The document analyzes search engine results page (SERP) data for three UK retail websites - Argos, Amazon, and eBay - to answer three questions about their search engine optimization strategies. It finds that Argos focuses most on mid-sized "screen size" keywords, Amazon prioritizes brand terms, and eBay targets general search pages. All three optimize mainly for search pages over product pages. While Amazon and eBay have similar overall search traffic, Amazon ranks slightly higher across devices. The analysis uses SERP data to gain competitive intelligence on the most valuable query types, user experiences, and mobile optimization for each retailer.

1. ADVANCED
COMPETITIVE
INTELLIGENCE
3 questions only the SERPs can answer

2. @STATrob
getSTAT.com

4. SERP ANALYTICS

5. DISCOVERING AND
COMMUICATING MEANINGFUL
PATTERNS IN SERP DATA
@STATrob

6. WE LOVE TO EXPERIMENT
We tracked 3 UK websites in the google.co.uk SERPs
@STATrob

7. ARGOS.CO.UK

8. AMAZON.CO.UK

9. EBAY.CO.UK

10. WE’RE CURIOUS:
What can we learn about these 3 sites just from
looking at the SERP?
@STATrob

11. QUESTION #1
What types of queries are most valuable to them?
@STATrob

12. QUESTION #2
What user experiences are they optimizing for?
@STATrob

13. QUESTION #3
Are they optimizing for mobile devices?
@STATrob

14. THE DATA SET

15. 4,715 COMMERCIAL QUERIES
tv shop online, LG tv, tv deals 50 inch, Samsung 22
inch led tv, cheap 42 inch led tv, 1080p television…
@STATrob

16. TELEVISIONS

17. KEYWORDS ARE THE GREATEST
Because they signal searcher intent.
@STATrob

18. WE FOCUSED ON THE UK
We didn’t use global search volume numbers because
we wanted accurate market data.
@STATrob

19. WE WEIGHTED THE SEARCH
VOLUME
Based on the rankings, of course.
@STATrob

20. RANKING WEIGHTS
Rank Weight
1 1.0
2 0.9
3 0.8
4 0.7
5 0.6
… …
10 0.1

21. IT’S PRETTY EASY
Ranking weight x search volume = RANKING SCORE
@STATrob

22. EXAMPLE: RANKING #2 WITH A
SEARCH VOLUME OF 2,400
Ranking of 2 = weight of 0.9
0.9 x 2,400 = ranking score of 2,160
@STATrob

23. IMAGINE THE RANKING SCORE
LIKE POINTS IN A VIDEO GAME
And we’re going to see which site wins.
@STATrob

24. WE CREATED KEYWORD SEGMENTS
BRAND buy samsung smart tv
SCREEN SIZE 15 inch tv dvd combo
SCREEN TYPE best oled television
HD FORMAT 4k tv deals

25. TOTAL KEYWORDS PER SEGMENT
0
400
800
1200
1600
BRAND SCREEN SIZE HD FORMAT SCREEN TYPE
1,448
677
1,231
1,575

26. TOTAL SEARCH VOLUME PER SEGMENT
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
BRAND SCREEN SIZE HD FORMAT SCREEN TYPE
247,140
201,170
414,650
758,460

27. AVG SEARCH VOLUME PER KEYWORD
0
125
250
375
500
BRAND SCREEN SIZE HD FORMAT SCREEN TYPE
170.68
297.15
336.84
481.56

28. QUESTION #1
What types of queries are most valuable to them?
@STATrob

29. FIRST UP: ARGOS.

30. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
RANKING SCORE
15%
4%
46%
34% BRAND
SCREEN SIZE
HD FORMAT
SCREEN TYPE

31. ‘SCREEN SIZE’ SEGMENT - RANKING SCORE
0
75000
150000
225000
300000
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
169,481
187,366
278,432

32. NEXT UP: AMAZON.

33. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
RANKING SCORE
18%
8%
35%
40%
BRAND
SCREEN SIZE
HD FORMAT
SCREEN TYPE

34. ‘BRAND’ SEGMENT - RANKING SCORE
0
55000
110000
165000
220000
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
60,117
211,296207,730

35. DON’T FORGET EBAY!

36. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
RANKING SCORE
17%
4%
58%
21%
BRAND
SCREEN SIZE
HD FORMAT
SCREEN TYPE

37. ‘SCREEN SIZE’ SEGMENT - RANKING SCORE
0
75000
150000
225000
300000
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
169,481
187,366
278,432

38. THE ANSWER TO QUESTION #1
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
BRAND 207,730 211,296 60,117
SCREEN SIZE 278,432 187,366 169,481
HD FORMAT 24,600 40,888 11,277
SCREEN TYPE 92,227 94,950 50,267

39. PICK ACCESSIBLE KEYWORDS
Argos is beating Amazon by focusing on the 2nd most
valuable keyword segment
@STATrob

40. IT’S TIME TO TALK
CONTENT.

41. PRODUCT PAGE (ARGOS)

42. PRODUCT PAGE (AMAZON)

43. PRODUCT PAGE (EBAY)

44. SEARCH PAGE (ARGOS)

45. SEARCH PAGE (AMAZON)

46. SEARCH PAGE (EBAY)

47. QUESTION #2
What user experiences are they optimizing for?
@STATrob

48. HERE’S ARGOS.

49. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
RANKING SCORE
4%
69%
27%
PRODUCT PAGES
SEARCH PAGES
OTHER

50. AND NOW, AMAZON.

51. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
RANKING SCORE
5%
57%
38%
PRODUCT PAGES
SEARCH PAGES
OTHER

52. TOTAL KEYWORDS
451
1,461
2,713
PRODUCT PAGES
SEARCH PAGES
OTHER

53. Two birds, with one stone!

54. FINALLY, EBAY.

55. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
RANKING SCORE
4%
94%
2%
PRODUCT PAGES
SEARCH PAGES
OTHER

56. THE ANSWER TO QUESTION #2
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
PRODUCT
PAGES
27% 38% 2%
SEARCH PAGES 69% 57% 94%
OTHER 4% 5% 4%

57. AVG SEARCH VOLUME PER KEYWORD
0
175
350
525
700
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
566.81587.78
550.73
198.27
463.17
384.6
PRODUCT PAGES SEARCH PAGES

58. ALWAYS RANK YOUR BEST UX
User experience should inform your ranking strategy.
@STATrob

59. QUESTION #3
Are they optimizing for mobile devices?
@STATrob

60. TOTAL RANKING SCORE PER SITE
0
250,000
500,000
750,000
1,000,000
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
332,844
864,469
909,020
312,344
783,824
891,356
MOBILE DESKTOP

61. AVG RANKING PER SITE
0
5
10
15
20
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
17.04
10.6110.08
17.48
11.110.51
MOBILE DESKTOP

62. AVG SEARCH VOLUME PER KEYWORD FOR
UNIVERSAL RESULTS
0
750
1,500
2,250
3,000
ANSWERS CAROUSEL IMAGES NEWS SHOPPING VIDEOS
340356
2,350
756
197
1,629

63. WATCH OUT FOR MOBILE.
And, hire a PR specialist.
@STATrob

64. THAT’S A WRAP

65. THE FINAL SCORE
0
250000
500000
750000
1000000
ARGOS AMAZON EBAY
332,844
864,469909,020

66. ANYONE CAN DO THIS
We used STAT, but it’s platform agnostic.
@STATrob

67. WE’LL BE SENDING YOU THE
FULL CASE STUDY NEXT WEEK.
@STATrob

68. THANK YOU!

69. getSTAT.com
@STATrob