Many stores now offer shoppers the ability to buy online and then collect in store, big names such as Argos, Comet and John Lewis to name but a few. Think about it, who has the time to traipse from store to store comparing products and prices? In my opinion very few people, the perfect and most convenient answer, I think, has to be, to be able to research online at any time of day or night then order your goods and collect them from a local store at a time that suits you.

Talk about getting the best of both worlds…..

I recently purchased a laptop and wanted to ensure that I had the absolute best product for my money before handing over my hard earned. In St Helens we have one of those retail parks with exactly the same selection of stores, give or take, as every other UK town or city.

Being a bit of a punter I didn’t want to give some sales person the opportunity to persuade me to buy something either unsuitable or over budget, perhaps by throwing in some security software that I didn’t need. So I spent some time in the evenings and at lunch researching and reading customer reviews to find the best possible laptop that had a fast processor, decent size Ram and hard drive memory.

Once I had a good idea of what I could expect to get for my money I carried out a few searches to check out my local stores. I narrowed my preferences down to two laptops that fell within my minimum and maximum amount and had the performance and memory I was after. I went online at about half past ten on the Sunday evening and chose the system that had the best processor of the two as opposed to the slightly bigger hard drive. I purchased my laptop online at about eleven and then picked it up the following evening on my way home from work.

I have to say it was a refreshing and hassle free experience, and to spend that amount of money and be so confident that I had purchased the best possible product for the price was extremely satisfying.

The Big Boys Push Online??

With time seemingly at more of a premium these days, many people struggle to find the time to sift through shop after shop looking for the right products at the right price. Bargains are far more important to people in today’s economic climate and the internet has got to be by far the most convenient way to compare prices and review products.

John Lewis is currently looking to expand its share of the continually growing internet market available and is trialling a “click & collect” service at present. With plans to allow shoppers to collect their orders from any one of its sister company, Waitrose’s, 200 stores, John Lewis obviously see’s the internet as a great way to take the company forward.

Argos is another major brand that offers a similarly convenient service and just last week announced that their “Click & Reserve” service was up by a massive 50% on last year’s sales.

Shop Locally Online

Unfortunately, to my knowledge, it seems that only the bigger brands are offering this kind of service to its customers. Smaller retailers tend to stick to online purchasing with delivery or shop in store without the ability to purchase online and collect in store.

I see a great opportunity for local businesses to increase their market share by offering this type of convenient service. Locally targeted search engine marketing campaigns offer great value for money, whether using SEO services or pay per click to promote a business website.

Keyword search phrases that include locality are in many cases low competition, which means that top rankings can be achieved quickly. These keyword phrases also so offer much cheaper costs per click on search engine pay per click networks leading to greater and quicker returns on investment.

In my opinion small local businesses that have online stores should seriously consider offering customers the ability to pay online and collect in store. This would allow shoppers and shop owners the option of saving on delivery costs and delivery time. It also gives people a much better opportunity get a feel for a business and become regular customers.

The Internet is a great source of business, but far too many businesses are distracted by the need to attract greater “traffic”. Business owners can be impatient and want immediate results, unethical companies spot this weakness or naivety when selling Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). The SEO provider may promise high levels of traffic, but if those high volumes of traffic do not have a demand for what your business has to offer, then the result is a low conversion rate and unhappy web users. If you’re considering SEO for your company, please consider these 3 simple tips:

Confidence in your product your website & your level of service

There is obviously a potential market for your product, that’s why you’re in business. There are customers searching for the product or service you are provide. Your website is an extension of your business, and in many cases it is the first impression of your business that a potential customer receives, treat it that way.

An Ethical & Patient Approach to SEO

The results may well take longer, but results are what you will get. SEO isn’t a “get rich quick” scheme; it can take time, needs to be constantly analysed, and your approach must stay flexible. What works today doesn’t necessarily work tomorrow, be ahead of the competition by understanding and predicting the advancements in technology and changes to search engines. Irrespective of the changes in the way search engines provide results to web users’, if your SEO campaign is based on attracting the right traffic for your business services and products, and not distracting the wrong traffic, then despite changes in the search engine’s methods, your campaign will be successful long-term.

An element of educated guess work is involved

The search engines such as Google, MSN, and Yahoo are profit orientated businesses. They don’t tell us everything in regards to how their search engines work, why should they? For this reason, a lot of the basic services that a good SEO company provide in its approach can be emulated by other SEO companies. However, it’s the attention to detail, and the ‘educated guess’ work that makes a good SEO company great.

Your website should have a purpose, and that purpose should always be to assist directly or indirectly with your business revenue long term.

To summarise it is far better to have a few hundred visitors who are looking for your product or services, than to have thousands that are looking for something else. Ensure that your website presents your company in the right light, follow these common sense rules and your pocket will benefit.

Traffic is for vanity and conversion is for sanity!

Good luck and success.

Article original publish date: 1st November 2008