1) Positioning
Whilst a lot of communication with a customer in the green and mainstream space is now about authenticity, a lot can be achieved by first looking at positioning in this space to kick start Search Engine Optimisation work. One of the main decisions about how an eco or ethical business markets itself offline and online is whether to lead with the eco ethical message or position in the same space as other companies. This clearly has implications for content and SEO.
If your business is 100% about ethical or green products it is natural to think I should position and market myself as "ethical" or "green". But should you? If you are an ethical fashion retailer, for example, should you position yourself:
A) from an ethical position (more niche) B) get in the mix with the other fashion retailers (more competitive) C) a bit of both.
When considering potential traffic on the web C) may be a better option for some companies, using green/ethical as a USP, rather than the core of any SEO optimisation. That said, it really does depend on your business.
Another example, is a local courier service operating as green/eco courier. Based on adword volume estimates, negligible amounts of end users currently search "eco courier" or "green London courier" or "eco London courier", however, 200,000 local searches are made for "London courier". The decision of positioning seems obvious if you wish to acquire some customers through the web. You will see how positioning decisions are tied in with considering long-tail and short-tail keywords later.
2) Understand your "search" customer
The search customer takes a much more direct personal approach to finding products than a customer on the high street. For a green business it is imperative that there is an understanding of who their customers are on the web and what their key motivators are. Who are your customers? What search terms do they use? Does eco, ethical, green really mean anything to them? What are the most popular search terms?
Search is a closed decision making environment where the only influence you have is knowing the search terms the end user is selecting and knowing how to optimise your site for those search terms. In the information pull and push world of the search engine, your weapon to reach your customers is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
3) Words, words, words (and meanings)
Let's take an example of say adili.com ascension an ethical fashion etailer in the UK. Title - AscensionOnline.com: Ethical Fashion, Organic, Fair Trade, Green Clothing Keywords - Ascension,Ethical Fashion,Organic Clothing, Fair Trade Clothes, Green Clothing, Vegan Shoes, Natural Skin Care, Eco Friendly Products.
Green clothing (165,000) and organic clothing (18,100) both provide a healthy part to estimated search volumes here. Although there is muddiness as to the motivators for the green clothing search; how many of the searches are for the colour green?
The worrying thing is that it seems searchers do not identify particularly with the term "ethical fashion", which only comes back with 5,400 estimated local searches from the adword tool. The reasons for this could be debated, however it is a suggestion that consumers are actually more concerned with the green attributes of fashion in their search lexicology.
Ethical could be considered to be attached to the production of a product (fairtrade) whereas eco has more affinity with the ingredients and distribution (e.g. recycled, organic, low carbon emissions distribution). However, eco can also be ethical - sustainable rubber sources for trainers (a twinned eco ethical decision), organic cotton protecting the environment and also assisting in reduced pesticide exposure for workers - however, due to the merging of meanings there is ambiguity.
Clearly there are always going to be issues with how the fashion industry operates as essentially it is high consumption and high waste and not currently really eco or ethical. Hence possibly western consumers are now identifying more with the green organic elements of the industry (recycling, upcycling, re-fashion, organic) rather than the ethical elements. The word ethical can be too much to digest or even think about when you are lavishly adorning yourself with fashion and it is too tinged with philosophical leaning for consumerism.
One idea I have always struggled with is how fair is 'fairtrade' and does it really make a big difference. At its worst it could philosophically be described as 'just' a gesture against dictatorial neo-imperialism pandering to a guilt purchasing western society (and that the only people to profit truly are at the end of the supply chain), but at best it helps individuals work in a fairer environment and for more money. Some projects I have become aware of have clearly made a big difference to workers and their communities and predictably most appear to be on a smaller scale with real community objectives at the fore rather than big business objectives.
This is probably an extreme example, but it can just show the importance of word choice (and play) in positioning, branding and SEO. This is why keyword research is another crucial area that should be used at the conception of an internet and marketing strategy and not as an after thought.
4) Authenticity of content
Seeing as 'Green' is being rammed down everyone's throat at present this is a pertinent question. Does it mean anything? Has it been de-valued? Are customers confused or can they spot "green" washing a mile away? Are the real green companies suffering? Is the content authentic anymore and how can I tell?
Perhaps we should not undervalue the word 'authenticity'. In this space customers are more attuned than ever with regard to styles of marketing, ways of selling, and it could be argued, slightly more cynical. So keep your business authentic, displaying the facts, providing good products and useful information in an honest efficient straightforward manner.
5) Long tail it
If we have decided not to be overtly ethical with our search lexicology then we have to be a little bit different and offer the consumer a different product and a different experience when they find it. And that is true with SEO, be a bit different in your SEO.
Long tail your keywords, and widen the battlefield where appropriate. You can get lots of easy traffic if you optimise pages separately with long tail phrases. You can also use this increase in traffic to leverage short tail keywords on other pages.
There is nothing stopping you trying to compete in mainstream areas where you can and where there is a clear driver for it - focus in on real high traffic terms where you think you can compete and use green as your competitive advantage. If you can long-tail your keywords effectively and optimise fully you should also start to optimise your conversions.
David Hoffmann is a web and SEO specialist with a strong interest in green eco businesses.
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