May 2004

By Richard Hagerty, IMPAQT

In today's market, online visibility is crucial for many businesses. In the call center industry alone, more than 675,000 Internet searches were executed for terms related to call centers and help desks in February 2004. Many companies rely on Internet traffic for lead generation, e-commerce or branding, making top search engine rankings critical. However, knowing the best way to get in front of your target audience is far from easy.

For example, if a call center is looking to generate Web site traffic by identifying which keywords it thinks are most appropriate, those call centers may be missing out on significant potential revenue. A call center might realize that it is important to make sure it is included when a potential customer searches for 'call center,' but what about keeping tabs on important key words like 'contact center,' 'call monitoring' or 'contact center solution'?

Modern search engine marketing (SEM) has come a long way from the days when the primary method for improving online presence was 'tweaking' a page title and other meta-tags, invisible information included in a Web page. Today's SEM uses both natural and paid optimization techniques and strategies to best take advantage of search potential.

Natural search optimization (non-paid) success requires the development of relevant, targeted key words with attention and emphasis placed on competitive research, Web site design and architecture, content development and link popularity. Search engine rankings are determined by the relevance of the site and the page to the content the searchers request. Closely monitoring your Web site traffic will ensure search engine optimization success.

The most dramatic rise in search has been driven by the recent popularity of paid search; specifically, pay-per-click, a situation in which a company pays a fee per keyword for each time their search result is clicked. Most paid engines, such as Overture, have instituted a bidding process, wherein companies wanting the same search term compete by paying a higher price than their competition for a selected word or phrase. The company's listings are then displayed in the order of how much they bid for that position. Google, however, factors in not only cost-per-click, but click-through rate, rewarding those ads that are popular with searchers. Executing a paid placement campaign in Overture and Google alone will position your Web site in front of approximately 95 percent of the Internet search population.

Search has been proven to have both short-term and long-term ROI benefits. In the short term, companies with sites desiring immediate visitor action ' such as those companies selling products online, those capturing e-mail addresses or companies that provide downloadable information ' can realize the direct benefits utilizing search to attract visitors. Over a more extended period, companies providing information about products or services are able to leverage search to drive Web traffic and educate consumers prior to the actual purchase.

The advance and acceptance of search as an interactive marketing option has prompted a number of companies to develop tools and metrics to measure and analyze search performance. These tools and processes, called search analytics, are based upon marketing parameters such as reach, frequency and impressions, and have been used for years in the direct marketing industry. Marketers are using these factors to improve their campaigns by changing their keyword selections for natural or paid placement, adjusting content and testing landing pages and ad copy to monitor ROI indicators against search term visitor information.

Most marketers understand the value of search engine marketing and its significance as a direct marketing medium, but few know if they are receiving a strong return on their search investment. Success metrics are gauged on each individual client and that client's goals and objectives. Success for a business-to-business site will vary widely from success for a consumer site; therefore, it is critical to understand what constitutes a success for your search campaign. In the beginning of search measurement, success was defined based on the number of top 'page 1' rankings that could be achieved.

However, the industry has evolved to the point where measurement is based not only on ranking, but click-through rate and ultimately conversion rate, which is defined as having your customers convert on a desired action you wish them to take. For those clients who use search as a branding avenue, measurements that encompass reach, impressions and stickiness are important in determining campaign success.

The search industry continues to evolve and meet the needs of the marketing professionals that most utilize the medium. Most recently, several engines have begun experimenting with localized search results, guaranteeing that when site visitors search for 'Philadelphia call centers,' for example, the results are on topic for both the natural and paid results. Some search engine marketing consultants are already experimenting with demographic targeting tools such as geo-location software, which can match a user's inbound IP address against a worldwide IP database down to the ZIP code level, then match against other demographic data to determine factors such as household income.

In fact, according to a recent study by the Kelsey Group, as much as 60 percent of all search engine traffic is estimated to be either implicitly or explicitly local in nature. The result is an immense impact on the local advertising and marketing market. The Yellow Pages were once considered the single most important source for local businesses, while direct mail and print advertisements in local newspapers served as secondary resources for anyone looking for a local business or service. However, local search has continued to grow steadily in recent years and is becoming one of the hottest trends in online search.

The continuing trends of localized search provide businesses with another channel for their marketing efforts, which to this point has been vastly underutilized, especially for the local small and mid-sized businesses. According to the same Kelsey Group study, there are roughly 250,000 paid search advertisers globally, but more than 10 million small and mid-sized businesses in the U.S. alone. Clearly, the majority of those businesses that could achieve the greatest return from localized search are simply not using this method to reach potential clients.

Search, arguably the oldest online marketing method, has finally found its place in modern interactive advertising. The future for search as a leading method in increasing Web visibility looks bright and promising.

Richard Hagerty currently serves as CEO of IMPAQT (www.impaqt.com), a search engine marketing firm. He has more than 25 years of information technology industry experience, including the founding of seven separate technology-based consulting companies.

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