Super Search
Working closely with our Search Marketing group, Work Media, over the last several months has really opened my eyes to the vast amounts of money that changes hands in the world of paid search advertising. We have many research tools that use technology such as web scraping to estimate who is spending how much on paid search. I’m used to the numbers now, but in the beginning, they blew me away. There are some companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per day on paid search advertising. If you have ever wondered why Google has so much money, there’s your answer.
But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Search marketing is the most targeted form of advertising in existence. Your ad is only seen by people searching for keywords you choose. In other words, if you are selling spiked dog collars, and someone is searching for spiked dog collars, you’d certainly be happy to pay a dollar or so for that person to click through to your site.
We have the Super Bowl coming up on Sunday. If you are a Pepsi or a FedEx, the $2.7 million dollars you are shelling out for thirty seconds of air time is worth it, because not only is the audience tremendous, but it is one of the few times where millions of people actually look forward to watching the commercials. However, when you do the math, you could buy $7,400 per day for an entire year in highly targeted, paid search advertising for that kind of money. I expect that the marketers buying time on the broadcast will also be buying keywords related to their ad creative. If they’re not, they are missing a huge opportunity to convert the passive experience of watching a TV spot into an active customer connection.
We think that the rumors of the impending death of the thirty-second TV spot are greatly exaggerated. And if you are looking for an advertising agency to do your Super Bowl spot for next year, by all means, give us a call. We still believe in the power of TV. But remember, it’s a brave new world out there. Incorporating search into your overall marketing plan is a great opportunity to make sure your message is getting to the specific people you want to hear it.
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
