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Improving website search was key to boosting Paul&Shark’s e-commerce revenue

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Improving website search was key to boosting Paul&Shark's e-commerce revenue

Paul&Shark’s website went live in 2019, but the Italian luxury clothing brand has been around for half a century. “The brand has a long history,” said Giusseppe Miriello, Paul&Shark’s Global Digital Director.

Miriello’s role is focused on growing the digital department which includes e-commerce and will soon include B2C apps and marketplaces.The brand’s inspiration was based on a trip the founder, Paola (Paul) Dini, took to Maine. Dini visited a sailmaker’s shop and saw the name “Paul&Shark” inscribed on a sail from an 18th century ship.

Improving website search was key to boosting PaulSharks e commerce revenue
Image supplied by Paul&Shark.

Said Miriello, “He saw this as a sign of destiny and he decided that this would be the name of the brand. From the beginning, we’ve been working with sustainable materials. Our garments are notorious for being able to withstand windy and wet conditions. Over time, we extended selling our products worldwide and recently to e-commerce.”

As was the case with many retailers, Paul&Shark experienced incredible online growth in 2021 which strained their e-commerce team. A significant pain point was the website’s search function, which was the out-of-the-box tool that came with Magento, their e-commerce platform. Magento was slow at processing the data from their catalog, leading to a poor overall website search experience.

Miriello wanted a website search tool with more flexibility around visual merchandising and the ability to create relevant, timely search results for each shopper. 

Better search & discovery equals improved customer experience

Miriello understood that Paul&Shark needed to fix the website’s search experience. He’d worked with Algolia, an API search and discovery platform, at previous companies.

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Algolia was built specifically for people who own their content. It speeds up website search results out of the box and is also highly customizable.  Its visual merchandising feature allows website owners to better control how the search results appear and the order that they appear in.  

Visual merchandising is an approach that retailers use to maximize customer satisfaction. In physical stores, this includes optimizing store layout, such as displaying products at eye-level or placing signs for easy scanning by shoppers while they’re browsing. This helps motivate people to purchase more and stay longer.

“Algolia allows the brand or site owner to use visual merchandising to better control how search results appear and the order that they end up in,” explained Piyush Patel, Algolia’s Chief Strategic Business Development Officer. “It uses business rules like inventory, availability, location geotargeting, and other variables to better target the outcomes that consumers expect. It also uses data like previous purchase history, brand affinity, and product type.”

Searchandising: A modern approach to visual merchandising

“Searchandising” is the process of improving website search functionality to help visitors find what they’re looking for. In e-commerce, website search is crucial to the buying experience for online shoppers. Fully 94% of U.S. consumers quit a shopping session due to poor product search results, according to a recent Harris Poll conducted by Google. 

A good e-commerce search experience includes delivering results quickly, providing customized product listings, and surfacing relevant product recommendations depending on season, region and other factors.

Paul&Shark has about 25,000 CPUs and they’re located in 108 countries, so when the pandemic drove shoppers online, their e-commerce searches increased by a magnitude of 50X in 2021. Their existing website search tool wasn’t robust enough to handle the increase in search volume.

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“Magento is very, very slow at processing all the data and it would have been extremely difficult to give an excellent customer experience without a third-party tool that can fetch the data from our catalog and process the search in the appropriate way,” said Miriello.

For example, Miriello wanted to communicate specific styles with specific times of the year. “For that,” he said, “the e-commerce team needed more granular control of relevance and powerful visual merchandising capabilities.” 

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Screenshot of Algolio’s visual merchandising interface. Image provided by Algolia.

Alogolia gives nontechnical users the ability to manage the relevance and ordering of the list of product search results via a drag-and-drop interface. Rules are created manually (e.g., if inventory is higher for one item versus another, you can set a rule to have the higher inventory product show up at the top of the results). 

Miriello used Algolia, not only to improve search relevance, but also to remove the manual processes previously used to build product listing pages. “I took ownership of the implementation,” he explained. “There was a system integrator who did the work of integrating the code, but I created the algorithms both from the searchandising and visual merchandising aspects of setup.”

A faster path to that cotton shirt

Algolia’s technology leverages AI to get shoppers the results they want quickly. Brands have a lot more control about how to incorporate additional data from past purchases and customer shopping behavior, but shoppers don’t have to be logged in to benefit from this feature. Search results can be purely session-based. 

“If I search for organic milk during a session and then search for bananas, it assumes I’m going to want organic bananas,” said Patel. “I’ve shown that I already have a preference. The data makes it easier to deliver relevant results. All of this is aimed at getting the consumer to the outcome they want much quicker without actually having to forge through lots of irrelevant results.”

After implementing Algolia’s search and discovery technology, Paul&Shark experienced upticks across the board: 

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  • Use of the search function increased by 39%.
  • Revenue accrued in the first month of implementation increased by more than 15%.
  • Conversion rates rose to almost 10%.

In addition to these tangible results, Miriello realized a surprising benefit from the improved search functionality — customers were using search to find information as well as products.  

“Well, of course numbers are good,” he said. “And since we are planning for two improvements with integration, of course the numbers will get better in the future, but what really stood out is that our customers use search to find information instead of reaching out to customer care. In the midst of their product queries, they’re searching for things like ‘how can I load up my loyalty points, how can I exchange a product, and how many days does it take for delivery?’” 

The information surfaced by the customers’ search queries isn’t necessarily being expressed to customer care. These searches are helping Miriello’s team better identify things that customers want and further streamline search results to score content more appropriately based on customer queries.

Said Miriello, “Any query related to non-commercial items will be driven to FAQs or customer care. This way we hope to improve the customer experience and improve sales with the help of the customer representatives who are experts in product issues.”


About The Author

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Jacqueline Dooley is a freelance B2B content writer and journalist covering martech industry news and trends. Since 2018, she’s worked with B2B-focused agencies, publications, and direct clients to create articles, blog posts, whitepapers, and eBooks. Prior to that, Dooley founded Twelve Thousand, LLC where she worked with clients to create, manage, and optimize paid search and social campaigns.


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How To Combine PR and Content Marketing Superpowers To Achieve Business Goals

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A figure pulls open a dress shirt to reveal the term PR on a Superman-like costume, reflecting the superpower resulting from combining content and PR.

A transformative shift is happening, and it’s not AI.

The aisle between public relations and content marketing is rapidly narrowing. If you’re smart about the convergence, you can forever enhance your brand’s storytelling.

The goals and roles of content marketing and PR overlap more and more. The job descriptions look awfully similar. Shrinking budgets and a shrewd eye for efficiency mean you and your PR pals could face the chopping block if you don’t streamline operations and deliver on the company’s goals (because marketing communications is always first to be axed, right?).

Yikes. Let’s take a big, deep breath. This is not a threat. It’s an opportunity.

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Reach across the aisle to PR and streamline content creation, improve distribution strategies, and get back to the heart of what you both are meant to do: Build strong relationships and tell impactful stories.

So, before you panic-post that open-to-work banner on LinkedIn, consider these tips from content marketing, PR, and journalism pros who’ve figured out how to thrive in an increasingly narrowing content ecosystem.

1. See journalists as your audience

Savvy pros know the ability to tell an impactful story — and support it with publish-ready collateral — grounds successful media relationships. And as a content marketer, your skills in storytelling and connecting with audiences, including journalists, naturally support your PR pals’ media outreach.

Strategic storytelling creates content focused on what the audience needs and wants. Sharing content on your blog or social media builds relationships with journalists who source those channels for story ideas, event updates, and subject matter experts.

“Embedding PR strategies in your content marketing pieces informs your audience and can easily be picked up by media,” says Alex Sanchez, chief experience officer at BeWell, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Marketplace. “We have seen reporters do this many times, pulling stories from our blogs and putting them in the nightly news — most of the time without even reaching out to us.”

Acacia James, weekend producer/morning associate producer at WTOP radio in Washington, D.C., says blogs and social media posts are helpful to her work. “If I see a story idea, and I see that they’re willing to share information, it’s easier to contact them — and we can also backlink their content. It’s huge for us to be able to use every avenue.” 

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Kirby Winn, manager of PR at ImpactLife, says reporters and assignment editors are key consumers of their content. “And I don’t mean a news release that just hit their inbox. They’re going to our blog and consuming our stories, just like any other audience member,” he says. “Our organization has put more focus into content marketing in the past few years — it supports a media pitch so well and highlights the stories we have to tell.”

Storytelling attracts earned media that might not pick up the generic news topic. “It’s one thing to pitch a general story about how we help consumers sign up for low-cost health insurance,” Alex says. “Now, imagine a single mom who just got a plan after years of thinking it was too expensive. She had a terrible car accident, and the $60,000 ER bill that would have ruined her financially was covered. Now that’s a story journalists will want to cover, and that will be relatable to their audience and ours.” 

2. Learn the media outlet’s audience

Seventy-three percent of reporters say one-fourth or less of the stories pitched are relevant to their audiences, according to Cision’s 2023 State of the Media Report (registration required).

PR pros are known for building relationships with journalists, while content marketers thrive in building communities around content. Merge these best practices to build desirable content that works for your target audience and the media’s audiences simultaneously.

WTOP’s Acacia James says sources who show they’re ready to share helpful, relevant content often win pitches for coverage. “In radio, we do a lot of research on who is listening to us, and we’re focused on a prototype called ‘Mike and Jen’ — normal, everyday people in Generation X … So when we get press releases and pitches, we ask, ‘How interested will Mike and Jen be in this story?’” 

3. Deliver the full content package (and make journalists’ jobs easier)

Cranking out content to their media outlet’s standards has never been tougher for journalists. Newsrooms are significantly understaffed, and anything you can do to make their lives easier will be appreciated and potentially rewarded with coverage. Content marketers are built to think about all the elements to tell the story through multiple mediums and channels.

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“Today’s content marketing pretty much provides a package to the media outlet,” says So Young Pak, director of media relations at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “PR is doing a lot of storytelling work in advance of media publication. We (and content marketing) work together to provide the elements to go with each story — photos, subject matter experts, patients, videos, and data points, if needed.”   

At WTOP, the successful content package includes audio. “As a radio station, we are focused on high-quality sound,” Acacia James says. “Savvy sources know to record and send us voice memos, and then we pull cuts from the audio … You will naturally want to do someone a favor if they did you one — like providing helpful soundbites, audio, and newsworthy stories.”  

While production value matters to some media, you shouldn’t stress about it. “In the past decade, how we work with reporters has changed. Back in the day, if they couldn’t be there in person, they weren’t going to interview your expert,” says Jason Carlton, an accredited PR professional and manager of marketing and communications at Intermountain Health. “During COVID, we had to switch to virtual interviewing. Now, many journalists are OK with running a Teams or Zoom interview they’ve done with an expert on the news.”

BeWell’s Alex Sanchez agrees. “I’ve heard old school PR folks cringe at the idea of putting up a Zoom video instead of getting traditional video interviews. It doesn’t really matter to consumers. Focus on the story, on the timeliness, and the relevance. Consumers want authenticity, not super stylized, stiff content.”

4. Unite great minds to maximize efficiency

Everyone needs to set aside the debate about which team — PR or content marketing — gets credit for the resulting media coverage.

At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, So Young and colleagues adopt a collaborative mindset on multichannel stories. “We can get the interview and gather information for all the different pieces — blog, audio, video, press release, internal newsletter, or magazine. That way, we’re not trying to figure things out individually, and the subject matter experts only have to have that conversation once,” she says.

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Regular, cross-team meetings are essential to understand the best channels for reaching key audiences, including the media. A story that began life as a press release might reap SEO and earned media gold if it’s strategized as a blog, video, and media pitch.

“At Intermountain Health, we have individual teams for media relations, marketing, social media, and hospital communications. That setup works well because it allows us to bring in the people who are the given experts in those areas,” says Intermountain’s Jason Carlton. “Together, we decide if a story is best for the blog, a media pitch, or a mix of channels — that way, we avoid duplicating work and the risk of diluting the story’s impact.”

5. Measure what matters

Cutting through the noise to earn media mentions requires keen attention to metrics. Since content marketing and PR metrics overlap, synthesizing the data in your team meetings can save time while streamlining your storytelling efforts.

“For content marketers, using analytical tools such as GA4 can help measure the effectiveness of their content campaigns and landing pages to determine meaningful KPIs such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, lead generation, and conversion rates,” says John Martino, director of digital marketing for Visiting Angels. “PR teams can use media coverage and social interactions to assess user engagement and brand awareness. A unified and omnichannel approach can help both teams demonstrate their value in enhancing brand visibility, engagement, and overall business success.”

To track your shared goals, launch a shared dashboard that helps tell the combined “story of your stories” to internal and executive teams. Among the metrics to monitor:

  • Page views: Obviously, this queen of metrics continues to be important across PR and content marketing. Take your analysis to the next level by evaluating which niche audiences are contributing to these views to further hone your storytelling targets, including media outlets.
  • Earned media mentions: Through a media tracker service or good old Google Alerts, you can tally the echo of your content marketing and PR. Look at your site’s referral traffic report to identify media outlets that send traffic to your blog or other web pages.
  • Organic search queries: Dive into your analytics platform to surface organic search queries that lead to visitors. Build from those questions to develop stories that further resonate with your audience and your targeted media.
  • On-page actions: When visitors show up on your content, what are they doing? What do they click? Where do they go next? Building next-step pathways is your bread and butter in content marketing — and PR can use them as a natural pipeline for media to pick up more stories, angles, and quotes.

But perhaps the biggest metric to track is team satisfaction. Who on the collaborative team had the most fun writing blogs, producing videos, or calling the news stations? Lean into the natural skills and passions of your team members to distribute work properly, maximize the team output, and improve relationships with the media, your audience, and internal teams.

“It’s really trying to understand the problem to solve — the needle to move — and determining a plan that will help them achieve their goal,” Jason says. “If you don’t have those measurable objectives, you’re not going to know whether you made a difference.”

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Don’t fear the merger

Whether you deliberately work together or not, content marketing and public relations are tied together. ImpactLife’s Kirby Winn explains, “As soon as we begin to talk about (ourselves) to a reporter who doesn’t know us, they are certainly going to check out our stories.”

But consciously uniting PR and content marketing will ease the challenges you both face. Working together allows you to save time, eliminate duplicate work, and gain free time to tell more stories and drive them into impactful media placements.

Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100. Can’t attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Trends in Content Localization – Moz

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Trends in Content Localization - Moz

Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.

Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.

Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

AI and startups? It just makes sense.

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