Your food website’s search engine rankings – plan now for the 4th quarter

First of all, let me preface this article by answering the question I will probably get asked numerous times: “Why are you writing about the 4^th quarter when it’s only April?”

I am writing this article now because getting results from implementing a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy does not happen overnight. In some cases, it can take a year or more to get desired results. More commonly, however, we have seen above-average results in roughly 6 months. Implementing an SEO strategy now gives you the best chance of being positioned on the major search engines by November when things really start to pick up. Waiting till the late summer months won’t cut it. Now read on….

Based on recent in-house research, I found that most gourmet & specialty food companies sell 75% of their total annual online sales during the 4^th quarter, relying on a strong customer base for repeat gift orders along with an increased advertising budget to make it a success. Many gourmet and specialty food companies see the 4^th quarter’s influx of high-margin direct sales as ‘gravy’ on top of their wholesale ‘bread and butter’ (no pun intended), since the online channel typically represents only 5% of their overall business on average.

What many companies are failing to recognize is the enormous potential for online, direct sales during the 4^th quarter (and year-round for that matter) that can be more than just ‘gravy’ with the right SEO strategy. To me, this seems quite surprising considering that over 70% of shoppers use search engines for holiday gift shopping, and gourmet/specialty food related searches are consistently near the top of the most searched-for list during the 4^th quarter.

Just how much are you leaving on the table during the 4^th quarter? Can online sales become more than just the average 5% of your overall business? To find out, here is a good activity that I call the 40/40 test:

1. Check your website analytics to get a breakdown of referring sources to your website. What percentage of your website visitors come from natural search engine listings? (If you need help figuring this out, let me know)
2. Check the search terms used by visitors on Google, Yahoo, and MSN to find your website. What percentage of search engine referrals are coming from branded search terms (your company/brand name) compared to product searches (i.e. ‘gourmet cheesecake’)?

If less than 40% of your website visitors are from natural/organic search engine listings, it means that you are either: a) paying for a lot of online advertising to get your website traffic, or b) you are getting a lot of visitors that come directly to your website (via direct URL entry or bookmark), which means they already know about you and have probably purchased from you before.

You might have more than 40% of your website traffic coming from natural/organic search engine listings, but if they are searching for your company/brand name (which means they already know about you - probably a repeat order), then it doesn’t really count as a new customer. More new customers = growth, which is what we want, not just repeat orders (not to discount the importance of retention marketing, but that is for another article).

If 40% or more of your website traffic is not from natural/organic search engine rankings, and/or 40% of your search engine referrals are from branded keyword searches, then you should consider implanting a search engine optimization strategy and begin making the 4^th quarter more than just ‘gravy’. Basically, you are probably missing out on a huge revenue source - shoppers that use product keyword searches, (i.e. ‘gourmet cheesecake’) to find and buy products online.

Need help with SEO for your gourmet and specialty food company? Take a look at some examples of our successes in search engine optimization - ONLY for gourmet and specialty food companies:

Google Search Term - Ranking - Company

Greek oils - #1 overall - Demeter’s Pantry

Greek honey - #3 overall - Demeter’s Pantry

Gourmet vinegar - page 1 - Francvin.com

Gourmet ingredients - page 1 - Francvin.com

Gourmet cooking oil - #3 overall - iBuyGourmet.com

Unique appetizers - page 1 - iBuyGourmet.com

Vermont gourmet food - page 1 - Vermont Country Gourmet

Order cajun food - page 1 - CajunBrands.com

Bread pudding mix - #3 overall - Blue Magnolia Products

Food copackers - page 1 - Gourmet Business Directory

Food marketing companies - #1 overall, our site

Food business consultants - #3 overall, our site

Gourmet food marketing - page 1, our site

Gourmet food advertising - #2 overall, our site

Gourmet food videos - page 1, MyGourmetVideos.com

Gourmet video recipes - page 1, MyGourmetVideos.com