Just as web search becomes part of daily life for consumers and online marketers, so the remit of search-engine marketing (SEM) agencies is evolving. While the agencies started out by helping clients get their brands to the top of search results, strategies have become more sophisticated and scientific. The focus has shifted from getting to the top of the list at all costs to giving clients the best return on their investment.
Today, according to Nicholine Hayward, marketing director of Weboptimiser, "a good search-engine marketing company won't just get you to the top of search engines or bring you traffic, but will also help you to identify new opportunities, size up the competition, develop effective creative, test before rollout, maximise response, optimise fulfilment, gather data for managing customer relationships and account for every penny."
Suddenly, the old names of companies no longer seemed appropriate. Cue a spate of recent rebrandings: Corporem Global is now Latitude; Web Site Positioning Services (WSPS) has become The Search Works, and AdvancePositions.com is mSearch. All these rebrands set out to show clients that the industry is growing up, is on the cusp of going global and is more service-orientated.
Many see these renamings as a signal that the main players are making a concerted effort to distance themselves from the vague, technical labels they gave themselves at the height of the dotcom boom. Players also want to use names that travel well; for example, WSPS is a bit of a mouthful for the Czechoslovakians and Japanese, while The Search Works rolls off the tongue much more easily.
"These rebrands are really a reflection of the global nature of the SEM industry and the direction in which it is heading. The leading agencies have all rebranded because they want to highlight the global capacity of their business," says Jim Brigden, COO of The Search Works. "They also say a lot about the stage of maturity the industry has so rapidly reached - that those at the top have taken the time to concentrate on, and redefine, their corporate identities."
Both Latitude and The Search Works specialise in SEM on the pay-per-click (PPC) side of the business; that is, they help clients to buy keywords that place their brand high up the listings of sponsored links. As neither are part of larger agencies, their relaunches also aim to position their companies as specialists in an increasingly competitive sector, in which many full-service agencies now offer SEM services.
Brigden argues that specialism is vital in such a complex, fast-changing environment. He warns clients against taking on one of the many outfits that are "trying to capitalise on the growth, and pretending to specialise in search, when they don't allocate the appropriate resources to it".
In contrast, WPP-owned mSearch chose to rebrand in January to reflect its part in the integrated online offer of mOne, which formed in 2003 with the merger of the interactive divisions of media agency MindShare and below-the-line agency OgilvyOne.
Brand building
According to Gavin Ailes, managing director (commercial) at mSearch, the rebranded outfit is increasingly picking up clients who want to make use of mOne's integrated services. "The rebranding is partly to align ourselves with the mOne brand and take a more international positioning, but it is also about being able to deal with a large client's total requirements," he points out. "A lot of agencies look at search in isolation, but we can look at all aspects and see if the budget is better off elsewhere, such as affiliate marketing, for instance."
Ailes argues that search is not always the best option for clients who approach mSearch: "For example, SEM isn't always the best thing for brand-building. In some cases it may be better for clients to tone down the search and ramp up the banner advertising."
As well as refining their position in the market, many observers believe all these agency rebrands show players are trying to educate clients about the medium.
Search has shown phenomenal growth. The IAB values it at one-and-a-half times the size of the UK cinema advertising market, and a Piper Jaffray survey predicts its global market will be $7bn (拢3.7bn) by 2007.
But, many big brands still have a poor search strategy. When The Search Works rebranded in February, it unveiled some research of the official sites of FTSE 100 companies. It reported that about two-thirds (64 per cent) of these firms did not appear on the first page, or among the top 10 results, of an online search using keywords pertinent to their business, such as 'travel' or 'insurance'.
Another study, published by Screen Pages in March, shows the retail sector is weak when it comes to SEM. It chose a sample of 18 well-known high-street retailers, including Debenhams, Tesco, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Boots, TopShop and Next. It found only 28 per cent of high-street retailers have broad coverage of their sites' pages in all the major search engines.
Search strategy
Screen Pages found that only half of those it surveyed showed evidence of a search strategy. Of those that did, only five gained first-page search results on Google for lucrative, generic terms and only two made it into the top three for their primary search term. The moral is that many brands - even major blue-chips - are not implementing strategies as sophisticated as possible with the current technology and expertise in SEM companies.
Problems are not hard to find, says Simon Blezard, head of sales and marketing at Latitude: "Go to www.espotting.com and type the word 'mortgages' into the search engine." At the time of writing, this brought up a list that ranked NatWest at number six, with eSpotting disclosing that the brand was paying 拢3.76 for every user who clicked through on this listing. Intelligent Finance was one slot above, paying 拢3.77 per click, but one slot below NatWest was Mortgage Credit Problems, which was only paying 拢1.59 a click. "Companies like this are wasting loads of money. In this case, NatWest was wasting 拢2 on every click," claims Blezard.
The response of Marc Ames, NatWest's senior marketing communications manager, highlights the complexity of SEM: "The list price is not always a true reflection of the price E paid." He adds: "Often, bidding tools only allow you to bid every hour, so you cannot change your bid every minute, which means a snapshot is not always a true reflection of the situation." To get round this, NatWest uses bidding software, coupled with agency staff who manually bid a few times an hour. Its agencies are MediaCom and Netrank. Thus, he reckons, this 'snapshot' does not reflect NatWest's search strategy.
However, Ames agrees with Blezard that many blue-chips are not as clued-up as they should be. "We have a weekly meeting with our agency and get a good idea of what our competitors are up to. He's right - it's easy to pick out those that aren't optimising correctly. There are clients that pay more than they should. Maybe it's because they're doing it in-house or they're not as proficient. It's an area that needs an expert agency. I also think you need an agency that does SEO and PPC for a holistic view, so you can maximise both. In terms of our online marketing, search is number one in terms of importance and we're increasing our spend too - it's a very effective area for us."
Good SEM agencies can help clients manage bids for listings intelligently, achieving the smallest possible price gaps between listings, using software that automatically drops or raises the cost of a bid, according to current circumstances. This software has become so sophisticated and scientific that it adapts to factors proven to affect the bidding process. For example, users tend to search for different information after 6pm than during the working day, and brands must be in tune with what they are looking for, so that they don't overpay for keywords.
All SEM agencies use bid-management tools - proprietary software of their own or bought-in products - which are becoming more sophisticated. As Tim Brown, UK managing director of 24/7 Real Media, points out: "Managing bids to ensure prime positioning is becoming increasingly complex as companies like Google and Overture have different criteria for positioning."
As well as different search engines, today's software needs to work across different languages and manage a range of keywords simultaneously in real-time. Agencies are constantly trying to improve software's ability to report back instantly E on the optimum cost-per-acquisition, so clients can make more informed campaign decisions. One of the biggest advantages of paid-for search listings is that they are scalable, easily trackable and demonstrate a clear ROI.
But, with fierce competition pushing up bid prices for prime listing slots, marketers who are savvy with their budgets are considering other tactics to get noticed. While the position in a list is still important, it is no longer the be-all and end-all, and there is much debate over whether the difference between slots five and six on page one make much difference to results. One area that experts are starting to focus their energy on more is hunting down consumers with intent to purchase by bidding on the most relevant keywords, rather than generic ones.
For Chrys Philalithes, marketing director at Espotting, the biggest change she has seen in SEM agencies over the last few years is their focus on users: "They're getting a lot better at really understanding consumer trends and habits. What consumers demand today, tomorrow and in a year is very different, and in paid listings you have to have your fingers on the pulse."
The most significant change that she has noticed in the way consumers search is that they are adding their own qualifiers: "Consumers won't just look for 'flights'. They will often add a price-qualifier and search for 'low-cost flights'. Good SEM is all about understanding consumers better. It's also about not just seeing it as booking ad space," says Philalithes. "When you buy a poster ad and put it up, you can't change it mid-campaign. With paid-for search, you can continually make changes, which could affect how much the campaign works for your brand."
Call-centre converts
Digital agency Moonfish works for Co-op Holidays. 北京赛车pk10 manager Paul Carysforth has found that generic keywords such as 'holiday', which are much sought-after by bidders, do not convert as well for the brand as more refined phrases such as 'flights to the Caribbean'. He explains: "Most companies worth their salt won't go for generic words as much as niche words, which catch users who are actually looking to buy. With generic words, it's much harder to understand the mindset of the user."
Consumers telephoning the call centre (which is also taken into account when setting a search strategy) buy many of the Co-op's packages. "We look at which holidays are converting better in the call centre and tie them into the keyword search. For example, the Co-op is strong in holidays in Majorca and the call centre finds them easier to convert," adds Carysforth.
But, as more clients wake up to the power of SEM, prices are rocketing.
Some even say the industry is close to saturation-point and prices are unsustainable. Many others say the future is not in paid-for listings at all, but in improving a brand's position in natural, organic searches; there, slots cannot be bought and are set by search engines independently, based on their own criteria for the design, visits and a relevant web site.
Rising in these rankings is a slow process, but many experts argue that, ultimately, it's more worthwhile than reaching the top of paid-for listings.
Mike Grehan, chief executive officer of Smart Interactive, goes as far as to say that paid-for listings should only be used for tactical campaigns - such as product launches - and that brands should focus on natural-search listings. In other words, forward-thinking brands should focus on a natural 'search-engine optimisation' (SEO) strategy.
Grehan believes the current obsession with paid-for listings is only because brands are "failing miserably" to understand how organic listings work. "Organic is a lot harder, so many brands find it easier to buy advertising in paid listings. But it's just like traditional ads - editorial is far more powerful," he says.
"If you really want to be successful in SEM in the future, you want to be with an agency that realises that, in the long term, you should aim for the top 10 listings on organic searches," he adds. "But lots of agencies still don't get it."
A SELECTION OF SEARCH ENGINE SPECIALISTS
Ambergreen Internet Marketing
Founded: 2001
Employs: 20
Offices: Edinburgh
www.ambergreeninternet marketing.co.uk
Key personnel: MD Tino Nombro and technical director Grant Whiteside
Key clients: Hamleys and Marks & Spencers
Money
Neutralize (*/*)
Founded: 1999
Employs: 10 full-time, four part-time
www.neutralize.com
Key personnel: MD Lucy Cokes, CTO Edward Cowell
Offices: Cornwall
Key clients: Christmastime UK, Justtheflight.com and the Eden Project
24/7 Search
(24/7 Real Media division)
Founded: 1995
Employs: 42 in UK and 330 globally
Offices: US, Canada, Europe, Australasia and Asia
Key personnel: Director Rob Wilson, commercial director Richard Foster
and UK MD Tim Brown - 24/7 Media
Key clients: NTL and E-Spares
Founded: 1997
Employs: 20
Offices: Edinburgh, London and Madrid
www.bigmouthmedia.com
Key Personnel: MD Steve Leach, marketing director Heather Luscombe and
operations director Lyndsay Menzies
Key clients: British Airways, Bank of Scotland, Sony PlayStation, MTV,
Sony Ericsson, Laura Ashley
Latitude (Formerly Corporem Global)
Employs: 50
Offices: London and Warrington
www.searchlatitude.com
Growth Revenue rose 60 per cent each quarter for last 12 quarters, and
predicts 拢18m turnover for 2005
Key clients: Tesco Personal Finance, Alliance & Leicester, and Freemans
catalogue
mSearch (Formerly Advancepositions.com)
Founded: 1998
Acquired by WPP in 2000
Employs: 20 in the UK and 35 worldwide
Offices: London; network spans 47 global markets
www.msearchgroup.com
Key personnel: Richard Collins, who founded AdvancePositions.com
Key clients: IBM, Ford, Sony, Abbey and Cahoot
The Search Works (Formerly WSPS)
Founded: 1999
Employs: 45
www.thesearchworks.com
Key personnel: CEO Nick Hynes, CFO Stephen Rust, marketing director
Caroline Taylor and COO Jim Brigden
Offices: London and Telford
Key clients: First Choice, The Carphone Warehouse, Loot, lastminute.com
and Monster.co.uk Weboptimiser
Founded: 1996
Employs: 20 in UK
Offices: London and out-source partners in Bucharest, Romania
www.weboptimiser.com
Key personnel: marketing director Nicholine Hayward and CEO David White
Key clients: Nestle PowWow, Trailfinders, Hitachi, Marks & Spencer,
Chartered Institute of Marketing, Hemsley Fraser and Avenir Telecom
This is a selection of agencies offering only SEM services - many agencies offer search marketing as part of a wider service.
COMIC RELIEF ACHIEVES RECORD POUNDS 4M ONLINE DONATIONS
For the third Red Nose Day push that Bigmouthmedia has handled, the SEM agency was briefed by Comic Relief client Martin Gill to get its charity site to the top of the natural search listings in time for an awareness drive, starting on 1 February.
The agency was involved from the site-planning stage to advise on maximum search compatibility, so that search engines were most likely to name the site high in their natural search listings.
Bigmouthmedia focused on guiding users directly and easily to the area of the Comic Relief site they were looking for; to register an event, buy accessories, learn about projects or donate.
"To maximise robust search engine exposure, particularly on Google, Yahoo! and MSN Search, we ensured the site was ethically coded, content-rich and fully navigable," says Heather Luscombe, online marketing director at Bigmouthmedia.
The site's many functions made the keyword strategy complex and the agency had to register many word variations. As well as ensuring the obvious 'Big Hair Day' and 'Comic Relief' would lead direct to the official site, the agency had to consider more generic charity words.
Meta-data was compiled for each page of the site based on crucial keywords and embedded content. Old listings were moved to the new site and Bigmouthmedia contacted search engines directly to update old directory listings to fit the 2005 campaign priorities.
The result was that a record number of searchers were driven to the official site. More than 1.1 million unique users made some 拢4 million in online donations - double the total ever processed by the charity online. It achieved more than 200 number-one listings for the main keyword targets.
And Hitwise reported that rednoseday.com was the top web site within its category on Comic Relief day - 11 March 2005 - with a 14.6 per cent market share.
SCREENSELECT REVIEWS STRATEGY
The web has revolutionised the DVD-rental market by enabling firms to showcase thousands of films in a consumer-friendly way, but more players are cottoning on to this lucrative sector.
ScreenSelect.co.uk has a library of some 30,000 films and multi-channel partners such as Tesco, MSN and Dixons. It had handled PPC in-house, but with rising competition it invested in software to automate the bid process and cut hours. Yet, the software could be slow to react to keyword changes.
In July 2004, ScreenSelect hired mSearch to review its strategy. The agency explained how sites can reach the top of both organic and paid-for listings. It researched the market and recommended a targeted search programme to boost subscribers and protect the brand.
This consisted of a PPC strategy, which built a more targeted bank of keywords, reviewed the copy used in list entries to attract relevant customers, suggested bid-management software, and improved site architecture.
"By taking time to get under the skin of our business, they were able to devise the most targeted search programme, using appropriate technologies to suit our needs," says Jamie Jaggard, marketing manager.