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Search Engine Marketing Review

posted by: Alex  /  12 April 2010

As we know, the business of the Internet is a constantly evolving arena where big advantages reward those who stay in touch with the latest trends.  In this blog post I take a brief look at the state of online marketing, the trends we’ve seen of late, and take a look at the results of a recent survey which give us an insight into what to expect in 2010.

The search engine marketing industry in North America alone was worth around $14.6B in 2009, 8% higher than 2008.  The worldwide recession made 2009 a particularly slow year for the first three quarters, but a significant upturn in quarter 4 has continued into 2010, leading market analysts to estimate 14% growth in 2010 at around $16.6B.

Companies continue to move money from IT and other marketing activities into search engine marketing, and social media now plays a significant supporting role in most online marketing strategies.  The results are pretty much as expected.

• Google dominates, with 97% of companies paying to advertise on Google AdWords.
• On average, companies expect to spend 43% more on SEO in 2010 than they did in 2009.
• Social media marketing budgets are still modest compared to search engine optimization and paid search.
• The number of companies who engage in search engine optimization (90%) has remained steady since 2007, while the proportion of companies carrying out paid search marketing (now 81%) has increased from 78% in 2009 and 70% in 2008.
• Three quarters of companies are using Facebook (74%) and Twitter (73%) to promote their brands or companies.

The statistics above are taken from a worldwide survey of nearly 1,500 agencies and marketers from over 65 countries, but what does all this tell us about likely trends for 2010?

Well quite a lot, but I think the most prominent points to come out of this survey are:

The number one challenge facing search marketers this year is being able to accurately measure their ROI (Return On Investment). 

Whilst this seems like a fairly obvious point to make, it’s worth noting that online marketing will continue to drive future budget decisions, making quality of statistical information a key factor in a businesses overall marketing strategy.  The survey saw:

• 42% of respondents citing return on investment as their biggest challenge for SEO,
• 43%  citing ROI as the biggest challenge for paid marketing,
• a massive 63% seeing this as the key issue with Social Media Marketing
  

Social Media Marketing will continue to compliment search engine optimisation and paid web advertising campaigns. 

An increase in investment in Social Media Marketing is envisaged in 2010.  Whilst this may seem pretty obvious, it wasn’t as recently as 18 months ago.  Twitter for example, has come from being a non-consideration to one of the most prominent social marketing platforms in that time, with 73% of companies and 80% of agencies using it for brand marketing.

Other findings include:

• The number of companies who engage in SEO remains the same as 2009 (90%)
• More than 50% of companies have noted an increase in keyword costs used in paid marketing
• Agencies have seen the print advertising sector as even more heavily hit, with 69% of respondents noticing a shift of budget from newspaper and magazine advertising, to online marketing.

If you’re looking for more from your Search Engine Marketing plan, give Fivesite a call on 01234 292200.

Mobile Marketing - Shouldn’t YOU be doing it?

posted by: Marc  /  15 January 2010

It doesn't take a genius to know that the mobile phone market is among the fastest growing and largest overall global markets today. So why aren't more companies making the most of this with their marketing campaigns?

The following should give you an understanding of its importance, and the many ways it can be utilised.

Why is mobile marketing so important?

Generally, mobile marketing can be both a cheap and effective marketing method, whilst also retaining a great degree of flexibility. Furthermore, the reach that it allows marketers to have is enormous as there are currently more wireless mobile devices than televisions and computers combined. Mobiles therefore offer a level of opportunity never seen before by any other medium and are used by most major demographics, making it an extremely appealing marketing channel.

Let's break this down with a little market research:

Reach
There are over 15m mobile media users in the UK.

Acceptance
Mobile penetration in the UK is now approaching 125%, meaning many phone users have multiple SIMs or devices.

High response rates
Forrester Research says that SMS campaigns regularly get response rates of 5% to 25%.

Targeting
Mobile phones offer an inherently intimate medium. It facilitates highly targeted, one-to-one communication with lots of potential for personalisation and up-selling.

Wireless Web
28.3% of European mobile subscribers have 3G devices, and Web traffic from mobiles is already estimated to be growing 8 times faster than web traffic from UK PCs.

Applications and Smartphones
Both are on a meteoric rise, especially in developing countries where standard internet access (through a PC) is often non-existent.

Human Behaviour
Changes in the way mobile phones are being used, brings mobile marketing to centre stage. Devices such as the iPhone, Google's Android phones and Windows Mobile smartphones mean its now easier than ever to send and receive email and access the web 'on the move'. Statistics indicate that total 3G penetration has increased by 36% year on year, with the sales of smartphones increasing exponentially in the past 2 years.

So how do they go about doing it?

The entry of big brands to the mobile market support future growth and help to increase growth rate. So what options are available to businesses looking to take advantage of this? Here's a shortlist of the options; some you already know about, others you may not:

• Short Messaging Services (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS)
• Bluetooth, Wireless and Infrared marketing
• Mobile search marketing
• Mobile display advertising
• Mobile video advertising
• Mobile Applications
• QR-codes

If you're looking to take advantage of the opportunities that marketing to mobile device can offer, please call us for a free consultation on 01234 292222.

Email Marketing Is No Longer About Sending Emails!

posted by: Alex  /  19 June 2008

Clients and prospects are always asking us about the pros and cons of email marketing.

Much of the time this medium receives negative press because of all the Viagra spam emails we all get (or is it just my wife trying to tell me something?). So I thought it might be useful to explain how, on the contrary, intelligent email marketing can be extremely lucrative and - done properly -  works a treat.

This is because effective email marketing offers businesses a range of advantages from highly tangible revenue increases to softer benefits such as improved brand perceptions.

I risk labouring the point: email marketing has to be part of an overall web strategy to achieve maximum effect.

Different companies have different requirements, which is why everything we do is bespoke to that individual client. Following the discovery process, campaigns will normally fall in to one or more of the following categories:

You want to drive sales and build revenue?

• Effective email communication can help to maximise customer lifetime value.
• Communicating the right information at the right time will help drive sales.
• Email can help you acquire new customers (provided lists are used with care).
• Create opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling.
• Drive traffic to website (more importantly, the right kind of traffic).

You want to make your marketing budget go further?

• The right messages at the right time will help you retain customers - retention is significantly cheaper than acquisition.
• Email is much cheaper than traditional direct marketing.

You want to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty?

• Relevant and tailored information will score you points with consumers.
• A happier customer is less likely to defect to a rival.
• Build an emotional connection with your audience.
• Email affords excellent opportunities to remind customers of the benefits of your proposition and the value they are getting.
• Companies can exploit data (e.g. CRM and web analytics) to identify and meet customer needs.

You are looking to improving customer intelligence.

• Learn from customer feedback.
• Email is a highly measurable channel.
• Integration with web analytics software can help this process.

You are looking to boost brand awareness and credibility.

• Effective integration of messaging and ‘creative’ into broader marketing strategies is essential for successful businesses.
• A holistic customer experience and brand experience will enhance perceptions of your company and improve recall.
• Build relationships by engaging users in an efficient and entertaining way.
• There is an opportunity to exploit rich media to engage more effectively with customers, provided it is non-intrusive.

If you fall in to one or more of the categories listed above then you are in the right place because we are seasoned pros at this kind of stuff.

Forget email-shots and start thinking well crafted electronic campaigns.

We can have you up and running within 7 days and we can even generate email marketing lists for you!

To find out more contact us on 01234 292222.