Short-term suffering is always part of a more frictionless society but, over and over again, consumers have voted with their fingers and wallets.  The anti-piracy pressure applied two weeks ago was a much more stunning victory than Romney beating Gingrich in Florida. But, the story is long gone.  Despite the power of digital marketing for commercial entities to make good on threats by shutting down their websites, people proved they care more about convenience and efficiency than a just price for easy access to what copyright laws portend to protect.  Facebook’s $80-$100B IPO valuation will be another affirmation that the privacy train left the station a long time ago.

All of this aside, I do believe keeping that sharp line between Personal II and Anonymous II is paramount to protect the privacy people value most: their health and finances, in particular.  Privacy legislation is likely and self-regulation is crucial to keep ahead of misconstrued legislation. Without it, despite the illusion that privacy exists, it’s way too risky to tempt the congressional gods.

As we move forward, Google’s Fast, Relevant, Comprehensive and Fresh mantra hangs in my mind as does an October 2011 post by Ryan Jones named Mobile SEO is a Myth. Although Jones goes to the extreme of arguing that a mobile site should be one and the same as your normal retail site, there are a few good points worth considering, including how mobile devices are just a mechanism for delivering a good web experience. Would you rate a TV show differently depending on the size of the TV used to display that show? I don’t think it’s true that the “…best Mobile SEO strategy is to not have a mobile SEO strategy…” but the thought ties in perfectly with Huffman’s point about how they judge the quality of Google’s own Mobile Search and “normal” Web Search sites using the same criteria: Fast, Relevant, Comprehensive and Fresh.

Fast is a technical point previously addressed. When we consider the Relevant, Comprehensive and Fresh requirements, fundamentals like content development and on-page optimization (TITLE, META tags, etc.) necessarily join the checklist of things that must be included in “Mobile SEO”, proper.

A second thought stemming from Huffman’s presentation is that they hope Google Search for Mobile delivers a “complete” experience for users. He gives examples of “complete” as i) inclusive of as much information as possible; and ii) information being presented in ways that are sensitive to the capabilities of access devices. Simplistically interpreted, this means mobile site owners should generally avoid things like Flash while leaning toward features created by HTML5 or jQuery – both of which provide more functionality within a device like an iPhone or Blackberry.

To recap, Mobile SEO – On-Page Optimization is largely comprised of:

1. Content Development (be Comprehensive and Fresh)
2. TITLE/META & Text Optimization (be Relevant)
3. Content/Media Optimization (for mobile devices… to be “complete”)

Off-Page Optimization

There’s more to learn from Huffman’s presentation, though. He goes on to point out that they believe Google Search for Mobile best serves user experience by delivering a heavily localized result set. This supplies another element in our definition of “Mobile SEO” – your strategy must include a largely off-page, local strategy including ongoing optimization of each location’s Google Places profile. Check.
When we re-interpret the meaning of “Relevant” to add the increasing influence of social media on Google Search rankings (as reflected by QDF and socially-driven, “personal results”), another off-page optimization strategy should be counted as part of a comprehensive Mobile SEO plan: an aggressive PR, blogging or social content development campaign. Each of these can help create social buzz around your brand or mobile site which, in turn, is beneficial to a company’s total web presence, mobile or not.

To recap, Mobile SEO – Off-Page Optimization can be understood to be largely comprised of:

1. Optimization of local profiles
2. Social media content development
3. Authority building (social media and niche link development)

Mobile SEO – how’d we do at defining it? What elements were forgotten? I do believe Mobile SEO is a pursuit that’s fundamentally different than “normal” SEO but both stress the same thing: results come from good user experience… and good user experience is based on technical excellence, user-focused content and authority that is better than that which is offered by your competition. Sure, there are deeper topics like social content development tactics and mobile A/B testing but the bulleted lists above should serve as a great way to judge your department or service provider’s offering.

First, let’s establish the near-term goal – improvement of your site’s page rankings for top keyphrases searched through Google. Specifically, we’re interested in improving page rankings for top keywords entered by mobile device users and returned via Google Search for Mobile. (Also consider YouTube and other major social sites to be worthy of individual, mobile keyword research and optimization.) Looking forward to farther-reaching goals and KPIs, let’s agree that we’ll save the advanced discussion of mobile conversion optimization for another day and set rankings, traffic and revenue as a good, default three KPIs.

With the appropriate keywords and target site(s) defined, let’s look to Google for advice on what should comprise “Mobile SEO”.

Technical Optimization

Starting in late 2009, Google’s Webmaster Central Blog began offering the basics of what they like to see in mobile websites, what we’ll call technical optimization:

• Help Google index your mobile site, November 13, 2009 – i) “…create a Mobile Sitemap and submit it to Google to inform us to the site’s existence…”; ii) “…If you’d like your site crawled, please allow any User-agent including ‘Googlebot-Mobile’ to access your site…”; iii) “…Check that your mobile-friendly URLs’ DTD declaration is in an appropriate mobile format such as XHTML Mobile or Compact HTML…”
• Running desktop and mobile versions of your site – November 18, 2009 – i) “…When a mobile user or crawler (like Googlebot-Mobile) accesses the desktop version of a URL, you can redirect them to the corresponding mobile version of the same page…”; ii) “…you should serve the same content to Googlebot as a typical desktop user would see, and the same content to Googlebot-Mobile as you would to the browser on a typical mobile device…”
• Making Websites Mobile Friendly – February 22, 2011 – In a more recent article, Google re-confirms the points above regarding the importance of Mobile Sitemaps and how you handle their User-agents.

Let’s also consider how Google judges their Mobile Search site performance. In a May 2009 presentation given by Scott Huffman titled Mobile Search at Google, we’re told Google expects their desktop and mobile-targeted sites to be Fast, Relevant, Comprehensive and Fresh. With the rise of Google PageSpeed and the increasing importance Google has placed on user experience, we can hazard to guess that mobile site load time optimization is also an unspoken but core, technical requirement.

To recap, Mobile SEO – Technical Optimization is largely comprised of:

1. proper redirection of and display to the Googlebot-Mobile User-agent
2. check mobile URLs’ DTD declaration
3. creation and verification of a valid Mobile Sitemap
4. device compatibility & load time optimization

We’re compiling aggregate KPI data across many verticals right now, so it’s time to make a wish list of tactics and theories analytically prove or disprove. Are there any SEO, PPC, social media or general marketing issues you’d like to see addressed in future posts?

The November 2011 edition of PM Digital’s Rewind Index, which measures monthly U.S. paid search performance for online retail clients, showed an average 48% year-over-year revenue growth for the month. Clicks grew the same percentage, and PM Digital retail clients increased total search spend by nearly as much (47%). This was driven mainly by rising clicks, as CPCs were up only 2%. Average orders saw a 5% increase vs. last year.

November 2011 Top Sales Day: Mon 11/28 (Cyber Monday)

Other Key Sales Days (in descending order):

Fri 11/25 (Black Friday)
Sun 11/27
Tues 11/29
Wed 11/30
Sat 11/26

While Cyber Monday and Black Friday are definitely affecting buyer behavior on other nearby days, before and after Thanksgiving, these two dates remain unbeatable for single-day revenue and orders from paid search. Purchases in this channel spiked on Black Friday and remained high through the 30th—a trend we expect to see continue into December.

Key Shopping Days: YoY Sales Growth

“Cyber Sunday,” or the Sunday after Thanksgiving, saw the strongest year-over-year growth for paid search revenue. It slightly outpaced growth rates for Cyber Monday and Black Friday, which were also considerable. Sales on Saturday grew more slowly (less than the month’s average), possibly due to offline competition, though Saturdays are generally slower for online retail.

Key Shopping Days: YoY Clicks Growth

“Cyber Sunday” saw the highest rate of growth for paid search clicks, among all key shopping days.

Key Shopping Days: YoY Conversion Rate Growth

Conversion rates on Cyber Monday were notably higher than the same day last year. Conversion rate growth was strongest on Cyber Monday of all these late-November shopping days.

YoY Performance Metrics for November 2011

A look at growth for all of November helps to benchmark the end-of-month holiday kickoff period. Clicks, spend and revenue were all up by nearly the same percentage (47-48%) for the month. CPCs were kept in line while conversion rates grew. Average orders were up vs. last year, a good sign as we can expect this metric to gradually taper off as Christmas approaches and order volume picks up.

November 2011 Top Clicks Day: Mon 11/28 (Cyber Monday)

Other Key Days (in descending order):

Sun 11/27
Tues 11/29
Fri 11/25 (Black Friday) & Wed 11/30 (tie)

Cyber Monday was also the top day for paid search clicks. The days immediately before and after Cyber Monday were next highest, and clicks remained generally high for the six days starting Black Friday.

November 2011 Top Spend Day: Mon 11/28 (Cyber Monday)

Other Key Days (in descending order):

Sun 11/27 & Wed 11/30 (tie)
Tues 11/29
Fri 11/25 (Black Friday)

November’s top day for paid search spend, driven mainly by higher clicks and not by CPCs, was also Cyber Monday. The same six days starting Black Friday were also the best click days.

The PM Digital Rewind Monthly Index measures paid search performance for online retail marketers during the prior month. Based on aggregated and indexed performance data, the PM Digital Rewind Index provides immediate, ongoing perspective for the retail sector just a few business days after the close of a given month. The Index covers all retail categories, including merchandise and apparel.

Look for our next edition of the monthly PM Digital Rewind Index covering December 2011—as well as a full Holiday Rewind—to be released in early January.

1.  Those who don’t have to do without, won’t.  Luxury spending is on a steep rise despite the down economies in the US and Europe.  Three years of a deep recession and 9%+ unemployment aren’t dampening the spirits of the bulls-eyed 1%.  Even NY State’s Governor Andrew Cuomo won’t hit the millionaire wallet and handbag.  States need every taxpayer they can get.

2.  Ecommerce, the at-once General Admission concert seats and genteel private entrance, will continue to capture increasing growth and wallet-share.  Led by search online and directed increasingly to handheld devices and tablets, consumers at home get the guilty pleasure, special discounts, free shipping and radically improved shopping experiences that they rarely get after sitting in traffic to get to their favorite retail store.

3.  Brands that integrate their marketing channels will win.  Consumers think they are already.  Most aren’t.  Those that don’t may not see what’s happening underneath their sales numbers given the likely positive Holiday growth numbers.  Like most consumer-led disruption, though, future declines won’t be polite.  Just ask NetBook manufacturers and the company trading under the symbol NFLX (Netflix).  Click here for the latest in multi-channel whitepapers.

4.  People want to donate.  They really do.  When will nonprofits understand they have to earn the right to capture those dollars?  Social media, search, mobile and display media are well-worn channels that the commercial marketers have proven.   If they took the least productive 10% of their year-end marketing and spent it to develop online brand credibility and downstream donations, wouldn’t it make nonprofit brands more relevant?  Internet time is a 2:1 ratio.  For every year of delay, it’s 2 years of catch-up.

5.  Consumers will become more loyal to their favorite brands, especially in the luxury sector.  All of the years of print ads have worked to embed strong loyalty and emotional connection.  Luxury brands aren’t making a mistake…they’re following the numbers.  Online display ads, at least today, still can’t grab and grip a customer like a provocative ad with Scarlett Johanson staring back at you.  Have you seen the Vanity Fair article?  Can tablets bring more allure and connection as print advertising continues to fade?  Amazon’s Fire, Apple’s iPad and HP’s unit numbers think so with 19.5 million sold in 2010.  So do I. Click here for the latest Luxury Brand study.

6.  Catalogs matter.  So does direct mail.  Mail is the ultimate push media given its ability to finely target the perfect prospect. No channel can cost-justify itself without its direct sales impact on website and retail store sales, and inbound telephone calls.  Why can’t the Post Office understand math’s most basic variable cost calculation?  As advertising costs go up, return-on-investment goes down which forces channel choice.  Without it, direct mail loses more than it wins.  No channel can cost-justify itself without its direct sales impact on website and retail store sales and, oh yeah, inbound telephone calls.  Lest we forget, 26.4% of the population is age 45-64, and baby boomers are buying (see Prediction #1).

7.  Email is back and growing, especially with the 55+ crowd.  Social media is hugely important and influences all, but the channel carries 2011 targeting and lifecycle-triggering capabilities along with its circa-2002 simplicity.

Columbus Day was the peak online retail sales day for paid search campaigns, and its year-over-year metrics were also strong, with 67% revenue growth on that day outpacing the October average.

YoY Performance Metrics for October 2011

YoY Performance Metrics for Columbus Day 2011

October 2011 Top Sales Days:  Mon 10/10 (Columbus Day), Sun 10/30

As we have seen in past months, October’s top paid search sales day for online retail was its sole promotional holiday—in this case, Columbus Day.  Revenue and order volume both peaked on this date, presumably when a greater share of consumers were at home rather than work.  Sales then fell over the following days to their lowest point of the month.  Sun 10/30 came in a close second for both revenue and order volume, ending the month on a high note.

October 2011 Top Spend Day:  Mon 10/10 (Columbus Day)

Columbus Day was also October’s top day for paid search spend, driven mainly by higher clicks, not by more costly CPCs on that day.

October 2011 Top Clicks Days:  Mon 10/10 (Columbus Day), Wed 10/19

Paid search clicks also peaked on Columbus Day, the top sales and spend day, but it was tied for the top spot by another date later in the month, Wed 10/19.

The PM Digital Rewind Monthly Index measures paid search performance for online retail marketers during the prior month.  Based on aggregated and indexed performance data, the PM Digital Rewind Index provides immediate, ongoing perspective for the retail sector just a few business days after the close of a given month.  The Index covers all retail categories, including merchandise and apparel.

Look for our next edition of the monthly PM Digital Rewind Index covering November 2011 to be released in early December.

Ecommerce is about to reset its search bid rules to react to
consumer’s expectations although not for all products and brands, notably
Luxury.  Electronics and apparel will have no choice, especially
consumables and commoditized products, in my opinion.  Dayparting search
optimization is about to take on a new life when you consider that researching
will now start earlier which will impact site conversions related to new buying
patterns.

Will Cyber Monday and Tuesday stay the top sales
performers?  My bet says yes, but the curve is certainly going to flatten
over Thanksgiving weekend as opposed to historical, spikey high-peak
days.  Whether all of this generates incremental, new customers and demand
is the ultimate question.

We’ll know more in two and a half weeks.

Per Google Insights for Search, costume searches related to Rovio’s popular game Angry Birds are among Google’s “Rising Searches” this season. Other hot searches, per Google’s index, are tied to the 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan and Mattel’s popular Monster High franchise.

By contrast, interest in one of Google’s top rising searches last year, “snooki costume”, appears to have sagged a bit. In 2010, Snooki (from MTV’s Jersey Shore reality television series) beat out not only the nascent Angry Birds, but also other long-running costume favorites like “catwoman”. It’s worth noting that “snooki costume” searches rose dramatically in the days leading up to Halloween 2010, so there may still be time for Snooki to reclaim her throne in 2011.

Pop culture icons that have demonstrated more staying power (although also at levels lower than 2010) include artists like Lady Gaga, who has been a relatively popular costume search for the past three years. The shape-shifting Gaga is sort of an umbrella term for a variety of costume ideas, including “lady gaga outfits”, “lady gaga hair” and even “lady gaga egg”.  Another singer with eye-catching outfits, Katy Perry, is also popular.

Interest in Harry Potter has fluctuated over the past decade, although interest appears to be on the rise again in 2011, no doubt a tribute to the film series finale released this summer.

Perennial Favorites

While phenoms come and go, most of the high volume Halloween costume searches remain fairly consistent. These include classic get-ups with a variety of executions, like princesses, pumpkins and the undead. Character costumes that have shown durability include superheroes like Batman and Spiderman. “Zombie costume”, which has a long history of search interest, is enjoying a ghoulish peak this year, bolstered by AMC’s The Walking Dead television series.

When do “costume” searches peak?

Searches for variations of “costume” and “costumes” in 2011 began to pick up slightly in August, but really gained momentum in September. Although the end of summer and kids being back in school organically influence growth in these types of seasonal searches, there are also clearly external factors at work as well. The combination of in-store displays, as well as print, direct mail and online display advertising from stores like Costume Express and Party City surely help make Halloween attire top-of-mind, and help drive search traffic.

“costume” vs. “costumes” terms: which variations are more popular?

For the past few years, searches for variations of the singular word “costume” have been slightly more popular than those for the plural counterpart, “costumes.” This effect becomes more dramatic as October 31 approaches. This would seem intuitive as singular keyword variations imply that the searcher has a specific costume in mind. Earlier, pre-season queries may be seeking to browse a variety of costumes, in order to help spark ideas or compare prices before decisions are made about which costume to buy (or for the more industrious or frugal to make themselves).

This wasn’t the trend just a few years ago, however. In 2007 and prior years, plural variations were more popular. This makes sense in the context of how search has grown overall in recent years, trending away from the broad terms and toward the more specific, across all online retail categories. Today’s shopping searchers are more savvy when they’re starting their searches; they have a better sense of what’s available online, what they want to buy, and what stores they might like to buy from. At the same time, search marketers have honed their craft to meet this demand for specificity from search consumers.

Labor Day was far and away the clear winner in terms of single-day online retail sales from paid search campaigns in September. Labor Day also did very well on a year-over-year basis, with 53% revenue growth on that day outpacing the monthly average. Taking a broader view, sales for September overall were more concentrated in the latter half of the month, especially from Sun 9/18 to Wed 9/21. Paid search conversion rates continued to improve in September.

YoY Performance Metrics for September 2011

YoY Performance Metrics for Labor Day 2011

September 2011 Top Sales Day: Mon 9/5 (Labor Day)

Other Key dates: Sun 9/18 – Wed 9/21

Labor Day was the top single day for online retail sales from paid search campaigns in September. Both revenue and order volume peaked on this key promotional holiday. Other days around Labor Day, however, were some of the lowest-volume of the month; the bulk of sustained sales came during the third week of September, starting on Sun 9/18 and lasting at least four days.

September 2011 Top Spend Day: Sun 9/18, Tues 9/20, Wed 9/21 (tie)

Other Key Days: Mon 9/19, Mon 9/5 (Labor Day)

The top days for paid search spend in September matched the top sales days, with slightly more emphasis on the consecutive top days later in the month.

September 2011 Top Clicks Days: Mon 9/19

Other Key Days: Sun 9/18, Tues 9/20, 9/21 (tie) & Mon 9/5 (Labor Day)

Top paid search click days lined up with peak days for both spend and sales.

The PM Digital Rewind Monthly Index measures paid search performance for online retail marketers during the prior month. Based on aggregated and indexed performance data, the PM Digital Rewind Index provides immediate, ongoing perspective for the retail sector just a few business days after the close of a given month. The Index covers all retail categories, including merchandise and apparel.

Look for our next edition of the monthly PM Digital Rewind Index covering October 2011 to be released in early November.