Moderator: Jeffrey K. Rohrs, VP, Agency & Search Marketing, ExactTarget
Panelists: Anton E, Konikoff, Founder and CEO, Acronym Media Matt Greitzer, Director of Search Marketing, Avenue A|Razorfish Scott Greenberg, SVP, Advertising Services, Marchex T. J. Kelley, VP, Marketing, LookSmart Tom Paraboschi, Director of Advertising Sales and Agency Relations, MIVA
Anton E. Konikoff
How cool is this to be the final session of the show? So, my name is indeed Anton Konikoff. I run Acronym Media in NYC in the Empire State Bldg (55th floor). What we specialize in is keyword driven marketing. What that is it takes the things we’ve all excelled in as far as marketing and keywords, etc. and applies linguistics and sociology.
We all know who the Oligarchs of Paid Search are… being Russian, I know all about Oligarchs. They tend to be rich, good looking (kinda) and content in exile. The big three (Google, Microsoft and Yahoo) are the oligarchs of Search. You’ll note I didn’t include Ask.com… how many of you consider Ask to be part of the majors? (few hands). Well, I do, but we can argue about that later. So can you imagine the world without those three (plus Ask)? There wouldn’t be much left.
So today, we’re declaring June 5 International Second Tier Search Appreciation Day!
In addition to the general second tier engines (miva, kanoodle, mamma, etc), there are also vertical engines like business.com, kayak, superpages, etc. Plus there are the foreign engines like Baidu.
So when should we consider using second tier engines? • Large budgets and not enough inventories on GYMa • Opportunity to lower blended cost/conversion • Brand defense imperatives • Client/boss insists on diversification • Really good looking search engine reps.
So why do I like 2nd tier engines? • Lower CPC than majors (1 cent) • Better and unique positioning • Fewer bidders -> more winners • Different footprint • Tap into niche audience segments • High-touch customer support
Share of paid search budgets • 1% of search market share == $100 million in revenue, $1 billion in market cap – Don Dodge, Microsoft • at Acronym, we spend 15% (incl International)
Important Considerations • Secondary engines do not typically offer conversion tracking • Lack of APIs and integration with big management tools manual reporting and optimization is often necessary • Typically results are not real time – could be up to 48 hours delay • Do not always report on same metrics
More aspects to consider • Features: some do not offer geo-targeting, budget options by campaign, landing page testing and multiple ad copy • Distribution is not always top-notch • Click fraud potential is thought to be higher • Not always clear editorial guidelines
Cost-Benefit Analysis • Spend could be too low to justify effort and time for optimizations • Evaluate based on campaign needs and imperatives • Look for an create profitable niches
Optimization Techniques • Searcher behavior and benchmarks likely to be different from Tier 1 • Launch with volume words that convert well in GYMa • Test broader keywords that are too expensive in GYMa • Ad copy MUST be very targeted to pre-qualify visitors (tight ad roups) • Test, test, test • Monitor query-driven v. contextual • Negatives for Sites/Keywords • Dedicated landing pages? • Share conversion data, ask vendors for help w/ optimization
Summarize • Treat Tier 2 as a serious channel, not just a supplement • Make very few assumptions • Test, the invest • Run cost/benefit analysis • Engage users
Matt Greitzer I’m going to go through pretty quickly 5 or 10 things and a few of the things Anton talked about.
2nd Tier Spending • We spent last year (06) $151,000,000 o Of that, considerably less than 1% went to 2nd Tier engines
2nd Tier Challenges • Operation Barriers – bid management tools and other software aren’t always compatible with the second tier engines. • Quality Issues, Quality Perceptions – We see very good quality off of 2nd tier engines, but there’s a perception out there that the 2nd tiers are lesser quality and less desirable. • Low volume – Do your c/b analysis. Is the amount of benefit you’re going to get from working w/ a second tier engine going to be worth the extra 2-4 hours a week you’ll be spending on it?
Success Stories – Travel Client • Used 2nd Tier engines in the past w/o success • Re-launched in Q1 07 on Miva and Enhance • Driving to a targeted landing page • Benefiting from CPCs 50% lower than other engines • Drive more volume than MSN, and a more efficient cost per lead.
Success Stories from Vertical Search • B2B o Business.com (tech, travel) o Industry Brains (Financial Services) • Travel – Trip Advisor • Retail – Shopzilla, Pricegrabber, NexTag, Shopping.com o 10%-20% incremental volume o Feed management
Scott Greenberg So with a raise of hands, how many people in here are working with second tier engines? (half dozen hands) Are you experiencing success?
Quick Overview of Marchex Search Marketing
1. Pay Per Click Network 2. Contextual Network 3. Search Marketing Services
Marchex PPC Differentiators 1. Focus on traffic quality a. Our won websites plus top distribution partners b. Unbilled clicks at 10%-12% i. (Industry standard: Google 5-10%, Yahoo 10-15%)
(Spends a lot of time explaning the history of Marchex, how they got to where they are today, and what they’re rolling out at the end of the month.)
T. J. Kelley
The LookSmart PPC Network consists of ISPs, Niche Publishers, Mainstream Publishers, Niche Search Sites, LookSmart Consumer Sites, Web Portals, Toolbars, and Meta Search Sites.
So I’d like to focus on these three: Niche Publishers, Mainstream Publishers and Niche Search Sites to show you how we’re going about growing our traffic and increasing exposure for our advertisers.
(Shows a graph of LookSmart Search Queries for One Day)
On our Technology and Services… our platform is scalable and handles millions of queries a day, and we combine that with our customer support, SEM services, campaign tracking, etc.
Tom Paraboschi
I’m going to go over a little about what we’re seeing in the industry.
PPC beyond the majors – why do it? • Reach people where they spend the majority of their time online • Increase branding potential • Extend online reach • Circumnavigate inventory issues • Low cost of entry
Quality not quantity focus • Drive for vertical specific traffic PPC beyond pure acquisition • SEM used to support PR • ATL integration Many advertisers priced out of search network
… and yet reservations still remain….
Vertical transition through the Precision Network • Vertically focused PPC • Spans 18 specific business categories • Lower volume, higher value leads • Developed in response to advertiser demand • ROI • Focused • Now out of beta
Case Studies: True.com Objectives Increase membership for leading US dating site and help drive brand awareness
Strategy Precision Network campaign developed for the ‘dating’ vertical. Mix of brand, generic, specific and seasonally focuses keywords.
Results… (pulled the slide down before I could get the text). Tom emailed us his presentation, you can download it here.
