Monday-to-Monday Natural Search Engine Traffic to Retailers Has Increased by 14.5... Week-to-week growth of Cyber Monday natural search traffic up from nine percent in 2006
Wednesday, 05 December 2007
As consumers progress through the holiday shopping season this
year, retailers thus far have enjoyed higher growth rates for natural
or unpaid search traffic, Netconcepts(R) LLC (www.netconcepts.com)
announced today. Netconcepts examined the programs of retailers using
GravityStream, its platform for natural search advertising, and
discovered an average of 14.5 percent week-to-week growth thus far,
compared to nine percent at this point in 2006.
"This faster rate of growth likely stems from several root causes,
including a better understanding of search engine functionality among
retailers and consumers," said Brian Klais, vice president of search
for Netconcepts. "Online retailers' efforts to offer good content and
increase visibility are paying dividends, and consumers can access
many types and sources of information through natural search to
support purchasing decisions."
This year, GravityStream retailers saw a 28 percent increase in
natural search engine traffic from November 19, the Monday before
Thanksgiving, to November 26, this year's first Cyber Monday. That
same Monday-to-Monday interval in 2006 generated only 18 percent
growth. In 2007, natural search traffic continued to grow from Cyber
Monday I to Cyber Monday II, December 3, when retailers enjoyed
another one percent increase in Monday-to-Monday traffic despite the
more substantial growth that came a week earlier this year. In 2006,
the same Monday-to-Monday interval generated flat growth. The study
tracked natural search advertising programs for apparel, sporting
goods, hardware, home improvement, housewares, home furnishings and
other vertical retail industries.
"Many retailers invest in their online presence to better capture
natural search traffic and more effectively engage consumers with
meaningful and relevant content," added Klais. "Any retailer trying to
capture the attention of consumers early in the purchase process with
natural search should aim for high week-to-week growth rates early in
the season. The goal is a fast ramp up early in the season with
continued growth through Cyber Monday IV."
Since Shop.org coined the term Cyber Monday several years ago,
research companies, marketing agencies, and search advertisers have
come to understand that weekly search engine activity tends to peak on
Mondays as consumers return from weekend shopping excursions and
transition to the Internet. Retailers tracking percentage growth in
these weekly spikes can use the data to benchmark their own search
engine optimization performance.
Netconcepts predicts that, if growth rates continue to follow
patterns similar to years past, retailers can expect search traffic to
rise slightly again on Cyber Monday III, December 10, and reach its
peak on Cyber Monday IV, December 17. Cyber Monday V is Christmas Eve
this year, and retailers should expect very little online activity of
any kind that day. Few delivery options would suffice, and the vast
majority of consumers will have already wrapped up their online
shopping and begun holiday celebrations.