Internet Search Engines – Used Like Telephone White Pages

For some businesses, a significant number of online searches are for the company’s name. Basically, these searchers use Internet search engines like the white pages of the phone book. Search marketers call these “recovery” searches (as opposed to “discovery” or “functional” searches where potential customers search for features or benefits of a product or service). For well-established local companies, we’ve seen recovery searches run as high as 20% or more of the total monthly phone calls or online inquiries.

Example from a Local Search Company

A few weeks ago, while doing research for an upcoming new client of ours, we noticed a tactic being used by a company we’ll describe as “a major provider of local search”. To clarify this example, we’ll call the local search company the “provider” and their client the “advertiser”. As part of the advertising program, the provider set up a profile type web page for one of the advertiser’s well-established locations. (Each city’s location of this advertiser had different names that reflect local home services companies they had acquired).

The provider optimized the advertiser’s profile page to be found for the advertiser’s specific location name in natural search results. The result: the provider’s web page came in above the advertiser’s own corporate website in natural search results. The provider also used the company’s name as keywords to trigger text ads. We find this situation to be significant for the following reasons:

• If the provider’s profile page had not been there, any potential customer would have found the advertiser’s own page in natural results anyway. The company name was unique with no common keywords in it.
• The provider’s directory page did not get first page results for functional searches like it did for recovery searches in natural results. (If it had, its presence would have been easier to understand or justify.)
• In their reporting of results, the provider co-mingled the results (phone calls or online leads) from their profile page in natural results with those from ad traffic.
• The provider does not supply the advertiser with a breakdown of how many leads (from either ads or natural results) come from correctly spelled recovery searches of the advertiser’s name vs. actual new clients acquired from discovery or functional searches.
• The example above involves advertisers paying for traffic, but a similar situation occurs when a company is paying by the lead. If you hire a lead generation company to provide customer leads, you should set guidelines and specify reports that clarify if or how much you are paying for leads gathered on your company name.

If you have more examples of useful and not-so-good tactics in this topic, please post them. If you need more clarification, post your question or give us a call.

The Art and Science of Effective Websites

A website is a prime example of art and science. It takes many skills to produce an effective website, and it is not easy to find web design individuals or firms that can produce an effective site affordably. If you rely on one individual, chances are they will come from either a design background or technical background. Rarely does one individual have the skills to cover all bases well. Some web builders will partner with others who fill gaps in their skill set or work preferences.

Below we will list some aspects of a good overall website & marketing plan.

• Website look and feel that satisfies the site owner and appeals to/quickly engages the target audience
• Stand six feet away from an average computer screen. Can you tell what your website is about? You should be able to.
• Site structure and content that can be found by search engines (mostly html, limited flash, etc.)
• Provisions for your potential future business needs and uses: ecommerce, databases, etc.
• Built on a standard platform, so any webmaster can modify the site later
• Reliable hosting account that you have login access to for future needs
• Control of your domain name registrar login info
• Usability and conversion efficiency (number of pages, length of pages, ease of use, what is visible above the fold, length of forms, placement of phone numbers, etc.)
• Best practices followed for optimization for natural search, aka SEO. This consists of two elements: “on page” elements such as the way the site is built, meta tags, text content of main pages, attached blog, etc; and “off-page” elements such as news releases and other actions that link back to your website.
• Blog attached to inform/engage customers and provide original, fresh content for search engines
• Best practices followed for PPC advertising, conversion tracking, and phone number substitution
• Simple content management system (CMS) so it is easy for you to make changes to text or content yourself instead of having to contact your webmaster
• Regular backup plan for the website

We welcome your comments.

• Focus on return on investment. Understand that fully before drilling into the details of how PPC works. ROI is the best comparison tool for all online or direct response marketing efforts.
• Understand that PPC is advertising, and how ads relate to natural results, which is affected by a different process called SEO (stands for search engine optimization). Taken together, SEO and PPC are two components under the broader category known as Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
• PPC goes by many other names: pay-per-click, sponsored links, paid search, search ads, search engine ads, Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN AdCenter, and more.
• PPC ads can be used to reach the reader in two different modes: search mode compared with content or contextual ads. Search ads respond to demand at the moment the user has entered a query. Content ads send a message when a potential customer is reading content related to your topic. Examples of content are Gmail, blogs, online articles of many types.
• Text ads compared with graphics ads. Text ads are comprised of words such as those that appear on searches on the Google search engine. Graphics ads contain images and appear around many types of content. They are found in a wide variety of formats, including static, rich media, and more.
• The cost to use (bid on) keywords is based on the demand and competition for that keyword, not on the underlying value of the product or service being advertised. Therefore, tracking ROI is critical.
• If you are also considering SEO, have search engine ads done first. The initial cost is low (compare to the return in new business they can bring you when done by a professional) and the results are both fast and measurable. Make sure all tracking options are used to document what converts to online inquiries and phone leads within your geographic location and from your website.
• Within search engine advertising there are professionals who can set up customized, more “hands on” solutions on Google, Yahoo, MSN etc. There are also more automated programs that can be utilized, some of which include a web page. Other vendors bundle offline products, a web page or even a full website with internet marketing. These programs vary significantly in their traffic sources and tracking ability, so be sure to compare and get references from others in your category. Before taking action, talk with a search marketing professional who offers all products and make an overall strategy before implementing tactics. This will greatly increase your likelihood of success, by avoiding products and costs you do not need.
• The right choice of tactics and vendors for your situation will depend on: a-if you have a website or not already; b-if your website has serious problems and the cost of fixing them; c- the time or resources you are willing to dedicate to writing blogs, writing press releases, etc.; d- the initial budget you set for internet marketing.
• Use the data gathered from search engine advertising (again…what is profitable in your geographic location and from your website) to decide if SEO will also pay a return. With SEO, a website can be optimized for a few dozen search terms, so your are wise to pick your targets carefully. You must have an overall plan, because the sequence in which you do these is key.

With the hope that this post will stimulate scholarly or scientifically valid behavioral research as to the reasons why searchers do not include geodescriptors in their queries, we’re going to have a little fun and go out on a limb with TopSide Media’s Five Categories of Online Local Search Behavior.

TopSide’s Five Categories of Online Local Search Behavior

1. Location Centric
   This searcher type knows that through his/her internet service provider (ISP) and IP address, the search engines, and even some web sites, know where he/she is located. So, why should anyone have to type a city or zip code in the search box?
   To see an example of a web site that recognizes your location, go to www.radiator.com. On their home page, just under the header graphics, you will see your city’s name in bold. Disclosure: I purchased a radiator from these guys recently; and no, they are not a TopSide Media client.
2. Product or Service Centric
   A second type is the searcher who is not aware of how search engines work. They are focused on the features of the product or service they are interested in–not about how the latest search algorithm works with or without city names included. I once had a boss named Bud who regularly reminded me that “customers want what they want, when they want it”. Bud’s advice did not include anything about where, so his description certainly applies to this type of searcher.
3. Swamped
   These searchers are busy and want to type the fewest words necessary. Less typing = faster info. On to the next item…fast
4. Handheld Choppers
   The choppers type on a PDA or cell phone keypad most of the time and always use shortcuts when typing. Even on ther desktp
5. The Search Gamer
   This searcher knows a lot about how search engines work but likes to play Stump the Chump. That way, they get to see the latest tweaks in the search engine settings and do business with the most web savvy local companies without having to type much to start with, or reload the page with more a detailed search. Rather than starting with a highly specific multi-word query and working out to broader ones (like an engineer or other left brainer would), the Search Gamer types in vague, one or two-word searches to see which webmasters or search engine advertisers have anticipated his or her sporting query and can serve up the most relevant results to it.

Why this matters to web site owners

From the perspective of marketing/advertising cost and reaching the customers you want to target (while excluding those you do not wish to reach) this topic matters a lot.

Example: If you provide a product or service that gets implemented locally, such as muffler replacement or a dentist office, you only want questions or requests for appointments within your service area, right? Unless you are selling ad space, reaching web searchers outside that area only wastes your time and money. Consider this: if your city has a population of 1 million and you somehow (magically; in reality this would not happen) could have 100% of the U.S. traffic for the key phrase muffler replacement, receiving 99+% of the search traffic from geographical areas other than the area around your muffler shop would do you no good at all.

The example above explains why effective integrated online marketing includes an optimum mix of optimization for local natural search (SEO) and search engine ads such as the Sponsored Links in Google AdWords. To get the web traffic you want when you want it, you need the right tactics in the right proportions and at the right time.

Like It or Not

Now that you’ve read this, we would like to tip our Stetsons to Click and Clack, the CarTalk guys for this tongue-in-cheek line of thinking.

We enjoy their show weekly, and listening to them on National Public Radio inspired the profiles above as well as the automotive example. If you found this post useful and/or entertaining, please leave a comment and pass it along to a friend or colleague. If you don’t care for it, write the reason(s) for your dissatisfaction into the memo section of a generous check payable to us, which we will use to hire a full-time copywriter for our blog