Can SEO Coexist with Commerce? Studying the Bond between Search and Online Retail, Part II
Tracking and Measurement
Many retailers are uncomfortable with the cross-channel shopping pattern for there is no reliable way to attribute these offline purchases to online activities. The need to accredit SEM efforts to offline ROI is still a challenge. Despite this, the risk of not having an online presence and losing sales is greater than the amount of money spent.
There are tactics out there that allow marketers to gauge an estimated level of online to offline traffic and sales. Marketers using promotional triggers in their ad copy, such as coupons for discounts, can measure the number of print-outs to those that have been redeemed in-store. Additionally, many retailers have the ability to provide in-store pick-up for orders purchased online. These actions can be tied to the initial search from a specific keyword on a specific search engine and measurement, or a weighted return on investment, can be attributed back to Search.
Additionally, click-to-call programs offered through Google and Yahoo connect advertisers (retailers) and buyers (customers). Services such as these allow you to track those customers that migrate from the Web channel over to the phone channel, in the event a customer is interested in learning more about your products, or, ready to buy. Using services such as these provides the measurement capabilities to attribute Search advertising to actions taking place offline. Side benefits of using this technology include increased customer satisfaction, shortened sales cycles, and less Web site abandonment.
Interestingly, the top revenue-generating retail sites online are retail chains that have traditionally operated offline. These retailers realize the negatives of not aggressively pursuing online shoppers, and they allocate their media budgets accordingly. By 2010, JupiterResearch estimates that 45% of all offline sales will be influenced online research — all the more reason to shift marketing dollars online.
Ideally, what the retailer marketer is aiming to achieve is a seamless relationship with their consumers, both online and offline. Using Search throughout the sales cycle, coupled with the behavioral patterns of these searchers, will prove to be the ultimate utopia for retailers.
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