Chipotle's SEO and Social Media Success: Bigger Than Their Burritos

Chipotle's success in search engine optimization (SEO) has risen over the past five years or so. As seen above, the company's organic search results rose from about 20,000 to over 1,000,000 in a span of five years and has continue to grow since then. Competitors may ask themselves what caused this dramatic increase and the answer is easy. Chipotle has a strong and specific mission, "Food with Integrity", meaning that they find the best ingredients possible, with respect for not only the environment of the farmers but the animals as well. This mission has created awareness about the company since their establishment began in 1993. With the buzz of the company increasing with their unique digital marketing techniques, presence on social media, and positive customer reviews it is only logical that they company's organic search results would grow. Let's take a deeper look into how exactly the company ranks in SEO.

The SEO of Chipotle: Natural vs. Paid

The search engine results for a company are highly important when it comes to digital marketing. For starters, paid search is "based on an advertising model where firms seeking to rank high in specific search categories will bid on certain terms or 'keywords' in hopes of a lucrative ad ranking" (Roberts). On the other hand, natural or organic search are the free aspects of ad ranking in search. The difference can be seen in the image provided below to better understand the two concepts.

 

When you Google "Chipotle Mexican Grill" your receive a whopping 4,510,000 search results, both organic and paid. However, the organic results are most likely more relevant to what you were searching for than their paid ads. Featured on the side for paid search results are those informing viewers that jobs are available and that the company is hiring. In my opinion, when consumers search for a company, they are most likely searching for locations, information, or reviews on the company. These results are successfully displayed in the company's organic search results.

When looking at the natural search results for Chipotle Mexican Grill, you are first given the company's website. After you can see your nearest locations, latest company news, Yelp reviews, and are also given links to the company's social media sites. While these are all great results for a food company to have on the first page of results, improvements can be made to increase the total optimization of these results.

 To improve their SEO, the company should consider the factor that most people Google only "Chipotle" not "Chipotle Mexican Grill" when searching for the company and consider this when choosing keywords. Next, paid search results should align better with their natural search results to form a more organized results page. If jobs available are not in the search results organically, in my opinion, they should not show up in the paid ads section. Lastly, maybe the company could find a way to possibly have their social media site links organized together instead of spread throughout the page.

All in all, considering the good and bad, Chipotle has done a successful job in having relevant and meaningful search results available online.

The Social Media Personality of Chipotle: Your Friend 

 

Another online success of the company is their presence on social media. Chipotle uses both Twitter and Facebook as an effective tool to reach out to customers, interact with them, and acquire new consumers. The company has also used their social media to develop a brand personality. Their tweets and posts are informative while being extremely creative and witty. When reading their messages, it feels as though you are communicating with a real person, not just a computer. The social media aspect of Chipotle is used to mostly engage with followers to promote any contests occurring, events, or deals going on. When searching for the company on Google you are given links to access their social media sites along with visiting their website. As you can see below, Chipotle was one of the most mentioned brands online in the year of 2014. I personally believe their creative and personal approach to social media is a reason why.

Keywords are the Key to Success

When aiming to increase search results, keywords are very important in your ranking. For Chipotle, a company who serves Mexican burritos, salads, bowls, quesadillas, and tacos, one would assume those would be effective keywords. However, there is more to company's keywords than the products offered. For example,  a company would need to include every variation of their name, perhaps their website, and even possible locations. Also, with the name Chipotle being unique and highly known it would be best for the company to stick to just the company name and a few variations as shown below such as Chipotle locations and Chipotle nutrition. Simple keywords work for the company. For example, when one searches "Chipotle" in Google, you are given locations, news, job offerings, reviews, the company website, and social media links all on one page.

 

 As one can see, Chipotle is a successful company in optimizing search, making the most out of social media, and using effective keywords. Next time you need a good laugh check out their Twitter or Facebook. 

Google Search "Chipotle": Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2015

Chipotle Website: Whole or Nothing. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2015.

Chipotle Twitter: (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2015.

Chipotle Facebook: Facebook logo. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2015.

finding the very best ingredients, raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers - See more at: http://www.findandconvert.com/2014/01/chipotle-cause-marketing-works#sthash.6ngGdoYb.dpuf

finding the very best ingredients, raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers - See more at: http://www.findandconvert.com/2014/01/chipotle-cause-marketing-works#sthash.6ngGdoYb.dpuf

finding the very best ingredients, raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers - See more at: http://www.findandconvert.com/2014/01/chipotle-cause-marketing-works#sthash.6ngGdoYb.dpuf

finding the very best ingredients, raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers - See more at: http://www.findandconvert.com/2014/01/chipotle-cause-marketing-works#sthash.6ngGdoYb.dpuf

finding the very best ingredients, raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers - See more at: http://www.findandconvert.com/2014/01/chipotle-cause-marketing-works#sthash.6ngGdoYb.dpuf

finding the very best ingredients, raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers - See more at: http://www.findandconvert.com/2014/01/chipotle-cause-marketing-works#sthash.6ngGdoYb.dpuf

finding the very best ingredients, raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers - See more at: http://www.findandconvert.com/2014/01/chipotle-cause-marketing-works#sthash.6ngGdoYb.dpuf

The Marketing of Snapchat, Uber, and Chipotle

Companies today are taking full advantage of emerging marketing techniques. These techniques specifically included in this discussion are email and direct online marketing. The companies Snapchat, Uber, and Chipotle all incorporate these aspects to promote their companies and what they have to offer to consumers.

Email Marketing

In today's day and age email is an important technique used by marketers to reach their consumers. Email marketing is used on a regular basis and has taken off since the emergence of the Internet. With majority of people beginning their day by checking their email, it's no wonder marketers use it to interact with consumers.To see how effectively and properly companies are using email marketing I decided to sign up for emails and Google alerts from the following companies: Snapchat, Uber, and Chipotle. 

The emails I received from the companies included great use of the email design principles that I have learned by majoring in marketing that are explained in the following chart:

As you can see, the companies used very similar email design principles with Uber using the most. Most of the emails I received grabbed my attention with offers, interesting news or updates, or a well designed email structure.These observations include aspects from both received emails and Google alerts on the companies. All emails I have received so far have been in compliance with the CAN-SPAM act. For readers who are unfamiliar with this act, it bans company emails from using false or misleading header info, it prohibits deceptive subject lines, it requires an opt-out method, and it requires that commercial email be identified as an ad and include the sender's valid physical postal address. However, there is always room for improvement in every marketing strategy even for the best companies. 

There are a few changes I would make to these email strategies if  I was on the marketing team for these companies of Snapchat and Uber. After personally emailing Chipotle about my last blog post on their company I received a friendly, personal reply. I  believe this attitude should be included in marketing emails as well which is something Uber and Snapchat could work on considering their target market is mostly a young adult audience. Here is an example of the type of attitude Chipotle displays in their emails:

 A fun, friendly email strategy, in my opinion, is the most effective way to differentiate your marketing emails from other companies while grabbing your recipients' attention. While Uber and Snapchat's emails were detailed and well designed they were not as effective to me because they lacked a personality. Using A/B testing I would take emails sent by Uber and Snapchat providing an offer, word the text to be more conversational and fun, then send out the email and see which one receives more feedback and action.

Uber and The Internet I's 

For those readers new to the marketing world there are four "I's" of Internet marketing. They are: interactive, information-driven, immediate, and involving. Now these are all logical aspects a marketer would want to consider when building a company website if you want it to be effective, correct? Correct. A company who shows great use of these elements in their website is Uber. Their websites effectiveness is displayed below:

As you can see from above, not only is the company's website visually appealing, it is also effective.  It offers the necessary information to attract and inform new customers while looking modern; tying along with their modern ride sharing service. Uber displays what a successfully designed website entails. It is definitely one to check out when looking for ideas to create your own company website. 

Chipotle's Direct Marketing Elements

Chipotle is a company known for setting itself apart against other companies who offer fast food. Instead of your average unhealthy, fattening meal they offer customers with a healthy, sustainable meal. Not only is promoting this difference their main direct marketing goal, they also do it in a very successful manner. One can tell by just taking a visit to the Chipotle website. The company implements use of the digital marketing critical strategy elements like none of their competitors. 

These critical elements are the offer, the list, the media used, the creative execution, and the service and support. When you first enter the site you know exactly what the company wants you to do: order food, read what's going on in the company, or find a location. With news that is relevant to their product they offer, it is quite easy for consumers to gain more information on their wholesome food; such as carnitas coming back. Next, their targeting vehicle is done by having users subscribe to the company through email and mobile phone number to be updated on offers and news in the company. Also, by being a list member you are able to place orders over the phone. The company uses great imagery and media on their site to promote their food and attract customers. The company logo is clear to see, the images are sharp, some media is punny, and they almost always have media relevant to the seasonal holidays (currently the have Halloween imagery tied in to their website). Their creative execution is a website that has been aesthetically appealing and informative on what the company's food has to offer without appearing boring or educational. The customer is able to learn about Chipotle in a visually pleasing manner. Lastly, the company has direct links to service and support if any additional information is needed or problems occur. Along with this service, the company replies fast to their consumers and offers a personal response. 

Email and online direct marketing are the way to go in today's time when reaching consumers. Not only are they growing in importance but they are also able to reach consumers on the go using a mobile device as well, not just those tied to a computer. A great way to ensure effectiveness in these strategies is to implement the email design principles, four Internet "I's", and the critical strategy elements of direct marketing.