Retail Performance Marketing - The Mercent Blog

SEO and SEM Marketing Using Comparison Shopping Engines and Marketplaces

In talking about the effectiveness and benefits of using comparison shopping engines and marketplaces like Amazon, there is one aspect that often is overlooked. Discussion is usually centered on the ability to give consumers choice and visibility into products. This is true from a costumer’s point of view, but there is another big plus I think goes overlooked, and that is getting the costumer through the door in the first place.

As the prime decision maker or business owner, it’s vital to get people into the store before they buy, and a website is no different. Many tactics are available including search engine marketing (SEM) and laborious search engine optimization (SEO) work. The extraordinary thing about comparison shopping engines and marketplaces is in many ways, they do this work for the merchant. These channels spend a large amount of time drawing in traffic similar to site owners and getting those consumers the choices and information they are looking for. One interesting off-shoot of this competitive niche is just how well comparison shopping engines and marketplaces have gotten at their own SEO and SEM work.

To illustrate, I took a quick survey using heavily trafficked searches that most merchants would kill for (well, hopefully not literally). I then ran a quick search on Google, and scanned the promised land for any SEO and SEM guru, the coveted ‘Page 1’ Google results. Most businesses would need to invest a large amount of time and money to be ranked in these spots. The beauty here, is that these spots have been filled out nicely by the comparison shopping engines and marketplaces.

To test how effective these channels are, I performed a test by making searches on Google. This is not quite scientific because paid results will vary by search, natural results will vary by day, and I have purposely omitted sites which offer an advertising solution, but a slightly different model than the focus of this article (eBay, Overstock).

Below are the results of high traffic product related keywords searches on Google in both organic and paid placements:

Keyword Search	SEO on Page 1	Channels Present	SEM on Page 1	Channels Present
baby stroller	1	Amazon	1	Bizrate
digital camera	1	Cnet	3	Amazon, Bizrate, PriceGrabber
olympus digital camera	2	Amazon, Bizrate	1	Bizrate
ipod	2	Amazon, Cnet	1	Amazon
laptop	2	Cnet, Yahoo	1	NexTag
office chair	0	None	0	None
wii	1	CNet	1	MSN Shopping
psp	1	CNet	1	Amazon
lcd tv	0	None	4	Amazon, NexTag, PriceGrabber, PriceScan
iphone	1	CNet	2	Amazon, ComparisonSearches
ink cartridge	1	Bizrate	0	None
sony plasma	1	Amazon	2	Amazon, NexTag
7 jeans	2	Bizrate, Yahoo	0	None
hollister clothing	2	Bizrate, Shopping	1	Become
xbox	1	Amazon	1	Amazon
hd dvd	0	None	2	Amazon, SHOP.COM
gold necklace	4	Amazon (2), Bizrate, Yahoo	0	None
fleece jacket	2	Amazon, Yahoo	0	None
ray ban sunglasses	2	Amazon, Shopping	0	None
boots	2	PriceGrabber, Yahoo	2	Amazon, Bizrate
Total Hits	28		23
Average Per Page	1.4		1.15

The interesting thing in looking over the results, is the relative stability in the findings. With the exceptions of 'gold necklace' and 'lcd tv', the searches are fairly consistent in terms of coverage. You can expect to find about 3 results on the page, evenly divided between paid and natural listings.

The additional benefit to a merchant, besides not having to compete for these listings on their own, is the relative optimization work done by the channels. For example, if a paid listing is pulling in a lot of non-converting traffic, the engine will turn off the listing. This sort of trickle down optimization, works to the benefit of the merchant by making sure the right traffic is being pulled in initially, before a consumer even clicks on an item resulting in an expenditure.

Amazon.com M@ Best Practices – But What Is the Content?

By Traca Fragomene

In my last post, I discussed the importance of having content.  However, I did not answer the question, “What is the content?”  Having just any content and having great content are two very different things.  So what is great content?   Great content converts a browser into a buyer.  Great content converts a searcher into a purchaser.  Great content leads to sales.

Title

Titles are extremely important.  At Amazon.com, titles are what the customers see in the search and browse results before clicking through to the product detail page.  Not only are titles the first impressions of your product offering; titles are also indexed for search.  So, it is extremely important to provide accurate and detailed keywords in all product titles.  For example, let’s say I own a pet supply business called Cane e Gatto (Italian for dog and cat) and the business manufactures a high-end line of dog beds under the brand name of Fragomene.

A plain product title would be Dog Bed.  However, if I add a few strategic keywords to the title it becomes Fragomene Premium Dog Bed Large Blue.  Not only have I added the brand name to the title but also the specific size and color.  So, when a customer is searching for a large blue dog bed, this product will appear in the results.

Brand/Manufacturer

Providing both the brand and manufacturer name is very important.  Both of these fields are indexed for search and linked on the product detail page.  So in the example above, we would want to populate the brand field with Fragomene and the manufacturer field with Cane e Gatto.  By doing this, I am ensuring that the large blue dog bed is indexed for both of these terms in search.  In addition, this product is now included with all products of the same brand and manufacturer.   When a customer clicks on these links, this product is included in those results as well.

Description/Features

Think of both of these are your online store salesperson replacements.  Once a customer has found the Fragomene Premium Dog Bed Large Blue descriptions and features are how I inform that customer about all the great aspects of this product.  Features are bullet points listed above the fold so they should be clear and concise.  A customer is going to glance at the features very quickly looking for specific product data.  Examples could be:

• Premium fabric ensures luxury comfort for your pooch
• Easy to use zipper to remove cover for cleaning
• Machine washable
• Ideal for dogs 60 to 85 pounds

Descriptions are, well, for descriptive content.  The description should also be somewhat clear and concise.  However, you do have a high character limit so let those creative juices flow!

Image

Without an image, a product will not sell – well.  I can’t imagine anyone purchasing any product anywhere on the Internet without an image.  Typically at the store we can see a product, touch a product, pick-up a product, etc.  Online, we only have images.  We know from some of the content that the dog bed is large and blue.  However, I don’t know what shade of blue it is or if the fabric has a pattern.  Will the dog bed blend with the other décor in my home?  Without an image, I can only wonder…

Price

Last but not least comes the price.  Some would say that at the end of the day it all comes down to the price of the product.  However, I would argue that many factors are included in a buying decision not just the price.  Customers want to trust the merchant. By providing good content, a customer is learning about the merchant as well as about the product.  Are they a thorough merchant?  Do they pay attention to detail? Are they being honest with the information they are providing me? 

I’m getting a little off track here but rest assured, every communication you have with a customer reflects back on your company and this includes how well you merchandise your products with content.  Price is important and it must be competitive especially if you’re in a category at Amazon.com that supports the Buy Box (more on this in a later post).

Summary

Content is king.  In the online world, there are no sales people to provide the additional encouragement to get customers to purchase a product.  Customers rely on the information presented to them on the product detail page to make a purchasing decision.  Returns are painful for both customers and merchants; customers want to make the right decision the first time.

Help customers help you.  Provide great content.

Amazon.com M@ Best Practices - It's Just The Content

By Traca Fragomene

First and foremost, if products are uploaded to Amazon.com with minimal product content they won’t sell – much.  Certainly, there are always exceptions (which I will discuss in a later post) but for the most part, products with just a title and a price don’t sell well on Amazon.com.  Think about it, if you were in the market for a gold necklace for Mom (every day is Mother’s Day) but came across a product titled “Gold Necklace” priced at $79.99 would you buy it?  I probably would not.  However, if I came across a product titled “18kt Yellow Gold Link Necklace” priced the same, with a stellar picture and all the jewelry product attributes (brand, metal stamp, metal, material, width, length, chain type, clasp type and total metal weight) I would definitely give this product some consideration.

Why would I give the second product more consideration than the first?  That’s easy.  The second product provides me with more information to make an informed purchasing decision.  Also, when comparing merchants, I trust a merchant more that has gone to the effort to help the customer make an informed decision by merchandising their products well. 

Each individual product page on Amazon.com is called the product detail page.  Once a customer is on the product detail page, the product content sells the product to the customer.  There is no sales person there to describe the product attributes in person, it’s just the content.  The merchant that provides the best product content will win the battle of the product detail page and convert potential customers into buyers.

You may ask then, what is the content?  Content includes a product title, brand or manufacturer name, product description, featured bullet points, product images (for both parent and child SKUs), and persuasive product price.  These are just the basics.  To provide compelling content (besides making the basic content compelling in its own right), the additional attributes for each category should also be provided.  I mentioned specifics for the jewelry category above.  Other product categories have specific product attribute information as well.

Still a little bit fuzzy on what goes into a great product detail page?  Take a look at an Amazon.com retail product detail page.   Amazon.com’s buyers do a great job providing product content above and beyond the minimum level of information.  The ability to provide the proper content to be successful on Amazon.com is available to all merchants, small or large, product by product or by data feed.

Win the content battle, win the customer.