Interactive Seven 2009 Supplement - Marketing Week

MWIB_260209_p009 19/2/09 17:12 Page 9
INTERACTIVE SEARCH
“In the current
economic climate, it
is clear that
marketing budgets
will go down and
even search budgets
will be scrutinised.
This magnifies the
need for costefficient,
highimpact
marketing
techniques”
Mark Rabe, Yahoo! UK
rebates to agencies depending on how much they spent with Google, has
come to an end. Duncan Parry, co-founder at digital agency Steak, says:
“The ending of Google Best Practice funding has caught some on the hop.
Contracts will be up for negotiation and/or repitch, while some brands
could consider recruiting search specialists to work in house.”
Parry adds: “The most successful marketing campaigns will exploit the
best of search, display, affiliates, mobile and email to build brand awareness,
promote customer loyalty and acquire new customers, no matter what
product or service is being sold. Managed display is an excellent way of
positioning brands for the next upturn and has a positive halo effect on
other online media, and search in particular.”
Google agrees that search marketing should be seen as essential for any
brand. Dan Cobley, Google director of marketing for UK, Ireland and
Benelux, says: “With search marketing, businesses know precisely how
much it costs to acquire a customer or drive them to an action. Search also
allows businesses to focus very tightly on their highest margin products
and services, to drive greatest profitability during tougher times. Enquiro
and IPSOS research conducted this year found that presence on the Google
search results page was able to lift brand metrics significantly.”
Other advancements in the search marketing world have included the
improved visibility offered to marketers from search companies through
more advanced analytics. Chris Lewis, head of search at digital agency
LBi, says: “With the launch of the Atlas Engagement Mapping approach,
alongside similar products, marketers will have better visibility on whether
search – specifically paid search – really is successful in its own right.”
Understanding intent
Microsoft Advertising commercial
director Chris Ward agrees: “The
ability to combine pay-per-click
advertising with web analytics is an
area which marketers should make
the most of, as this provides an uplift
in user engagement. Web analytics
is about understanding your customer’s
intent, and it allows marketers
to understand more than just
traffic or unique users.”
According to search engine specialists
bigmouthmedia, marketers will be looking to make campaigns more
co-ordinated, both online and offline. Bigmouthmedia head of search
Andrew Girdwood says: “As more companies seek a co-ordinated approach
to their online marketing strategies, we expect to see increased demand
for campaigns that integrate both paid and natural search strategies. Savvy
clients will want to drive maximum value from digital campaigns by leveraging
synergies wherever possible.”
“Clients will expect more and more coordination of their online and
offline marketing strands in 2009, and in response the agencies will try and
develop skill sets for both. This pressure will increase as demand to also
co-ordinate affiliate marketing and internet display advertising campaigns
proliferates, and as a result we’ll probably see more digital contracts leave
the traditional agencies.”
Positive outlook
Looking ahead to the future, the search giants seem confident that the
medium can survive the threat of the credit crunch. Microsoft’s Ward says:
“Search will buck the overall marketing spend as it provides excellent
return on investment (ROI) and visibility of results for marketers. There
will be more innovation around the use and interpretation of data, and
these will be driven further by the use of engagement mapping.”
Engagement Mapping allows marketers to map and assign value to the
various touch points a consumer is exposed to, which presents a more complete
picture of a campaign. Yahoo!’s Rabe adds: “As the internet continues
to open up to users and developers, more opportunities for search
marketers are created to help them
“Search marketers
must demonstrate
strong business
understanding and
apply this to... tight,
strategic searchmarketing
plans”
Nigel Muir, DBD Media
mould their marketing programmes,
yet at the same time the
content explosion poses specific
challenges for marketers as they
seek brand engagement. Content
and interaction will only continue
to grow, forcing marketers to rely
on search marketing initiatives that
are focused and tailored to grasp
consumers’ attention.”
Smaller search engine marketing
agencies also feel positive about
the future, despite Google’s deci-
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