Website visibility refers to the process through which a brand company gets its website found on the internet when its prospects are looking for its correlated services and goods. To enhance the web visibility of a brand company, it is having the brand’s site ranked in the major search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, and Google. Many SEO firms claim to take the brand websites on top of the Google Search Results, while others might go further to claim that they can have a brand website to the Eighth Wonder of the globe in less than a month (Ajam et al., 2021). By utilizing their KPIs, SEO companies urge to offer extended lifecycle, tangible benefits, profound influences, and web visibility globally to many brand websites.
However, while some of the brand websites are getting popular with the impact of the SEO KPIs, some are reported to be blocklisted by websites such as Google. In addition, some branding websites have been penalized following Black hat techniques employed by SEO companies. However, various branding websites have prevailed by utilizing the SEO KPIs in advertising their webs globally. Different SEO KPIs have been linked to the success and popularity of top 50 finance brand apparel in the current years. Thus, the correlation and impacts are further discussed in the paper.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to the process through which the management of web content in a way that uplifts page rankings in the search engines is attained (Tsuei et al., 2020). SEO visibility indices indicate the general visibility of the website regarding the search engine result page (SERP). The academic world is one of the sectors for search based on the percentages of the web traffic provided via search engine referrals. SEO comprises many factors sectioned in two: ‘off-page ‘and ‘on a page.’ Therefore, the acquisition of maximum benefits from SEO is dependent on the pertinent factors criteria, and factors that need to be considered by utilization of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. SEO is therefore utilized by the appeal brands in online marketing such as Nike, COACH, Gucci, and others in managing their web content through uplifting pages’ rankings in the search engines.
Correlational studies are dependent on the list of indicators that are in a given way reflective of the ranking factors of the commercial search engines. The list utilized in experiential work is in the range of involving some elements to more widespread lists. Some employ lists of indicators to be simpler than the reported factors in the specialist literature. In contrast, these works do not systematically analyze and collect SEO indicators based on expert and literature suggestions. As the studies majored in investigating the correlation between SEO indicators and outcome positions, other research also focused on how Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) logarithm evaluates the extent of optimization of academic assignments. Herein, machine learning logarithms were utilized to group the web pages into three classes regarding how the research engine optimization could run.
The selection behavior of the search engine outcome pages can be featured as robustly determined order given and its representation. While the research engine remits outcomes in the state of ranked lists, the location impact plays a crucial role in the users’ focus and the development they choose. Numerous studies have justified this opinion. Currently, effects from videos and news are indicated in a single SERP in the outcome presentations. This confinement of various products into one search engine results in a diverse representation of the presented results. Such behavior has been evident in the large-scale study from Yahoo research. While analyzing 2.6 billion search questions, the researchers discovered that 80 percent of all the tapped outcomes are responsible for just 10,000 websites. Consequently, the massive impact of the outcome position is undermined, and the impressiveness of carrying out measures to generate the content is indicated in the top posts.
The comparative analysis of the web visibility of the 20 libraries in line with the top 10 universities in the Times Higher Education World University Hierarchy and the leading Spanish Universities, analyses the correlation that dwells between the web visibility of the libraries and the corresponding universities. Search engine optimization (SEO), termed Sistrix Toolbox, was utilized to understand web visibility. It takes into account a large amount of data, majoring in the visibility index, which confines various data indicators to analyze web visibility. The outcome is viewed with Xavi, another SEO tool that provides real visibility of the library’s websites.
The outcomes indicate that the university library visibility is commonly stumpy and that it was evident that there was an indirect correlation between the visibility index of the libraries and that of the corresponding universities. The revealed exceptions were also figured out in which libraries made meaningful contributions to the web visibility of the related universities. The outcomes would recommend that higher education institutions require institute SEO strategies the upsurge their visibility more adequately.
Even though search engine visibility indices are all overspread as a significant KPI, they are highly controversial due to the interrelationship between real search engine visibility indices and website visitor traffic (Ying et al., 2018). In contrast, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) refer to the goals that assist in measuring and tracking success. Concerning today’s period of digital interruption, it is advisable and more significant to plan both long-term and shorter KPIs. KPIs are a big way for Digital Marketers to set prospects and prove their job has positive or adverse effects. For instance, the apparel brand management teams use KPIs to analyze their brands’ progress in the global market. Therefore, it has been more accessible for the brand to measure its progress. The primary purpose herein is to assist the management team set digital marketing KPIs to gauge what matters at the current moment so that all the parties can reach a consensus. Thoughtful marketing planning is crucial for tracking and me4asuring the progress and demonstrating the value of the brand apparel globally.
There are significant SEO KPIs that are primarily featured in apparel branding. Organic sessions gauge the earned visits to the website from the search engines such as Bing and Google. A session is therefore given meaning by a visit paid to the website, the exit of the user from the website, and the deeds carried out by the user at that visit. For instance, organic traffic can be gauged directly by integrating the data by utilizing a reporting tool like Agency Analytics or Google Analytics to enhance cross-reference with the other data. Both digital and traditional ‘on-page’ and ‘off-page marketing exertions alike aid the brand apparel managers to persist in propagating the number of organic sessions. As a result, organic sessions can positively impact the popularity of a brand in the global online market. Analyze the correlations between web visibility and SEO KPIs, and brand popularity.
Again, keyword ranking increases are another way of SEO KPIs that can be utilized by brand apparel to maximize their online marketing sales and profits. Keywords rankings are where the brand’s particular keywords are located in leading search engines such as Bing and Google. Herein, the higher the brand website is ranked for a higher volume (consistently searched words), the higher it will be advertised. The brand apparel managers can track keyword rankings in tools like SEM ranking or SEMRush. The keyword ranking is a crucial KPI since the customers directly compare with SEO success. Therefore, keyword ranking is essential in enhancing the popularity of a brand in the online marketing field.
Moreover, conversations or leads are another part of SEO KPIs. After tracking keywords and attracting visitors to the search engines, generating a lead that will expectantly transform into a sale is significant. A lead refers to any contact with a probable client or customer. A lead, therefore, can be a phone call, contact form submission requesting extra information, registration for the webinar, complete the purchase, and newsletter sign-up. When a brand apparel manager like Nike sets up targets and occasions in Google Analytics, it enables the brand manager to track leads across various extends, such as men versus women, what page drives a higher number of leads, and whether a user has a more elevated conversation pace on desktop versus on mobile. To enhance the outcome for these SEO KPIs, the brand manager is advised to major in user experience (UX) and conversation rate optimization (CRO), such as are calls–to–action (CTAs) clear and prominent. Can the user move via the conversation channel in expected and easy ways? is the content persuasive and trustworthy? Furthermore, if the website is easy to navigate. A brand that observes the SEO KPI will become popular and reach higher sales and profits.
Additionally, a brand apparel firm that can utilize bounce rate is another SEO KPI. Bounce rate is a metric that gauges the percentage of the sessions the user uploads the page and instantly vacates having no action performed. The number of non-interactive sessions is divided by the number of sessions to get the bounce rate. The bounce rate is significant for SEO KPI because the big priority for the search engine algorithms satisfies the client’s question. A low bounce rate shows the brand apparel manager that the site is rewarding to navigate, meets the minimum E-A-T threshold and that the site is pertinent. Therefore, a brand should consider this KPI to enhance its popularity in the online digital market both nationally and globally.
Page load time is another SEO KPI, and it is a significant factor in most of the metrics ever researched. The brand apparel managers are advised to ensure that their websites take less load. It prevents the clients from exiting the web page and rushing to websites that6 deliver results in lesser periods. Again, if the website is loading slowly, the user will explore pages shallowly. Thus, the details of the brand will not be accessed well. The client will lack the certainty to purchase the item either. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and care for a brand to be famous for more business benefits.
The pages per session are an SEO KPI factor that correlates with brand popularity. The number of pages per session is a metric that averagely measures the number of pages the user visit while in a session. On top of that, the number of pages per session calculates the repeated views of one page. The strength of the session metric depends on the depth of the brand’s website complexity and the architecture of its conversation funnel. If the brand has one page, then per session is perfect. Thus, a brand that undertakes the KPI makes the brand famous, acquiring more sales and profits.
Top exit pages are SEO KPIs are another interconnector to a brand. Herein, it means that the last page visited by the user before terminating the session, searching for the new website, or closing the browser or the tab. It can be achieved through navigating to behavior reports via site content to exit pages. The brand managers may require assessing the raw number of exits and the rate of withdrawals. To acquire the percentage, the brand managers need to divide the number of the total exits by the number of views per page on a particular page. If a specific brand registers a high exit rate for a specific page that is not targeted to be an exit page thus, the brand should undertake optimizations. Herein, such action shall, in return, improve the brand’s popularity.
The crawl errors are also an SEO KPI that correlates with brands. To be fully enabled to access and see the site content to evaluate its relevance and value, Googlebot and other crawlers are essential for a brand firm. The brand can access crawl errors in the Google Search Console. Meanwhile, a brand can access the crawl ability at any given time by utilizing the ‘Fetch as Google tool in the Search Console and clicking the “fetch and render” option. When a brand company identifies spikes in crawl errors, it is advisable to carry out an instant action, mainly if the crawl errors are at the URL or server levels since they impact the core pages. It results in enhancing the brand’s popularity.
In considering the average session duration, one gets access to link the SEO KPI to a particular brand or brand. Session duration is used in measuring the average length of a visit to a brand’s website. If a brand has more depth in its structure and content, it expects the duration to be longer. Therefore, the brand owners should figure out a drop-in session to persist in clear and prominent CTAs to change this captive audience into a customer or a lead to enhance the brand’s popularity.
The Apparel Top 50 is the hierarchy of the most gainful apparel companies that have their stock publicly traded on the markets of the United States, and their sales are higher than US $100 million per year. For the aim of ranking, the profitability is gauged by the level of the brand value as percentages of the sales. The key target of Apparel is to discover the financial performance of most companies that have influence and are mainly determined by the apparel businesses involving the distribution, sourcing, design, and product development.
In the brand finance apparel of the year 2021, the top 50 brands are analyzed. Herein, Nike does it again by consecutively claiming the Word’s Most Valuable Apparel Brand for the seventh time. The Nike brand has made a total of $30 4443 million this year, although it has depreciated compared to the previous year, where it made a total of $34,792 million in the 2020 financial year. Gucci was ranked the second leading apparel brand registering an income of 415,599 million this year. Louis Vuitton, with a total of 14, 858million follows therein. Adidas, Chanel, ZARA, UNIQLO, H&M, Cartier, Hermes, Rolex Dior, Tiffany &Co, Chow Tai Fook, and COACH are the top 15 apparel brands. Bosideng has been ranked the 50th apparel brand this year.
Generally, the value of the top 50 of the World’s apparel brands has degenerated this year by 8%. The decrease is from US$301.9 billion that the top 50 apparel brands registered in the previous year 2020 to US$276.4 billion recorded in the year 2021. These brand values are accurate as of January 1st, 2021. According to the managing director of Brand Finance, Richard Haigh, the year 2020 is regarded as challenging for the sector of Apparel. Both widespread and global economic disruption resulted in a sharp depreciation in lock-down-induced store closures and demand, consequently causing brands to have an abrupt digitalization; otherwise, they would encounter dire effects on profits and sales.
The apparel ranking is partitioned into sub-sectors such as sportswear, accessories, watches, jewelry, fast fashion, and luxury. Footwear has been recording the increase in brand value in years consecutively, recording a 9% increase in the average brand’s value. Timberland and converse have registered the highest percentages in performance this year, whereby they have recorded a 47% and 8% increment in brand value, respectively. However, underwear brands have been tortured the most this year. The two brands have recorded a loss of apparently 19% of the brand value. Victoria’s Secret, with a brand value loss of 22% equalling US$4.2 billion, has been ranked the third-fastest falling brand in the year 2021.
Fila is now the fastest brand growing, concerning the significant 68% brand value intensification to US$2.7 billion in the 2021 Brand Finance Apparel 50. The brand cherished a strong sales upsurge in the seventy countries of operation towards the end of the previous year. It was evident specifically in the Chinese market. The brand has embraced the coming back of the trends that aided them to become familiar with the 2007 Fila brand purchase by Korea. The new entrants Bosideng and Timberland have ranked the third and the second-fastest developing brands, with up to 39% and 47%, respectively. China’s Bosideng has however been ranked at the 50th position with a brand value of not less but equal value to US$1.5 billion.
However, the COACH brand has recorded the huggiest decrease in this year’s brand value. The brand has registered a failure of 31% to US$4.7 billion. Following the sector trends, the brand’s profits and sales have hit over 2020. However, Tapestry, the brand has cited that shadowing across its brands is positively looking. COACH has persisted in accepting the strategy of celebrity-endorsed collections and partnerships, the most recent having seen the appointment of the global face of the brand, superstar Jennifer Lopez.
Rolex has retained as the strongest apparel brand globally. The brand has a Brand Strength Index (BSI) of an apparent score of 89.6 out of the actual 100 and a corresponding elite of AAA+ as their brand strength rating. As a watch sector brand, Rolex is embraced for its global leadership in both exclusivity and quality. Furthermore, Rolex’s new brands are much recognized for establishing the standard in the sector of watches. Despite the last year’s encounters, the luxury watches market has indicated resilience to the pandemic tumult, with demand remaining constant—this indication by Rolex’s website traffic encountering increase over the past year, 2020.
Overall, having analyzed the significance of key performance indicators for SEO companies, it is clear that they evaluate the company’s operations in terms of its accessibility to users and potential customers. The organization determines its own KPIs, so that analytics can focus on the critical statistics and recognize the effectiveness of the business operations. In addition, high and advanced KPIs seem to be highly crucial for web pages as these indicators also analyze the web visibility of an organization. The Apparel Top 50 performance examination has proved the correlation between KPIs, web visibility, and brand value. The ineffective strategy to achieve the KPIs led to decreased revenues due to the weakened brand image. An example of this correlation is the COACH brand that suffered the most significant drop in sales, 31%, due to it not following the sector trends. Therefore, it lost potential customers and its position on social media.
As for Rolex, it proved to be the most stable brand name with a BSI of 89.6. Considering its highly-developed brand image, it seems the most resilient to any threats in the market, initially achieved with web visibility. Therefore, it is evident that if the company has great KPIs and, thus, high web visibility, it is more likely to develop a famous brand. In addition, people are associated with this business’ advertisements and campaigns daily and, consequently, can be easily attracted to purchase goods or services.
The brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable apparel brands has decreased drastically by 8 in percentage. The sector is battling the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Footwear brands stamp power. The standing-only subsector has registered a brand value in 2021 with an average shoot-up of 9%. Such prevail in footwear has remarkably indicated remarkable innovation and agility across the whole sector of the finance brands apparel globally. Therefore, it is undoubtedly that the brands will be positioned well next year.
References
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Ying, F., Tookey, J., & Seadon, J. (2018). Measuring the invisible: A key performance indicator for managing construction logistics performance. Benchmarking: An International Journal.