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All the benefits of search engine marketing stem from one key point: you are in front of the customer just as the idea enters their head...
But that poses some difficult questions for dyed-in-the-wool marketers like me:
Brands - do customers search for brands or solutions? Which should a web site strategy target?
Brand perceptions - how are these affected by companies appearing - or not - appearing in the search results?
Awareness - do search results impact on awareness?
Front of mind - are we trying too hard to make our product front of mind? Should we not target customers just when their 'need' is front of mind?
Latent product needs - how can you launch a new product the customer doesn't even know yet they need, through web search?
We don't claim to have all the answers - but we offer a few thoughts on these:
Brands - do customers search for brands or solutions? Which should a web site strategy target?
Brand perceptions - how are these affected by companies appearing - or not - appearing in the search results?
Our view is customers really search for solutions. But that doesn't mean there isn't a role in search engine marketing for the brand. Firstly, when you are presented with a range of results to your search - it's comforting to see an organisation you know which also means that the result you are about to click on - is going to give you the answer you seek. So a strong 'offline' brand is likely to attract more 'clicks' from customers when they see it in the search engine results than the other competing sites that are listed.
However, what happens when your brand does NOT appear. To be frank you potential customer is going to look at alternatives. They may return to you later having been disappointed by the other potential suppliers - but do you want to take the risk? And what does the customer conclude about your brand? Are they disappointed not to see you there? It certainly doesn't add postive value to your brand in the way that a top level result will certainly achieve.
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