topicHoliday search strategiesthe opp ortunit yEngage and convert searchers across screenschannels impactedPaid Search, SEO, Mobile

Another quick-win is to include holiday themes within your site’s design and copy. This tactic makes your site more relevant to holiday queries, thus reducing bounce rates and improving quality scores.

When it comes to search campaigns, keep three tactics in mind: • Leverage historical benchmarks to establish paid search holiday goals and budgets • Create bid strategies per keyword by using competitor monitoring technology to understand the most competitive keywords• Audit keyword lists and incorporate customer insights and search trends to build new, holiday-related keywords

Black Friday Is Closer Than You Think!

MOb i lE clickS

*Based on Google paid search clicks (from Performics’ aggregate client-base)

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0Jul10

AUG10

SEP10

OCT10

NOV10

DEC10

JAN11

FEB11

MAR11

APR11

MAY11

JUN11

JUL11

5.5% 5.8%6.4%

8.1% 7.6%9.5%

8.6% 8.6%9.7%

10.0%12.1% 12.1% 12.5%

MOBILE TABLET % CliCks from m&T

14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0%

• 33% of mobile users to start shopping pre-Thanksgiving (Google)• Nov. and Dec. primed to be mobile search’s biggest months ever

Google: 15% of all “Black Friday” searches to come from mobile devices Performics: 2011 mobile paid search clicks have already risen to 2011 holiday levels — 12.5% of all (desktop & mobile) clicks

2010 mobile clicksskyrocketed

The Trend: Mobile

1. Ready Your Web Site

At this point in the year, any major changes to your site must be complete and you should have: • Built new landing pages • Optimized on-site content/tags• Built incoming links for holiday terms • Created a mobile version of your site (Research proves people are 51% more likely to purchase from retailers that have mobile-specific websites (Luth Research)) Three months out, there is still time to make impactful changes and the quickest win comes from proxy landing page optimization (LPO). Proxy technology can swiftly create, test and optimize landing pages without using internal IT resources. Boosting conversions even a percentage point may help you meet – or exceed – holiday goals. Five steps to successful holiday LPO: • Conduct research to garner insights that inform design • Assess your site’s critical paths to conversion • Hypothesize about page concepts that will boost conversions• Test landing pages to uncover the most effective conversion paths • Optimize based on iterative testing

2. Ready Your Paid Search campaigns

CMO Briefing

eMarketer predicts online holiday sales will grow 12% YoY, and queries for “Black Friday” and “holiday shopping” have gained traction since July. We outline four key components to holiday search success. s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1

performics.com • blog.performics.com • @performics

Despite aggressive growth, mobile paid search is a bargain – clients’ mobile CPCs are about half that of desktop CPCs. • Separate Desktop and Mobile Campaigns Google reports that mobile-only campaigns perform on average 11.5% better than hybrid desktop/mobile campaigns. Use different holiday messaging for desktop vs. mobile to maximize relevance. • Don’t Forget Tablets Tablet campaigns should be separated as searchers use them differently than smartphones. For instance, tablet users are more likely to peruse search results; thus, bid strategies will differ.• Drive In-Store Traffic, Calls and Offer Redemptions Via sitelinks, provide mobile users easy access to store locations, hours, phone numbers and relevant offers. Google predicts 44% of all searches for last-minute gifts and store locations will come from mobile devices.

Fourth quarter is not the time to test copy – plan ahead for the holiday: • Create a holiday calendar with promotional dates; align copy to those dates • Analyze historical data• Refresh content, mobile and search copy • Use sitelinks and other relevant extensions • Rotate promotions throughout the season

Remember, promotions and free shipping drive conversion!In fact, comScore found that 61% of shoppers are “at least somewhat likely” to abandon their shopping cart if they’re charged for shipping. In uncertain economic times, online shoppers are searching for the best offers. Consider opportunities to embed coupons in paid search and mobile search ads. Lastly, never ignore the word “free” – free shipping is a no longer a nice-to-have, it is a need-to-have to stay competitive.

3. Optimize Mobile campaigns

4. Solidify Paid Search Messaging

c m o b r i e f i n gperformics.com • blog.performics.com • @performics

Trend Tip

Pay close attention to how macro search trends may impact keyword lists. Be careful—some Black Friday-related keywords are not Black Friday-related at all. For example, Rebecca Black’s viral “Friday” music video garnered massive 2011 search volume for “Rebecca Black Friday.” Use appropriate negative keywords to prevent Rebecca Black from knocking your Black Friday campaigns off-tune.

For more holiday search strategies, contactyour Performics account team today.