Luxury brands have a lot of questions about Google Search — especially on controlling how they come across on the search engine.
And that’s something Conan Liu, Google’s head of industry, luxury and fashion, is well aware of and has some answers for.
“How Google search is a vehicle for discovery is a really big, important question that a lot of luxury retailers right now are thinking about,” said Liu.
He believes luxury executives want to learn how to ensure their brands get discovered, that their products are matched to the types of questions people on Google are seeking answers for, and that the responses appear in an authentic way that resonates with their brand storytelling.
During a conversation with James Fallon, chief content officer of WWD and Fairchild Media Group, at the WWD Apparel and Retail CEO Summit, Liu said his team partners “really closely” with marketing and merchandising leaders at luxury retailers.
“I will say there’s a deep curiosity to understand what the consumer is doing. Luckily at Google, we sit on a large trove of data, both across Google Search and YouTube, enabling Google to understand consumer behavior.”
At YouTube, “One of the big themes we see is that content equals commerce, for a couple of reasons,” Liu said. “There’s a growing reliance and trust within the creator ecosystem that we see on YouTube. People are going to YouTube to be entertained, to learn about new topics, to find inspiration, and to seek confidence in what they’re wearing, in their appearance, and in their outfits. It’s something we definitely see as a trend on the platform, and I think brands and retailers are responding in kind.”
Google bought YouTube in October 2006 for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and proceeded to expand YouTube’s offerings and subscription options.
“If you go on Louis Vuitton’s YouTube page, they do an incredible job thinking about not just their marketing strategy, but also their editorial strategy. They think about all the different ways someone can engage with the maison, from behind-the-scenes content, to savoir faire, to highlighting brand ambassadors in a meaningful way, and that’s an important way brands connect to a consumer who wants to both learn more and feel immersed in a world they clearly want to be a part of.”
He advised luxury brands to take a “360-degree” approach to content and commerce. “It can’t just be like here’s a product to buy. There has to be more in-depth content.”
The advent of AI compounds concerns luxury brands have about search engines, among them being, as Liu acknowledged, whether responses to queries are consistent with the message the brand wants to tell.
“How do I make sure the products I really want to merchandise, promote, and sell are the ones showing up in these queries?” Liu asked rhetorically. “The most important thing is making sure there’s a cohesive brand story pulled through across every single touchpoint a consumer can interact with,” Liu explained. “That includes a brand’s website, a brand’s YouTube page, things as technical as a brand’s product feed.
“The creative voice is ever more important in (how) brands and products get discovered today,” Liu added. “If you have a cohesive message that is really resonant and authentic, and that people are talking about, or referencing, that’s really your best shot.”
In the traditional search world, said Liu, “It’s much more about ‘I have a brand in mind. I have a product in mind.’ In the new world (of AI), it’s ‘I have an occasion, a big meeting, an event. Please help me think it through.’ You can show an image and say, ‘This is what I currently have. I don’t want a similar thing. I already have five navy suits. I don’t need another. But help me find something similar, and it’s at a point of discoverability, which I do think is a really big shift.
“Consumer search on the internet,” Liu said, “is becoming more conversational and multimodal.”
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