Performics outlines four key components to holiday search engine marketing success.

1. CMO Briefing top i c
Holiday search strategies
Black Friday Is Closer t h e op p ort u n i t y
Engage and convert
searchers across screens
Than You Think! c h a n n e l s i m pac t e d
Paid Search, SEO, Mobile
eMarketer predicts online holiday sales will grow 12% YoY, and queries
for “Black Friday” and “holiday shopping” have gained traction since July.
We outline four key components to holiday search success. september 2011
1. Ready Your Web Site Another quick-win is to include holiday themes within your site’s design
and copy. This tactic makes your site more relevant to holiday queries,
At this point in the year, any major thus reducing bounce rates and improving quality scores.
changes to your site must be complete
and you should have: 2. Ready Your Paid Search campaigns
• Built new landing pages When it comes to search campaigns, keep three tactics in mind:
• Optimized on-site content/tags
• Built incoming links for holiday terms • Leverage historical benchmarks to establish paid search
• Created a mobile version of your site holiday goals and budgets
(Research proves people are • Create bid strategies per keyword by using
51% more likely to purchase from competitor monitoring technology to understand
retailers that have mobile-specific the most competitive keywords
websites (Luth Research)) • Audit keyword lists and incorporate customer insights
and search trends to build new, holiday-related keywords
Three months out, there is still
time to make impactful changes
The Trend: Mobile
and the quickest win comes from
proxy landing page optimization • 33% of mobile users to start shopping pre-Thanksgiving (Google)
(LPO). Proxy technology can swiftly • Nov. and Dec. primed to be mobile search’s biggest months ever
create, test and optimize landing Google: 15% of all “Black Friday” searches to come
pages without using internal IT from mobile devices
resources. Boosting conversions even Performics: 2011 mobile paid search clicks have already risen
a percentage point may help you to 2011 holiday levels — 12.5% of all (desktop & mobile) clicks
meet – or exceed – holiday goals.
2010 mobile clicks
skyrocketed
Five steps to successful holiday LPO: MOb i lE c li c k S
18 14%
16 12.1% 12.1% 12.5%
• Conduct research to garner 12%
14 10.0 %
insights that inform design 9.5 % 9.7 %
10%
• Assess your site’s critical paths
12
8.1% 7.6 % 8.6 % 8.6 %
to conversion
10 6.4 % 8%
8
5.5 % 5.8 %
• Hypothesize about page concepts 6%
6
that will boost conversions 4%
4
• Test landing pages to uncover 2%
2
the most effective conversion paths
0 0%
• Optimize based on iterative testing Jul
10
AUG
10
SEP
10
OCT
10
NOV
10
DEC
10
JAN
11
FEB
11
MAR
11
APR
11
MAY
11
JUN
11
JUL
11
*Based on Google paid search clicks (from Performics’ aggregate client-base) MOBILE TABLET % CliCks from m&T
performics.com • blog.performics.com • @performics

2. 3. Optimize Mobile campaigns
Despite aggressive growth, mobile paid search is a bargain – clients’ mobile CPCs are about half that of desktop CPCs.
• Separate Desktop and Mobile Campaigns
Google reports that mobile-only campaigns perform on average 11.5% better than hybrid desktop/mobile
campaigns. Use different holiday messaging for desktop vs. mobile to maximize relevance.
• Don’t Forget Tablets
Tablet campaigns should be separated as searchers use them differently than smartphones.
For instance, tablet users are more likely to peruse search results; thus, bid strategies will differ.
• Drive In-Store Traffic, Calls and Offer Redemptions
Via sitelinks, provide mobile users easy access to store locations, hours, phone numbers and relevant offers.
Google predicts 44% of all searches for last-minute gifts and store locations will come from mobile devices.
4. Solidify Paid Search Messaging
Fourth quarter is not the time to test
copy – plan ahead for the holiday:
Trend Tip
• Create a holiday calendar with
promotional dates; align
copy to those dates
• Analyze historical data
• Refresh content, mobile
and search copy
• Use sitelinks and other
relevant extensions
• Rotate promotions
throughout the season
Remember, promotions and
free shipping drive conversion!
In fact, comScore found that 61% of
shoppers are “at least somewhat likely”
to abandon their shopping cart if
they’re charged for shipping. In
uncertain economic times, online
shoppers are searching for the best Pay close attention to how macro search trends may impact
offers. Consider opportunities to keyword lists. Be careful—some Black Friday-related
embed coupons in paid search and keywords are not Black Friday-related at all. For example,
mobile search ads. Lastly, never ignore Rebecca Black’s viral “Friday” music video garnered massive
the word “free” – free shipping is a 2011 search volume for “Rebecca Black Friday.” Use
no longer a nice-to-have, it is a appropriate negative keywords to prevent Rebecca Black
need-to-have to stay competitive. from knocking your Black Friday campaigns off-tune.
For more holiday search strategies, contact
your Performics account team today.
cmo briefing
performics.com • blog.performics.com • @performics