Centers of Excellence: Search

The Mechanics of Search for Promotions & Integrated Marketing

Posted by Tim Reis in Digital Marketing, SEO/SEM, Search on October 10th, 2009

google-search

If you’re fairly new to the subject of search, you’ll find your “101” course work here.  In this section we’ll review:

•    How search works
•    Anatomy of a search page
•    Organic v. Paid search results
•    Search auction basics

How Search Works
Odds are very good that by now you’ve conducted some online searches yourself.  You go to a search engine, type in a few words that reflect what you’re looking for and a fraction of a second later a list of results appears.  Typically, this page will contain 10 results down the left side of the page you’re viewing.  Each will contain a headline and an excerpt of copy from that site.  These results are produced by programs called “spiders” which “crawl” the web “reading” websites.  These spiders log information about each of a website’s pages.  What is the page about?  Which other sites are linked to it and based on previous results, how much stock do we put in those sites’ opinions?  Spiders are crawling the web at all times and logging information about millions of websites, so that when you search for “things to do in San Diego,” results can be delivered to you instantly.

There’s something else that happens here, though.  At the same time as it’s identifying relevant results for you, an algorithm determines which of these results will be most relevant to your particular query, delivering results in an order that reflects the best results first.  These results are constantly being tweaked (thanks to enhancements to the algorithm, changes on the websites and the number of people clicking on the result), so the listings for a given search can change from search to search.  The influence of other users (through their clicks) we call “the wisdom of crowds” effect.  That is, the more people click on a given result, the program learns that apparently this result is an especially good answer to a particular query.

Anatomy of a Search Page/Organic v. Paid Search Results/Search Auction Basics
As mentioned before, you’ve likely seen a search page before, but maybe you didn’t notice some of the subtleties.  The largest area of a search page is comprised of “organic” or “natural” results, which are the output of the process described above.  When conducting some searches, though, you may have noticed additional results in shaded boxes above or to the right of the organic results.  These are sponsored results; search advertisements.  Search ads appear for a combination of reasons, including quality, relevance and an auction-based payment model.

Paid search advertisements are selected based upon the outcome of an auction.  Advertisers identify lists of queries (“keywords”) that correspond to their product, campaign or related subjects.  The auction assigns each potential search advertisement a “quality score” that reflects both the price per click that an advertiser is willing to pay and the relevance of the “landing page” (the destination web page to which the ad will send a user).  By rewarding more relevant ads (since the quality score formula allows more relevant ads to bid lower than less relevant ads), the system ensures users get high-quality answers to their questions in the sponsored links section of query results, as well as in the organic results.

Now, many ask, “Does anyone click on paid ads?” and the answer is, “Yes, quite a few.”

It’s not because those users have been bamboozled.  Rather, users tend to click on the result – paid or organic – which seems to offer the best answer to his or her question.  Over time, the more people click on a given organic or paid result, the more that result is rewarded by being ranked higher among its competitors, ensuring that users find what they’re looking for and advertisers get the most efficient route to their target audience.

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The Role of Search in Integrated Marketing

Posted by Tim Reis in Digital Marketing, Search on June 3rd, 2009

It is self-evident that we are living in a time of extraordinary economic upheaval. To succeed in this uncertain environment – and be in position for success when the world economy stabilizes – marketers must embrace the concept of smart, measurable, integrated marketing.

So how should a marketer take advantage of online to encourage and measure a promotional (or any) campaign’s success? Following a few basic rules is a great way to start. Part one of this two-part series will cover the basics, while part two will take a deeper dive into each section.

Rule #1: Fish Where the Fish Are

Traditional marketing relied on a wide net approach. Media like television were (and are) great at reaching many people, but even when you narrow the focus by targeting to certain demographics, advertising messages would reach a great many people with no interest in the product. (This sort of waste is what John Wannamaker meant when he said that he knew half of his advertising budget was wasted, but he didn’t know which half.)

The advent of online media, though, allowed companies to be where their customers are and to take advantage of their interests at relevant points of engagement. A key component of reaching these already interested customers is search advertising. For instance, this year, for the first time ever, more people searched for “coupons” than for “Britney”!

Rule #2: Be a Savvy Search Marketer

The role of search in direct response is obvious; you want to be there to scoop up demand when it’s expressed. However, what’s usually underestimated is the effect search advertising can have on brand building. As companies work harder and harder to communicate the value of their brand to target audiences (and as consumers choose how they spend each dollar more carefully than ever) it is paramount that marketers ensure their brands are present when a consumer is searching – whether searching for the brand itself or searching related terms. For instance, if you’re selling baseball bats, you not only want to be sure to appear when consumers search for your brand name, but also when they search for “baseball,” “baseball bat” and maybe even “sports. While closing the sale is critically important, that moment will never come if you don’t build the brand first…and search can help build that desire.

Rule #3: Beware the HiPPO

Most marketing decisions are made based on the HiPPO: (the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) . Better, though, is decision making based on data. This is another area where online media shines. It is no longer necessary to make decisions guided by the boss’ “gut.” Instead, marketers can make well-informed decisions and act on them in real time.

Rule #4: Measure, Measure, Measure

No other medium has ever offered such immediate and deep data on the effectiveness of advertising spend. Using (often free) tools, advertisers today can test copy, offers and geography. They can know the sources of their traffic and how they are performing relative to each other. They can know which of their website pages are most effective and “sticky.”

These very high-level concepts can guide marketers toward strategies that offer unprecedented certainty.

Tim leads the East Coast CPG practice for Google, is a co-chair of PMA’s Digital Center of Excellence, and is an incoming PMA Board Member.

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