The way consumers search and land on your site is changing. New digital trends require marketers to be strategic about how they drive quality site visitors - and ultimately, customers. Check out this webinar from Trustpilot and our friends from Elite SEM, to learn how to optimize your customer journey from SEO to conversion.

1. From Search to Purch(ase):
Closing Customers Quickly

2. Eric Reisch
VP of Strategic Sales
Trustpilot
Presenters
Sara Leaf
Account Manager
Elite SEM

3. Agenda
Intro to Elite SEM and Trustpilot
Consumer Research and Behavior
What you should know about SEO 2017
Trust Matters More than Ever
Why & where to display reviews in search
Post SEO - Increasing Conversions

4. Performance
Display
Paid Social
Paid Search
SEO
Shopping
& Feed
CRO
Insight &
Analytics
Who is Elite SEM?

5. Who is Trustpilot?

6. Why does Trustpilot Exist?

7. Consumers and Search
What to Know In 2017

8. ● Mobile traffic surpassed desktop traffic for the first time in Q4 2016.
● Nearly 60% of all search traffic comes from mobile devices
● People who use mobile devices to read reviews jumped to 61% in
2016 from 38% in 2015
● 54% of people will visit a website after reading positive reviews
● Online reviews make up 13% of how Google ranks local search results
according to Moz’s 2017 Local Search Ranking Factors
Businesses Need to Adapt to Consumer Behaviors

9. Revamping Your SEO Strategy
in 2017
Recent Google Updates
Mobile First Indexation
AMP Pages
Universal Results
HTTPS

10. RECENT GOOGLE UPDATES
• “Fred” Update (March 7th, 2017) – Unconfirmed update,
focused on spam algorithm and poor quality backlinks.
• Core Algorithm Update (February 7th, 2017) – Changes
were made to Google’s core ranking algorithm, specifically
focused on content quality.
• Interstitial Ad Penalty (January 11th, 2017) – Websites
showing Ads that cover a significant portion of the screen
on mobile devices may be penalized.
• Mobile First Index (November 4th, 2016) – The mobile
index will become the primary index since more searches
are taking place on smartphones vs. desktop.
seo industry
Google
Updates
Recent changes in Google’s
search engine ranking algorithm

11. seo industry
Interstitial
Ads
Examples of potential penalty

12. mobile strategy
Moving
Towards
Mobile-First
Indexation
• Mobile content will eventually be the
primary index used for showing listing to
both desktop and mobile users.
• Announcement was made from Google’s
Webmaster Central Blog on Nov 4, 2016.
• Goal is to improve experience as Mobile
devices now account for 60%+ of search
queries.
Source: Search Engine Land

13. mobile strategy
Mobile
Friendly
Does Not
Equal Mobile
Optimized
• A ‘mobile friendly’ website may use a
responsive design however, a ‘mobile
optimized’ website is specifically designed
with smartphone users in mind.
• Missing key usability elements and low
page speed scores can prevent a site from
being mobile optimized.

14. mobile strategy
Key
Principles Of
Mobile Site
Design
Research has shown five key design areas
matter most to provide exceptional mobile
user experience and increase mobile
conversions.
Source: Mobile Transformation Workshop

15. mobile strategy
Slow Load Times and User
Experience
“What do you dislike the most when
browsing the web on your mobile
device?”
AMP is a way to build mobile web
pages for static content that render fast.
Source: Mobile Transformation Workshop

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What is AMP?
• Accelerated Mobile Pages
• Introduced in February 2016
• Created for publishers to
have mobile-friendly content
Who can use AMP?
• Publishing, e-commerce,
content sites
Why does AMP exist?
• AMP pages load quickly and
with less data used
How does AMP work?
• Developers rely on AMP
HTML – a new open
framework
AMP Example in Search
Engine Result Page
amp
Creating
Fast
Mobile
Content

17. POLL:
Are you using AMP pages?

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amp
Seen In
The SERP
News & Content
Example of news content using AMP Improved page speed for AMP pages

19. amp
Seen In The SERP
E-Commerce & Page Speed
Example of Ebay using AMP for product pages

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How can you use AMP?
• Product pages
• Content pages
• News items
How can AMP help SEO?
• Not a direct ranking factor – but speed
matters
• Value is determined based off user
interaction
Is AMP free?
• AMP pages are not free – expenses
may vary
• May require an outside developer
Left: An article without AMP HTML
Right: An article with AMP HTML
amp
Will It
Boost My
Rankings?

21. Universal Results

22. universal results
Search Solution Within SERP
Instantly stand out to users
• Universal Results are part of Google’s intention to deliver the user “the best
result” as quickly as possible
• These results come in a variety of forms such as knowledge graph, instant
answer, featured snippets, people also ask, news, images, video, etc.
• Universal results include content extracted from on-page content

23. universal results
Seen In The SERP
Bulleted lists & instant answers
Example of instant answer + images
Example of a bulleted list

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universal results
Seen In
The SERP
Knowledge Graph
& People also ask
Example of Knowledge Graph Examples of People also ask

25. universal results
How To Optimize Your Site
Best practices to get recognized by Google
• Identify simple, direct questions on a topic that your audience or consumers
are interested in
• Provide a succinct answer that directly answers the question with targeted
keywords
• Follow SEO best practices
• Create additional relevant, high-quality content on that theme with related
targeted keywords

26. HTTPS
for SEO and Credibility

27. https
Moving To A Fully Secured Site
Secure or not secure: that is the question
• Google is working towards a fully secured web
• Ensures encryption, data integrity, and
authentication
• 84% of users would abandon a purchase if data was
sent over an insecure connection
• Google calls the move “imperative” in 2017

28. https
Benefits Of A Secured Site
It’s much, much safer
• HTTPS sites receive a small ranking boost
• 40% of Google’s page one rankings are HTTPS
• They also protect users and add a layer of trust
• Google Chrome labels HTTP sites as insecure,
warning users of the potential risk

29. https
Switching To HTTPS
What To Expect When You Make The Move
• Sites may see a temporary fluctuation in site rankings during the move
• All HTTP URLs must be 301 redirected to their HTTPS version
• Set up new Google Search Console profile

30. Trust and Reputation Matter
More Than Ever

31. ● Consumers need to be able to trust
the message, the company, and
what a company is selling.
● Third-party credibility is a major
differentiator in the large
eCommerce industry.
● Security, data protection, privacy,
and even shipping all matter to a
consumer.
Why is Credibility Important?

32. Do consumers read reviews when shopping online?
• 89% read reviews “Sometimes”,
“Most of the time”, or “Always”
• Less than 3% read reviews
“Never”
Takeaway
The vast majority of consumers read reviews when
making online buying decisions.

33. Where do you go to find reviews?
> 50% → search engines
> 20% → company’s website
>10% → 3rd party review websites
Takeaway
Consumers conduct the majority of review-related
research via Google.

34. How Do Reviews Affect Buying Behavior?
● 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal
recommendation
● 33.8% of consumers find customer reviews as the most important
feature of an online store
● 12x more consumers trust product reviews than manufacturer
descriptions
● 65% of respondents rate “a person like yourself” as a credible or
extremely credible spokesperson.
User generated content from reviews
help you get your site rank higher
and look more credible in organic
search results

35. Where to Leverage Reviews in
Search

36. Rich snippets provide an indirect SEO boost
Rich snippets on product pages and key business pages
displays more relevant information to potential consumers.

37. Rich Snippet Stars are everywhere in search

38. Third-party validation in organic search drives
conversions
Having positive reviews on a third-party
platform can improve your brand
reputation with positive organic
impressions.
If consumers search for branded
reputation terms, they are looking for
validation in order to make a purchase.

39. Boost organic search with product reviews
➔ Improve organic rankings with
content that is...
● Relevant & keyword-rich
● Engaging & user-generated
● Fresh & always updated
➔ Improve organic click-throughs
with stand-out search results
featuring Rich Snippets
➔ Product reviews on your product
pages will also help boost
conversion

40. Post-SEO
Increasing Conversions

41. Approximately 75% of
online shopping carts are
abandoned every year
Leverage Conversion Rate Optimization
Strategies to Increase Revenue
Leveraging CRO best practices will increase
conversions and revenue on all conversion points.

42. Utilize trust symbols to improve your credibility
42% increase in
landing page
conversions
72% increase in
product page
conversions
45% increase in
retargeting ad CTR

43. Social Proof Can Increase Conversion Rates
● Social Proof can include:
○ Customer list or logos
○ Press mentions
○ Reviews
○ Social media integration
○ Testimonials
This Is It StoresGroupon
130% increase in
conversions, 315%
in revenue
ID Wholesaler

44. Use Personalization to Convert Customers
● 75% of customers like when brands
personalize shopping experiences for them.
● 40% of online revenue comes from returning
customers.
Very.Co.Uk SpearmintLove
Burton Menswear

45. Key Takeaways From Today’s Webinar
● Leverage a mobile-first SEO strategy that takes advantage of high
ranking factors based on recent updates
● Remember that HTTPS is a must in 2017
● Use trust signals, badges, and symbols that surface on your site and
search results to improve your credibility and reputation.
● Leverage social proof to optimize your conversion rates.

46. Thank you!
Elite SEM Questions?
www.elitesem.com
Sara Leaf: sara@elitesem.com
sara@elitesem.com
Trustpilot Questions?
www.trustpilot.com
Eric Reisch: ere@trustpilot.com
events@trustpilot.com