SEO is Google Merchandising. Why Companies Must Prioritize Online Product Visibility

When a customer walks into a physical store, they see products arranged in a specific way. Some are at eye level, others are in the bottom zones. Some have Point-of-Sale (POS) highlights, while others sit in the shadow of the competition.

It works identically on Google:

• High rankings for a specific keyword = a shelf at eye level,
• Results with extensions (e.g., FAQ, rich snippets) = attractive POS materials,
• AI Overviews, Direct Answers = premium displays / prime real estate,
• CTR = attention rate (i.e., whether the shopper actually notices your product),
• SEO = managing visibility and shelf space on Google.

You might sell exclusively in brick-and-mortar stores. You might operate on a B2B model where sales are closed by sales reps. You might be in an industry where products are selected offline.

But there is one thing you cannot avoid:

The customer is vetting you on Google anyway:

• they want to investigate your brand,
• read reviews,
• compare your products against competitors,
• check availability,
• validate your credibility,
• see if you are the category leader.

Anyone who has worked with retail shelving knows one truth: customers do not buy what they do not see.

That is why companies invest in:

• end-cap displays,
• POS materials,
• store layouts,
• planograms,
• and constant inventory control.

Source: https://anvilkw.com/display-stand/

The online world operates on the same mechanism:

• If you don’t have visibility, no one clicks.
• If you don’t have clicks, you don’t have traffic.
• If you don’t have traffic, you don’t have sales.

You can’t “skip” this step.

In stores, shelf space is determined by a planogram, a carefully engineered arrangement of categories and SKUs (stock keeping units).

A planogram exists in Google, too, only it is dynamic. Search engine bots analyze the following daily:

• your site structure,
• content quality,
• competition,
• domain authority,
• technical performance,
• inbound links.

Based on this, they assign you a spot on their “shelf.”

SEO is the process by which you:

• improve the quality of your exposure,
• move up to a higher “shelf”,
• earn additional highlights,
• become more visible than the competition.

Imagine this scenario:

You have the perfect display in the store. Products are rotating, you are managing facings, availability, and seasonal promos. But when someone searches for a category name on Google, e.g., “women’s winter boots,” your brand is nowhere to be found.

What does this mean for your sales?

• The customer saw you in a brick-and-mortar store but won’t be able to find you online. You lose sales to people who later check reviews, prices, and specs online before making their final decision.
• The customer starts on Google and finds your competitor. Even if you are perfectly positioned on the physical shelf, you lose on the digital shelf.
• You invest in offline promos but drive online traffic… to someone else. It is as if you paid for a display in a store that a competing product uses.

• • It ensures your “shelves” (subpages) are stocked and complete.
  • It maintains the right number of “facings” (high rankings for keywords).
  • It reacts to seasonality.
  • It increases your brand’s share of shelf in the category.
  • It builds an advantage right where the customer journey begins.

  And today, most purchases and buying decisions begin in a search engine, regardless of the industry.

At Delante, we will show you:

• what your “shelf” on Google looks like today,
• which phrases you are already visible for, and which ones need work,
• what actions will yield the fastest and most effective results for you,
• how to prepare a product page (PDP) that converts,
• how to increase your share of the shopping category in search.

Write to us – we will prepare an analysis and a concrete action plan for you!