Exploiting Search to Grow Your Brand

1. Exploiting Search to Grow Your Brand Dean Harvey, Director, Spannerworks

2. Summary • Marketing models (e.g. AIDA) are not being effectively translated into search strategy which is largely direct response • The search buy cycle is influenced by a wide range of factors • Attention and interest are increasingly formed in communities • These communities are making an impact on search experience • Developing content into emerging channels can also help SEO • The long ‘tail of search’ can deliver more return in the long run

3. Three out of four travel buyers use a search engine before buying • One out of two online purchases is preceded by research on a search engine • Three out of four travel buyers used a search engine before buying • Travel buyers averaged 6 search terms before making a purchase Source: DoubleClick, Search Before the Purchase, Feb 05

4. SEM facilitates measurable niche marketing into the buy cycle

5. Search terms from interest to action

6. Drivers • Technology is embedded into social behaviour • Power shifts from institutions to communities • Marketers are having to relinquish control • Spaces between digital marketing & traditional communications

7. “Search delivers receptive audiences looking to interact with your brand. If your business is not utilising this vital tool to its maximum potential, your customers’ online journey to your brand will have ended before it has even begun.” Source: IAB ‘Search and your brand’

8. UK Paid Search: 79% annual growth £m Source: Internet Advertising Bureau / PricewaterhouseCoopers

9. Demand will outstrip inventory • Total UK online advertising expenditure in 2005 has grown 65.6% year on year to nearly £1.4 billion • Internet advertising's market share is now 7.8% • Where does another year’s growth at this rate leave your SEM strategy? IAB/PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC).

10. Search term tails, can you leverage yours?

11. "We sold more books today that didn't sell at all yesterday than we sold today of all the books that did sell yesterday.“

12. How search helps leverage the long tail • Tail data can help formulate content strategy • Mine your search term data • Measure over weeks, not days • Evolving content will help develop your natural search visibility

13. How does it work in practice?

14. Opportunity in search 90% traffic from generic terms, 10% from tail 12.7% annual increase in visits

15. 90% of the booking value is from tail terms • ‘Best Western dean court hotel’ • 200% annual increase in visits • 14.8% conversion rate • ‘hotels’ • 3466% annual increase in visits • 0.79% conversion rate

16. How do we go beyond the sweet spot?

17. Recap: how search engines access content

18. Hotels, cities, towns, seasons, events • Search term analysis drives content strategy • A million visits in a year from natural search • Leveraging the tail

19. Variations on Easter break gained high visibility • ‘Easter break’ Achieved a 2nd place ranking • Delivered 1000+ visits

20. What does this do to my visibility? • 151% increase in top 10 search engine positions

21. What influences the search buy cycle?

22. Websites are more important than TV? • Websites collectively more important than TV advertisements in seven out of 10 product/service categories • % of respondents who cited websites as the greatest influence in their purchase decision: • 46% of Travel buyers • 27% of Auto buyers • 22% of Telecom buyers • 21% of Credit Cards/Banking Account openers. Source: DoubleClick Touchpoints III, July 2005

23. Generate content into the user journey

24. How does social media affect my customers search journey? In a Market Sentinel survey of ACNielsen’s top 50 UK grocery brands, it was found that 40% of them had critical or negative commentary in the top 10 Google results

25. Does social media have a disproportionate influence in search experience? • New blog added every 7.4 seconds • Popular blogs attract links within the community • Content is regularly updated • Use RSS to increase accessibility to info. • Many blogs outrank brands

26. Consider the whole picture • Results for "When searching for more information on a product, which of the following would you consult to help make a final purchase decision?" Source: IAB ‘Search and your Brand’

27. Develop your niche • Integrate your SEM and communications strategies • Syndicated content (RSS) • Buyer’s guides/product reviews/product information/FAQs • User Generated Content, customer reviews

28. If you leverage the long tail in paid search, do you do it in natural search? What is your long-term strategy?

29. Take your content into the tail • Lots of search term rich html content • Press releases • Attractions/locations • Syndicated content (RSS) • Buyer’s guides/product reviews/product information/FAQs • Consumer Generated Content, customer reviews create content • Multimedia where appropriate

30. Content syndication (RSS) • Individualised feeds • 100% delivery • Consumers in control • Bypasses email spam and having to divulge personal info • Can be integrated into personalised search ‘homepages’ e.g. My Yahoo and Google • Building a syndicated strategy will leverage the tail

31. Search demographics • MSN AdCenter launches soon • Brings demographics into play • You may need to develop content for audience segments to be deep-linked into

32. Strategy • Search term research – generic through to specific • Understanding your brand terms • Choose your most effective search terms • Track positions, visits and conversions • Pages built on high converting terms

33. Wrap-up • Marketing models (e.g. AIDA) are not being effectively translated into search strategy which is largely direct response • The search buy cycle is influenced by a wide range of factors • Attention and interest are increasingly formed in communities • These communities are making an impact on search experience • Developing content into emerging channels can also help SEO • The long ‘tail of search’ can deliver more return in the long run

34. Thank you Dean Harvey +44792 0273001 www.spannerworks.com