Segmenting the Customer Journey via Search
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The document discusses how the integration of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can enhance brand identity during the customer shopping journey. It provides an analysis of various customer journey stages, highlighting the importance of search data and strategies for improving engagement and conversions. A deep-dive study reveals that strong side-by-side visibility of SEO and SEM yields the best performance outcomes in terms of revenue and customer interactions.
Segmenting the Customer Journey via Search
- 1. Defining and Refining Customer Connection: How integration of SEM and SEO Can Enhance Your Brand Identity Throughout the Customer Shopping Journey
- 2. 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
- 3. 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
- 4. 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 4 1. Upstream traffic, Shopping, Hitwise, 10/12 – 09/13 avg. 2. % of total retail traffic and revenue driven from search engines, PM Digital Study
- 5. 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-brand keywords Category non-brand & brand keywords Sub-Category, comparison non- brand & brand keywords Product attribute, price, size/color non-brand & brand keywords
- 6. The customer shopping journey can classified into sequential stages. Awareness Consideration Intent Due Diligence Decision Refining the Customer Journey 6
- 7. • 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
- 8. • 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 + category Coach handbags • Gender + category Women’s sweaters • Need + Category plus-size dresses • Brand + Discount Steve madden coupons Awareness Consideration Intent Due Diligence Decision 8 Consideration
- 9. • 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 + product steve madden womens boots on sale • Best + brand/attribute + model/product type best waterproof mens winter jacket Awareness Consideration Intent Due Diligence Decision 9 Intent
- 10. • 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
- 11. • 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
- 12. SEO/SEM Deep-Dive Study 12 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.
- 13. 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 Visibility SEO % 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) 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 Spend SEM Impressions SEM 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 Spend SEM Impressions SEM 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 Spend SEM Impressions SEM 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)
- 14. Awareness 14 SEO Clicks SEO Orders SEO 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 Visibility SEO % 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.
- 15. 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 Visibility SEO % 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 Clicks SEO Orders SEO 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.
- 16. Intent 16 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 Visibility SEO % 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 Clicks SEO Orders SEO Conv. SEO Rev SEM Spend SEM Impressions SEM Clicks SEM Orders SEM Conv. SEM Rev Total Rev 2.41% 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.
- 17. Decision 17 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 Clicks SEO Orders SEO Conv. SEO Rev SEM Spend SEM Impressions SEM Clicks SEM Orders SEM Conv. SEM Rev Total Rev 0.17% 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 Visibility SEO % 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.
- 18. Awareness SEO Strategies / Tactics 18 • 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/
- 19. 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).
- 20. 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
- 21. Due Diligence SEO Strategies / Tactics 21 • 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
- 22. Decision SEO Strategies / Tactics 22 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
- 23. Case Study 23 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)
- 24. Key Takeaways 24 • 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.
- 25. Thank You 25 Richard Chavez Vice President, SEO PM Digital 212-851-8681 rchavez@pmdigital.com www.pmdigital.com Blog: http://www.pmdigital.com/bl og/author/richardchavez/ Twitter: @PMDigital @richardachavez