5 SEM Essentials for Brand Managers
from a post on Innovations_DigitalÂ
While Search Engine Marketing is growing by leaps and bounds (specially here in the Middle East), brand managers need to have a simple check list when working with their SEM strategy agencies to make sure Search yields the results they need.
A typical scenario we come across often is when a consumer in Dubai jumps on to google and searches for a LCD TV. Typically, within 0.17 seconds he gets around 6 million + results, but we know he will probably look through only the first few pages. The Search Engine will quickly look through its list of advertisers and place the most popular ones immediately as ads. And, of course, depending on how well the brand or retailer has done on their organic search strategy (SEO), their listing will appear on the page. Â And fight for attention with review sites, auctions sites, an Amazon or two, and a blog by a geek. This is where good SEM strategy can kick in to ensure that the consumer is empowered and enabled to make a positive decision for a particular brand, and a particular model being marketed.
1. Each specific search term (keyword, model name, key descriptor, brand, feature etc) should lead to a specific landing page. When I am searching for âlcd tvâ I should not have to trawl through a Home Page and try and locate Products > TVs > LCD > Brandname etc. How often have you searched for a âcar loanâ and been proudly introduced to a âOur Leadershipâ feature on a Bankâs silly home page?
2. The specific landing page should be a sales tool for that specific offering. If I am looking for a 18 megapixel camera in my search query, oh, please donât lecture me on the benefits of high megapixel. Sell me the D900. Itâs not about persuasion in general (time is precious online), itâs about specific empowerment information. Donât waste the consumerâs time, and donât waste your budget.
3. On the specific landing page you take them to, reiterate the offer you made in your ad copy in the search result. If you have brought them in to your site with a lure of âlowest interest rates on car loansâ, talk about it clearly, re-sell and shout about that specific feature. They did not click on âfree credit card with loanâ â so why put that in your landing page headline? Scream âLowest Interest Rates on Car Loansâ.
4. Be clear on context (see above) and be clear on content. Make all the information easy to understand, the offer transparent and clear, and the benefit of a purchase decision easy to see and understand. Gather the information you need â ask nicely, and give the consumer what they are looking for  â which for the most part is a sense of direction, assurance and the enablement of a positive decision in your favor.
5. Youâll be tempted to say a lot since you have already started a conversation per se, but here brevity is key. Try not to provide dozens of links to your main company home page, other product pages, corporate mumbo jumbo etc. When youâre saying too much you end up not saying whatâs really key. And what you say should be relevant â locally contextual, available, and immediate.
Do, of course ake sure that your organic search works hand in hand with SEM, and that your website content â particularly the landing page you created (yes! specific to the keywords you bought) has all the right words in there.
When working with your Search agency, or even developing a basic strategy, set goals and tick the 5 SEM Tips above. Youâll be five steps closer to the consumer making the decision that you want him or her to make â in your favor â right there. And armed with that, hopefully, heâll click through to buy, or head off to the nearest retailer. Or bank, as the case may be.
Innovations_Digital is part of UM, and a digital marketing specialized agency that delivers online, mobile, search and social media solutions. Published in a blog post on InnovationsDigital.com :
(http://www.innovationsdigital.com/2011/10/5-sem-essentials-for-brand-managers/)
