Search Engine Marketing: Bing Review

Well – we’re early into Microsoft’s release of their latest search engine Bing (code name Kumo, formerly known as Live Search, formerly known as MSN Search, etc, etc), but I wanted to give my 2 cents on the early launch.

I’ve found some interesting things, such as try searching on the words “google”, “yahoo”, “aol” or “ask” (all competitors to Bing), and what you’ll get is one single result found for each. At first, I thought that was very impressive and nice of them – but then I realized, it is completely eliminating all of the other components to those such as eliminating their analytics, or eliminating companies that offer Google services, etc… I still haven’t decided whether this is good or bad – just interesting. Now do a search on “bing” – and you get a little bit of everything. One has to imagine that because you’re on Bing already, you’re probably searching for something other than Bing – but who knows. So I did a search on “MSN Search”… Interestingly enough – Live.com was there – but no bing?

Of course the thing I’m interested in the most, is searching on “Media Two”. As you can see from the screen shot – we didn’t quite make the number 1 spot. This is interesting to me, as I know our traffic numbers are greater than the first one (according to Compete we have more than 10x the unique visitors), the name is used in our title tags, description and our URL – whereas the person in the number one spot is missing it in their description… So just another interesting observation, but it appears that a “.com” address holds more weight than a “.net” address.

One feature I do like is the mouse-over effect on the right of the listings… It continues the description from the meta description into a convenient pop up window. This however, is not new technology as places like Ask.com have been doing it with preview windows that even include imagery for a while now. And I do like that the results seem to be fast, and for the most part pretty relevant – but I think that’s been established in the industry for a while… So what is new and great about this search engine called Bing? In their current preview stage, it just doesn’t appear to be the next best thing in search, and until someone comes out with that, they’re still going to called acronyms such as the one I’ve heard twice already this morning: “But It’s Not Google”.

DOES SIZE REALLY MATTER?

As I "re-imagine" interactive advertising design as part of IAB's new task force to update their new standard ad guidelines, I ask myself, "Does Size REALLY matter?". The answer is less than you might think.



I have a feeling that more people will jump to the conclusion that increasing ad sizes will magically reverse the trend of declining online metrics. Not so fast my friends. The answer is in positioning, not size. Think about it. Where do you see most large rectangle units? Homepages and within content/stories. Now, where are the smaller units? They are on the peripherals within the navigations - where no one is looking. It's not about the ad size of a takeover ad. It's about the take over itself. Same thing with a Welcome Ad. To this point, there has been chatter of getting rid of the leaderboard unit based on performance. The size isn't obsolete, the position is. Hey, I've been on the publisher side, so I undertand the need for buttons, leaderboards, skys. But if we want to really improve the performance of the online channel, then we'll put our thinking caps on and come up with better positioning and user experiences.

Quick quiz: Without looking, which one of these is in the header of this blog? A. Clouds, B. Trees, C. Birds. Don't know? Thought so, but I bet you saw the ad for the Entertainment Book.

(Media Buying Tip: Ad networks or any buy that involves remnant inventory will charge the same rate for a bundle of ad sizes (468s, 160s, 728s and 300s) compared to portals or contents site, which put a higher value on the bigger sizes - as well as they should. So take advantage of this and opt to run only the bigger sizes, or the 300s only. You'll end up with better metrics and more importantly, better positioning as well.)

Interactive Media Design

The IAB released an announcement on April 30th that it was bringing together a task force of “TopTalent To Re-Imagine Interactive Advertising” – and as a member firm of the IAB, Media Two Interactive was quick to jump on board.

For years, interactive media has been reliant on great creative execution to become successful. Publishers and sales reps alike are the first one to blame creative when a campaign is unsuccessful, which is why about 8 years ago, Media Two started up a media design division (award winning division I might add!). After so many years of doing great media strategy (which includes a combination of media & design), this is a great opportunity for Media Two to help out in the relevance of interactive advertising for years to come.

Although the consensus with our designers is they’d love to eliminate small ad formats, increase file size restrictions (especially now that broadband is widely accepted), and even do away with the original leader board formats that are typically not as responsive as the larger, 4:3 ratio ads – there is more thought going into it than just that… Look at TV for example… DVR’s and Tivo’s of the world are fast-forwarding commercials. Unless the 30-second spots become a Super Bowl caliber entertainment value, people are tuning out most of them. So what you are seeing are more and more product placements within the content themselves... With the advent of Social Media online and consumer interaction at its highest – let’s figure out how to create a non-intrusive placement that consumers want to interact with, can create that coveted brand awareness, and oh yeah, publishers can make their money so the online experience continues to be a free one. I don’t believe TV made a mistake – I believe the consumer experience evolved past that – so let’s not model an online ad experience after one that consumers have already passed by. I’m looking forward to our interaction and involvement with the IAB – as this will be changing the way we work for years to come! If you want to keep updated on things progress, I encourage you to follow our Creative Director Rachel Rumsey on Twitter – she is @rachrum !

Five words your communications team should never utter

"Now what do we do?"

If you're a marketer and you have heard of the "Domino's Video", you likely have given some thought to what would you do in Domino's situation. So, what did you come up with?

Word of mouth tips and flames spread globally within minutes. You have to react. Doing nothing is clearly the wrong action to take. So what would you do?

If you think because you're not currently using social media marketing tactics to promote your brand or product, that your brand is not at risk - you are ignoring today's marketing realities.

Whether you are actively engaged online or not - you are sending a message to your consumer. Those who think that social media is trivial or a fad or something to be avoided, are totally missing the bigger opportunity! Yes, marketers are faced with risks that present challenges for them online. But the rewards online are far greater. Today's online culture is a modern marketer's dream!

The Opportunity:

A good social media/online media strategy will outline initiatives to create real value for all the major stake holders: goodwill for the brand, value for the customer, buzz for PR, outlets for marketing, revenue for sales, and support for customer service. Additionally, campaigns and the media itself should offer ways for the end user to engage with a brand in meaningful ways and reward that engagement and promote all of the above!

The web is social now. That's what "Web 2.0" has been all about - we're all on the bleeding edge of Web 3.0, as cloud computing becomes standard and mobile cross pollinates with the internet more and more - you had better catch up!

If you don't yet have an answer to the Domino's question - consider taking this step: Gather the team, talk with your trusted agency partner and work together to develop your crisis communication plan.

If you think social media is separate from online media - again - come talk with us. The web is social media, your consumers are online and today, they expect that brands are online and engaged, too. We have the tools to show you what people are saying about your brand, your team, your products and to help you to first, listen and then to join their conversation where it makes the most sense for you to do so.

Times are tough. Search shouldn't be.

Despite the bad economy, computers are still popular and Google is still in business. Imagine that…any way, here are some tips to make the most of your search campaigns no matter the current economic condition. These tips are not inclusive nor are they groundbreaking, but hell, our clients aren’t complaining.

Monitor your accounts…every day

Again, probably a no brainer, but with all the automation that Google offers it can be easy to ‘set it and forget it.’ For instance, Google offers an ‘optimize’ ad serving option that automatically shows your ‘best performing’ ads. Google determines performance by CTR. So what if your campaign needs to back to a certain CPA, but some of your highest converting ads have low CTRs? They won’t show. You can’t ignore the human element.

Keep your ad copy fresh and keywords relevant

This suggestion isn’t to say that you need to be changing your ad copy constantly. Let your campaign gain some traction then analyze which ads are not delivering according to your performance metrics. It’s surprising what a few minor changes can do. For example, for one of our clients, I just changed the headline in the ad and left the body the same. It is now the best performing ad in terms of conversions for the month. As for keywords, make sure they are backing out to your goals (clicks? conversions? cpc?). Those goals will determine how you go about optimizing your keywords. General keywords have a tendency to negatively skew metrics, make sure your keywords are relevant to your audience.

Adjust your bids

The search landscape is constantly changing, it’s important to keep a close eye on your keyword bids as competitors are always making moves to secure that prime real estate. So with your performance metrics in mind make the necessary adjustments to remain competitive, but efficient. Another area where Google provides automation, but again, if you’re in your accounts everyday there’s no need.

Ongoing Research

Google offers a variety of helpful research tools when it comes to mining for new keywords. So use them! It may spark new ideas for your campaign. Think about what themes you may be missing from your target market. It’s rare to see a campaign go from start to finish without needing an infusion of ad groups and keywords. You never know, it could save your campaign.