INFLECTIONPoint 2010: Search is Not a Silo

by Tiffany Feltenberger | February 4, 2010

Penny Baldwin (Yahoo) noted during her keynote address at INFLECTIONPoint 2010 that you don’t need to reach the 600 million consumers on Yahoo, but the 6 million consumers right for you. She contends that the future of search marketing is combining the power of technology and human creativity to build business, continuing with the ongoing theme of cross-channel customization of marketing programs. Yahoo has seen dramatic ties between the use of display image and video ads alongside a powerful search marketing campaign, and now ties social network outlets into their search programs for even more strength in brand revitalization. Both Penny and Matt Belkin (Omniture/Adobe) spoke to the need for marketers to open up advanced analytics within search marketing campaigns.

The need to move the needle in search data analysis is evident. Search is in a unique position when it comes to data. There are so many ways to slice and dice it that you have to be focused on what you are trying to accomplish. Getting the balance of initiatives and answers while avoiding being stuck in the weeds can give stakeholders the right views to engage in decision making. Too often we use far more metrics than necessary to understand the outcomes, which leads to more curiosity and questions than actual business strategy. Remember to continue refining, but be wary of the bog of information that can bring business growth to a standstill. Jay Middleton (Adobe) said that agreeing on key metrics can take your business into an outpouring of increased strategic initiatives that have a greater impact on your bottom line. Make sure that your organization is not just looking at surface metrics, but really tying together a holistic view of channels and evaluating the right numbers for these channels.

According to Mark Grote (Microsoft), and I absolutely agree, Search just isn’t sexy in the boardroom. While the techie geek in us loves Search, it just doesn’t have the flash of a display ad or the showmanship of a video spot. It provides nothing of viewing palate valor, so you need to take the raw data, cultivate and compare it to other channels, and turn it into a compelling story. The bottom line is testing to discover the right media mix modeling bringing together the right levers for your user behaviors and ultimately your conversions.