What is Paid Search Not Good For...
Writing a column post on what paid search isn't good for. A few thoughts would be inventory (not guaranteed), reach, brand building, etc.
Any other ideas?
Clarification added 3 months ago:
For those that have argued that Paid Search is good for reach and brand building...
1) Reach - (excluding the Content targeting options) with Paid Search you can only reach users who actually search on your keywords (or triggered with broad match). You can't get to those that don't think to type those keywords in such as a local mechanic who doesn't use the web to buy auto parts.
2) Brand Building - Awareness, yes, brand building, I don't think so. I separate the two. Brand awareness is just getting out there. But in terms of really building a brand where users begin to associate themselves with your product...that's something I don't see Paid Search is good for. Now, if Paid Search can bring users to the website and you can build the brand there, that's another story...but the 3 line text ad itself, vs. a video, a brochure, etc. usually doesn't have the same impact.
Answers (11)
Hi Josh,
I disagree that Paid Search is not good for both Reach and Brand Building.
Firstly Reach; the sheer number of keywords that can be generated and paid for at low cost through PPC means that you can reach a very wide audience at pace and with a wide net. Whether or not the exercise is immediately cost-effective would be well-debated but reach is what PPC does best.
Secondly, Brand Building. What other medium offers you the ability to present your brand in front of a massive audience even when relevancy is well, irrelevant (think generic term, broad matched) or even at the same time as your more established competitors (e.g. your competitors)?
Kwik Fit Car Insurance is a perfect example of how a brand WAS built online via PPC as the driver while SEO supported volume and drove down price in the long-term.
Tesco Personal Finance also used PPC to deliver brand messgaes to gauge consumer response. What better way to build brand awareness of a sub-brand?
I see I haven't really asnwered your question though! PPC is not good for high-inventory on low-budget because you simply can't get the value from the long-tail which helps drive volume from the expensive generics.
Make sure you post here when you finish your column though.
Wallace J
Multimedia Producer and i3D Programmer for Acrobat 3D PDF, JavaFX, Mobile & Virtual Worlds
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Simple. That which can be achieved via non-paid search (SEO, SMO, SMM). Cheers. Walls.
Links:
Sandra V
Creative Director- Graphic Designer at Root & Madison, LLC
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Josh-
What are they good for? According to Addvantage Media for YouGov most money spent on web ads is going down the drain because 57% of users rarely or never pay attention to them. I, myself never click on them.
A weird statistic: Click the link below...
Hope this helps
--
Sandra Vanhooser
Links:
Hi Josh,
I definitely agree with the previous answers - paid search is not as useful for building up brand awareness or increasing reach. I've also found that paid search works better for lower-ticket items or impulse purchases (e.g. a $20 book as opposed to a car) and it is more successful with more specific, targeted terms.
Jacqueline Z also suggests this expert on this topic:
Gianluigi C
Consultant @ Traffic4u ★ Marketing Strategist @ Agora Media Group
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Hi Josh,
Don't understand why it would not be good to brand building.
Don't understand why it would not be good to reach.
Could you elaborate?
Brand building via paid search might be expensive, but the pull and place that search takes into the buyer cycle, does make it important. Do not applicate the same ROI or conversion goals on brand building, then indeed, it's not good or worth the efforts.
Impressions are reach/visibility. I don't know what the industry you're doing campaigns for, but usually -depending on your keywords and scope- impressions are in abundance.
Best regards,
Gianluigi Cuccureddu
wow, your getting interesting answers.
I agree with Martin, search most definately can be used for Reach, and Awareness, its all in how you measure your success. Of course, its arguably one of the best direct response channels ever invented.
But your question, whats it not good for? Simple, Search (PPC or otherwise) simply can not create demand. It can't make someone decide its time to buy a product. Its exceptional at leading a consumer to the right decision, once a decision to enter the buying cycle has been made, but it can only capture upon a users desire to research buy etc. Its why we preach thats its just one part of the overall marketing mix.
Rod S
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Similar to Ted's answer, Paid Search is not good for a time-driven campaign, because, practically speaking, you can do nothing to stimulate search activity. This is why outbound marketing efforts are still required for many publicly traded companies, because they still have quarterly deadlines to reach. (Not saying that it isn't a very powerful contributor, though...)
To comment on the "reach" debate - just try the Google Content Network if you want reach...
Paid search marketing works great if you have goals whether it is customer acquisition, selling products, leads, increase page views (to deliver on page views promised to your exclusive CPM advertisers), or testing a new market (because it is quick and effective).
Paid search is only bad if you don't know what you are doing or have the wrong goals that don't quite make the stakeholders happy.
Daniel V
Online Marketing Officer at Canadian Tourism Commission - Internet Marketing Consultant
I would say that PPC is not intended for brand building. It does provide brand exposure but the purpose of objective of PPC is not brand.
PPC is intended for conversion, whatever your conversion...sale, data capture, brochure download, etc.
PPC is way down the path to purchase and is best used in combination with display. As you may know many marketers are trying to get meaning/value to a click-through. And really what is a click-through? what is the value?
Besides branding, I would also say lead generation all depending on what the data capture method. If it is a contest/sweepstakes I would say that you should stay away from PPC. You'll likely attract low quality entries and a lot of sweepstakes chasers.
Hi Josh - away from lots of angst about branding (!) there are a few more obvious things. Paid search is not good for showing a product - think video ads, pre-roll etc. Paid search is not very good for quoting something that requires more than a few characters - think UGC, customer reviews. Paid search is not great at showing off how talented your design team are. Paid search is not great at reaching the (small) section of shoppers that don't rely on search engines all the time. Paid search is not that good for local and regional marketing. Paid search can be expensive, and if you aren't great at converting the traffic, then it can be risky. Paid search is also not great at building relationships with consumers.
I still remain a huge paid search advocate of course!
pete
Dave L
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I would say it's not good for fixing a bad web site. In other words, if the site itself lacks compelling presentation, throwing money at ads will not improve conversions.
