Search engine optimisation is one of the fastest growing marketing channels. Its popularity stems from the fact that it is a fairly open process that practically any firm can incorporate into their marketing strategies. Another reason why search engine marketing is such a hit is that the number of people - aka potential customers - heading online to do their shopping is also growing. At an alarming rate. And, with the proliferation of smartphones and ultra-portable computers, it looks like the trend for online consumption is set to continue.

As a result, SEO has become a vital aspect of online marketing. Companies can either outsource their search engine marketing strategy to a third party or develop it in-house, but whatever tack they take they must have a long-term strategy to boost their online presence. Without strong search engine optimisation goals, online retailers can end up losing out to rivals - which is particularly risky during the economic turmoil being experienced at the moment.

In marketing terms, search engine optimisation is relatively new. But in internet terms it is a well established, reliable marketing method that offers an excellent return on investment. The obvious benefits of SEO - and the fact that it is completely accountable and easy to cost - makes it all the more surprising that many online retailers are failing to capitalise on the marketing tool. But many are still unaware not just of the benefits, but of how essential search engine optimisation is in the modern marketing mix - which is becoming heavily skewed to online strategies.

As well as increasing a firms online visibility and ensuring more traffic is driven to a company's website - the clearest benefits of SEO - a good, long-term campaign can help build brand reputation and ensure that a company is seen as a reliable source of information and opinion in their sector.

Many search engine marketing experts have been warning online retailers of all these important benefits for years. But recent research by comScore has just been published which reiterates the above arguments and attempts to encourage all e-retailers to develop strong search engine marketing strategies.

According to comScore, the first port of call for almost a fifth of online shoppers is their favourite search engine. So before anything else, 18 per cent of people head to Google - or some other search engine - to look for information on the products they are interested in purchasing. This means that any online retailer who fails to implement a decent search engine optimisation strategy will be out of the running almost instantly. If your performance is strong enough to write off a fifth of the market before shopping has even begun then carry on as you were. If you can't afford to disregard this huge number of potential customers, it's time to start boosting your website's search engine ranking.

And if that wasn't a startling enough statistic, comScore also found that of those consumers that kicked-off their shopping experience at a search engine, two-fifths went on to visit an online retailer. In other words, if your search engine optimisation strategy is strong enough to get you on the first few pages of Google, then online consumers are very likely to end up visiting your store.

Robert Murray, the chief executive of iProspect, the company which commissioned the new comScore research, said retailers "cannot afford to have their offerings fail to show up in the search results".
"To remain competitive, they must have a holistic search strategy that understands and addresses a variety of information for all of the products they sell," he added.

This attitude towards search engine optimisation in the world of online retail is not new. But it does show the stark reality of digital marketing. Any e-retailer who fails to adapt to the latest search engine marketing techniques is very unlikely to be able to compete for very long.
 

Online retailers need to keep their SEO strategies up to date