Found faster: How retailers optimize their online presence

ECOMMERCE Search engine optimization is one of the most important tasks when retailers are working on the digitalization of their business model. It should always be goal-oriented. It is also important to utilize the interactions between social media activities and their evaluation by search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is strongly influenced by user signals and must therefore always be seen in the context of social media activities. Used correctly, social media channels offer the opportunity to positively shape interaction with customers on a further level and strengthen customer loyalty. Referral marketing has a positive effect on search results. This requires a comprehensive strategy, continuous maintenance and monitoring. Creating a social media profile and only posting a few posts not only wastes valuable time, but also carries risks: If you don't answer users' questions on your Facebook page, you risk annoyed customers and unfortunately - due to the lower inhibition threshold on these platforms - often also drastic comments. Conversely, if information about discount promotions in the store is only posted on Facebook, but not on the website or in the online store, this leads to annoyance among uninformed online shoppers, which in turn can lead to negative comments and reviews. Search engines such as Google also record such interactions as "social signals" in their algorithms. This means that emotions - both positive and negative - that are linked to a brand also have an impact on the ranking. Another example: good reviews of a company on Google My Business lead to higher click rates and, in the best case scenario, also result in a visit to the store and a recommendation. However, if the local search on the Internet shows an outdated address or incorrect opening hours, a disappointed customer who has made the journey for nothing will probably acknowledge this with a corresponding review on Google My Business. This negative rating will then also appear in the results. Other customers are likely to click on the website less frequently as a result, which in turn is recorded by the Google algorithm - as a result, the page drops in the ranking.Has the goal been achieved with the ranking?So what is the best way to approach the task of being found online? If you lack your own online marketing resources, you can also call on the help of external service providers and specialized digital agencies, who take a systematic approach. The first question to ask is always: What do you want to achieve with optimization? It is not simply a matter of a "better ranking", the decisive factor is always the desired goals, for the achievement of which a better ranking is a prerequisite. These can be Increased sales, a clearer brand presence or even more customers on the site. The platforms on which the retailer is active must be selected accordingly. There is no one strategy that fits every company. Products that can be staged well or placed in an ambience are suitable for Instagram. If you are unlikely to have any news suitable for Twitter to announce, you don't need a Twitter account.Stationary retailers have the great advantage over pure online stores of being able to advise customers in person in their stores. Click & collect, in-store reservations and virtual shelf extensions offer further opportunities to stand out from online stores. It therefore makes sense to strengthen retail stores and local SEO measures play a decisive role. Optimization is geared towards the combined search of product terms and generic search terms. It starts with a needs assessment, an analysis of the technical status of the website and the social media profiles in relation to the competition. Instead of relying on the "perceived competition", relevant and context-related keywords are researched first. For example, a distinction is made between information context, such as "review product X" and transaction context, such as "buy product X", for local SEO extended by corresponding keywords for local search. The technologies for keyword research depend on the dominant search engines in the respective country and the agency uses the defined keywords to determine the top positions on the Google SERP (Search Engine Result Page). The best-placed competitors in the niche area are those with whom the client is compared. Their activities are analyzed to see: Which measures are common in this industry, which are the typical platforms, but also: What can the client do better, how can it set itself apart from the competition with its specific offer and range of services? On this basis, optimization is carried out - both according to basic requirements of on-page optimization, such as relevant and clearly structured content, as well as according to the corresponding criteria of the individual platforms. It's important to understand the "search mindset" of the respective search engine, the user intention. On Amazon, for example, very fast delivery times and responses to complaints are important ranking criteria. On eBay, the focus is more on the price. Accordingly, texts and images must also be prepared appropriately, and guest posts are often the method of choice for publicizing blogs - digital agencies can also provide the relevant contacts to important influencers. The imitation effect is used here: if users see that interactions are already taking place on a page, they are more inclined to react themselves. More frequent visits, comments and mentions in turn ensure that new content is picked up and displayed more quickly by search engines, ideally faster than that of competitors. Promotions such as vouchers for a repeat purchase can also be used to attract customers in the long term.Only a sustainable solution ensures successAs the last example makes clear, a one-off optimization is not enough. Maintenance, monitoring and constant adaptation of website content and social media presences mean ongoing effort and require the use of resources. At i-ways sales solutions GmbH, special attention is paid to this critical success factor: sales employees are trained by a team of trainers during the project. As a result, an inquiry about a specific product via Facebook, for example, could be forwarded directly to an employee at the nearest branch and answered by them personally. In addition, a key person in the marketing department can also be trained by the agency to act as an online manager. This person will then pass on their knowledge as an expert in the company and at the same time act as a central contact to ensure that the retailer's market knowledge is combined with the digital agency's online expertise. With fewer personnel resources, it is common practice for the agency and the retailer's marketing department to share tasks as part of a long-term collaboration, e.g. by maintaining a blog internally while the agency takes over the maintenance of the social media platforms, including the creation of texts and images and monitoring. Even the management control for all of the client's platforms, including checking press releases and other publications for SEO suitability, can be outsourced to i-ways. This saves time and work and the retailer benefits from expert knowledge without having to maintain their own resources.ConclusionAll measures for search engine optimization and maintenance of social media presences should be derived from the business objectives and considered from a clear cost-benefit perspective. Wherever it benefits the retailer, it is important to be present and well positioned - with the right messages on the right channels.Tips from: Florian Laudahn, CMO, i-ways sales solutions GmbH