Search Engine Techniques and Strategies Patricia Neuray, Vice President, Eastern Sales The Power of eMarketing Conference May 21, 2003.

Search Engine Techniques and Strategies

Patricia Neuray,Vice President, Eastern Sales

The Power of eMarketing Conference

May 21, 2003

2

Agenda

The power of search

Defining your strategy

Optimizing your campaign

Q & A

3

Usage

Leads Generated

Market Size

Years in Existence

Yellow Pages Direct Mail Search

25-35 million phone calls/day

10.7 million pieces read/day

30-40 millionreferences/day

200-220 million searches/day

1.7 million responses/day

100-110 million leads/day

$12-14 billion $44 billion $1-2 billion

Search in the Channel Mix

96 years 97 years 6 years

Source: YPPA, DMA and Overture Estimates

Currently 100-110 Million “commercially-oriented” searches each day (U.S.)

4

User Preferences

Consumers report the majority of their online purchases are from sites they found through search results

Source: Jupiter Media Metrix “Paid Search Placement” Report, July 2001

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Other

Tile Ads

Banner Ads

SearchListings

% Percentage

55%

9%

7%

30%

5

Lev

el o

f Ta

rget

ing

User’s Participation

Search allows for active user participation and a high level of targeting resulting in better conversion rates

High

Low

ActivePassive

Catalog MailTrade MagazinesOpt-in E-mailDirect Mail

Network TVRadioBillboards

Internet Search

Target Value

6

Agenda

The power of search

Defining your strategy

Optimizing your campaign

Q & A

7

Multi-Channel Marketing

Source: NPD Online Research

How Internet is Used for Shopping How Internet is Used for Shopping

Shop Online, Purchase OfflineShop Online, Purchase Offline 51%51%

Shop Online, Purchase OnlineShop Online, Purchase Online 40%40%

Shop Offline, Purchase OnlineShop Offline, Purchase Online 9%9%

Search is a key component to your overall marketing strategy

Demonstrates the need to be wherever your customers are – offline and online.

8Source: U.S. online users media consumption, 2002: Jupiter, MAY 2002 Media spending: eMarketer, 2002

U.S. Media Consumption and Spending

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Magazines Newspapers Radio TV Online

Ave

rage

Hou

rs/W

eek

$0.0

$10.0

$20.0

$30.0

$40.0

$50.0

$60.0

$Bill

ion

Hours per week2002 Media Spending

9

Integrating Search into Your Channel Mix

Sophisticated marketers drive overall customer sales through multiple touch points

Multi-channel shoppers are more valuable to e-commerce marketers because they:

• Make more purchases• Shop more often• Brand loyal

Store Sales + Phone/Mail Order Sales + Web Sales =Increased Total Sales

Source: INT Media Group

10

Agenda

The power of search

Defining your strategy

Optimizing your campaign

Q & A

11

Key Steps To Drive Sales

Select and Manage Keywords

Write and

manage listings

Bid to maximize

profit and ROI

Manageconversions

Optimizecampaig

n

12

Select Keywords

Rationale

• Attract users who are looking to buy

• Diversify your shopper types

• Ensure your listings appear on your share of the 500 million monthly unique searches

Examples

• Nike retailer: Running shoes, Nike shoes, Nike Air Jordans, Black Nike Air Jordans

• Book retailer: Mystery books, Books by Scott Turow, “Reversible Errors”, ISBN: 388053022X

• Electronics retailer: Electronics, DVD Players, Sony DVD players, Sony DVP-C660

When selecting keywords, keep the customer in mind

• What would a new customer search for versus an experienced customer?

• Select a range of general to specific keywords that describe your offering e.g. product lines, brands and part numbers

13

Manage Keywords

Rationale

• Not all keywords need active management, especially low volume terms

• Allows you to manage more keywords be reducing complexity of your account

Manage your search terms as a category

• Create categories that mirror your business and/or most easily allow you to manage your account

• Use Category Bidding

• Product lines, services

• High search volume versus low search volume

• Measure performance at the category level

14

Key Steps To Drive Sales

Select and Manage Keywords

Write and

manage listings

Bid to maximize

profit and ROI

Manageconversions

Optimize campaig

n

15

Write Titles and Descriptions

Rationale

Research indicates:

• Perceived quality was approximately 60 percent higher in listings where the search term was included within the title and description

• Customers gave those listings nearly 50 percent higher “likelihood to click” rating thereby giving you more clicks at the same price

Examples

• Search term: Sailboats

• Sailboats from Zephyr SeaCraft

• Zephyr Seacraft sells sailboats to private and professional buyers

Include the search term in the title and description

16

Write Titles and Descriptions

Rationale

• Shoppers use the title and description to decide whether or not to click on a site. If the title and description are accurate and clear, the user will know what to expect once they arrive on the site leading to higher conversions

Write titles & descriptions that are tailored, clear and factual

• Avoid superlatives

• Accurately describe what the user will find when they go to your site

17

Write titles & descriptions that are tailored, clear and factual

• Write unique titles and descriptions for each search term

• Avoid ampersands and numbers replacing words

• When the geographic location is relevant, include it in the description

Title and Description Research

Rationale

Research indicates:

• Users were more than 1.5X likely to click listings that are tailored

• Ampersands and “numbers replacing words” have a negative impact on likelihood to click and perceived quality

• Including the location can determine whether or not to click, resulting in more qualified leads

18

Key Steps To Drive Sales

Select and Manage Keywords

Write and

manage listings

Bid to maximize

profit and ROI

Manageconversions

Optimizecampaig

n

19

Bid to Maximize your Profit and ROI

Bid an amount that meets your target ROI and profit metrics

• Track and calculate your ROI

• Use Auto Bid

• Use Premium Listings to increase traffic when appropriate

Rationale

• The best combination of ROI and traffic volume will ensure maximum profit

• Reduce the time spent on bidding and spend more time managing your business

• Utilize Premium Listings to maximize exposure across the Overture network

20

Key Steps To Drive Sales

Select and Manage Keywords

Write and

manage listings

Bid to maximize

profit and ROI

Manage conversions

Optimize campaig

n

21

Drive Sales

Ensure your the site reflects company image and drives action

• Add key information (contact info, phone number, brands, BBB or Trust-E seals, etc.)

• The content of the page (copy, images, etc.) should be crafted to sell

• Photos should be large enough to see the detail while still loading quickly

• Include promotions or incentives to close the sale (free shipping, percentage off, gift with purchase, etc.)

• The shopping cart process should be easy to use• Easy to add and remove items from the cart• Easy to proceed to checkout• Minimal information requirements• Emphasize security - secure server and image of lock

22

Drive Sales

Know your audience

•Gather key information (connection speeds, browser versions, display resolutions, etc.)

Diagnose why your customers are leaving

•Track your customers’ click-path

•Where are your customers leaving and why?

23

Key Steps To Drive Sales

Select and Manage Keywords

Write and

manage listings

Bid to maximize

profit and ROI

Manageconversions

Optimizecampaig

n

24

Track your Results

Result:• The most cost-effective way to spend your marketing budget.

Understanding how to track your visitors is the key to optimizing your paid placement search

results.Following the traffic through the steps that lead to a sale will enable you to:

• Track conversion by keywords and overall campaign effectiveness• Understand the number of visitors and the source of its sales• Effectively manage your most important keywords• Set your bids to maximize your return on investment• Maximize your sales

25

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Add tracking URL here

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Track your Results

26

Agenda

The power of search

Defining your strategy

Optimizing your campaign

Q & A

Questions?

[email protected]