Few people can argue
the impact the Internet has had on the world. The World Wide Web affects nearly
every facet of life in some way, and its influence is only growing with the
progression of technology. Anyone with access to the Internet can instantly obtain
information on nearly any subject, good or service. With the advent of this
technology, a way had to be developed to sort through this information. This
gave birth to the search engine; a tool so powerful that the companies with humble beginnings as a simple internet tool have grown to be among the largest, most
powerful and innovative companies in the world. Search engines such as Google
and Yahoo have changed how companies market themselves as they compete for the
top result in any given web search relating to their product or service.
Search
Engine Marketing, or SEM, has become a crucial element in any company’s
business plan. It pertains to data collection and mining through various means,
such as studying customers' Search Engine Result Pages, pertinent advertising
aimed toward consumer interests, and paid placement of advertising to appear in
certain web searches (Panda, 2013).
Search Engine Optimization is the process of associating your site with
certain keywords to help increase the likelihood of it coming up in a
consumer’s search. Pay Per Click, similarly, pertains to company’s bidding for
their site to show up in advertisements in relation to certain searched
keywords.
One might
wonder whether all of this effort is worth the trouble. How effective is SEM
for company’s to devote time and money to simply have their company name appear
in a search? According to current data, it may be more trouble for a company not to invest in sound SEM practices. Studies found that around 70% of consumers
will search for a product review before purchasing. With the rise of smart
phones, 79% of consumers search the Internet while physically shopping to
compare products (Lecinski, 2012). Product comparison has never been easier for
potential buyers. If one product appears highest on the list of a search
result, it automatically appears to be the superior product to the consumer. If
your product or business doesn’t appear on the first three pages, 86% of your
target audience may not see it all (Panda, 2013). Search Engine Marketing
should be a serious concern and priority to any business or company.
Search
Engine Marketers must pay attention to search data and study search engine
algorithms. This is a collection of a search engine’s projections of pages that
are most relevant to user searches, and what words are most likely to be used
together. For example, a company selling baby diapers might seek words like “leak”, “absorbent”
and “affordable” used together to easily be linked to your website, as you
promote such qualities in your product. Search Engine Marketers essentially
strive to reverse engineer results from search algorithms to increase their
page’s chances of coming up in any given search. Their success is measured by
the Click-Through-Ration (CTR), indicating the number of consumers clicking on
the link for a site. The factors affecting CTR include a link’s position on the
search results (or ad positioning), the brand and company-specific words used
and even just the length of the search itself (Ghose and Yang, 2007).
Of the
various techniques used in SEM, many agree that the most effect is the Pay Per
Click model. While SEO may increase the odds of a website being viewed, PPC is
a more competitive, and potentially rewarding, option for businesses. Search
engines like Google track the CTR of advertisements related to searches, and
those with the higher CTR will be placed near the top of the results page. This
gives greater incentive for companies to improve their Search Engine Marketing
strategies, while also providing money for the search engine itself. In 2007,
PPC marketing was the primary moneymaker for major search engines (Panda, 2013).
A search
engine is a powerful marketing tool for any business. I can honestly say that a
day doesn’t go by without my performing at least one Google search. Building an
online brand is key for any far-sighted business, and Search Engine Marketing
is how your online brand will be seen. Gone are the days where a television or
radio commercial spot during “prime time” is the height of advertising. What
determines a company jumping from merely “good” to “great” depends on the spot
they occupy in a search result. Understanding the difference between being the
first result and the fiftieth can mean success or doom for your brand. This is why it is imperative that Search
Engine Marketing occupy a key spot in any company’s marketing plan.
References:
Tapan K. Panda (2013), Search
Engine Marketing: Does the Knowledge Discovery Process Help Online Retailers?, IUP
Journal of Knowledge Management.
Ghose A and Yang S (2007), An Empirical Analysis of Search Engine
Advertising: Sponsored Search and Cross-selling in Electronic Markets, NET
Institute, September.
Lecinski J (2012), Zero Moment of Truth, Free Press.
