Case Study
SEO & PPC Are Critical to Ecommerce During COVID-19
With the number of global COVID-19 cases exceeding 6 million, society is learning how to adapt to a post-pandemic world. While the urge to return to “the way things were before” is strong, many consumers remain cautious about easing back into old habits and behaviors. Social distancing appears to be our new normal for the foreseeable future.
Naturally, this will change the way consumers interact with businesses and brands. Already we’ve seen the effects of COVID-19 on ecommerce, and the takeaway message is clear: as the shift from brick-and-mortar to online shopping continues, maintaining a strong digital presence through SEO and paid search is critical to success.
Search is already a key component of the online shopping process, with 87% of consumers starting their retail research in digital channels like Google. Plus, SEO is a long term strategy; the content you create today can drive traffic to your site for years to come.
“I believe the pandemic has simply accelerated the established trend in retail moving from brick-and-mortar to online sales,” says Michael Salvo, Chief SEO Strategist and Principal at Whitecap SEO. “SEO has traditionally proven to be a strong channel in terms of ROI, but the numbers we've been seeing in the organic search channel during Q2 2020 are astonishing, with our ecommerce clients earning on average $48 return on every $1 spent.”
Interest in Ecommerce Spiked During COVID-19’s Peak
According to Google Trends, online interest in the term “ecommerce” over the last five years reached peak popularity (i.e. achieved a value of 100) during the time period May 10-16, 2020. During April 26 - May 2, this query had a value of 95; during March 26 - April 4 it had a value of 82; and all the way back in the first week of March it had a value of 72.
In other words, this upward trend in ecommerce interest coincided with COVID-19’s peak across the United States. We see a similar trend when looking at the search query “Shopify,” which reached its peak May 3-9. In the first week of March, the value for this query was 58.
What does this mean for you as an ecommerce site owner? You may soon be seeing some fierce new competition in the online marketplace, if you’re not already. Not only are longtime ecommerce sites putting in the effort to stay competitive, brick and mortar stores now have skin in the game too. With that in mind, now is the time to ramp up your SEO & PPC efforts.
Case Study 1: SEO Results During COVID-19
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, most of Whitecap’s SEO clients experienced strong traffic and revenue increases. Some examples:
Retailer A
Organic traffic in April reached 166.4k visits vs. their 12-month average of 118.9k visits—a 65% increase in traffic year-over-year.
Organic revenue for April was $127.5k compared to their 12-month average of $52.6k—a 185% increase in revenue year-over-year.
Retailer B
Organic traffic in April reached 101.8k visits vs. their 12-month average of 72.0k visits—a 60% increase in traffic year-over-year.
Organic revenue for April was $334.2k compared to their 12-month average of $172.0k—a 142% increase in revenue year-over-year.
Retailer C
Organic traffic in April reached 13.1k visits vs. their 12-month average of 8.3k visits—a 65% increase in traffic year-over-year.
Organic revenue for April was $101.1k compared to their 12-month average of $62.7k—a 74% increase in revenue year-over-year.
“Short-term, the behavior of millions of consumers has changed—but for many, that shift towards online purchasing will be permanent,” says James Clark, Whitecap’s SEO Director. “This will dramatically increase the lifetime value of new ecommerce customers.”
Case Study 2: PPC Results During COVID-19
Several of Whitecap’s PPC clients also experienced a significant boost in revenue and/or return on advertising spend during the same period:
Retailer A
Increased their PPC budget to take advantage of the extra online demand.
Revenue for April was $95k—a huge spike compared to their 3-month average of $72k and 6-month average of $66k for the months just prior to April.
Non-branded revenue numbers are even more stark: $18k in April vs. $7k (3-month average) and $6k (6-month average).
Retailer B
Increased their PPC budget to take advantage of the extra online demand.
Revenue for April was $73k compared to their 3-month average of $22k and 6-month average of $18k for the months just prior to April.
Retailer C
Maintained their existing PPC budget.
Achieved a return on advertising spend (ROAS) of 14x in April, compared to their 3-month average of 6x and 6-month average of 5x for the months just prior to April.
“By having these campaigns set up and optimized prior to the crisis, we were able to very quickly take advantage of the increased demand,” explains Jarek Rozynski, PPC Director at Whitecap SEO.
The Takeaway: Importance of Search Marketing During COVID-19
While search marketing has long been a cornerstone of a good ecommerce strategy, the COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be an interesting case study about the value of having a healthy organic search channel. The shift from brick-and-mortar shopping to ecommerce has been on the horizon for years—could this crisis be the event that tips the scales for good?
None of us possess a crystal ball that can show what the future holds. Many retail stores are preparing to reopen for the first time since lockdown orders began. Yet brick-and-mortar shops could be forced to shut their doors again (and again, and again) in the future as subsequent waves of the virus emerge.
Even as restrictions are lifted, consumer behaviors may change permanently as a result of COVID-19. Given this uncertainty, relying on proven digital marketing strategies like SEO and PPC is the best option ecommerce businesses have for responding to this time of crisis.
So, how do you elevate your search strategy in the time of coronavirus? Creating evergreen content such as blog posts and white papers, updating already-performing content, earning backlinks to your site, conducting a local SEO audit, and running relevant ads for high-competition keywords are all solid foundations.
Although the coming months will largely be a game of “wait and see,” there is no denying that retail businesses who successfully adapt to the changing marketplace will be far better positioned to grow and prosper. As COVID-19 continues to impact businesses around the globe, we expect to see even more examples of how SEO and PPC can help mitigate the challenges of operating in a dynamic market.
Work with Whitecap SEO to Increase Traffic and Maximize Sales
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Contact our team of ecommerce SEO experts today to learn more and get started.