Search Results in Real-Time – The PPC Effect

The trend of the moment in Search is speed. Projects like Google Caffeine are designed to make the web a faster place. A byproduct of a speedier search is the generation of the immediate, real-time result – being able to see Search working for you as you type. Google has adapted this concept into a new live update metric that revises search results as keywords are entered into a search box. I’ve watched the update do its thing on YouTube. You should look for it. It’s pretty trippy.

Search professionals that struggle with motion sickness may have to brace themselves before utilizing the new feature. The page changes with each character entered into the search box. The innovation has some Pay-Per-Click (PPC) search experts concerned fearing fickle potential customers may shift their click focus in mid-search decreasing click-throughs. This would be true if PPC campaign success was dependent on a fly-by-night consumer. People intent on looking for a particular product will conduct a search for that product and click accordingly. For example, if a user is searching for jeans, the user is unlikely to be swayed from PPC jean ads in favor of ads for JetBlue simply because they both begin with JE.

Though a web page may be faster and more real-time based, that doesn’t mean a serious, relevant user will fail to convert. If anything, Google’s new live update feature will ensure PPC campaigns are effectively leveraging the right audience.

What Exactly is the New Reality?

Recently, Adweek published an article titled “CMO’s Face New Reality”, which chronicled the struggles of marketers post economic slowdown. It reported on the challenge marketers are facing with regard to engaging new and existing customers as marketing budgets decline. Improving customer retention and loyalty, acquiring new customers and increasing sales to current customers were named the three most important issues facing marketers today. Interestingly, these same marketers indicated that they were rather lackluster in leveraging digital marketing and performance strategies to achieve their core objectives. This is difficult to reconcile considering that the hallmark of online performance marketing is continuous improvement, growth and efficiency. What exactly is the new reality CMO’s are facing and is it reality after all? It shouldn’t be that marketing budgets need to decrease. It should be the realization that marketing budgets are no longer the litmus test for an effective campaign.

Online performance marketers know that improving customer retention, acquiring new customers and increasing current sales requires a multi-channel approach that maximizes spend through continuous improvement and optimization. Marketers who are gun shy about investing in digital may believe that such optimization will cost more than it is worth. If done right, shifting to an online performance model will ultimately demand more from your marketing spend. It will enable companies to effectively target and re-target new and current customers, get the most out of your leads database and promote growth through cost-efficiency. Performance marketers know this. It’s time they spread this knowledge to recession-wary CMOs.

Email - The End or a New Beginning

At a Nielson conference held last month, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg raised eyebrows by declaring the impending demise of email as the primary messaging platform. Her reasoning was based on a published Pew report, which stated that only 11% of teens utilize email every day.  Those numbers certainly suggest that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are the platform of choice for that segment of the population. They are indeed growing in popularity across all age groups but to outright declare that the end of email is near is a bit short-sighted, especially with regard to corporate communications.

A case can be made that email is the original social media network. Before Facebook and Twitter came along, email was driving targeted messaging results. It remains a pivotal component to any business marketing strategy. It shouldn't be thrown to the scrap heap in favor of Facebook or Twitter. It should be incorporated into your social networking platform. Email should be used for engagement across the entire social consumer landscape. By incorporating Facebook and Twitter into your messaging campaign, you can extend your reach to users likely to disregard promotional emails by including such offers on your social networking pages. Once the social user is engaged, subsequent emails will sustain and grow interest maximizing spend and driving ROI.

A continuously improving email program, one that implements social networking, will most assuredly make those questioning the life span of email rethink their position. By combining it with social media, email will not be facing its end but a new beginning.

Generic Keywords – Key To Search Positioning

In a recent study conducted by Covario, a surprising number of global online retailers ranked poorly in Google searches due in large part to a lack of generic keyword optimization. For instance, Home Depot ranked 16th in keyword search for “home repair.” Considering the retailer is a home repair and home improvement juggernaut, its paltry position seems pretty illogical. But it proves that even the most successful brands need help getting their message across and understanding the value of search.

According to Covario, the top four spots on Google can be worth upwards of $100 million in annual revenue. Performance marketers should digest the findings in the Covario study and incorporate them into an overall sales strategy emphasizing the search value proposition. We need to stress the value of click-throughs as positions fluctuate; they can increase ROI. In terms of tracking processes, Paid Search is highly measurable and easy to monitor. As for Organic Search, enhanced Webmaster Tools on Google make it possible for clients to see the breakdown of impressions and conversions on their site.

The value proposition of search begins and evolves with continuous optimization. Any plan for improving search optimization must include generic keywording. The value of search to a brand is undeniable but only if that brand can be found.

The Implications of Do-Not-Track

Every week it seems a new wrinkle in the privacy debate makes the news wire. Late last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced preliminary plans for the creation of a Do-Not-Track list. The goal of Do-Not-Track would be to levy stricter regulations on behavioral online ad targeting. Is that a collective gasp I hear along digital advertising channels? Grab a paper bag and take some deep breaths. Upon further examination, there’s not much cause for alarm.

Online advertisers are not telemarketers. They are not hamstrung by the telephone. And their processes for the consumer, notably opt-in and opt-out functionalities, are already user-friendly making Do-Not-Track more of a political tool than an advertising detriment. Do-Not-Track will not reduce the number of ads consumers see. It would prevent ads from being targeted to sites a user has visited. But if a user likes receiving targeted ads, he or she simply wouldn’t subscribe to the list.

Given the attention privacy issues have received this year, it is understandable and somewhat commendable that the government wants to act. But by drafting up weightless and needless legislation, continuing to focus on platforms like Do-Not-Track does not make sense.