Recent market research from professional services firm Mckinsey revealed that “digital” influences more than 45 per cent of all luxury sales. Traditionally luxury brands eschewed online, preferring to focus instead on bespoke, in-person services for their clients. But with consumer expectations changing, many firms in the industry have been forced to consider their SEO. It no longer makes good business sense to ignore it.

What Are The Benefits Of SEO For Luxury Brands?

Luxury brands, like any other business, need to get noticed. In the past, they did this with flashy TV advertising or personalised messages to members of exclusive clubs. But today, it no longer makes sense to go solely through these traditional channels. Digital is a massive opportunity.

Luxury brands also rely on their profile more than practically any other industry in the market. Brands appealing to the upper echelons of society need to ensure that the quality of their services is crystal clear to their audience. It doesn’t pay to stay in the shadows.

The benefits of SEO – search engine optimisation – for luxury brands, are considerable.

Luxury Brands Get More Qualified Traffic

Everybody wants to buy from luxury brands. People of all income levels would like to have a Ferrari in the garage and dress in Loius Vuitton. But for luxury brands wanting to market their products online, that’s a problem. While plenty of people might be interested in their products, only a small cadre of users have the cash to convert.

Targeting everyone and hoping to grab a few people wealthy enough to buy your products isn’t a good idea. A scattergun approach means that you’re paying to attract people with no possibility of converting. Professional SEO, however, helps you attract only those with a realistic chance of buying from you.

Rank Higher And Gain Prestige

When people type in a search term, like “luxury holiday,” they expect to find your company near the top of results. If they don’t, they’ll wonder whether you’re really all that luxurious after all. Being at the top gives you a kind of credibility that you’re a serious player in the market.

There’s a practical issue here too. If you’re languishing down on page two or three, you won’t get found. Users can often find competitor services on the first page of results, automatically putting you out of the running. You want to appear on the first page of results whenever possible. That’s what SEO for luxury brands does.

Create A Luxury Brand Identity

Luxury brands rely on their brand identity. It’s what sets them apart from the competition and allows them to charge much higher prices. They need a mystique which intrigues and engages customers.

Today the online opportunities are so high; you’d be foolish to skip them. Famous luxury brands like Chanel and Rolex make extensive use of SEO to boost awareness and build their brand identity. You can do the same.

SEO For Luxury Brands Tips

So, now you know the benefits of SEO for luxury brands, how do you put it into practice? Take a look at the following tips.

Utilize Visual Social Media – Luxury branding is all about the visual. You want to convince customers that being seen wearing or using your product is the height of status. Using visual social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram are a great way to improve your SEO along multiple dimensions. Not only are you using a platform that is ideal for increasing engagement, but you’re also allowing customers to share your content with others for free. Google and other search engines now include social media engagement when calculating the rank of your brand. The more shares, likes, and pins you have, the better you’ll do in page results.

Combine Style And Functionality In Your Site – Luxury brands have a unique opportunity to experiment with new website concepts which give users “experiences” instead of standard functions. Unfortunately, not all pull it off. Chanel and Dom Perignon both have beautiful sites, but they’re also clunky, slow to load and confusing. By contrast, one of the best sites is Versace’s. Not only does it look great, but it’s snappy too, helping it rank well on Google.

Integrate Facebook Ads – Facebook ads are ideal for reaching out to your target audience. Because Facebook has so much data on users, you can choose precisely whom you target, right down to their age, income level and hobbies. Luxury brands that want to avoid a scattergun approach should integrate Facebook advertising with their SEO approach.