The One SEO Metric Online Retailers Can’t Afford to Overlook We’ve   all   read   the   headlines:   tricks   or   hacks   promising   to  increase   SEO   and   appease   the   search   engine   giants.  Increasing  SEO,  par;cularly  on  an  e-­‐commerce  website,   isn’t  as  simple  as  adding  a  word  or   two,  building  an   internal   link,  waving   a   magic   wand   and   voilà,   you’re   ranked   in   the   top  three.   A   common   sense,   but   oDen   overlooked   truth   about  SEO  is  this:    

USER BEHAVIOR MATTERS FOR SEO

I’ll   say   that   again.   User   behavior   ma0ers   for   SEO.   You   can  ;nker  with  your  copy,  redesign  your  website,  throw  yourself  at  the  social  media  masses,  but  at  the  end  of  the  day,  Google  cares  if  consumers  want  to  interact  with  you.  Now,  let’s  find  out  how  Google  measures  user  experience  and  explore   four  strategies  to  keep  visitors  engaged  with  your  content.  

How can you get consumers to want to engage with your website?

You  know  that  a  beKer  user  experience  increases  the  likelihood  of  an  online  purchase.  But  did  you  know  that  a  beKer  user  experience  also  sends  signals  to  Google  informing  them  that  your  site  deserves  to  be  ranked  higher?  It’s  called  dwell  ;me.    Although   dwell   ;me’s   algorithm   is   not   publically   accessible   nor  mathema;cally  formulated,  dwell  ;me  is  widely  considered  to  be  a  measure  of  user  engagement  that  includes:    1.   Session  Dura.on  2.   Bounce  Rate  3.   SERP  CTRs  

USER EXPERIENCE + SEO = DWELL TIME

Pause!  If  you  haven’t  already,  read  this  fantas?c  ar?cle  on  Search  Engine  Journal:    

Understanding  the  Impact  of  Dwell  

Specifically,   dwell   ;me   is   a   combina;on   of   session   dura;on   and  bounce   rate,  with  considera;on   to   the  click-­‐through-­‐rate   (CTR)  of  the   search   engine   ranking   page   (SERP).   It   measures   the   ;me   it  takes   for   a   user   to   return   to   the   search   page   aDer   clicking   on   a  result.    CTRs  alone  don’t  accurately  reflect  a  website’s  quality  or  relevance.  How  many  ;mes  have  you  clicked  on  an  en;cing  search  result  only  to  be  disappointed?  Clever  wordplay   can   lead  you  down  a  wrong  path  that  has  you  reaching  for  the  ‘back’  buKon.  As  a  result,  Google  measures   user   experience   by   factoring   dwell   ;me   with   CTR:   low  dwell  ;me  counteracts  a  high  CTR  and  a  high  dwell  ;me  improves  a  low  CTR.    

SESSION DURATION The time a user spends on a page. Average session duration for your website is equal to the total duration of all sessions divided by the total number of sessions.

BOUNCE RATE  Percentage of visitors who leave your website from the entrance page without interacting with the page. Dwell rate refers to people who enter through the search engine results page.

SERP CTRS  How often users click on your website for any given search query. SERP CTRs are not strictly a part of dwell time, but are an important component as CTRs are an indicator of search worth.

Your goal should be that when a visitor lands on your page, the content answers all of their needs, encouraging their next action to remain with you. If your content does not encourage them to remain with you, they will leave. The search engines can get a sense of this by watching the dwell time.

Duane Forrester Senior Product Manager, Bing

Dwell   ;me   isn’t   about   cooking   up   the   latest   SEO  schemes.   It’s   about   puYng   your   customer   first,  something   best-­‐in-­‐class   retailers   have   always   done.  And   while   Google   algorithms   change   with   the  seasons,   (Panda?   Hummingbird?   Tyrannosaurus  Rex?)  one  constant  remains:            If   a   user   searches   for   a   product,   lands   on   your  website  and  spends  ;me  engaging  with  your  pages,  he  or  she  has  clearly  found  value  in  your  content.  As  this   happens,   dwell   ;me   improves.   As   dwell   ;me  improves,  SERP  ranking  improves.      One  ques;on  remains—How  can  you  improve  dwell  ;me?  The  short  answer   is  by  crea;ng  engaging  and  relevant   content   that   your   consumers   want   and  need.   Most   likely   they   are   visi;ng   your   site   to  research   or   purchase   a   product,   but   does   your  current  product  page  allow  them  to  do  that?    We  are   to  help,  but  not   to   feed  you  ;ps  and  tricks.  Crea;ng   quality   content   and   interac;ve   user  experiences   is  a  strategy  not  a  tac;c.  Let’s   focus  on  four   strategies   you   can   deploy   to   increase   dwell  ;me,  improve  SEO  and  make  your  customers  happy.  

Google will always value user behavior and use it to shape their algorithm

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STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING DWELL TIME

BEEF UP PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Product  descrip;ons  are  all   too  oDen  an  aDerthought   that   can  sabotage   your   greater   SEO   strategy.   Focus   on   quality   content  that   informs   your   customers   and   helps   advance   a   poten;al  purchase.  Be  sure  to  cover  any  poten;al  ques;ons  or  concerns  that  customers  may  have.  Write  in  your  customers’  voice.  Don’t  get   swept   up   in   industry   jargon.   Use   language   your   customer  might  use  to  describe  it  (or  search  for  it!).      The Golden Rule of Product Descriptions The   golden   rule   of   product   descrip;ons   is   wri;ng   unique,  relevant   copy.   Google   hates   (and   filters)   duplicate   content.  Never   use   manufacturer   descrip;ons.   They   are   distributed   to  many  online  stores  and  you  will  be  penalized  by  search  engines.  Besides,   do   you   really   want   to   have   the   same   product  descrip;on  as  your  compe;tors?    Copy   also   needs   to   be   unique   from   product   to   product.   Avoid  using  the  same  bits  of  content  on  like  pages.  If  having  duplicate  copy   is   unavoidable,   careful   use   of   the   canonical   tag   can   help  avoid  damaging  your  SEO  efforts.      

Don’t Stuff Like a Thanksgiving Turkey While   your   primary   goal   is   to   increase   your  product   page’s   visibility   for   a   certain   set   of  keywords,  don’t  stuff  product  descrip;ons  like  a  Thanksgiving   Day   turkey.   Loading   up   on  keywords   at   the   sacrifice   of   user   experience,  will   only   cause   visitor   frustra;on   and   an  increase  your  bounce  rate.  Descrip;ons  should  sound   natural,   organic   and   above   all   else,   be  relevant   to   your   product   and   helpful   to   your  shopper.    

“When buying UV sunglasses, it’s important to research UV sunglasses on

UV sunglasses websites…”

Don’t be this guy!  

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Crea.ng  an  In-­‐Store  Experience  Leads  to  Purchase  Confidence  and  Higher  Online  Conversions  

STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING DWELL TIME

ENCOURAGE CUSTOMER REVIEWS

Shopping  has  gone  social!  Product  reviews,  driven  by  user-­‐generated  content,  have  a  powerful  effect  on  SEO.  They  enable  brand  advocates  to   regularly   beef   up   content   with   fresh   and   unique   keywords,   the  bread  and  buKer  for  search  engines.  Where  product  descrip;ons  are  short   and   succinct,   product   reviews   contain   the   language   that  customers   use   to   search   for   the   product   —   “This   is   the   most  comfortable   leather   sofa!”   —   These   long   tail   keywords   provide  powerful  signals  for  search  engines.    Product   reviews   not   only   provide   keyword-­‐rich   content   for   Google  spiders  to  crawl,  but  they  also  increase  SERP  CTR.  Chances  are  you’ve  searched  on  Google  and  seen  results  with  a  set  of  gold  stars  beneath  the   lis;ng.   Those   stars   help   to   differen;ate   your   lis;ng,   build  credibility   and   ul;mately   aKract   clicks.   Studies   have   found   that  including   customer   reviews   in   search   lis;ngs   can   increase  SERP  CTR  by  10%-­‐20%.    

User Experience is Better Keywords   are   great,   but   user   experience   is  beKer.  From  celebrity  gossip   to   the  score  of  last  night’s  game,  we  LOVE  using  the  Internet  to   research   just   about   anything.   This   is  especially  true  when  giving  up  something  we  hold   near   and   dear…   money.   Studies   have  found  that  60-­‐70%  of  savvy  shoppers  turn  to  product   reviews   for   advice   and   insight   that  they  can  trust.  

The “new SEO” requires that you think about the psychology of your visitors more than the technology of your website.

– Search Engine Land

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Crea.ng  an  In-­‐Store  Experience  Leads  to  Purchase  Confidence  and  Higher  Online  Conversions  

STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING DWELL TIME

INTEGRATE RICH MEDIA

Dynamic   imagery   may   be   the  most   effec;ve   way   to   increase  dwell   ;me.   While   keyword   rich  product   descrip;ons   and   user  reviews   add   valuable   copy   and  crawlable   content,   research  shows   that   pictures   speak   louder  than  words.    A  Sellpoints  study  found  that  120  seconds   of   engagement   shiDs   a  consumer ’ s   m indse t   f rom  brows ing   to   buy ing .   They  reported   that   each   addi;onal  interac;ve   asset   increased  average   session   dura;on   by  nearly   10%.   Video   increased  dura;on   by   40%,   interac;ve  product   tour   by   50%   and   360°  spin  photography  by  66%.  

Give Shoppers What They Want The  best  way  to   increase  dwell  ;me?  Give   shoppers   what   they   want.   An  Adobe   survey   found   that   91%   of  shoppers   prefer   the   ability   to   spin  products  in  full  360°  spin,  and  42%  of  mobile   shoppers   list   360°   product  photography   as   having   the   greatest  likelihood   of   promp;ng   a   mobile  purchase.              Brands  cannot  (and  should  not)  force  consumers  to  engage  through  pop  up  ads   and   support   chat   requests.   Let  your  consumer  drive  the  engagement  and   you   put   them   in   charge   of   their  own  experience.  

Consumer-driven engagements lead to positive user experiences

360°

SPIN

PHOT

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PHY

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VIDEO

AVG.

ASSE

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AVERAGE INCREASE IN SESSION DURATION

10%

40%

50%

66%

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Crea.ng  an  In-­‐Store  Experience  Leads  to  Purchase  Confidence  and  Higher  Online  Conversions  

STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING DWELL TIME

SHOWCASE RELATED PRODUCTS

Every   so   oDen   a   user   will   stumble   upon   on   a   search  lis;ng   that   takes   them   to   an   unavailable   or   unwanted  item.  ADer  discussing  the  importance  of  bounce  rate,  this  may   seem   like   a   disastrous   event.   Fear   not,   there   is   an  SEO   strategy   that   not   only   can   help   alleviate   those  poten;al  bounces,  but  also  can  increase  your  SEO.    Featuring  subs;tute  or  add-­‐on  products  —  “You  may  be  interested   in”   or   “Customers   also   bought”   —   saves  bounce  and  improves  SEO  through  internal  links.  Internal  links   encourage   interac;on,   driving   customers   deeper  into   your   site,   while   increasing   session   dura;on.   In  addi;on,   search   engines   use   internal   links   to   find  relevant  pages  and  beKer  understand  your  site  structure.  

Do You Want Fries With That? The   art   of   cross-­‐selling   or   upselling   predates   online  retail,   but   is   just   as   effec;ve   for   online   sales.   In   fact,  Amazon  boasts   that   cross-­‐sells   are   responsible   for  over  30%  of  all  sales.  So  the  next  ;me  a  customer   is   looking  at   pants,   offer   a   belt;   an   iPad,   offer   a   case—   the   right  products   can   trigger   addi;onal   sales   to   maximize  purchase  order.  

TIP: Use product information management (PIM) solutions to ensure that all items presented are

relevant, personalized and in stock.

2140 W. Fulton Ave Unit K Chicago, IL 60612 630.920.1070 info@snap36.com www.snap36.com

MAKE USABILITY A PRIORITY

About Snap36 Snap36  is  the  premier  provider  of  scalable  and  cost  effec;ve  360°  &  3D  product  imagery.  Founded  by  industry  experts  who  iden;fied  an  underserved   market   and   were   inspired   to   offer   a   more   visually  interac;ve  online  experience,  Snap36  delivers  turnkey  photography  services   and   provides   the   equipment,   technology   and   exper;se  needed  to  implement  360°  &  3D  spin  photography.    

120 seconds of engagement

shifts a consumer’s mindset from

browsing to buying.

Google’s  algorithm  is  a  complex,  living  organism.  You  can’t  ar;ficially  increase  session  dura;on  and  reduce  bounce  rate  without  delivering  engaging  content  and   interac;ve   experiences.   What   is   good   for   your   customer,   relevant   and  contextual  informa;on,  is  good  for  Google.    With   the   Internet   at   their   finger;ps,   your   customers   are   now   in   control.  Retailers  need  to  be  helpful,  not  overbearing.  As  with  most  SEO  strategies,   it  can  be  challenging  to  find  a  balance  between  implemen;ng  an  effec;ve  tac;c  and  appealing   to   your   customer.   This   is  why   it   is   so   important   that   you   stop  looking   for   SEO   ;ps   and   tricks   and   start   focusing   on   a   strategy   with   user  experience  at  its  core.    

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