Where your products rank in search results on retailers’ sites directly impacts your eCommerce success. If a shopper can’t find your product, that shopper can’t buy your product. Find-ability is fundamental.
Search is also a driver of the now-famous “flywheel effect” at Amazon and other online retailers: products that place well in search results tend to sell more, and products that sell more tend to place better in search results. Success breeds success, creating a moat for competitors and rewarding those that move early and decisively to win.
Retailers’ websites and apps—particularly Amazon’s—are increasingly the starting point for shoppers’ product searches. A 2016 BloomReach study showed that 55% of online product searches start directly on Amazon, compared to 28% that begin on a traditional search engine like Google or Bing.
When shoppers search directly on retail sites they are typically closer to the purchase decision. For most shoppers, there is imminent purchase intent. Here, a shopper might search for “Lexington home furniture” or “canary bird seed,” terms that are much more targeted and will lead directly to products that can be purchased.
Given the stakes, forward-thinking brand manufacturers should aim to optimize their products to rank higher in search results for the most relevant and frequently-searched keywords.
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You might also be interested in attending our webinar on May 9 2017 at 11 AM EST: Getting Found – Maximizing Discoverability through On-Site Search and Category Placement.
