The mystery of search engine marketing
Search engine marketing has always played a critical role in managing a company’s online brand visibility. However, with the internet becoming what is arguably the dominant medium today, search engine marketing has also become a key driver in a company’s overall branding strategy. Unfortunately, the maturity of products and services that included disciplines related to search engines comes at a time when the industry has never been more complicated and difficult to navigate. Although today’s businesses have many more options regarding how they run their search engine initiatives, I find that many marketers struggle more today with their online marketing strategies than they did a few years ago. In today’s blog post, I’ll share my thoughts on the current state of the search engine marketing industry.
My experience with search engine marketing predates many in the field. In the mid-1980s, I co-founded what was at the time the largest web development company in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Later, my partner and I sold that company to the largest web enablement company in the world, where I stayed for a time as its Director of Internet Strategy before departing to found one of the Top 50 Interactive Advertising Agencies in the United States. United. At the 2006 Search Engine Strategies Conference in San Jose, California, it was clear that the industry has shown remarkable growth and made tremendous strides in sophistication, as well as the diversity of product and service offerings currently available, but I wonder if things are looking up better or worse for the consumer.
In speaking regularly with many senior executives, marketers, and entrepreneurs, one thing is clear … they are clearly not proficient in the area of search engine marketing. While these professionals understand the potential that search engine marketing has for their businesses, they don’t know how to capitalize on it. In fact, many of the people I have spoken to are extremely frustrated by the amount of money they have invested in search initiatives without being able to develop an understanding of the medium in such a way that they have not yet been able to develop a consistent winning strategy in this space. .
The main problems that exist within the search industry are related to the fact that it is still an embryonic medium. There are so many ways to buy advertising in more mature media such as radio or television. Compare this to the many options available to consumers and businesses looking to buy Internet advertising: Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, Pay Per Call, Pay Per Acquisition, Sponsored Advertising, Internet Yellow Pages, Electronic Ads, Advertising contextual, embedded advertising, popup and underlying windows, banner service networks, directory ads, link farms, video ads, webinars, etc. Advertising media in the infancy of its life cycle spits out new opportunities faster than one can imagine, and inexperienced providers move on the advertiser’s nickel. Rarely does a week go by where I don’t speak to a company that has a horror story to tell about a search marketing company that overpromised and underdelivered, and when the advertiser realized what was going on He had spent thousands of dollars with little to show for it.
Another problem with the search industry is that Google currently controls most of the traffic. Combine Google’s dominant position with the fact that they will share little or no data with advertisers and that they can change the rules of the game at any time and you give new meaning to the term “Flying Blind”. However, the issue of transparency within the search industry is not limited to Google. Most search engines play their cards very close to the chest while trying to establish an advantage in the market. Until competitive pressure is exerted on Google, the odds are against the advertiser. I met with a client last week who was spending 50% of his pay-per-click budget on Yahoo and MSN because it was recommended by his search marketing company. The problem is, given the advertisers’ product line and target market, Yahoo and MSN would hardly make a profit for them … This is a big problem.
The fact is, the Internet is the medium that can deliver the highest speed and the highest return on your marketing investment. I also believe that this will continue to be the case, as dominance of the internet medium will only continue to widen the gap over alternative media. Businesses cannot afford not to allocate a substantial portion of their advertising budget to online advertising, but until the medium matures, it will be up to them to make sure they are working with the best providers that can keep up with the rapid pace of change. in the industry. .