Without a doubt, the easiest way to improve search engine marketing ROI (from both your paid and organic search efforts) is already within your reach. It’s information you should already have. And it doesn’t cost anything to use. What is it? Your site search data.
What Site Search Can Tell You
Every online retailer should provide site search functionality to visitors. Site search is one of the best ways to help visitors find what they want, and help you as a retailer to optimize site merchandising. Monitoring and analyzing keywords visitors have looked for helps you in a couple of ways. Here are three things you’ll discover:
1. Holes in your product offerings.
What are visitors looking for? Do you already sell these products? If not, you’ve got an opportunity to expand your product list.
2. Content shortcomings: poor product descriptions or “inaccurate” product names.
Can visitors find products using their search terms? You may discover they can’t if their keywords aren’t present in your product descriptions. Same thing goes for the product names.
3. Opportunities to improve merchandising.
Look at how you’re delivering search results. Are the products that appear in search results your bestsellers, or the ones with the best margins?
Site Search Data and Search Engine Marketing
How, then, can you improve search engine marketing ROI using site search data? Take the same keyword records and you can improve your on-site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) through better content, as well as improve your PPC ROI by improving keyword bidding, ad copy, and landing page content. Here’s how to do it:
SEO
Site search keywords don’t just tell you which products you should add; they also guide you about what content you should be creating. Compare the list of the most popular keywords against your existing content. Is your current content program creating content that fits visitors’ interest? If not, here’s how to fix it.
1. Edit product listings by incorporating keyword-related content.
2. Create buyer or solutions guides.
3. Revise your blog calendar with content targeting the new keywords.
PPC
Site search data provides a reality check for your hunches. When you look at actual user data, you’ll be able to see whether you’ve been guessing correctly or poorly. Here is how you can use site search data to improve the ROI of your PPC budget:
1. Updating Keywords lists:
You’ll be able to revise your keyword lists based on the site search terms. You’ll be able to update your bidding strategies, perhaps, increasing bids for the more popular keywords. Keyword revision includes downgrading bids for less popular words, as well as tweaking your negative keyword activities. Your net result should be more optimized bidding and a more “accurate” bid list.
2. Landing Page Optimization
Your site search database will also help you identify content missing from your landing pages. Have you overlooked specific keywords or keyword groups? Do you need to add different visual content to the pages? You may learn that some of your landing pages are missing words visitors actually use in your site’s search box. You’ll be able to build out content that is more relevant to visitors.
Your most common or popular keyword searches on your site are really important. Even if they don’t lead to a sale, the easiest way to improve search engine marketing ROI is paying attention to what visitors look for.
Indeed helpful tips! We ll know that more and more have gone into internet marketing and yet do not really know about SEO, Google Analytics, and the likes. Technicalities such as these are important to know of as it as well is a big part of a successful internet marketing apart from well-designed website, great content and quality backlinks and keywords. Thanks for sharing this article!