October 22, 2007 | Monday

A New Sophistication to Search

Some staggering stats on UK search marketing have been grabbing the headlines.  The first half of 2007 saw paid search spend of £760 plus million, that’s 44% growth year on year.  In July alone there were 1.4 billion search queries, with 80% then clicking to a website.

Forecasts put UK paid search, when combined with online display and classified, possibly overtaking TV ad spend by 2010.  Furthermore there’s something of a “digital renaissance” in search engine optimisation (SEO) with E-consultancy predicting a 68% growth for 2007 – higher then paid search. Marketers are once again giving their sites a SEO shakedown and building links across the new-look web now bursting with social networks.

But the stat I find most staggering is one that emerged almost unnoticed from a recent IPA survey:  13 per cent of all UK companies do not use any online marketing.

Few, if any businesses, from the smallest B2B consultancy to the largest consumer brand, can fail to significantly benefit from search marketing if applied intelligently.  This basic premise is the same as when search first started and most people thought Google was a sound a baby made.  It’s all about being pull not push.  You have permission to connect with potential customers who are actively seeking, and often at point of purchase, for the product you provide.  But there’s now a sophistication to search that makes it that bit more compelling and rewarding for new and experienced search marketers alike.

You must have noticed that the search results you’re getting back – whether Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Live or Ask – are now frequently including images, videos, maps, news, blogs and even book exerts.  This blended search (or “Universal” if you’re Google) is arguably the most radical change to search results to date.  The motivation behind drawing on different vertical data sets, videos from YouTube for example, is to give the user the best answer on page one.  The byproduct is that it creates opportunities for marketers to get their “brand in the blender” and provide multimedia content that engages.  It means “raising the bar” across your search marketing to distribute and optimize your content on different channels – not just your site - and to place appropriate paid search ads alongside the results as appropriate.  Indeed, whether blended or not it pays to combine paid search ads with organic listings.  Hitwise report an improvement in click through rates of 50% plus when both appear on the same page.

Blended search is a great playground for the bigger consumer brands but also helps with the more transaction driven company.  A short, snappy educational video in the B2B space can do wonders for enquiries and conversion as well as brand perception. 

Less sexy maybe but again offering real, immediate returns is local search which is now a fundamental part of the major engines.  It’s a simple idea.  Say your search is “Indian Takeaway in Islington” or some variation. The search engine recognizes the regional keyword “Islington” and your IP address location.  It spits back at the top of the organic results local business results complete more often then not with map, phone numbers and reviews.  Whether a local business or a national business with local outlets you need to check the contact details, review your reviews and address any inaccuracies through tracking down the sources the local search pulls from.  There’s also paid ad opportunities and clever things you can do in the Map Searches.  Don’t underestimate the significance of this.  An estimated 60% of all searches are locally oriented.

And who can resist the social media and network revolution?  Blogging with recognition in communities such as Digg or Reddit can “powerboat” your site into the top of the search ranking on topical keywords within hours.  Articles, videos or blogs that get picked up by other bloggers or websites will get you much valued links for longer term SEO benefits. 

Blended, local and social developments are opening up search for more transactional returns and brand engagement.  I’ve not even touched on mobile search or how search could figure in video and IPTV.  So I just don’t get the 13% who don’t do online.  I guess, for them at least, it really is unlucky 13.

Matt Brocklehurst, Head of marketing, Latitude Group, October 2007, NMA