Search Engine Marketing Report

Brigid Ballot Flowers | Search Engine Optimisation Review | February 2010

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING CONSULTANCY | SURFMERCHANT.IE

BRIGID BALLOT FLOWERS

-- Search Engine Optimisation Review --

Optimisation Performance Report

February 2010

Table of Contents

Top-line Statistics 2

Origination Map 3

Traffic Sources Overview 4

Popular Google Keywords 5

Search Engine Visibility 6

Competitor Position Review 12



Top-line Statistics

• The brief formulated for Brigid Ballot Flowers requested increased search engine presence, particularly for permutations of searches conducted on florists and flowers in Dungarvan, co. Waterford. Work completed in early November. This review examines web marketing performance in the interim quarter.

• According to industry benchmarks1, the website recorded exceptional visitor, bounce-rate, page-view, and journey metrics, together with prospect acquisition & retention numbers.

• A key performance indicator is the percentage of traffic attributed to search engine referral. This ratio of visits originating from a search engine result against the total number of visits rose from 1 in 5 between August and October ’09, to in excess of 4 out of 5 (86%) in the subsequent quarterly period.

• The domain has enjoyed exponential growth in visibility across a broad spectrum of search query results in Google, Bing and Yahoo!

• Competitive landscape evaluation encouraged a multi-format optimisation approach. In consequence to interaction with identified directories, as well as intelligent business geo-mapping, Brigid Ballot Flowers oftentimes occupies the bulk of search real estate.



Origination Map

• Localised search engine optimisation delivered visitors, the majority of which reside with Ireland, and more specifically, in Dungarvan, Waterford, Dublin and Cork.



Traffic Sources Overview

• The percentage of website traffic originating from search engine referral rose 325% in the 3 months post-optimisation. Between August and October, search engines delivered 20% of overall traffic. From November through to the end of January, search engines accounted for 86% of all website visits, with 95 of the total 111 visits encountered in this period.

• Google delivered 83% of the entire traffic count in this 3 month appraisal, previously responsible for just 19%.

• Direct visits (those typing in the website address directly into the browser, i.e. those familiar with the brand) dropped substantially (88%).



Popular Google Keywords

• Traffic originating from search engine referral rose 100% on the target terms “florist Dungarvan”, “florists Dungarvan”, “flowers Dungarvan”, “Dungarvan florists”, “Dungarvan florist” and “florist in Dungarvan”, a considerable achievement given the website’s negligible presence in search results for such terms prior to optimisation.



Search Engine Visibility

• Google visits the domain frequently in order to ascertain changes occurred within this website’s sphere of influence. Google Webmaster Tools is an interface the relays information that Google holds in relation to website functionality, visibility and peer inter-relation.

• Google reports that the top two queries for which the website appears in its results are “florist Dungarvan” and “Dungarvan florists”, and that the keywords it deems most relevant to the domain are “flowers” & “Dungarvan”, together with the brand name. This symmetry between optimisation focus and search result is most satisfactory.

• Prior to November, the website had few digital citations. More recently, Google acknowledged association to Qype business directory. Such link activity will factor in the website’s continued exposure in search results.



In an effort to raise the website profile in search engine results, I increased interaction with select directories:

• Originally the golden pages web-page that Google.ie was returning in search results directed visitors to a Brigid Ballot Flowers listing with an address and telephone number only. I created a Golden Pages account, rated the business with 5 stars, and wrote a review that was careful to include as many keywords as possible and with a link back to the website.



• Qype featured in a number of search results for terms that we intended the website to appear. The listing that appeared for Brigid Ballot Flowers originally consisted of a name, address and contact number (probably built automatically from other directories like the Golden Pages). I set up a business account with Qype and went about adding additional information about the business, namely full address, telephone, business category, shop description, hours of business, photo, and most importantly, a link to the website.

• Mytown.ie is another local business directory and community website that allows for business registration/advertising. It provides limited free business listings to include name, address, and telephone.



Inspection of Google search results for queries related to local florists in Dungarvan highlighted the prominence of Google Map listings. I activated a map listing in Google's business directory. From the before/after screen shots below of a Google Map search for the company brand, it is evident that Google swiftly recognised and rendered the business listing appropriately when users choose to search via maps.



• Integrated marketing across multiple verticals ensures that Brigit Ballot Flowers brand attains repeat referral in search results. A review of the listings composition for “florist Dungarvan Waterford” displays business presence in embedded Google maps, directories, affiliate sites and the company domain.



Should a visitor to Google search for “flowers Dungarvan” they will be treated to a premium listing for Brigid Ballot Flowers in the embedded map result, as well as the website and qype business listing within the first page. Such blanket coverage reinforces Brigid Ballot Flowers as an authorities for this search query, and reassures prospects to continue their journey path to the florist.



Competitor Position Review

The positions graphs document website placement in search results on key terms at scheduled intervals.

• A search for “Brigid Ballot” on February 2nd rendered a first place result in Google.ie for the website, a rise of 9 places from the bottom of the page back in October.

• The website also occupies the 1st place in Google.ie results for the search query “Brigid Ballot Dungarvan”, a strong rally from the second page listing historically achieved.



• When an Irish user of Google queries “Dungarvan flowers”, they are presented with a map listing for Brigid Ballot Flowers together with a first page listing for the website, up from the 8th page on Google to the first and steadily rising.

• When people in Ireland enquire as to how they can “buy flowers Dungarvan”, Google returns the website on the 3rd organic listing.



• For the fundamental search query “flowers Dungarvan”, the website has performed extraordinarily well, rising from obscurity on the 8th page of Google to a strong first page listing, supported by directory and map references.

• A further benchmark term assigned to this project was that of “florist Dungarvan”. Jumping some 50+ places, this search now renders a website listing above-the-fold on the first page of the results.



• “florist shop Dungarvan” was reported at position 80 in October. It now resides at number 2 on the first page of the Google search results.

• “florists Dungarvan” is another search variation which has returned consecutive rises in search exposure, now displayed high on page 1.



• Seasonal themes were applied to sections of the website in order to feature for particular calendar events. The website has improved its presence from position 10 to position 1 in the interim.

• Should potential customers look for “funeral flowers Dungarvan”, they will be presented with the website at position 5, previously languishing at #64.



• Bing (formerly Microsoft Live Search) has also acknowledged the optimisation effort and rewarded the website with prominent listings, not least that of “florists Dungarvan”, now resting within the top 5 results on the first page.

• Albeit users of Google in Ireland will by default interact with Google.ie, should a search be conducted on Google.com, for instance for “flowers Dungarvan”, interested parties will witness elevated listings for Brigid Ballot flowers.



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