E-commerce strategies 'should consider universal search'

Online retailers should look at whether their websites are well-equipped to take advantage of the growing popularity of universal or blended searches.

This is according to Lisa Wehr of Practical eCommerce, who highlighted the fact that Google searches no longer just bring up a list of ten websites matching these terms.

Instead, results pages now consist of a blend of relevant websites, videos, images, blogs and other types of content, she stated.

To this end, e-commerce websites should look at strategies such as setting up a company blog, using more images and videos in their web pages and looking into podcasting, Ms Wehr said.

"Overall, the sites with the most successful search positions are integrating and optimising all of their content - including blogs, video, images and press releases," she explained.

The expert went on to suggest that following such a strategy can enhance the user experience and therefore boost sales.

UK e-commerce sales rose by 19 per cent in the 12 months to March this year, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

This news story was brought to you by Bluhalo, a leading UK digital agency.