Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click:
How Local Retailers Can Gain A Competetive Edge
Kamau Jackson, InternetKnowledgeSolutions.com

SEO vs. PPC? -- It Doesn't Have To Be 'Either-Or'

As pay-per-click (PPC) ad prices continue to rise and margins continue to shrink; larger corporations have already begun to increase their SEO spending. For SMBs exploring the possible advantages of organic SEO, there is a uniquely frustrating challenge to those who need to evaluate and recommend:

The inability to estimate the results of SEO-- and the time it will take to realize them-- makes a sound cost/benefit analysis elusive. The popular misconception that PPC and SEO are the “fast” and “slower” versions of the same thing complicates the evaluation process even more.

The paid advertising model is exactly what it says-- advertising. Search engine optimization is not. While search engine prominence is the most widely recognized goal of SEO, that’s far from being the only business value it delivers.

Without a clear understanding of how SEO is implemented, it’s impossible to identify, much less, quantify, the broad range of benefits that are intrinsic to the SEO process. Within small to mid size organizations (SMBs), the business impact can be profound.

Initially, the low cost per visitor might make a paid option attractive, but it’s value per visitor that produces net profits and ROI.

Paid advertising will, unquestionably, deliver traffic faster than SEO. Whether it delivers faster or cheaper actual benefits depends on something else entirely.

How Quality Web Content Boosts Local Retail Sales

Consumers have spoken. They want information-- and visit 3-5 websites looking for it before they buy. There’s also ample evidence to show that shoppers who search online before making offline purchases spend more than those who don’t.

A recent study by TMP Directional Marketing, the leading local search and yellow pages marketing agency, was the first of its kind involving consumers seeking local businesses. A majority - 60% - of the consumers surveyed said they first go online for conducting a local search.

The study revealed 82% of local online searchers follow up offline with an in-store visit, or phone call. Of these, 61% made purchases.

The TMP survey breakdown was as follows:.

• 30% use general search engines, (Yahoo or Google)
• 17% use Internet yellow pages (IYPs)
• 13% use local search sites, such as Citysearch

PPC can be very effective in delivering this traffic, but optimized website content is ultimately what drives sales. Since content development is at the heart of SEO, it makes good business sense to build a strategy that leverages both.

The SEO Process Begins With Competitive Analysis

Although shoppers have expressed their desire for information, millions of retailers still don’t know what to provide-- or where to find it.

The first step in SEO, competitive research, will expose the minimum level of information required in a given market-- and the maximum that’s being offered. Typically (depending on industry) there will be:

• Product comparisons
• User reviews
• Upgrades, features, and updates
• Manufacturer recalls
• Software tools (calculators, etc.)

Retailers who create the best content go beyond a feature-centric focus. They consider, at each buying stage, the problem a shopper is trying to solve. The goal is to offer the quality of information that eliminates their need to shop any further. Shoppers, then, use this kind of content as a standard to measure other vendors by, they bookmark it, and eventually, refer it to family and friends.

'You Can Observe A Lot By Just Watching'

Some of the best sources of information a retailer can provide to buyers will often be found within the business itself. Floor employees and customer service staff are in close contact with shoppers at every stage. One of the most compelling (and underutilized) sources is that of current or former customers. With proper motivation, they’ll write the content themselves.

According to e-consultancy and Bazaarvoice's "Social Commerce Report 2007", customer product reviews are increasing both retail e-commerce website traffic and conversion rates.

Over half of online retailers in the U.S., the UK, and Europe-- when asked about the effects of customer ratings-- said their overall web site conversion rates had gone up in the past year. Over three-quarters said their site traffic had increased, while 42% also said their average order values grew. 59% thought improved search engine optimization was a major benefit.

The Early Bird Gets The Competitive Edge

"Tapping into social commerce can be a great way of gaining a competitive advantage, for example through ratings and reviews," Linus Gregoriadis, E-consultancy's head of research, said in a statement.

"But apart from the early adopters, this is something a large proportion of online retailers are only just starting to think seriously about."

Granted, there are other ways to develop a content building strategy aside from one that includes SEO. The most commonly used alternative, however, is strategically less effective. Here’s why:

SEO Puts Retailers Back Into The Driver's Seat

When companies invest too heavily in traffic before considering how efficiently they can convert it into sales, planners and, especially, managers find themselves in a reactive position. The sudden influx of traffic illuminates every deficiency in a website yet offers few visual clues as to what’s lacking, what needs to be fixed-- or in what order.

A more deliberate, well thought-out content optimization strategy allows managers to be more proactive. The result is better fiscal control and more accurate outcome (and income) projections.

Search engine optimized content can also attract (literally) thousands of links from targeted traffic sources. This provides additional opportunities to extend brand recognition while attracting long-term strategic traffic.

When SEO-driven traffic supplements that of pay-per-click, overall costs per visitor are substantially reduced. Higher conversions with reduced cost per visitor increase both net profit and ROI.

Search Engine Optimization

Search is so often used as the precursor to other online activity it's become an assumed, and unconscious process.

The “second nature” performance of search by consumers offers a distinct advantage to businesses that can supply the goods and services they seek.

Only those who are most “findable”, however, can profit from the potential advantage. The quest for higher rankings and more visibility is what search engine marketing (SEM) is about.

Discussions about one type of SEM or another overlook the fact that most firms are still trying to either figure out where to begin, or, what they can do to improve upon their initial efforts.

People always ask, “How long will it take to get top search engine ranking?” (And how much will it cost?), without seeming to realize that someone is already there.

There’s no way to estimate the work involved in overtaking them before knowing:
> Who they are
> How they got there
> What keeps them there

The answers and, more specifically, a strategy for higher rankings, comes from keyword research and a competitive analysis.

Let our search engine marketing experts help.

Contact us for a free website analysis and, at least, you'll be able to plan your SEM more effectively.

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This article was adapted from:
The SOAP Report- A Search Optimization And Planning Guide.