Archives

 

Why Pay for Online Audience Metrics When You Can Get Them For Free?

Everyone loves getting something for nothing, particularly when that something has a pretty decent price tag associated with it. What am I talking about here? It’s online audience metrics, which until now were primarily available to organizations willing to subscribe to comScore or Neilsen Online.

So who’s out there shaking things up? It’s our old chum Google!

Yes, in the very near future, Google is expected to announce its own online audience measurement tool aimed at helping advertisers identify the best places to reach their target audience and purchase online ads by telling them which sites they visit. Not only will the tool be free, but it will also have a different means of collecting user data than either comScore or Neilsen Online, which many believe will make it better and more accurate.

Specifically, Google’s tool will be based mostly on data from Web servers, which will allow for a more in-depth and broad-based view of internet use. Comparatively, both comScore and Neilsen Online gather usage data by tracking panels of people and what they do online or by conducting surveys. This methodology has the ability to make results inconsistent and incomplete as you are in reality measuring a small segment of the online population and then aggregating those results to make more broad-based observations about the marketplace as a whole. In comparison, Google’s tool, which will still rely on some data gleaned from panels, will measure a much broader segment of the population as it will be deployed across their entire very, very expansive ad network.

While Google’s system does not appear infallible (it's cookie-based and users can delete cookies), the sheer size of Google’s user base and network has the potential to make this a very revolutionary system and shake-up the way online activity is measured. And because it’s being offered for free, it will make this kind of intelligence more of a commodity and level the playing field in terms of online media planning and buying.

What do I mean by “leveling the playing field”? Simply stated, services like comScore and Neilsen Online cost money and are available only to those who can afford them. However, by Google making audience data free of charge, it will enable everyone to leverage it and make more intelligent decisions about how they plan and buy online media. Therefore, while such intelligence has primarily been available to big agencies or companies and touted as a competitive advantage that smaller rivals just don’t have access to, this will no longer be the case. Hence, what is exciting about Google’s forthcoming tool is that it will enable everyone to make more accurate and confident decisions about the buys being executed and the targets being reached, which should in turn lead to an overall increase in the ROI associated with online advertising. And in an era of heightened accountability, this will likely only make advertisers more comfortable with committing more dollars online.

But the true value that I see in a tool such as Google’s coming to market, is not just that it’s going to level the playing field, lead to increased budgets and provide free access to data that was previously only available to those with the means to pay for it, but that it’s going to force us as marketers to become better at what we do. In order to be competitive, we’re now going to be forced to further evolve our thinking.

So in the online media planning and buying space where will the competitive advantage now come from? Simply stated, it will no longer be enough to say you have access to and spout audience statistics, as soon everyone will be able to do this. Rather you will need to demonstrate that you understand and know how to use and apply this data.

The truth is, while everyone likes statistics, people love it when you can demonstrate that you know what they mean and apply this knowledge to solve real business issues. With Google’s forthcoming tool, we’ll all soon be able to know who is going where and doing what. But now, to truly differentiate your plans and buys, you’ll need to demonstrate that you not only have the data, but understand what it means and the business benefits derived from it, and this is what will separate the leaders from the pack.

Labels: , , , , , ,

 

Good News for Facebook Advertisers

According to a quick poll by Mashable, readers think that Facebook is the social network that delivers the best ads. "Best" is described as "“most accurate, interesting and engaging.” Facebook ads seem to be considered the most relevant, which is no surprise with its unique advertising platform that lets advertisers target users not just based on the usual demographic data but also based on specific terms found in the user's profiles (interests, hobbies, favorites, jobs, etc.)

This is definitely good news for us online marketers who advertise on Facebook, but what about our ads on the other social networks like MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, and so on? My opinion is that we should not be discouraged, and instead work even harder on making sure that our ads are relevant, engaging and reach the correct target audience. We can rely on technologies such as MySpace's hypertargeting, or try out ad networks that focus solely on Social Media such as Lotame.

However, whether we are advertising on Facebook or Google or any other property, we want to make sure that our online ads get clicks, and these clicks convert into actions. Because ultimately, our role is to encourage desired behavior - and great ads are always part of our strategy.

Labels: ,

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - 1:53 PM
 

Thinking of Developing a Facebook Application?

You might want to read this first.

Ah Facebook. Day by day, its audience and community just seems to grow larger and larger and as this audience grows, more and more businesses are looking to effectively levearge it as part of their social media marketing strategy.

One obvious step is to set-up a profile, which is a key if you want to access the Facebook community in a relevant manner. Having a profile gives you a presence and a base of operations to start marketing to and leveraging the community. However, the challenge that many organizations face once they set-up a profile is what to do next, in order to actually grow their friend and fan base. Having a profile on Facebook is great, but if no one know its there or it just stagnates, then what is it really worth?

In order to grow your friend and fan base, there are a number of viral tactics you can tap into as well as advertising mediums such as left-hand ad units and Social Ads. While these are all great, if you read the press and just listen to the buzz, these all seem to pale in comparison to what many see as the Holy Grail of a developing a successful Facebook presence – Application Development.

Yes, in May 2007 Facebook decided to invite developers to create free software programs that Facebook members could in turn use to communicate with and entertain one another. The net effect of opening up Facebook as a development platform has played a huge role in its growing popularity and has helped to ensure that things do not become stagnant. This assertion is supported by the fact that in the past year more than 250,000 developers have requested the company’s tools for building applications and more than 24,000 applications have been launched. This equates to over 65 new applications being launched every day! Pretty impressive growth, if I say so myself.

Needless to say, many developers have turned their applications into viable business models and companies have used applications to raise their profile within Facebook through increased engagement with their brand. While this is all great and I applaud everyone who has had success, it has also spawned some unrealistic views about Facebook’s application development platform.

The Myth of the Facebook App
This flood of application development and the associated buzz has also led to many organizations talking about developing “Facebook Apps” as part of a strategy in order to grow and evolve their presence on the site. It’s almost as if people look at Facebook as some kind of magical development platform and no matter what kind of App you develop its surely going to be viral and increase your friend and fan base 10x over. As much as I would like say this is the case, its really not and hence - “The Myth of the Facebook App”.

So what do I mean by “The Myth of the Facebook App”? Well, take this recent quote from Ben Ling, director of platform marketing at Facebook, when asked why some applications are successful, but many just seem to stagnate – “The Facebook platform is not a magic platform and you can plug anything in and be successful. It does not make something that’s not useful useful.” - Wall Street Journal – June 10, 2008

Reality Bites
In fact a study published in March 2008 by O’Reilly Media, Inc. regarding Facebook applications revealed some very sobering statistics:
  • The top 1% of applications accounted for two-thirds of all application activity in the first nine months since Facebook introduced the platform
  • Only 200 applications host more than 10,000 users a day
  • Approximately 60% of available applications failed to attracted even 100 daily users

So why is it that some applications are successful while others are not? The applications that seem to be working are those that provide a useful service, entertain users and allow users to socialize with one another. This last point is very, very key, particularly when you think about Facebook as medium. What I mean is that as a medium Facebook is about connecting and socializing with others and something that is considered to be both useful and entertaining is most often based on the premise that it enables you to connect and socialize with your friends.

Examples of applications that have proven to be successful are FunWall which 2.1 million people use daily to post messages, cards, videos and more on Friend’s profiles; as well as games such as Scrabulous which has over 482,000 daily users has proven to be hugely successful as it gives users a reason to come back time and time again.

Adding to the application development challenge is the fact that their numbers are growing at a furious pace. What is relevant today is irrelevant tomorrow, partially due to the increased level of sophistication associated with newer applications. Additionally, just getting user attention is becoming more and more difficult as they are constantly flooded with more and more applications to choose from. It should also be noted that some practices that contributed to the growth of early applications, such as forcing users to send an application to say 10 of their friends before being able to install it themselves, have been disabled after Facebook received complaints from users who felt they were being SPAMMED. Therefore, to succeed in today’s environment an application must do so primarily on its own merit.

Developing an Application Strategy
Therefore, when considering developing an application, before you just go out and do so, take some time to consider its strategic purpose and ask yourself and your team the following questions:

  • What is the problem I am trying to solve?
  • What is the need I am trying to address?
  • Does a likeminded application already exist?
  • What unique merits can this application bring to the Facebook community?
  • How will the application enable users to not only connect with your brand, but also with each other?

While these are certainly not the only questions to be asking yourself, they can provide a baseline framework to ensure that you set foot in the right strategic direction when developing an application. As Facebook grows more and more crowded, the opportunities for successful application development are going to get more and more challenging. To simply develop an application without considering its strategic value and how it can be effectively woven into Facebook’s social fabric is a recipe for failure and frustration.

Ultimately, Facebook is a medium that is quickly maturing and therefore as marketers we must quickly mature along with it. To just list “Develop Facebook App” as a bullet point as part of a Facebook promotional strategy is a mistake. Rather to successfully launch an application in today’s Facebook environment, you need to develop an entire strategy around its development, launch and evolution. In the end, a well thought out application development strategy, will help to ensure that what you do is aligned not only with your business objectives, but more importantly is socially relevant to the Facebook community; and if your application is going to be successful that is the key.

Labels: , , ,

 

Yahoogle – It’s Here

Well folks, it’s official! On Thursday, Yahoo officially stated that under a new pact with Google it will display “some” ads sold by its rival. The deal is expected to generate an additional $800 million in annual revenue for Yahoo, through what the Wall Street Journal describes as improved monetization of certain types of searches.

On top of it all, both companies also stated that they are looking for ways to now expand what is considered to be a limited partnership, possibly into the realm of display advertising. Now this would be interesting, as display is one area where Yahoo does hold a commanding lead over Google.

While all of the specifics of this deal have not been definitively worked out, the understanding is that Yahoo will control how Google’s ads are displayed along side its own advertising. Although it has not been 100% defined, my guess here is that Yahoo will most likely give priority to ads purchased directly through its own site, but then populate excess inventory with ads from Google.

Therefore, it appears that Yahoo is entering in a pact to become part of Google’s “Expanded Search Network”. This means that while you will still be able to buy everything you would like directly via Yahoo, whenever there is a case of excess inventory on Yahoo, Google’s ads will now be displayed. It appears to be a similar arrangement that Google has with sites such as Business.com, from which you can purchase ads directly from or go through Google to do so, as Business.com is part of Google’s expanded search network.

Assuming I am correct, and while this great news for the shareholders of Yahoo, there are few things that we as search engine marketers must now consider.

If you did not already know, when you buy advertising from Google, you have a few options. You can go with Google Search, which means you advertise to people just searching on Google; Expanded Search, which means adverting on Google and all of its search partners (AOL, Earthlink, etc.); and then of course there are programs such as Google Content. In my experience, most people opt to go with Google’s expanded search network as they not only get access to the audience on Google, but also those on AOL, Earthlink and more. However, unlike Yahoo’s expanded search network, with Google, it’s an all or nothing proposition. This means that with Google, you can not select which search partners you advertise with and which you do not. Additionally, Google does not disclose what percentage of your searches or budget are actually being spent with their partners, versus them directly. This leads most people to believe that when they advertise with Google all traffic and clicks are coming from people directly on Google, but this is not necessarily the case at all.

Why this is important is that if Yahoo does join Google’s Expanded Search Network, you could end up spending a good portion of your budget directly with Yahoo unknowingly via Google. Because Yahoo does command upwards of 20% of the Search Marketplace, they still have a very good sized audience and therefore you could soon find your Google programs spending much faster that you had previous realized, as you now have your ads being put in front of Yahoo’s still very sizeable audience. As a result, if you were previously reaping the benefits of Google’s Expanded Search Network, whether you knew it or not, with Yahoo in the fold you may have to start spending a lot more to continue to do so.

Additionally, seeing that Google does not let you see the specifics behind what is happening on their Expanded Search Network, you will loose the ability to plan your budget accordingly for Yahoo. I see this as important as both Google & Yahoo perform differently under certain circumstances and therefore you want to be able to structure your campaign on many levels such as Keyword, bidding and budget to take advantage of different audience dynamics. However, under this pact you will be relegated to spending some of your budget with Yahoo, but planning based on your insights from Google. Now, you might say that with Google’s Expanded Search Network you’ve already had to do this for AOL, Earthlink, Business.com, etc., but the difference here is that none of these engines offer an audience the size of Yahoo’s and really have the potential to shift things one way or the other. Now of course you can still advertise with Yahoo directly and plan accordingly, but previously you had the advantage of knowing that you had a Google budget and a Yahoo budget. But now under this new pact you will have a Yahoogle budget and a Yahoo budget, if in fact you decide to advertise directly with Yahoo at all.

This leads me to my last point, what does this mean for Yahoo in the future? In my experience, a lot of organizations like the fact that they can go through one provider and get their ads displayed on multiple engines. In the end you basically get the same result, without the headache of having to manage multiple programs and campaigns. In short, life is simpler. So, does this mean that over time, we will see more people just turning to Google to leverage the fact that they can go there and use them as a one stop shop? I guess the answer to this question relies on the definition of “some”, in terms of what the Google/Yahoo pact means when they say it means that Yahoo will display “some” ads displayed/sold by Google. Ultimately the word “some” is very ambiguous, and leaves a lot of room for this partnership to grow and expand. However, while you can at times get better cost efficiencies of going straight to the source, versus going through a partner, the challenges of managing multiple programs sometimes outweighs the cost benefits gained. Therefore, while I do believe that Yahoo will always have direct presence, I feel that the number of advertisers who opt run programs directly with them will shrink as they realize they can go to Google and manage everything from one single interface. This will be particularly true for those businesses that don’t have the ability to have a dedicated search marketing staff, but previously felt they had to run on both engines in order to access both audiences.

One thing that is for sure is that by making a bid for Yahoo, Microsoft has certainly shaken-up the search marketing landscape. Who would have thought that the net result of trying to acquire Yahoo, would have the unintended effect of making Yahoo run directly in to the arms of the rival that Microsoft as trying to fend off via their intended acquisition strategy. If you think this is strange; based on the precedent set here, I can only imagine what's going to happen next.

Labels: , , , , , ,

 

DIY Online Display Advertising - Expanding the Playing Field for Online Media

The online advertising marketing is growing. We’ve all seen the stats. We’ve all see the projections. Yes, advertisers did spend $21.4 Billion in 2007, and by 2011 this number is expected to grow to $42 Billion. (Source: eMarketer)

So, what is fueling this growth? The most common explanation seems to always be the shift of traditional media dollars into online. This is certainly logical when you look at the sky rocking projections for online growth and the flat line projections for traditional media. However, other explanations include a general increase in overall cost of doing business; I mean prices are certainly going to rise over time. Additionally, as the online advertising market evolves and proves to be more and more effective, whether or not advertisers cut their budget in other mediums, they are going to surely commit more and more dollars to online as it becomes more and more central to all advertising strategies.

However, there is another key factor fueling this growth that I feel is often overlooked - The small business advertiser.

The fact is, online advertising spending has for years been fueled by big advertisers, with big budgets. This is particularly true in the case of Online Display advertising, which accounted for $4.7 Billion in spending in 2007 and is expected to rise to $8.2 Billion in 2011. (Source: eMarketer)

The rise of the Small Business advertiser was first noticed with the advent of paid search, which enabled advertisers from all walks of business, with varying degrees of budget, to easily go online and reach consumers. Paid Search took off as it was “easy to get” in that there are essentially three major channels (Google, Yahoo, MSN) and all ad units are standardized. Therefore, launching a campaign was essentially deemed “easy” and small businesses readily jumped into the game.

However, when it came to Online Display, the second largest online advertising medium by dollars spent, small businesses have been essentially locked out. Launching a campaign is deemed intimidating. There are 15 standard ad sizes that need to be built, eye catching creative to be designed and a universe of placement opportunities that is seemingly endless. The fact is, until now, small businesses, which don’t have the resources or finances to hire an agency or even someone dedicated to marketing, have been locked out of the Online Display landscape.

Until Now
? What do I mean by this?

Well, there are now three relatively new companies that are in the process of changing the face of Online Display advertising. These companies are making it easy and cost-effective to develop display creative, buy media and even launch video ads… which will surely play a role in fueling the growth of this category. So who are these companies and what are they doing?

  • AdReady - http://www.adready.com/
    AdReady is an advertising technology company focused on making Online Display advertising accessible and effective for advertisers. Through AdReady's data-rich library of proven creative, real-time ad customization tools and intuitive web-based interface, AdReady makes it easy to for those who don’t have the resources to develop their own creative and messaging to build and run effective Online Display ads.

    Now the plus of AdReady is that it does make it easy to develop display ads and they do offer a lot of choices that suit a variety of verticals. However, for companies concerned with branding and having original creative, this could prove to be problematic, as AdReady’s creative solutions are not something you have developed exclusively.
  • AdBrite - http://www.adbrite.com/
    AdBrite bills themselves as the Internet's Ad Marketplace. It helps advertisers of all sizes plan a media buy that is based on targeting everything from Geography, Age, Gender, Income and more. In short, the company makes it easy to buy advertising online, giving advertisers transparency and control. With banner and text ads, as well as innovative formats like BritePic, InVideo and Full Page Ad, AdBrite has created an effective advertising marketplace for advertisers. AdBrite helps advertisers tap into highly targeted demographics across 50,000+ premium and trusted sites, reaching over 79 million unique users every month. AdBrite serves ads on over one billion pages a day.

    Now the plus of AdBrite is that it makes it easy to navigate the complex world of online media and deploy a targeted buy. However, at the same time, you are limited to the sites on their network and while you can target via a number of demographic options, you do not get to definitively select your sites. However, it’s a good place to start.
  • AditAll - http://www.aditall.com/
    AditAll is a video advertising community where users can quickly, simply and inexpensively create, produce and distribute video ads.

    AditAll brings low-cost, high-quality ad production capabilities to anyone. Their patent pending platform lets advertisers choose a "Pre-Packaged" ad from an inventory created by their producer community and quickly customize it. Advertisers can also select video and music clips and combine them into a unique ad using the"Start from Scratch" feature. Additionally, advertisers can post ad requests for specific ideas that producers can develop into video ads meeting these requirements.

    Talk about something that is sure to boost the market for Video Ads! Very cool. This is one area where not only small businesses, but many medium-sized and large businesses, have had virtually no creative representation. The fact is, unless your company has had some kind of broadcast focus in the past, this is very likely an untapped advertising medium. However, AdItAll really seems poised to change this.

    Additionally, if your company is hesitant to produce its own video advertising, you might want to consider using AdItAll to test the medium and show that it works. By demonstrating to the skeptics that this is in fact an effective medium, maybe your company will be more willing to commit the budget to produce its own exclusive video advertising.

Ultimately, by leveling the playing field for Online Display, everyone is going to benefit. Now some may view applications and technologies such as AditAll, AdBrite and AdReady as threatening to agencies; but this should not be the case. The fact is, organizations that make a significant marketing investment will continue to hire agencies as their strategic partners and to guide this process. This is not about the Death of the Agency, but rather the Birth of Small Business.

What I mean by this is that the DIY platforms will enable those that were not previously part of the Online Display landscape to now be part of it. This is a good thing for everyone, as it will fuel continued growth. The fact is, as more and more businesses recognize the power of online advertising, everyone who is involved in the space will benefit and it will ensure that predictions of future growth will not just be predictions, but more importantly - the reality.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

posted by Ty Velde @ Sunday, May 11, 2008 - 9:10 AM
 

What's Next?

It’s understandable why there’s so much buzz going around Social Media nowadays. Millions of consumers like me are already so deeply immersed into social networks, UGC and brand channels that it’s part of our everyday lives already. In fact, if I had 15 minutes of free time, I would not think twice about spending it online in the social media space: log into my accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Flickr, Multiply, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogger, Wordpress, Yelp (whew – did I miss anything?) and before you know it, the 15 minutes had stretched into an hour, or maybe even longer. Last year, a study called Never Ending Friending (commissioned by MySpace, Isobar & Carat) confirmed that majority of users really would check out social networking sites if they had 15 minutes of free time.

What does this mean for marketers?

First of all, it tells us where we can find our consumers (and consequently, where we should be spending more media money). Second, it tells us that consumers don’t just join these networks for the sake of joining. Consumers actually engage in conversations, build relationships, and spend hundreds of precious online minutes on social media. And last but not least, it tells us that marketers should be doing the same thing because whether we like it or not, social media is now a major part of our media mix.

But what’s next? – That’s the question we have to keep asking. What do we do after we set up our profiles, blogs, pages, brand channels? Aside from making sure that there is always fresh and relevant content, we can now use this medium to communicate with the consumers. We do not want to be the static “friend” who never updates his or her site. We want to be the brand/product/company that has a dynamic, cross-functional, multi-connected presence.

Profile set-up? Check. Build community with friends and fans and followers? Check. Content-rich, constantly-updated page? Check. Time to start socializing? Yes, please. Because the next thing that marketers need to do is be part of and herald the ongoing conversations in the social media world.

So next time you have some free time, think about how you can continue to leverage the power of social media to help your brand or company. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out those Facebook updates too.

Labels: , ,

posted by Bianca Garcia @ Thursday, May 8, 2008 - 2:40 PM
 

Social Media and Why You Need a Strategy

Every day, it seems we read something new about Facebook, MySpace and other likeminded properties and how the social web is changing the face of the online landscape as we know it. So what is it that makes these companies so important that they are garnering so much press and interest? Well, in my opinion its not such much the properties themselves, but rather the communities they have fostered within them and this is why every marketer should be paying attention.

To support this point, just read the following quote from a recent Wall Street Journal article about Sport Illustrated (SI) and their decision to take their Fantasy Content to Facebook:

"The move is, in part, an admission by the iconic sports brand, owned by the Time Inc. division of Time Warner Inc that it needs to do more than draw users to its own Web site. It also needs to take its products to a site people already visit.”
- Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2008.

What struck me about this comment was not so much that Sports Illustrated is partnering with Facebook, but rather how it as decided that a presence on Facebook is a viable alternative to driving users to their own web site. In short, SI has realized if they truly want to engage the Facebook community, they have to do so within Facebook, not outside of it.

This, in my opinion is one of the true powers of the social web, and a key reason why all companies need to start thinking about developing a social media strategy, if they have not already done so.

In short, the social web, comprised of sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and others is a web within a web. Rather than refer to these as sites, I think that they could be more accurately described as online environments. People don’t necessarily go on the social web with the intent of finding the next great web site, rather they're on the social web to interact and socialize with others within the context of that environment.

Therefore, if you want to reach users within the social web you need to come to them and set-up shop in their environment. Doing so demonstrates to users that you understand the nature of the social web and are willing participate within it. This is an important fact to realize and if you want to be considered relevant within the fabric of the social web, then you need to be have a presence within the social web.

Now you may be saying to yourself “But we have a website, so why would I need to create a presence within context of the social web? I mean, we’re already online.”

Well, yes your business or company does have a website and is online, but you are not operating within the realm of the social web. You are also making the broad based assumption that those who are engaged in the social web, want to leave it to see what you have to offer. However, this is big assumption and an unfortunate mistake. Again, users go to the social web to interact within that environment, so if you want to reach them you need have a presence where they are.

Additionally, there is a common misconception that the social web is only for kids, teens and young adults so it just does not make business sense to be there. Well, there was a time when people felt the same way about this thing called the World Wide Web. Remember when only cutting edge companies had websites? It’s laughable by today’s standards and if you don’t have a website today, people will seriously question your competency.

Well, the same trend is now being realized with the social web. Not every company has a presence and those that do are hailed as being innovative and thoughts leaders…just look at Sports Illustrated. The fact that they have decided to set-up shop on Facebook has gotten them ink in the Wall Street Journal. I’m willing to bet that in a matter of just a few years, that such moves will be par for the course and if you don’t have a presence on the social web, you’ll be laughed out of the room.

So where am I going with this all? Well, the fact is that marketing on the social web is something that is still relatively new. People are waking up to the fact that there is an audience to be had, but they don’t know what to do or how to effectively access it. But the fact is that social media, just like other forms of online media such as search, can act as channel and means to access a very ready and willing audience. However, to be successful you need to understand how to play with and engage this audience within the context of the social landscape.

Like what SI did, think of social media as a means to complement what you are already doing online. While your corporate web site can still be the center of your online marketing universe, it does not mean you can’t have branch or satellite offices within the confines of Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and others.

As I mentioned earlier, the social web is not just another group of sites, it's a unique, multi-faceted environment in which resides a huge audience. However to effectively market to this audience, you need to first understand the environment and be willing to join its fabric. Ultimately, by deploying a social media strategy you will greatly expand the power and reach of what you are doing online and develop a channel that is bound to pay off today and in years to come.

Labels: , , ,

posted by Ty Velde @ Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - 9:44 PM
 

Paid and Natural Search - Complimentary Mediums

I was recently asked the following question by a client: "If we are appearing in the Natural Search Engine Results, why should we we also be paying to appear in the Paid Search results for the same term?" In short, if they're getting the clicks for free, why should they be paying for them as well?

However, I don't think the answer is really that simple, as a truly effective search engine marketing campaign is not about Paid vs. Natural, rather its about understanding what makes each medium strong thereby playing to and understanding those strengths.

However for the sake of the issue at hand, my task was to explain the value of maintaining a paid search presence in the wake of appearing naturally as well. So below, is what I believe is strong case for why you should continue to go with a Paid Presence for terms that you also may be appearing naturally for.

  • Message Control
    With Paid Search, you have the ability to definitively control the message that is being communicated to the searcher on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). What I mean by this is that the message and copy that accompanies a Natural Result can be pulled from your meta data or page content. However, unless you have taken time to carefully craft you meta data, very often the message that is displayed is not a very solid marketing statement.

    Therefore, one must remember that even natural results have a click-through rate and while you might have a great position, if the accompanying description does not make sense, a user may look over it. Therefore, this is where a Paid Search result can supplement this problem, as you can easily craft a tight and cohesive message that says what you, NOT the search engine, want it to say.
  • Destination Control
    With Paid Search, you also have the ability to decide where you want to direct the user. However, the destination for a Natural Result for the same term is determined by the Search Engine’s algorithm, and while the engines are pretty smart when it comes to determining relevancy, their vision does not always match-up with yours.

    Therefore, with paid search you can decide exactly where the user will go and what they will see. Of course it must be relevant, but YOU have the ability to determine this.

  • Change Control
    With paid search, you also have the ability to change both your messaging and your destination, whenever you want to. Therefore, if you want change how your site is associated with a certain term; you can do this on both a Messaging and Destination level… all at a moment’s notice.

    However, with Natural SEO, your associated message and destination is pretty much fixed and does not necessarily change all that often. While you can update the description, you must wait until the page in question gets re-indexed and you are still relegated to the same destination, as that page is where the search engine has determined the most relevant content resides.

  • Dominating Page Real Estate
    Having both a paid and natural presence also enables you to maintain a more dominant presence on the Search Engine Result Page, which ensures that you will get maximum traction.

    Below is a heat map, which shows how and where people look at search results. As you will see there is huge amount of traction with both the paid and natural results. Therefore, if you are not in the paid results you are not necessarily garnering all of the available opportunity on the Search Engine Result Page.

Please do note that while it may sound like I am trying to discount the natural results, that is not the case at all. Natural results most always drive more traffic and getting top positions is the true benchmark of success when it comes to any SEO program. However, what I am trying to illustrate is the value that Paid Search results do have, even when you are also appearing naturally for the same term, as paid search offers a level of flexibility and control that you cannot get from Natural SEO.

In the end, this is not a case of one versus the other, but about illustrating how having a fully integrated SEM and SEO program can ensure that you can take advantage of all that is being afforded to you in the search environment and driving the optimal user experience for all facets of the page.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

posted by Ty Velde @ Monday, May 5, 2008 - 6:47 PM
 

Overdrive's Unique Core Values

Ok, so I was being interviewed for an article and afterwards I sent over my notes to the journalist just to encapsulate some of the points I was driving home. However, these notes really summarize what Overdrive is and provides to its clients so I thought I would post it. Don't be surprised if you see this as future site copy as well.

As for what publication – well the article should be out on 5/9/08 so I'll let the cat out of the bag then.

What makes Overdrive Interactive unique?

Harry:
There are 2 major factors that make us unique.

1) First, we combine unrivaled search marketing, social media marketing and online media services with creative and conversion services designed to encourage desired behavior and measurable ROI. Let me elaborate:

- Search and online marketing is not just about lots of impressions, clicks, high search rankings and traffic – it is about connecting with the right people at the right time and getting them to do what we want them to do. It is about getting them to become a lead, engage in a meaningful brand interaction that changes their perception or belief about a product or buy something online or off-line.

- At the core of any successful online marketing campaign is to develop a product and audience specific Benefit and Offer Matrix that answers the following questions that a consumer is asking when they go online looking for something:

How are you going to help me?

What do you have for me right now?

- Remember, people want to know how they are going to benefit from their association with your company or product – how they are going to make more money, have a better life, feel good – what ever it is that they are seeking. You need to address their needs very quickly to engage them online.

- Then you need to think of an offer that gets them to take some kind of action that gets them closer to the point of sale and in their minds, closer to satisfying what ever need you are addressing in your benefit statement.

2) We not only deliver quantitative data to our clients reporting clicks, costs and ROI – we give them qualitative data. We give them the numbers and tell them what the numbers actually mean. It is this factor that attracts the big-name clients we have who are seeking more then standard click and cost numbers in their reports – they want to know why certain things worked or did not work and how they can use that data to the benefit of their entire businesses. Let me elaborate:

- The actual process of optimizing the performance of a paid search and online media program taps the biggest real time focus group on the planet.

- Buried in all the click and conversion data of your banner ads, search ads and landing pages lies the key to what you need to say to a consumer to get them to react to your messages, offer and products in a positive way that drives sales.

- Rarely does the actual wisdom of the data get called out and packaged in a form that it can be escalated to the benefit of the entire company.

- The Benefits and Offers that resonate with people online can often be migrated to all forms of marketing and advertising.
We think successful online messages should be driving off-line advertising instead of the other way around!

What makes your service better then others?

Harry:
1) We are very focused creating an entire company of search and online marketing experts – not just staff members that work for a core group of experts. Overdrive is about great people who also have a great way of doing things.

2) We also are very focused on providing our clients with search engine and online marketing training. We actually provide our clients with onsite seminars on a wide range of topics including search engine marketing, online media and social media marketing. The more people in an organization we can get to embrace online and understand best practices, the more successful we are in launching their programs.

Labels: ,

posted by Harry Gold @ Sunday, April 20, 2008 - 2:50 PM
 

Database Driven Website Have Duplicate Content? Here's A Workaround

Sometimes despite the best efforts of webmasters, database driven sites fall prey to duplicate content issues. One of the more common ways duplicate content can occur on database powered sites happens when more than one URL results in the dynamic creation of webpages with identical code. To search engines, this represents duplicate content - and having large amounts of it can negatively impact your site's indexing and ranking.

But the good news is there is a workaround.

Technically, it doesn't matter that there is more than one way to call the same page from a database driven site. So as long as the page is linked to from other site pages using a consistent URL, the search engines will not detect the "duplicate content". In other words, search engine bots would have no way to discover the alternative URL of the page (assuming it is not linked to from an external site using the unfavorable URL).

Therefore, a temporary workaround maybe to consistently link to a duplicated page using a single preferred URL. If you have massive amounts of duplicate content, you may find there is a pattern to the URLs of duplicated pages. For example, let's say you have the following URL problem:

duplicate content table

In this example, both the Services Page and Product Page have two URLs that can call them from the database. However, the structure of many database driven content management systems (CMS) will often produce duplicate content in easily decipherable patterns - such as the one in the simplified example above. The next steps are to select a preferred URL nomenclature (In the example above, this would likely be the URL that uses letters to call pages) and ensure that only this naming convention is used throughout the site.

However, this should only be a temporary solution. Ideally, you want to completely remove any way identical pages can be called from your database.

Depending on the length of time it is estimated to find a permanent fix for the issue (more than 2 months), you may want to go into Google Webmaster Tools and go to --> Tools --> Remove URLs. Next, input the URLs that you wish Google to delete from its index into the tool. Only do this after the above recommendations have been implemented.

Hope this helps.

Labels: ,

 

Quick Affiliate Marketing POV

Hey there – as you may know by know I like posting my POV emails to clients when I actually manage to say something interesting or insightful. So here is a recent one regarding affiliate marketing. The client basically asked me if we managed affiliate programs and what my thoughts were on them.

My response:

Hi XXXXXXX,

This is not our sweet spot but we do know a lot about it and can help you get one going with one of the top platforms. (Commission Junction or LinkShare.) Our Search Department Supervisor used to work at Commission Junction and I would be glad to set up a call between me, you and him so you could pick his brain.

From what I know there are three main factors that drive the success of an affiliate program:
1) The universal appeal of the product and the stature of your brand
a. As of now you have the universal product appeal covered

2) The offer you are making to consumers and how easy that will be for affiliates to sell it to their audience
a. Basically the offer always subordinates the bounty
b. A $5 bounty for no credit card required/free trial signups may actually have a higher adoption rate by affiliates than a $50 offer for signups that require a credit card – the affiliates know they will get exponentially more conversions that way and make more money

3) The zeal of your affiliate advocate that is recruiting affiliate members
a. We typically recommend that people pay Commission Junction’s $3k fee to have an assigned advocate to their program (I am not sure what LinkShare charges for an advocate)
b. CJ Advocates tend to know the environment really well and have relationships with sites in the CJ network
c. Especially for a company like yours it is very important to have extremely strict affiliate compliance guidelines - showing up on questionable sites or in spam emails could really damage your credibility

I hope this helps and do let me know when you would like me to line up a call with our resident CJ expert.

See you soon,
Harry-

Labels: , ,

Blog Search

 

Rss Feeds

 Atom
 RSS