2010 holds the promise to be a good year. People are revaluating their definition of the value of search marketing and its role in the digital marketing mix. Analytics and attribution lead the way as clients look to maximize value for money. The market has been stirred, a little shaken, and is shifting in 4 key areas.
1. Competition: In the last 10 years I have seen the competitive landscape shift, as once-powerful players fade, leaving survivors to spar with some new and unfamiliar entrants. There has been an influx of new entrants into the market and, whilst many will struggle to make massive strives, they all collectively eat away at your market share. Some traditional media agencies have still struggled to grasp digital, whilst the more established search agencies have adapted and now include digital offerings. Some with great success, and some with failure. Surprising, the industry has not seen ‘one stop’ consolidation as much as expected. Digital boutiques, new entrants to search offering in-house consulting services, and technology led companies (focusing on analytics and attribution) lead the way. This is especially true as the economy currently demands value for money. This is a great opportunity for thought leaders to capture market share.
2. Digital integration v digital distraction: Economic pressures are redefining customers’ wants and needs. Digital integration is now a necessity. Digital distraction (an over focus on the diffusion of innovations) does not sway, just yet, with key ROI budget holders. However, investment in innovation is ready to take a huge leap! Search will always be pivotal to digital marketing campaigns and has a role to play across all areas of customer journey. Analytics and conversion attribution is a vital key to success in digital marketing. This is a key opportunity to increase revenue by leading with search whilst simultaneously offering clients integrated digital service and innovative services in the social and technological space.
Q. What do clients want?
A. Simple. They want an agency or partner that is (in order);
> Doing the basics right and focusing on measurable marketing channels in tough times
> Ensuring their marketing spend is integrated across search, display, email, rich media, and affiliate activity
> Ensuring that MI, reporting, spend and ROI is measured and attributed to the correct channels. No doubt you CMO and CEO is banging on your door asking for this? Now is the time to ensure you are maximising your spend. Let’s not mention the ‘R’ word.
> Investing and offering social and innovative technology and future solutions. Market leaders will bring together talent across all areas of their business and apply to the right client, for the right reason, at the right time, and distribute in the right place
3. Investing in technology and web analytics : The economic environment and changing search landscape has made it critical to look beyond the last click to find unexplored areas of opportunity. Search marketers often benefited from the “last ad clicked” model because search was percieved to be far down the purchase funnel. ‘Traditional Search’ has seen SEO take budget away from PPC this year. In 2001 PPC took business away from traditional marketing as PPC was ‘measurable’. In 2003 PPC fought with affiliates for traffic attribution. Between 2004 and 2005 email entered this mix and SEO grew once more. In 2007 large agencies started to look at display and ‘exposure to conversion’. Since 2008 PPC now fights for attribution against SEO, SMO, affiliate, display, email and the rest of the digital media mix. The PPC ‘measurability’ pitch of 2001 has turned on itself. Clients are now savvy; there is a growing presence of technological and conversion attribution solutions from Omniture, Kenshoo, Searchignite, Marin software, and Coremetrics (to name a few). ‘Proprietary software’ is not necessarily what clients want . Companies have to integrate digital processes, systems, and technology and innovate or die.
4. International footprints: The last year has seen a substantial increase in joint US/UK pitches for search marketing. Significant budgets budgets are still available for companies who can effectively market a global footprint and have some presence in key regions such as US (North American), Australia (APAC) and UK/GR (EMEA). The biggest challenge for US search marketers has been understanding the EMEA markets (running campaigns in 20 languages is different to 1 or 2). The biggest challenge for UK search marketers has been breaking into new regions outside of EMEA, understanding the agency and client culture, and how global budgets work. It can be done, but it has to be done in a manner that not many UK comapnies are structured for. APAC and the US expansion can be led from the UK. One of the advantages of starting in Europe has meant agencies should have/could demonstrated experience of deploying service to an international market. The route to international markets is not simple, but agencies are now looking to establish footprints into those markets as digital budgets become global.
To those agencies who have mastered this cocktail – “Raise your glasses for a good 2010″. To those agencies who have not – “Go back to the cocktail bar and work on your mix “
