Website optimisation firms get the Google seal of approval

Google’s backing for consulting firms that offer sensible advice on how retailers can improve web sales has got to be a move in the right direction for an industry that has been plagued by misinformation.

There are loads of firms out there that purport to be able to unlock the secrets of Google’s much-discussed algorithm for ranking natural search results, and drive traffic to websites that they help to optimise. But the reality is that some don’t know what they are talking about, and the result is that retailer’s websites are no where near as easy for customers to shop as they could be.

To assist retailers when they are trying to decide who they can trust, Google has today launched an accreditation that it will give to consulting firms it believes can deliver best practice in website analysis and testing. Google says that those who hold the accreditation are as adept in using the free analysis tools that Google provides as the search firm itself.

The Google Conversion Professionals accreditation programme initially sees three firms — Conversion Works, EMC Consulting and Moneyspyder — given the seal of approval. And to prove that simple changes to sites can have major results, Google has also published details of the outcomes of work it has done with several high street names in order to improve their web conversion rates.

In retail terms, the phrase ‘the dark arts’ tends to be used to describe the work of buyers and merchandisers. But it’s just as applicable to website and search engine optimisation, both areas where there is a lot of mystery surrounding how you achieve best practice.

You can argue that the art of buying and merchandising is just as important as the science. But when it come to the web, retailers need to adopt rigorous analysis and testing if they are to benefit as the online market begins to mature.