search engine landscape: market share of the portals

2. The Power of Search Marketing

All Search engine traffic originates from a voluntary, audience-driven search. This means the visitors from a search results link were HUNTING for information for a specific keyword search. These searchers have selected your listing from among competitors. That is why both paid and unpaid search traffic is so valuable. It converts well to sales, leads, registrations and other optimal actions because the searcher is in �hunt mode� not simply browsing around the web. SEM is extremely valuable, given the mindset of the searcher, and their openness to persuasion.

3. Search Engine Landscape: Market Share of the Portals

How you measure market share determines results Regardless of whether you measure reach, searches or delivered traffic, the winners are clear, Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL.

4. Search Landscape: Paid SEM, Three Billion+

In 2004, marketers spent over three billion on paid search engine advertising and many millions more on other supplementary SEM and SEO initiatives according to Piper Jaffray, SEMPO (sempo.org) and other sources. Every day the search engines return results for over 350 million searches. Seasonal search traffic can peak at double that number and the growth continues. Search Engines are the top online method used by consumers to research a product for purchase 41% (Doubleclick). 81 percent of Internet users find the Web sites they're looking for through search engines. (Jupiter)

5. Search Landscape: Organic SEM, 492 Million?

SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization estimates the both internal and external investment in SEO and SEM in 2004 Internal SEO efforts are estimated to be 618 million $492 million was spent on outside SEO An additional $72 million was spent on SEM technology Marketers are recognizing the power of the search listing and investing accordingly. Search consultants and SEM firms join the internal web development teams in striving to improve search engine visibility of sites. Conferences, and seminars abound.

6. Why SEM/SEO Strategy Matters:

SEM and SEO are a zero-sum game. For every search every day only one marketer gets the maximum value by taking the opportunity to reinforce the brand, communicate with the customer, or even get the order or lead. From the instant a prospect starts to research a decision, or decide they have a problem, you need to be there early or dive into the consideration set before the decision has been made. No single strategy will work for every marketer. What�s your strategy?

7. Why Paid Search Strategy Matters:

In paid search, the winners and losers are clear. Based on your campaign objectives, in PPC search, at every instant throughout every day each of your bids can only be: Too High (wasting money) Too Low (missing opportunities for high ROI) Just Right (perfect bid) The right price-position-engine-creative decision is not static. A perfect situation at one instant is wrong as little as a few hours later.

8. Overview of Google�s SERPs, a Problem Search, Organic and Paid Results

Notice 2 kinds of local results, keyword in listings.

9. Overview of Search Engine Marketing  Yahoo, Paid and Unpaid Search

Auction Listings and Paid Inclusion listings may join Organic Listings in the same SERP.

10. Overview of Search Engine Marketing  Local Search and the IYPs

Dating is a local activity, are you including local portals?

11. SEM and SEO, Different but Similar

Paid Search is more like advertising, you can turn it on and off, control spending. Organic SEO is more like Public Relations. You hire a professional and or do the right things with an in-house staff and there are no guarantees. Large upfront investment pays off over time, if you are lucky. Organic SEO is based on the concept of search engine friendliness and off-page (off site) linking strategies.

12. SEM and SEO, Keyword Foundation

Share your keyword research across Organic and Paid Search. Organic keywords in log files Tell you how your site is currently found Give you new PPC keywords to try PPC keywords that are working Knowing what converts when you pay gives you a goal for organic pages. 70% of people click on the organic listings, but good creative can kick in the paid listings and add huge lift. Tune your site for both kinds of traffic

13. Organic SEO, the key to understanding the voodoo

Search engine spiders are on a mission to: �������Find good quality content �������� Identify that content and separate it from extraneous information �������� Grade the content for clarity �������� Extract the essence of the content on a page-by-page basis �������� Grade the content for reputation of source �������� Understand the context with respect to the remainder of the internet �������� Catalog the URL of the content �������� Keep the cache of the content fresh Generally ninety percent of SEO relates to removing the hurdles in the search engines finding the content and understanding the essence of that content.

14. In organic SEO a variety of tactics combine to improve results

Unique, Appropriate Title Tags Appropriate site copy Anchor text use as appropriate Clean, well formatted HTML Tagging Images as appropriate Spider friendly site navigation (sitemaps, no session IDs, good internal anchoring) Public Relations efforts for linking No Frames, no Flash navigation Description and KW tags as appropriate Good URL formation and CMS technology Content is king!! Brands and publishers have an advantage.

15. Plan organic SEO based on constituency

Not everyone uses the same search words Do you position your site or service differently for different users? What landing pages have you built for your niche targets? Can your niche sites generate user based content? Returning members? Do you keep long-term cookies?

16. A variety of paid search strategies combine to grow profits

17. SEM Ad Strategy: Metrics

Base your search success metrics on business realities & the other channels available as well as what you know about your business. Set business and marketing objectives and use the right metrics. Branding Metrics (measuring lift based on experiential branding and the listing itself) Cost Per Order (CPO) or Cost Per Action (CPA), Cost per trial Revenue or Profit Per Dollar Spent Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) Lifetime Value Metrics, are you factoring yield? Blended Success Metrics that recognize value to other activites

18. SEM Ad Strategy: Target Markets

Do you have more than one target market? Single Female/Male 18-29 Divorced Female/Male 25-35 Students, specific universities Heavy Dater Rebound Dater Experimenter or Promiscuous Dater The Press (general or trade press) The Investment Community Industry Analysts Researchers and Academia

19. Dating Sites Power Strategies

Depending on your business model, be sure to tap one or more of the following power strategies: Local Targeting By keyword Using engine targeting Using local portals User Generated Content for organic SEO Landing Page Testing and Optimization Niche Market Identification and Prioritization Campaign Optimization Based on Pareto Analysis (80/20 rule) Elasticity modeling Leverage PR and Offline Advertising

20. Planning a Search Marketing Initiative

Before you begin organic SEO or a paid search campaign, you need to have fully explored the mind of your target market. Think about what they will search for. Generate keyword list Prioritize keywords by popularity Score keywords by likely quality of the visitor and fit to strategy Score by competitiveness (which keyword phrases will you have to fight for?) Cluster keywords by type of user intent (where in buying cycle, buyer vs. influencer) Match keywords to landing pages (have more than one landing page option ready to test for each keyword or keyword cluster, particularly high volume keywords) Expand keywords into phrases, questions, plurals Consider modifiers (used, new, refurbished, discount, free, cheap, etc.)

21. SEM and the Buying Cycle

Campaign Goals and Objectives should line up with the profile of the searcher. While longer phrases tend to be further down the cycle, short ones may be as well, brands, products, etc.

22. Maximizing Your Campaign: Media / Current Events Drive Search Behavior

Do you use other media, get PR? Here are some comScore stats that illustrate the power of the ad media (Super Bowl) or PR (Oprah) to drive search. �Oprah.com saw an 850 percent increase in visitors on Tuesday 9/14/2004 versus the daily average. Pontiac.com drew 140,000 visitors, an increase of well over 600 percent. More than a half million people searched for "Oprah" or "Pontiac" on Tuesday, an increase of more than 1,000 percent versus the prior week.� Cialis saw huge search volume and site visits during and immediately after the bowl.

23. Best Practices: Go Broad, Go Niche, Go Local:

Keywords are the foundation of a campaign. 35-40% of searches are three words or longer Before you do any search engine marketing, develop a strong keyword strategy. Some tips: Inventory tool at Overture (based on a root word) Google keyword tool (includes synonyms, phrases and related terms) Wordtracker.com AlataVista �Refine Your Search� Teoma �Refine Suggestions to narrow your search� Other Engines with search refinements. Did-it.com�s keyword suggestion tool HitWise, ComScore, Neilsen NetRatings (custom solutions) Use modifiers to go niche and local after you go broad

24. Track AND Optimize at the keyword level:

It�s not only about tracking. Over emphasis on tracking is like driving a car by looking in the rear view mirror: Track at the keyword level for paid and organic Act at the keyword level, tune campaigns based on results Know what your best opportunities are, tie back to strategy Give each segment of your campaign the right level of attention, based on Competition and Volatility Upside Potential Potential for Waste (money for paid, time for organic SEO) Tracking is only the first step, the action plan is CRITICAL. Which direction should each bid go NOW? Dayparting, Day of Week, Modeling.

25. Paid Search, get used to the auction:

Other media budgets and returns are predictable, the majority of paid search traffic is auctioned off in real time: Know how to use creative, tactics and strategies to make the most of your PPC search investments PPC is not a set it and forget it kind of media Decide if you want to pull budget from other areas if keyword prices rise or volume is stronger than expected, perhaps due to seasonality Watch to see if you are bidding against rational bidders, deep pocketed branders or total lunatics

26. Budget Strategies

There are basically three types of effective budget strategies: Pure Direct Marketer: Search budget is �Carte Blanche� as long as an immediate allowable is met Fixed Budget Marketer: Search budget is to be allocated the best possible way based on some kind of measurable success metric Cross Media or Hybrid Marketing Budget: Intangible or difficult to measure factors are used to balance and justify a budget or the marketer uses success metrics as well as a budget. (Meet this allowable but don�t exceed X monthly.) The unpredictable nature of search inventory or competitive activity makes budgeting difficult without monitoring and automation.

27. Beware of Google�s Broad Match:

Do NOT use Google�s Broad Match For Power Keywords indefinitely. Hone the campaign: Break down broad match listings into new AdGroups Hone the creative to the new phrases Change the landing pages to match the search intent Insert Negatives both after breaking out campaigns and before. Higher CTR, better position, lower cost. Your ROI will increase as listings get cheaper and more efficient. Your sales will increase due to more volume and better conversions.

28. Insertion Orders and Budget Caps:

DO NOT Set Budget Caps or ser Insertion orders at the price you really want to spend: Google or the engine will kill off your highest ROI keywords Take control through the use of technology that will cut back on poor ROI terms if the budget will be exceeded Inventory predictions are usually wrong Assumed CTRs Assumed search volume Assumed levels of competition

29. Averages will kill a campaign & your business:

Using historical averages have little bearing on the current marketplace: Look at directional trends Drill down by time of day, and day of week Fine tune a campaign based on the latest granular data Don�t let a portfolio approach hide listings that are actually un-profitable but look profitable when averages are used. Think about each listing as buying money.

30. Creative Strategies: Landing Pages

Always test landing pages as a lift in conversion Ambiguous listings could have multiple good landing pages. Which one works best? Category, Most Popular Product Change the offer (free shipping, flat rate shipping, no offer) Change image, navigation choices, merchandising, copy length, headline Small lift in landing page conversion is a huge lift in efficiency. The multiplier effect works both ways. CASE STUDY Dice.com: Significant double digit percentage improvement in ROI on campaign by testing landing page offers.

31. Profit Maximization Elasticity Modeling:

With Overture and Google, you trade off incremental profit for order volume. However, total profit is more important than ROI/profit per member. Both these options are self-funding. Pick one! Option #1: 10,000 clicks at $.50 CPC = $5000 30 orders @ $500 with a $200 markup (gross profit before marketing is $6000) earn $33.33 per order after marketing cost, $1000 Total Profit. Option #2: 50,000 clicks at $.53 CPC = $26500 150 orders @ $500 with a $200 markup (gross profit before marketing is $30000) earn $23.33 per order after marketing cost. $3500 Total Profit.

32. PPC SEM /SEO and Affiliates:

New Google Policy changes everything. Invisible bid support Full Zero Sum Game Losing control of your brand Competitive emergence Minisites and microsites Are you ready?

33. A variety of paid search strategies combine to grow profits

34. Conclusion:

Paid Search Marketing is a win lose game. Your competition are going to engage in SEM or SEO, and probably are already doing so. Get buy-in from whatever internal departments that need to be �on board� to facilitate both SEO and SEM. Search is part of an integrated marketing plan because of how it fits into the buying cycle. Questions? e-mail Kevin Lee, CEO of Did-it.com. kevin@did-it.com