Silicon Alley Insider has provided a nice summary of Google’s moves to boost revenues and cut costs over the last few months. And no, if you noticed more ads on Google’s search pages, it’s no accident.
Here are eight ways in which Google is driving revenues, followed by two ways it is cutting costs…
Compiling keyword lists is an integral part of search engine marketing. It’s arguably an integral part of niche research too. But if you’re relying solely on ‘keyword tools’ to compile your lists, you may be missing out on some significant opportunities.
By their very nature, tools that track the popularity of keywords are retrospective, rather than forward-looking. On that basis, if you’re able to identify terms about to become popular - or jump on terms that have just become popular - you may be able to achieve some quick, significant wins in terms of generating and converting traffic.
Therefore a sound approach to keyword compilation is to use a good tool to identify the quality words in your niche, as well as use a ‘nose for news’ to identify promising words.
MarketingSherpa recommends using a two-step approach where you begin with proprietary research to compile an initial list, and then use a reliable tool to generate a more finely tuned list. To compile the general list:
1. Consider your own product names, terms used on your site, and internal site search query terms.
2. Look at industry marketing materials, press releases and similar content.
3. Research online forums, blogs and social media sites for what words your target audience is using.
4. Perform competitive analysis of how other companies are positioning their sites and search ads.
After your initial research is done, the next step is to use a keyword research tool to fine-tune your overall list:
5. Use the tool to generate additional, related terms.
6. Check your existing list for estimates of search volume and competition ie. for pay-per-click (PPC) and organic search engine marketing purposes.
7. Look through historical search queries for any unusual search syntax to help you generate new search phrases
Yahoo has released a new zip code targeting feature for Panama search advertisers that allows them to direct ads to searchers based on their zip codes.
The service comes with an interactive mapping interface that allows advertisers to specify cities and zip codes and is more precise that the geo-targeting feature in Google Adwords which is only city-specific.
Yahoo’s service - like Google’s geo-targeting feature in Google Adwords - is based on identifying a searcher’s IP address, as well as some other factors. As such, it’s not fool-proof and Yahoo notes that the accuracy of its geo-targeting is not guaranteed.
Currently, the service supports cities and zip codes in approximately 3,500 municipalities in the U.S and Canada.
Source: Zachary Rodgers, “Yahoo Adds Granularity to Local Search Ads”, The ClickZ Network, October 20, 2008
Google has begun testing video ads aimed at specific YouTube searches.
Much like how Google AdWords serves up ads based on search phrases, Google wants to serve up video ads that match the search phrases typed into YouTube’s search box.
The idea is that when someone types in a phrase, up will come a video ad, along with the search results. The ad will, for example, link to the advertiser’s YouTube channel.
YouTube spokesman Aaron Zamost says Google is currently testing “a wide range of options to find the right advertising format, for the right content.”
Source: Miguel Helft, “Search Ads Come to YouTube”, The New York Times, October 13, 2008
comScore’s expanded search query report for August indicates that YouTube, not Yahoo, is the second most popular ’search engine’.
In August 2008, web users conducted 2.5 billion searches on YouTube, compared with 2.4 billion on Yahoo.
Source: Miguel Helft, “Search Ads Come to YouTube”, The New York Times, October 13, 2008
If you run banner ads, you may wonder what kind of click-through rate (CTR) you should be targeting. Well, according to MarketingSherpa… don’t worry too much about it!
The thinking is that since display or banner ads are primarily a branding tool, CTRs are a by-product rather than an objective.
Still, as MarketingSherpa point out, the higher your CTR, the more successful your ad is likely to be in terms of resonating with your target audience.
My take: accept a lower CTR (compared with paid search ads), but keep track of industry benchmarks. While the aim may not be to get clicks, the CTR is still an indication of the effectiveness of the ad.
So what are the industry standards? What is a reasonable CTR to aim for? A study by MarketingSherpa reveals different average CTRs for different banner sizes:
So now you have some benchmarks. But remember, a lot will also depend on your target market, where you run your ad, and the placement of your ad on a given website and webpage, among other things.
The deal allowing Google to run ads against Yahoo search results sure has stirred up the media industry. Now the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) - a group representing newspaper publishers across the globe - has voiced its dissent over the deal.
WAN has stated that the agreement will limit competition, increase search ad prices, and exacerbate Google’s domination over the Internet advertising industry.
Members of WAN don’t just rely on Google and Yahoo for advertising revenue (as Yahoo Publisher Network and Google AdSense partners) but also buy search ads in order to drive traffic to articles and other content. WAN believes the current level of competition between Google and Yahoo is essential for ensuring both decent advertising returns (i.e. their share of Adsense or Publisher Network revenue) as well as competitive paid search prices.
Source: Kate Kaye, “Global Newspaper Group Pans Google/Yahoo Deal”, The ClickZ Network, September 15, 2008
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) - the peak body representing corporate advertisers - has formally opposed Yahoo’s plan to outsource some of its search ads to Google.
The ANA, which represents the interests of approximately 400 major advertisers, believes, “The partnership will likely diminish competition, increase concentration of market power, limit choices currently available and potentially raise prices to advertisers for high quality, affordable search advertising.”
The ANA has voiced its opposition in a letter to Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Meanwhile, indications are that Yahoo and Google believe the deal will raise prices for advertisers. Writing in The ClickZ Network, Zachary Rodgers points out that Yahoo President Sue Decker’s statement that the deal will help Yahoo “deliver financial value to stockholders from search monetization” can only be based on an expectation that better monetization means more expensive keywords.
Regardless of the ANA’s concerns, it’s not clear that the Department of Justice will prevent the deal from going ahead. As Mr Rodgers points out, given Yahoo’s poor financial health, “the matter may boil down to whether regulators decide Yahoo’s continued health is more important than keeping costs low for Internet advertisers.”
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