
Decision
SEO/SEM Deep-Dive Study
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Objective: Combine natural and paid search data to determine opportunities for overall optimization to increase/maximize Search Engine Result Page (SERP) SOV.
Questions:• How do I use paid search data to help make natural search
optimization decisions at all stages of the customer journey?• Are there keywords I should be optimizing for in natural search/SEM?
Solution:This study contains paid and natural search data from the top-10 most trafficked PM Digital retail clients to create a combined view for each keyword in each stage of the customer’s journey to facilitate data-driven SEO & SEM decisions.
• The data timeframe spans from 10/01/12 – 09/30/13 to ensure inclusion of complete SEO performance data and peak holiday performance; Term Not Provided data is not included.
• There were no keywords in the Due Diligence stage.
SEO/SEM Deep-Dive Study Summary
13
Overall, the best performance (revenue, orders and clicks) occurs when SEO and SEM have strong side-by-side visibility. Performance drops significantly as SEO rankings decline for both SEO and SEM.
SEO VisibilitySEO % Clicks
SEO % of Orders
SEO % of Rev.
SEO Conv.
SEM % Clicks
SEM % of Orders
SEM % of Rev. SEM CTR SEM ConvSEM % of
Spend
Pg 1 (1-3) 96.54% 97.12% 97.09% 1.53% 92.29% 92.07% 92.65% 6.99% 2.82% 81.72%Pg 1 (4-10) 2.46% 2.37% 2.36% 1.47% 4.12% 5.57% 5.44% 1.36% 3.82% 8.70%Pg 2 0.38% 0.19% 0.20% 0.75% 1.99% 1.57% 1.34% 1.32% 2.23% 4.76%Beyond Pg 2 0.62% 0.32% 0.35% 0.80% 1.60% 0.78% 0.56% 0.50% 1.39% 4.83%
Performance Summary by Keyword Rank (all stages, all SEM ranks)
SEO Clicks
SEO Orders
SEO Conv.
SEO Rev
SEM SpendSEM
ImpressionsSEM Clicks SEM CTR SEM Orders
SEM Conv.
SEM Rev Total Rev
98.83% 98.43% 1.50% 98.59% 90.78% 74.02% 96.07% 5.36% 93.46% 2.70% 93.27% 94.62%
SEO Clicks
SEO Orders
SEO Conv.
SEO Rev
SEM SpendSEM
ImpressionsSEM Clicks SEM CTR SEM Orders
SEM Conv.
SEM Rev Total Rev
0.27% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 9.11% 25.90% 3.88% 0.62% 6.54% 4.8% 6.73% 5.02%
SEO Clicks
SEO Orders
SEO Conv.
SEO Rev
SEM SpendSEM
ImpressionsSEM Clicks SEM CTR SEM Orders
SEM Conv.
SEM Rev Total Rev
0.89% 1.56% 2.70% 1.41% 0.11% 0.09% 0.05% 2.40% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.36%
Performance Summary (all stages, conversions from both channels)
Performance Summary (all stages, conversions from SEM only)
Performance Summary (all stages, conversions from SEO only)
Awareness
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SEO ClicksSEO
OrdersSEO
Conv.SEO Rev SEM Spend
SEM Impressions
SEM Clicks
SEM Orders
SEM Conv.
SEM Rev Total Rev
78.22% 83.44% 1.6% 84.89% 55.51% 49.94% 71.08% 70.82% 2.8% 73.89% 76.69%
Awareness Stage Performance Contribution
SEO VisibilitySEO % Clicks
SEO % of Orders
SEO % of Rev.
SEO Conv.
SEM % Clicks
SEM % of Orders
SEM % of Rev.
SEM CTR
SEM Conv
SEM % of Spend
Pg 1 (1-3) 48.90% 49.26% 98.37% 1.65% 47.43% 48.43% 97.58% 9.64% 2.87% 84.28%
Pg 1 (4-10) 50.84% 50.64% 1.45% 1.63% 51.14% 50.80% 1.44% 5.46% 2.79% 4.64%
Pg 2 0.12% 0.05% 0.08% 0.77% 0.64% 0.42% 0.52% 0.81% 1.85% 5.15%
Beyond Pg 2 0.14% 0.05% 0.09% 0.51% 0.79% 0.35% 0.46% 0.44% 1.25% 5.93%
Performance Summary by Keyword Rank (Awareness, SEM pos. 1-2)
SEO Summary Average Rank: 6.6 (page 1) Avg. 5.2 million searches / mo1
55% of total search volume
SEM Summary Average Rank: 1.63 (page 1) Impressions: 236 million 5.88% CTR $0.74 CPC 17-1 A/S
1. Google Local, Exact-Match, U.S.
Consideration
15
SEO Summary Average Rank: 5.35 (page 1) Avg. 3.6 million searches / mo1
39% of total search volume
SEM Summary Average Rank: 1.17 (page 1) Impressions: 202 million 2.42% CTR $0.70 CPC 5-1 A/S
SEO VisibilitySEO % Clicks
SEO % of Orders
SEO % of Rev.
SEO Conv.
SEM % Clicks
SEM % of Orders
SEM % of Rev.
SEM CTR
SEM Conv
SEM % of Spend
Pg 1 (1-3) 90.58% 89.58% 89.38% 1.15% 85.58% 79.38% 77.59% 4.11% 2.75% 75.87%
Pg 1 (4-10) 6.66% 8.61% 8.18% 1.50% 8.93% 16.11% 17.62% 1.21% 5.35% 15.34%
Pg 2 1.06% 0.68% 0.98% 0.75% 3.70% 3.63% 4.03% 2.03% 2.91% 4.56%
Beyond Pg 2 1.70% 1.13% 1.46% 0.77% 1.80% 0.88% 0.76% 0.30% 1.46% 4.23%
Performance Summary by Keyword Rank (Consideration, SEM pos. 1-2)
SEO ClicksSEO
OrdersSEO
Conv.SEO Rev SEM Spend
SEM Impressions
SEM Clicks
SEM Orders
SEM Conv.
SEM Rev Total Rev
19.19% 14.55% 1.2% 13.28% 35.91% 42.75% 25.01% 26.89% 3.0% 23.99% 21.26%
Consideration Stage Performance Contribution
1. Google Local, Exact-Match, U.S.
Intent
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SEO Summary Average Rank: 5.8 (page 1) Avg. 588K searches / mo1
6% of total search volume
SEM Summary Average Rank: 2.02 (page 1) Impressions: 33 million 2.22% CTR $0.86 CPC 4-1 A/S
SEO VisibilitySEO % Clicks
SEO % of Orders
SEO % of Rev.
SEO Conv.
SEM % Clicks
SEM % of Orders
SEM % of Rev.
SEM CTR
SEM Conv
SEM % of Spend
Pg 1 (1-3) 88.83% 86.31% 87.36% 1.09% 80.32% 81.99% 83.05% 2.28% 1.53% 82.20%
Pg 1 (4-10) 6.63% 8.24% 7.33% 1.39% 9.57% 13.57% 13.48% 1.63% 2.12% 9.11%
Pg 2 2.15% 2.21% 2.08% 1.15% 5.48% 1.14% 0.93% 3.81% 0.31% 3.77%
Beyond Pg 2 2.39% 3.23% 3.24% 1.52% 4.63% 3.30% 2.53% 2.10% 1.07% 4.92%
Performance Summary by Keyword Rank (Intent, all SEM ranks)
SEO ClicksSEO
OrdersSEO
Conv. SEO Rev SEM SpendSEM
ImpressionsSEM
ClicksSEM
OrdersSEM
Conv. SEM Rev Total Rev2.41% 1.75% 1.10% 1.57% 8.23% 7.03% 3.78% 1.99% 1.50% 1.90% 1.82%
Intent Stage Performance Contribution
1. Google Local, Exact-Match, U.S.
Decision
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SEO Summary Average Rank: 2.67 (page 1) Avg. 29K searches / mo1
0.31% of total search volume
SEM Summary Average Rank: 1.92 (page 1) Impressions: 1.3 million 2.22% CTR $0.94 CPC 4-1 A/S
SEO ClicksSEO
OrdersSEO
Conv. SEO Rev SEM SpendSEM
ImpressionsSEM
ClicksSEM
OrdersSEM
Conv. SEM Rev Total Rev0.17% 0.25% 2.20% 0.25% 0.35% 0.28% 0.13% 0.29% 6.40% 0.22% 0.23%
Decision Stage Performance Contribution
SEO VisibilitySEO % Clicks
SEO % of Orders
SEO % of Rev.
SEO Conv.
SEM % Clicks
SEM % of Orders
SEM % of Rev.
SEM CTR
SEM Conv
SEM % of Spend
Pg 1 (1-3) 92.42% 84.71% 84.33% 2.04% 93.85% 94.60% 93.97% 1.80% 5.90% 95.05%
Pg 1 (4-10) 2.65% 2.28% 1.78% 1.92% 2.59% 1.43% 1.23% 6.66% 3.25% 1.63%
Pg 2 1.19% 3.51% 3.37% 6.60% 1.26% 1.30% 1.52% 7.04% 6.05% 1.04%
Beyond Pg 2 3.75% 9.49% 10.52% 5.65% 2.31% 2.66% 3.28% 3.73% 6.76% 2.28%
Performance Summary by Keyword Rank (Decision, all SEM ranks)
1. Google Local, Exact-Match, U.S.
Awareness SEO Strategies / Tactics
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• Content creation for homepage and top-level category pages• Above-the-fold (85% of users do not scroll below the fold1)• Maintain a good user-experience• Optimize brand+category
• Optimize and publish content via Google+ for increased brand ownership
1. http://www.sitetuners.com/blog/11-things-not-to-do-in-e-commerce-cro/
Consideration SEO Strategies / Tactics
19
• Content creation for category and sub-category pages:• Create sub-categories and remerchandise where inventory is
available.• Place content above-the-fold.• Maintain a good user-experience.
• Create branded coupon/promo pages (own your brand).
Intent SEO Strategies / Tactics
20
• Content creation for product pages• Optimize product reviews• Write authorative product descriptions
• Create local store pages, submit via Google + Local• Create promotional pages and promote on-site• Merchandise Nav by product attributes• Integrate Schema markup or other Microformats for product, store and
article/blog pages• Mine internal search data for common customer query / items of interest
that are not found
Due Diligence SEO Strategies / Tactics
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• Publish pages regarding warranties, customer reviews• Above-the-fold• Maintain a good user-experience• Link from product pages and conspicuous navigation
• Create any savings/calculators/product configurator• Integrate in navigation/taxonomy
• Create articles/blog posts regarding DIY, product use by occasion, event, etc.• Integrate in navigation/taxonomy
• Mine internal search data to discover popular customer interest that they cannot find
• Integrate Schema markup or other Microformats for product, local store and article/blog post pages
Decision SEO Strategies / Tactics
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Content creation for product pages Optimize product reviews Write authorative product descriptions
Include value prop in page title, body copy (Free Shipping, Lifetime Warranty)
Optimize product images / videos Include in XML sitemap Post to YouTube and link back to product page
Integrate Schema markup or other Microformats for product pages
Case Study
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Challenge: • A bedding retailer had strong sales and
rankings for each brand they carried.• While the SEO success was strong, it was
limited to top and bottom levels of the customer journey
• Blended SEO/SEM data showed strong SEM traffic and high consumer search demand, but there was no content and low conversions for mid-tier searches (sub-category / brand + product type).
Solution: • PM Digital created sub-category pages at the
Intent Stage for three top-selling brands.• Pages went live in early Q4.
Results:• SEO orders increase: Q4 YOY: 32%• SEO revenue increase: Q4 YOY: 27%
Awareness(bedding)
Consideration(brand + bedding)
Intent(brand + product
type (fitted sheet)
Decision(brand + product name)
Key Takeaways
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• Research the customer journey based on your products/services.
• Understand the behavior of each stage.• Create / expand content to increase brand awareness for
the entire journey.• Merchandise products based on each stage of the customer
journey• Integrate SEO and SEM/PLAs to gain a complete view of
customer intent.• Understand performance strengths and gaps by each
funnel and natural search ranking.• Create content (home, category, reviews, local, etc.) to
maximize SEO and SEM relevancy to increase SEO rankings and SEM quality score.
• SEO top rankings greatly influence SEM performance and vice-versa, so data sharing and optimization is paramount.
Thank You
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Richard ChavezVice President, SEOPM [email protected]:http://www.pmdigital.com/blog/author/richardchavez/ Twitter: @PMDigital@richardachavez