How to Drive a Targeted Search Engine Campaign

How to Drive
a Targeted Search Engine Campaign

In the hypercompetitive world of search engine marketing, it is popular keywords which capture the highest bids among online vendors. In last month’s article, The Price of Search Engine Marketing, I had discussed the possible exploitation that many online vendors face in their race for top placement, at the cost of paying for overpriced keywords. This month’s article focuses on how to take advantage of the advertising opportunities that search engines provide without paying hefty bids, while creating more targeted campaigns through “search tails.”

The concept of search tails is based on Chris Anderson’s Long Tail model introduced in October 2004. Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine, maintains that an aggregation of low-in-demand products can hold greater market share than the relatively small number of current best sellers. Consider, for example, a music store that may prominently display only the top 20 albums of the month. However, the store is not making profits off of those 20 albums alone. Instead, the majority of earnings are collected from sales of CDs which are hidden in numerous rows that expand throughout the rest of the store. These more “unpopular” albums can range from lesser known rap artists to Celtic solos. The lesson is: people know what they want and their searches tend to be unique.

Google estimates that approximately 50% of all searches on its search engine are “one-of-a-kind.” This equates to more than 100 million unique searches per day. Depending on the industry, unique searches can be greater in volume and even outnumber popular keywords. Searches are not always as broad as “vacation” or “cars.” As discussed at the recent Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago , users typically enter general one or two-word searches at the beginning of the buying process. At this point, they are simply researching. As they determine what interests them, longer and more specific keyword phrases are entered. In many cases, “Orlando Disneyland Florida package” or “Nissan skyline r-34” may occur less per month, but may yield more clicks and conversions because users have determined what they want and are ready to either buy or take action.

Though high volume terms earn the higher bids, the back end of search activities are more targeted and are often inexpensive for the marketer.

What are the best ways to analyze and pursue queries in search tails? First, determine how search engines handle keyword lists. Yahoo!, for example, rewards advertisers by positioning an ad that is an exact match with a search query above an ad that is a broad match, regardless of bid amount. Google and MSN, however, positions ads based on bid amount, popularity, quality, and relevance. Matching type is not a factor.

Second, take advantage of the variety of phrases that are available in your industry. Determine what differentiates your products and/or services from competitors. What are your business’s offerings? What are the distinctive phrases that are best aligned with your products or services? This will assist in modifying your keywords bidding from a general “books” to a more distinctive and click-friendly “historical war novels.” Add “children’s fairy tales,” “American presidents biographies,” and other types of “books” based on your inventory, and you will have increased the probability of gaining more value for your marketing dollar.

And finally, don’t just concentrate on the “Big Three” search engines. Look to FindWhat, Business.com, or Froogle – among others - to multiply targeted opportunities. Secondary engines may have a smaller customer base, but with the correct keywords they can still reach a targeted audience for a lower cost-per-click minimum than Google or MSN.

In the competitive search engine market, search tail terms are often overshadowed by broader keywords that make it difficult to determine what the searcher is really looking for, and whether your ad will meet their needs. A marketer can avoid keyword bid inflations by taking full advantage of search tails. A more targeted and cost-effective campaign has greater probability of resulting in stronger conversion rates. The goal is to determine where the buying opportunity is, and to ensure that your business is there at the right time.