The COVID-19 epidemic has created a deep sense of insecurity in all walks of life. This has directly affected markets that need to stay on top of the latest trends affecting their customers. The only way out was for SEO and search marketers to deal with daily disruptions.
We can take a step back and take a different look at this entire flow. The epidemic has intensified the digital transformation trend preceding lockdown. Although the extent of change will become apparent with time, we can clearly understand movement direction. This gives us a solid foundation to formulate strategies and seize the opportunities that arise now and in the future.
Those who combine this broad understanding with a real customer understanding will lay the foundation for a successful holiday season in the future.
This article will begin by identifying two defining trends that marketers need to be aware of before analyzing online shopping’s changing psychology. We conclude with practical tips that can help you set your business up for SEO, PPC, and eCommerce success before the end of this busy year.
Two Major Trends All Retail Marketers Should Know
First is the rise of e-commerce. It is worth sharing some statistics to understand how dramatic growth in e-commerce sales has taken place:
- US e-commerce sales rose 55% year-over-year to $ 66.3 billion in the Adobe Digital Economic Index in July.
- Ecommerce jumped from 15% of total US retail sales in the first quarter of 2020 to more than 30% in the second quarter. According to the US Department of Commerce, this was an increase of over a decade of growth in just a few months.
- Amazon sales increased to $ 88.9 billion in the second quarter of 2020, a 40% increase from the same period last year.
When traditional stores closed, e-commerce certainly filled the gap. However, preliminary evidence suggests that the behavior change we have seen recently will usher in a new online shopping era.
- 73% of consumers who shop more online post epidemic plan to do so in the future.
- Wonderman Thompson Commerce estimates that only 16% of consumers believe they will return to their old shopping habits, while 38% believe they are more comfortable online.
A user-friendly contactless e-commerce interface is ideal when people are at home and want to be safe. If we look at the trends, we can see that there are e-commerce products in the “rebound” category (as I identified in the BrightEdge study).
This includes areas such as clothing, baby and maternity products, and grooming. The epidemic has strengthened SEO as an important channel for consumers and markets. At such unpredictable times, the search can provide real-time insight into customer behavior.
Brands now need to understand not only what their audience wants but also how they feel. This will directly affect how they make decisions. The search goes beyond clicks or “likes” because it hears the authentic voice of the customer. SEO is also a cost-effective way to ensure a consistent presence.
When demand is hard to predict, it is challenging to keep up with paid media channels. Automatic bidding can help, but budgets are limited. If there is a sudden increase in activity, brands may miss if they do not rank for queries through organic search.
This is especially true now. The IAB reports that 70% of advertisers have adjusted or suspended their advertising spend in June. The investment of time and resources to expand its presence is now paying dividends in the coming months and years.
Of course, we need to better understand the new customer journey before focusing on the specific changes required for our search engine marketing strategy.
New holiday shopper
Consumers will continue to turn to e-commerce and customer service for more of their purchases in the near future. Rakuten Advertising has reported that three-quarters of UK shoppers plan to do more of their holiday shopping online this year.
As the holiday season approaches, retailers will have to revisit their current holiday plans ranging from Thanksgiving and Black Friday to Christmas. Many aspects of these plans remain unchanged as brands were already forecasting an increase in demand during this period.
Search statistics help us understand consumer psychology to prepare for this new demand. Ecommerce performs other essential functions other than one-time clinical procurement.
- It provides instant information on products and services as well as customer reviews.
- This allows people to stay at home instead of shopping.
- Consumers can shop on the go. Business Insider Intelligence predicts that mobile e-commerce will account for 54% of total online sales by 2020.
- New technologies, such as visual search, are allowing consumers to search by images rather than text.
So we can see that e-commerce is not about transferring the existing demand to a website instead of just a physical store.
People are trying new ways of shopping now. Think with Google data shows that 3 out of 10 US consumers have bought a new brand in the last few months. This means a willingness to try new offerings if the brand can meet current consumer needs.
Price, availability, and high-quality images will also maintain their value in eCommerce shopper travel. With these challenging circumstances in mind, below are tips to help you take advantage of your online shopping experience before the end of this year.
SEO and Ecommerce Tips
1. Review your list of places to search
It is an essential resource for shoppers, even if they do not plan to shop at a store. Update your list regularly and highlight the availability of goods.
Deloitte found that 59% of UK consumers have recently used more local businesses, so it is also worth checking that all addresses and phone numbers are correct, primarily if some employees work from home.
2. Analysis of search trends
Keep a close eye on the top search terms in your category. This is a great way to put SEO at the center of a company’s customer strategy. Real-time information from search can affect e-commerce product plans and marketing messages on all channels.
3. Development of new content
Consumer demand is changing, and updating your meta descriptions will not be enough to meet this new market’s needs. Create new pages to support customer decisions and help them understand that your business understands their situation. SEO is the best channel to drive traffic to these pages without any high cost.
4. Website Analytics
SEO remains the main traffic driver for a large number of businesses today. See how visitors use the website to gain new insights into their behavior changes. Internal search on your site is also a great resource.
If customers are looking for certain products, they cannot quickly find them in the main navigation.
5. Consider searching outside Google
Vertical search engines that target a specific category like travel or fashion are still valuable. They have the advantage of clear customer intent and often have little competition for the search engine marketing space. It is also worth creating video-specific content to identify search engines and possibly highlight your product’s benefits.
SEO and PPC Synergy Tips
6. Formulate a joint trading strategy.
Now that he is back to free classified Google shopping, SEO and PPC have even more opportunities to work together. Ads are published from the Google Merchant Center, so it is recommended that paid and organic search teams jointly develop a strategy for this year’s holiday shopping.
7. Add visual content to your search plan.
You have probably noticed that Google is fast becoming a visual platform. Marketers need to be a bit more creative to take advantage of this. Add images and videos to your eCommerce plan and ensure consistency in both SEO and PPC.
8. Choose your battle
Search results vary significantly for page requests and even individual users. Your per-click advertising budget will go a long way, especially during peak seasons. Use it to target high-value searches where sponsored ads dominate the results.
When it comes to SEO, look for search ranking opportunities that will attract high click-through rates. Be selective and use each channel to your strengths, compensating for the other when you need coverage.
9. Use PPC to test the content.
Try new changes on-brand messages and images to work best for your audience, Use these tutorials for your SEO assets.
10. Expand Your Funnel
People are turning to search engines for more reasons than ever before. For example, they use Google to use ideas before making a purchase. The review phase will be decisive this year. Develop multiple use cases for your customers and move beyond your regular funnel to drive new demand. Then, you can decide where to balance SEO and PPC efforts.
11. Combine Google with Amazon
The road to buying e-commerce is very fragmented, but we cannot deny the charm of Amazon. Amazon ads are becoming more sophisticated and will soon be connected to a better Walmart advertising platform. Plan your e-commerce spending across all retailers and search engines, then quickly optimize your ROI by measuring per channel.
12. Get the most out of ad extensions
Customers are looking for more information about products and services. Use ad extensions such as contact details and structured descriptions to highlight key features such as contactless delivery. Google also tested roadside pickup badges on local inventory ads, so stay tuned for the new extensions you use. The advantage of the starting player is always significant when a new player arrives.
13. Promoting new content
Use SEO data to generate new content related to epidemics. Use paid search to get some initial traffic and significant-close gaps. Content queries cost less per click and are a great way to build trust with your audience.
14. Keep your inventory level updated
Google Local Ads lets you sync your shop and eCommerce assets with the search. Consumers can quickly search and scroll through items in stock to complete a purchase. In fact, “in stock” searches have increased by more than 70% in the week of March 28 to April 4. Focusing on products that you know you can sell today gives you a competitive edge.
15. Make the most of automation
While manual PPC is excellent for bid control, it does not provide flexibility when demand is volatile. Use automated rules and AI-driven smart bidding to keep pace with this phase of instability. Automation can also help you overcome gaps in your SEO and PPC strategy with real-time market analysis.
SEO and other channel tips
16. Update your security protocol.
During the epidemic, consumers have demonstrated that they are ready to try new brands. However, they are also susceptible to any potential threat to their data. As e-commerce traffic increases, hackers will inevitably be attracted to retail websites. Update your plugins and security information to assure customers that they can shop safely with you.
17. Invest in a progressive web app (PWA)
Speed is more important than ever. A PWA will give users the benefit of both a mobile website and an enhanced app. Their adoption by e-commerce brands is relatively new, so you can win the march by investing in this technology right now.
18. Incorporate Your Brand Voice
SEO has historically stood out from other branded assets due to the different nature of its core functions. Essentially, SEO is about keywords. As search engines develop language understanding, companies can do well with SEO and leverage their brand voice.
This consistency element is essential right now, so be sure to include SEO in all brand planning strategy meetings.
19. Use SEO to Promote Social Sales
Social commerce will be a big trend in the next few years, especially with the advent of Livestream shopping.
Increasingly, YouTube videos are killing Google searches, and this is a great way to raise awareness about your live purchases. You can also rank on Google for keywords related to that topic and then direct users to social media channels.
20. Aligning SEO with Changes in Offline Business
Customers cannot tell the difference between the company they keep in-store and the company they shop online with. He hopes the two will work together. If a company offers a new promotion, if stores are closed or items are out of stock, make sure it is reflected on your landing pages.