Search Engine News :: Optimise Web Sites for Organic Search

Friday, March 12, 2004

Why Is Search So Hot?: "Putting aside search's inherent problems (from embarrassing contextual listing placement to missing higher-value branding opportunities), buying paid listings on search pages is as close to the Holy Grail of ad products as any I've seen. Systems are easy to use. It's performance based. Pricing is transparent. Most important, tracking return on investment (ROI) is very easy. The rest of the media world could learn a lot from buying ads on Google or Overture.
Advertisers buying paid search listings are confronted with several phenomena not generally found in media products:
Lead-based business models. Advertisers only pay when someone clicks on their ads. This delivers actual leads, not just impressions. They like that. It's much closer to directly buying sales. It's very measurable. It's easy to track clicks and ROI. It's much more immediate than branding. I'm a big believer in brand advertising, but these days, business models that can be directly tied to sales win budget.

Simple, text-based ads. Advertisers don't need graphic artists or creative shops. They, or their marketing departments, can create the ads... quickly. They can create tens, or hundreds, of different versions, depending on target audience and target context. They can change and adjust ad copy as often as they like, or swap ads in or out, usually in a matter of minutes.

Self-service buying systems. Advertisers can, on their own, get a campaign up and running in minutes with nothing more than a credit card. Though search companies have large teams of sale executives and customer service personnel to help advertisers navigate the systems and manage large and complex campaigns, this self-service nature puts advertisers in charge. The advertiser is in control, whether they ever touch an ad order entry screen or not.

Transparent, bid-based pricing. All advertisers pay market rate. Rate cards aren't part of the keyword buying process. Prices are dictated by demand generated by other advertisers. Advertisers don't have to worry about negotiating skills (theirs or their agency's). They pay the market rate. As it's easy to track how well ads convert clicks into sales (Google, Overture, and a number of independent service providers offer tools to measure actual campaign ROI), they can adjust bids in real time or cap spending, to ensure all their advertising drives profitable sales.
What a concept. Advertising that's simple, easy to use, easy to track, accountable, and can potentially reach 100 million Americans a month.

That's why search is hot."