Lighting Retailer Boosts Click-Through Rate by More Than 10 Percent with Sitelink Extensions

“We’re able to use Sitelink Extensions on the Yahoo! Bing network to capture more long-tail search traffic, which is an important part of our overall search strategy going forward.” - Larry Gee, Senior Internet Marketing Manager, Lamps Plus

Opportunity to Light Up Sales
Lamps Plus has come a long way from its start as a single store in Los Angeles, California. Today, the multi-channel retailer operates more than 40 lighting superstores throughout the western United States and maintains an expansive website featuring approximately 50,000 SKUs.

The Lamps Plus e-commerce site continues to play a pivotal role in powering the company’s impressive growth. “For years, people have used our website primarily as a way to browse products and get ideas before making a trip to one of our stores,” says Larry Gee, Senior Internet Marketing Manager at Lamps Plus. “But we’re seeing a shift toward more people from more places around the world using our site to complete the entire research and purchase process.”

In view of this trend, Gee saw an opportunity to add a new dimension to the company’s search marketing strategy. Historically, Lamps Plus has experienced a click-through rate of 60 percent or higher on search ads for its branded terms. But the company wanted to find a way to attract the attention of consumers searching on less specific, non-branded terms. To effectively target this long-tail traffic, Lamps Plus sought a more flexible search ad style. In particular, Gee wanted to add extra links and personalized text to the ads to boost click-through, promote specific pages on the Lamps Plus website, and ultimately light-up the company’s online sales.

With Sitelink Extensions on the Yahoo! Bing Network, advertisers can include links to specific pages.

Search Ads That Shine with Sitelink Extensions
Lamps Plus recently adopted Sitelink Extensions on the Yahoo! Bing Network as part of a pilot test of this search ad format. “We’re always excited to experiment with ways to make our ads stand out more and to help consumers find what they’re looking for faster,” says Gee. “We’ve turned to Yahoo! as a real innovator in search advertising, and the Yahoo! Bing Network is definitely a place where we want to invest because we know it delivers a high-value audience.”

Gee especially appreciates the flexibility that the solution provides. Advertisers can use Sitelink Extensions to incorporate multiple additional links and descriptive copy into search ads, which can be keyed to non-branded terms. Since September 2012, Lamps Plus has used Sitelink Extensions to illuminate special offers and spotlight pages that feature some of the retailer’s hottest-selling items.

Brilliant Results
Lamps Plus has used Sitelink Extensions on the Yahoo! Bing Network to help its search ads shine, resulting in a higher click-through rate, faster conversions, and rising monthly sales revenue. Specific benefits include:

Improved Click-Through Rate by More Than 10 Percent
Lamps Plus has seen an increase in the click-through rate on search ads that incorporate Sitelink Extensions of more than 10 percent. Gee attributes this increase in engagement to two important factors. First, the ads are larger and display more prominently on the search page. “Our Sitelink Extension ads generally show up in first position, pushing our competitors’ ads down the page, or to the right rail,” says Gee.  Second, Lamps Plus can key the ads it creates to non-branded terms to attract consumers who enter longer, less-specific search phrases. “We’re able to use Sitelink Extensions on the Yahoo! Bing network to capture more long-tail search traffic, which is an important part of our overall search strategy going forward,” Gee says.

Better Qualified Customers
Since Lamps Plus started using Sitelink Extensions, Gee has noted that a higher proportion of customers have made purchases since they are being sent deeper into the search funnel. “Because we can pack extra links into each ad, we’re better able to direct traffic to specific pages on our site,” says Gee. “This means we can connect customers to the products they want in fewer clicks. The net result for us has been a higher conversion rate for these visitors.”

Increased Sales Revenue by Four Percent
Lamps Plus has attracted new customers by creating search ads that convey the dazzling array of products on its site. In a recent two-month period, the retailer recorded a four percent increase in last-source revenue, which it assigns directly to its adoption of the solution. “With Sitelink Extensions, we have so much more flexibility in customizing the messages we deliver to consumers,” says Gee. “And it’s working to generate more qualified traffic to our site, which has led to higher monthly sales.”

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