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Search Marketing: The Still Hot New Media Trend
Search marketing is probably the hottest new media trend in the New Entertainment Economy. It is all about consumers seeking more connection, convenience, community and control in their media choices. That is strong content. More and more, they are opting-out with media options don't allow for user customization. And nowhere is that trend more prevelant than new media.
Places like the Internet as well as cable TV, satellite radio and TV give media consumers more options. We consumers have long been voracious media grazers; for the most part, our choice of media pastures have been limited -- especially when compared to billions of webpages on the Internet, the hundreds of channels on cable and satellite TV and satellite radio on Sirius and XM. All this choice is allowing more media grazing on more multi-tasking media platforms simultaneously. And we are eating it all up.
However, all these new choices means we are overloaded. It really is too much for most of us. That's why search marketing is so vital. When it comes down to it, we still want our media to be easy and simple to find. Despite an average of more than 100 cable channels, we still mainly only watch 7. Of the vast amount of radio stations -- either terrestrially or through satellite, we still only listen to mainly 3-to-5 radio stations/channels. There are hundreds and hundreds of magazines yet most only read 2-4 magazines regularly.
Why is this true? Because we only regularly consume media choices that mean something to us.
The same is true of the Internet. The days of just randonly surfing are long gone. Today, we regularly click through to the sites that are likely to deliver the result we seek. And those results are usually found on the first page in the top spots of Google or other search engine recommendations. Those recommendations are trusted.
ComScore Media Metrix' comScore qSearch reports that the total number of searches conducted on Google rose 36 percent to 2.7 billion in March 2006, versus a year ago while searches conducted on Yahoo totaled 1.6 billion, an increase of 8 percent over the prior year. That's a lot of new searches.
ComScore also reports that in March 2006, search with sponsored ads were up 50 percent versus year ago on Google and 30 percent on Yahoo.
Meanwhile, Nielsen/NetRatings finds that Google and Yahoo are outpacing overall search growth and continue to increase in market share. Expect that to continue.
Some recent stats from the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York:
• Leading researchers project a range of 22% to 37% growth in online search ad spending.
• According to the December 2005 BtoB magazine, "72% of senior marketing execs worldwide plan to increase their spending online in 2006."
• A 2004 Advertising.com study showed 61% of marketers considered the Internet an effective media for providing measurable ROI.
• In 2005 the estimated spend for search advertising was $5 billion. In 2009, the number is expected to double to $10 billion.
For consumers, search delivers specific, relevant information consumers are looking for —- just when they need it. For advertisers, search delivers quantifiable results and a positive ROI -- meaning investments in search ad marketing track performance in real-time and can be modified immediately while still active (instead of having to wait weeks after a campaign to determine results and effectiveness).
Referring to a December 2005 SEMPO study, the number one reason advertisers use search marketing today is to increase brand awareness...followed closely for selling brand awareness. Search engine advertising is both a direct response and branding tool.
iProspect and Enquiro (as well as others) say in separate studies natural organic search results are the most relevant and trustworthy. MarketingSherpa.com (note: an excellent resource for marketers, by the way) says in a 2005 report "organic SEO gets a higher conversion rate than does sponsored search."
That's why the Joint Communications devotes its online brand building maximizing organic search results...
At the conference, Hitwise discussed the insight gained about brands just by looking at search term data. In essence, they say that high-ranking organic search terms linked to the webiste defines the brand; lower-ranking organic search terms are also lower-ranking brand-associated terms.
So how are you doing with your own organic search brand building?
reference SearchEngineWatch article here
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, April 26, 2006,
