Introduction
The primary keywords used in the search about the company were “Starbucks,” “Starbucks coffee,” and “Starbucks website.” The company’s official website was the first result in searches conducted with the selected keywords. Several other sites appeared in the search results, including Wikipedia, the official Starbucks Reserve website that offers select Starbucks locations, and social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. It should be noted that the searches led to the company’s official pages on social media websites. Still, they host additional fan-made pages and allow customers to engage with the company by commenting on its products and services.
Page/Site Ranking
Starbucks is an established brand with substantial brand recognition; therefore, in the conducted keyword searches, the brand appeared at the top spot on the result page. Such a high position in all three searches can be attributed to the brand’s considerable popularity among its customers. The company regularly engages in a variety of community and link-building campaigns, fostering conversation about its products and promoting social sharing (Shastri, 2021). Thus, the brand was able to ensure its position on the result page organically, building on its reputation among its target customer base. No additional search engine optimization is necessary as the brand occupies the top spot in the search results.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) can be defined as a set of processes and practices that help search engines improve the visibility of a website. Thus, the primary purpose of SEO in contemporary markets is to improve the online visibility of the company, customer engagement, and outreach (Veglis & Giomelakis, 2020). SEO is of particular importance in the contemporary market, with various companies relying on their online presence to attract new customers and establish long-lasting relationships with existing consumers.
Despite Starbucks holding the top position in the conducted keyword searches, SEO can be implemented to secure its visibility in the virtual marketplace further. For example, the company can focus on local SEO and ensure that customers near all Starbucks locations are aware of them and frequent them. According to Jarboe (2023), optimization for local search is crucial. It enables potential customers to find information about company locales near them, facilitating a mutually beneficial relationship between the business and the community. Thus, SEO techniques, including the proposed local SEO, help build credibility and trust with the consumers, boost their engagement, and increase the visibility of different Starbucks locations.
Brand Website
Figure 1 contains the screenshot of the first screen of the Starbucks home page. The page is rather minimalistic yet visually appealing and user-friendly, reflecting the primary company value of being customer-oriented. The site features a clear layout with an inviting color scheme and prominently displays seasonal promotions and new products. This suggests that the content is fresh and regularly updated, as the latest promotion showcases a popular Starbucks fall drink – the pumpkin latte (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2023).
The website’s header contains links to the menu, the brand’s reward system, and gift card purchasing, allowing customers to sign in to their accounts and find the nearest location (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2023). The website layout correlates closely with its performance, and a poorly constructed page cannot yield substantial visibility in the virtual marketplace (Jones, 2020). Meanwhile, frequently updated content helps build the brand’s credibility and effectively engages the customers.
Digital Analytics
As with any other form of marketing, digital marketing requires careful and comprehensive analysis to measure what strategies are beneficial and bring valuable engagement. Digital analytics can be used to collect and analyze customer participation in the brand’s online campaigns and provide insights into website performance. Google Analytics is a well-known analytical site that offers a set of tools that can be used to measure website traffic. Google Analytics can measure such metrics as the number of visitors per page, session duration, the number of pages visited by one user, and the number of new and return visits (Chai, 2021). In addition, this tool can measure goal completion, for example, the number of times customer searches turned into sales or how often new users signed up for Starbucks accounts or newsletters (Chai, 2021).
Conclusion
The use of Google Analytics can be recommended to Starbucks as the program measures traffic from the Google search engine as well as other engines. By utilizing the tool, Starbucks can learn valuable data about user behavior and what campaigns garner the most support and turn website visits into sales.
References
Chai, W. (2021). What is Google Analytics and how does it work? Tech Target. Web.
Das, D. (2020). Key benefits of digital analytics for business success. Business Process Management Services. Web.
Jarboe, G. (2023). 10 strategic SEO insights & tactical advice for 2023 and beyond. Search Engine Journal. Web.
Jones, K. (2020). 5 ways SEO & web design go together. Search Engine Journal. Web.
Shastri, A. (2021). Complete marketing mix of Starbucks with 7Ps included. IIDE. Web.
Starbucks Coffee Company. (2023). Starbucks. Web.
Veglis, A., & Giomelakis, D. (2020). Search engine optimization. Future Internet, 12(1), 1–2. Web.