By Chris Lee

High street fashion brand Zara announced this month that it will be launching a UK online store in early September.  However, according to one digital strategy consultant that NMK spoke to this week, Zara is failing to secure its brand name on paid search listings, leaving it exposed to ‘keyword squatting’ from competitors such as Republic.

Graham Cooke, managing director of QuBit Digital, argues that while Zara is performing well on its brand name in natural search listings, a search for ‘zara online store’ or ‘zara online shop’ on Google’s UK site often bring up sponsored links to competitors including Republic and Very.co.uk, with Zara nowhere to be seen in the paid search listings. This means that when the store launches, Zara could be losing potential revenue and customers who have their heads turned by these other Google ads.

“With any successful high street retailer coming online, it is imperative that they are just as focused about getting customers into their online store as they are with their traditional stores,” Cooke said. “Search is the front door to an online retailer’s store and in order to successfully convert customers online they need to ensure they have a strong presence on search engines like Google, especially on brand terms.”

Top tips for good search engine marketing

A good search engine marketing (SEM) strategy is not just about driving traffic to your website, it’s about getting the right traffic – visitors that will convert, Cooke told NMK.

“Therefore you must think in equal measure about the keyword terms you are going to bid on and where on your website these clicks will land and the subsequent user journeys through your website,” he added. “The bottom line is you need to first ensure that your site is easy to navigate right through to the checkout, then you can really look into developing an SEM campaign designed to convert customers.”

QuBit Digital recommends the below top tips for successful SEM:

Add negative keywords - You could be paying for unnecessary impressions on terms that aren’t really suitable - adding a negative keyword will ensure that your sponsored links never appear on the negative terms you identify which will help you reach the most appropriate prospects, reduce cost per click, increase return on investment and lower your expenditure.

Importance of ad copy - It’s very important that your campaigns are optimised.  By investigating search query traffic on certain keywords and matching your keywords and ad text to this, you can increase your click through rate, improve your quality score and gain a lower cost-per-click.  In parallel, irrelevant ads could lead to lower positioning which opens the door for your competitors.

Specifics could drive conversions - Broad search terms help drive traffic to your site but will often not have a high conversion rate. Long tail terms work in your favour by their specific nature. Not only are they less expensive, but the traffic generated by them is often better qualified. As traffic volume is much lower for specific keywords, it will be necessary to use many more keywords to achieve the same traffic levels.

Regular account maintenance is key - It's good practice to ensure you have multiple ads in every ad group and to measure ad performance using conversion goals tied to your own business objectives. Investigate which keywords converted for the ad to track the profit performance of ads. Refine your strategies by continually testing, adjusting and re-directing your budget towards the channels, keywords and copy which provide the best return.