Getting to Page 1 of SERPs

Research from Contact Analytics shows that highly visible items have at least 20 reviews — positive or negative. Positive reviews are more valuable. The best way to ensure a higher percentage of positive reviews is to provide outstanding customer service, which includes ensuring items are in stock. In-stock items are 700 percent more likely to appear on page one vs. out-of-stock items.

Video provides another boost in search rankings. Only 6.6 percent of items without video land on page one, and only 7.9 percent on page two. However, customers can be turned off if a video takes too long to load once they come to a retailer's site.

Interestingly, price is a relatively unimportant factor is general searches, with items found on page one and page two having about the same prices as items found on page 10.

Yet there are more specific searches in which price does matter in the Google rankings. For example, if a consumer conducts a "commodity" search looking for an item like HDMI cable, low-priced items have better Google search visibility than premium-priced items. Similarly, premium pricing results in significantly lower Google search rankings in brand searches.

However, lower pricing actually hurts results for targeted product searches. For example, search for a "Ninja Blender" had pricier blenders on page one, while lower-priced blenders and accessories appeared on page two or later.

Now that the holiday shopping rush is over, the beginning of the new year is a good time for retailers to review on-site search rankings, content quality, product assortment, product naming and product purchase associations to improve discoverability and increase sales.

Tips for Getting to Page 1

• Enrich product listings by maximizing keywords, adding videos and photos, and providing discounts for commodity goods.
• Engage customers to provide feedback, which will increase the number of reviews.
• Provide excellent customer service to improve your chances of getting positive reviews. Raving fans will help sell products not only on your site, but through positive posts they make on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media.

David Feinleib is the founder of Content Analytics, which provides deep insight into on-site search rankings, content quality, product assortment, product naming and product purchase associations to improve discoverability and increase sales.