The History and Evolution of Paid Search

The History and Evolution of Paid Search Paid Search has come a long way since its “official” inauguration back in 1996. Of course, paid search has presented itself in various formats since then and many providers have come, gone, purchased one another, and rebranded. At Greenlight we strive to be the best at delivering paid search campaigns; we also take a pride in knowing and researching how the discipline has evolved over time. Has Google always had the greater market share? How has Quality Score evolved? Who was the first to offer paid inclusion? These are all questions that we often get asked and hopefully will address in the three page summary below. In researching this topic we came across a number of sources that also looked at the history of PPC, however most appeared to focus purely on Google, or on a limited date range. Our History of PPC... Read full article

Integrating Social Media with Paid Search

Social media is user generated content - effectively consumers creating, sharing in two-way discussions about their interests, experiences and frustrations. Social media advertising plays out almost before the buying cycle where the consumer might be thinking indirectly about a product or brand - and therefore is quite a way off from the consideration or purchase decision. Social media advertising is incredibly influential and therefore is invaluable before the search journey for assisting in the creation and shaping of a brand. Social media for search can play out in three ways, the first ‘sharing the experience’ - whether it be positive or negative. Very much like brands such as Trip Advisor or Reevoo who provide open consumer feedback and scoring on products and brands. The second ‘thought of mind placement’ - similar to contextual search, e.g. Google AdSense, display or even offline advertising - mass media advertising but targeted to a... Read full article

Finding efficiencies with integrating Search and Display advertising

The phrase “Online marketing prides itself on its tracking efficiencies” is regularly heard in the marketing world. With the dawn of the 2008/09 recession many advertisers curtailed much of their offline budgets in favour of online channels, due to the belief that return on investment (ROI) and other key reporting metrics could be tracked and accounted for more easily and thus allowing profitability to be maintained. Indeed this can be correct if the right tracking is in place, however if online channels aren’t connected this approach may not only inflate sales and ROI, it can also lead to the inefficient allocation of budget, which in the long run will undoubtedly be extremely detrimental to both the online marketing channel and business as a whole. If implemented correctly however, online channels, in particular Search and Display, can drive the customer journey whilst at the same time improving brand awareness. Search as... Read full article

Thinking of going global…multilingual Paid Search.

“Going global is not an act of good will; it is a smart and necessary business strategy. Establishing a global web presence provides one of the most affordable means of tapping into the international marketplace. An information-rich, well published web site sells your products and services to potential clients around the world 24/7. In addition, multilingual content optimises the effectiveness of your site by communicating with your customers in their language.” 1 The potential in the global marketplace is huge, with almost two billion people (1,733, 993, 741) accessing the internet, of which up to 70% will speak a language other than English. Asia for example, has the biggest internet population with over 738 million internet users. Research studies prove however, that when a user searches the internet, they are still most comfortable with native search engines. Although this doesn’t mean to say the big three (Google, Yahoo! and Bing)... Read full article

Online ad spend has finally overtaken TV - It was bound to happen

This week saw widespread news coverage of the IAB Online Adspend Study, which found that spending on online advertising has finally overtaken TV adspend. It’s not surprising given the current economic climate. It’s certainly in keeping with the trend we have observed in working with our clients and the online market space this year. ROI is king in this environment. One of the fundamental differences between online and above the line [TV] activity is that online has the ability to track the entire process from beginning to end, whereas with TV it can be very difficult to understand the process from first impression/view to conversion - therefore not really knowing how much of an impact your advertising has had on the consumer. Using search as an example, it is possible to create a whole image of the consumer: who they are, their thought process when buying, the keywords they use,... Read full article

Clients should have automatic right to IP

In last week’s Marketing Week VCCP Search claimed to be the first agency to offer clients intellectual property rights, increasing transparency of search accounts. First and foremost, I totally agree with the need for transparency within the search industry and am pleased that VCCP Search has decided to pass on the intellectual property rights to their clients, if and when they decide to move on. However, the idea that this is a first in the industry is ludicrous. At Greenlight, we have been doing this since our launch in 2001 and client retention of IP rights forms part of all contracts. In keeping their IP rights, clients maintain the Quality Score associated with their search campaigns, saving the client and the new agency a great deal of work. The Quality Score itself is saved centrally on the account, making it imperative that the physical account is transferred when moving agencies.... Read full article

Are MPs right to appeal for a re-instatement of Google’s gambling ad ban?

The debate surrounding the changes in Google’s gambling ad policy continues in full force with the news that MP’s are calling for the re-instatement of the ban on gambling ads across the search engine. By overturning the policy in the first place, Google was clearly responding directly to the credit crisis. With advertisers dramatically cutting spend or pulling out completely, Google needed to fill the hole in its revenue fast. So far the change in strategy has proven effective, with the average cost-per-click increasing from £2.50 to £15-20 three months on. We’ve estimated that the annual turnover from the gambling sector could easily reach £300million, if not more, should the bidding war continue. These estimates seem pretty accurate, especially with the affiliates getting a look in now. Having said that, I don’t necessarily agree that Google needs to review its policy in line with its own obligations on corporate social... Read full article