Parallel Path

1637 Pearl St., Ste. 201Boulder, CO 80302

(303) 396-1111www.parallelpath.com

Ritz & Wolf Camera & Image Aha!Local Enterprise Case Study

by Tracy Earlestracy@parallelpath.com

Problem SummaryIn the fall of 2009, Ritz Camera Centers Inc. emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a new, stronger, but smaller company: Ritz & Wolf Camera & Image.

When Ritz entered Chapter 11, they operated almost 1000 camera stores under the names of Ritz Camera, Wolf Camera, Kits Cameras, Inkley’s, Proex, Cameras West and The Camera Shop. Through the restructuring, the company closed hundreds of unprofitable stores, and Ritz & Wolf Camera & Image now operates just under 300 stores under multiple brand names.

The reorganization led to three major problems regarding Ritz’s local online listings:

• All listings showed the old brand name, logo, and associated messaging.

• All of the listings for stores that had been closed still appeared in search results, reflecting poorly on Ritz & Wolf Camera & Image’s brand.

• Listings for stores that remained open competed in the search results with listings of stores that were closed, making it difficult to achieve high results placement.

The problem is illustrated in the following screen capture of the results for the search term “camera store atlanta ga”:

The only Ritz store shown is a closed store under the old Wolf Camera brand name, when the five open Wolf Camera & Image store listings are not shown in the top seven results (the Google Maps ‘7-pack’).

Because local online search is the first step to an in-store purchase, it was critical that Ritz & Wolf Camera & Image resolve their listing issues quickly. Ritz engaged Parallel Path Corp. to address these listing challenges through the company’s Aha!Local Enterprise listing management service.

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Because local online search is the first step to an in-store purchase, it was critical that Ritz & Wolf Camera & Image resolve their listing issues quickly.

Actions TakenParallel Path Corp. took the following steps to address the problems:

• Claimed ownership of all Ritz listings through several different search engines and data feeds

• Submitted list of deleted locations to: o All major search engines o All yellow pages directory sites o Over 100 other websites

• Revised detailed store listings to better represent Ritz’s brand o Emphasized key value proposition: one-hour photo pickup o Upload pictures, specialties, add hours and other details o Identify listings with new company name

• Optimized listing data to achieve a higher results position for “camera store” related local searches

Results AchievedFor the search “camera atlanta ga,” the following result now appears:

The closed listing no longer appears, and the open store listing has been rebranded and now appears in the 7-pack.

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Rebranded listing,higher placement

Over the entire Ritz listing population, the listing population has improved significantly:

Second Phase ImplementationAfter achieving a dominant position for “camera store” searches, Ritz wanted to broaden their visibility by also targeting “digital photo printing” local searches. Parallel Path then re-optimized the listing data to emphasize this term, and quickly began seeing positive results:

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“Parallel Path helped us quickly transition to a new name and new store footprint by closely managing and optimizing our local listings. We’re confident that our improved image and increased impression volume is driving new revenue in-store.”

- Peter Tahmin, VP RitzPix.com and online

retail

Move toward top placement

Ritz/Wolf Camera StoresReoptimizing for “Camera Store”

Ritz/Wolf Camera StoresOptimizing for “Photo Printing”

Move toward top placement

Optimization for higher placement

Rebrand listings, remove closed stores

Summary ResultsAfter eight months of work, Parallel Path’s Enterprise Aha!Local service was able to achieve the following dramatic results: Said Peter Tahmin, Ritz’s vice president of RitzPix.com and online retail, “Parallel Path helped us quickly transition to a new name and new store footprint by closely managing and optimizing our local listings. We’re confident that our improved im-age and increased impression volume is driving new revenue in-store.”

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1637 Pearl St., Ste. 201Boulder, CO 80302

(303) 396-1111

www.parallelpath.com

search engine optimization

pay-per-click / paid search advertising

website landing page optimization

affiliate program management

advanced targeting and retargeting

banner ad creation, campaign management, distribution & optimization

analytics consulting and management

blog seeding & management

social media management

local listing & local seo

call tracking

Parallel Pathinternet > marketing > results

© 2011 Parallel Path Corporation