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

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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

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• 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

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• 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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• 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

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• 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 Digital212-851-8681rchavez@pmdigital.comwww.pmdigital.comBlog:http://www.pmdigital.com/blog/author/richardchavez/ Twitter: @PMDigital@richardachavez