Search Engine Marketing and Advertising - What does the future hold?

July 27th, 2007

I read two thought provoking articles, one by Gord Hotchkiss on a Mediapost article, and the other an article called 2020 Foresight taken from ‘The Drum’. Whilst both articles were inherintely different, both had the issue of search evolvement at their heart.

Both though had vastly differing perspectives. In particular the 2020 Foresight article highlighted in my opinion many of the issues which still surround Search Marketing. The article, taken from the recent Manchester Media Forum, includes regional/national experts including Nigel Dean of O2, Chris O’Donnell of Kinetic, Mick Style of Mediaedge and Andy Jeal of Mediavest.

It was Andy Jeal’s views in particular that I found most suprising. In particular when tackling the issue of convergence, Jeal is quoted as saying: “I think the growth of search engines will slow - particularly when people realise that in many ways these search engines simply act as telephones”. Specifically he believes TV advertising still had a role in encouraging people to search for particular brands in the first instance. He went on to say “We have a lot of research that shows that DRTV campaigns are just as effective now as they ever were, despite the fact that fewer people are picking up the phone immediately after the ads are shown. What they tend to do is wait until their programme has finished, and then they’ll Google the brand to get in touch” and “We know this s happening as DRTV commercials are shown in bursts of activity and these Google searches co-incide with the ads being shown”.

Whilst I think Andy Jeal talks a lot of sense, I do have to disagree with some of his thoughts above, in particular his views on the growth or non-growth of search engines in the future. With convergence technologies such as IPTV gathering pace, surely the vehicle for delivery on such campaigns (ie TV adverts) is likely to reduce in the future and more innovative solutions are going to become more mainstream. He has also mentioned search engines being the vehicle by which many of these consumers are finding these brands, instead of picking up the phone, which leads me to ask. If they arent using the phone, and the arent using search engines (and consumers generally find it hard to remember URL’s), just what vehicle is going to be used to capture these potential consumers, and surely this is going to fuel further growth in search engine use?
Whilst I personally don’t believe that the search engine landscape will stay as it is now, search as a channel can only but continue increasing, however search as it is now, i would suggest would have evolved considerably by 2020, driven by alternative ad delivery (perhaps such as Video), and vertical specific search engines. At the end of the day, consumers need guidance, and the comparison with a telephone, seems somewhat misguided, perhaps more like a telephone book would be more apt?
However I will counter the above comments with some points that Gord Hotchkiss mentioned during his article on ‘Search Engines Innovate, Why Not SEMs?’. During the article, Gord highlighted the fact that Search Engines had focussed heavily on improving both the level and volume of their services and solutions over the last couple of years, however Online Marketing in general is struggling to keep pace

“Whether its personalization, universal results, Web 2.0 functionality or mobile, our search experience is about to change drastically. Search will become more relevant, more functional, more ubiquitous and more integrated. It will come with us (via our mobile devices) more often and in more useful ways. It will expand our entertainment options. It will change forever our local shopping trips. And it will all happen quickly.”

“The question is, what does this do for search marketing? In a recent conversation, I was asked where the major innovation in the search marketing space was coming from. This was prefaced by the remark that when a well-known industry analyst was asked the same question, they (I’ll keep the gender neutral, as there really aren’t that many industry analysts out there) said there was almost no innovation coming from search marketers. They were “living off the fat.” My first inclination was to jump to the defense of the industry, but this proved harder than I thought.

I realized I haven’t seen a lot of innovation lately. Certainly, the engines themselves are innovating. And I’m seeing innovation in adjacent areas (Web analytics, competitive intelligence). But I’m not seeing a lot happen in the search-marketing space. After a raft of proprietary bid management tools hit a few years ago, there’s been little happening to move the industry forward. In fact, I’ve noticed a lot of SEM heads buried in the sand. We are not encouraging change; we are actively fighting it.”

I can’t help but agree with him. Whilst I would add, there are a number of search evalgelists out there who sit at the forefront of the industry, there are all too many who dont, who still reside in a time where metatags ruled the world.

I will finish with some final words from Gords article, which I think some up the state of Online and Offline Advertising perfectly

“The change that’s happening in the search space is reflective of the change that is happening throughout marketing and advertising. It’s the continuing evolution of a much more efficient marketplace, where connections between customers and vendors are made tremendously more effective through access to information on both sides.

The traditional uncertainty of advertising is being leeched out of the system, due, in large part, to the tremendous effectiveness of search. And as search becomes more relevant and useful, it will make those connections more reliable, less intrusive and more successful for both parties. The opportunity is there for search marketers to help advertisers successfully negotiate this more efficient marketplace. It remains to be seen if we’re up for the challenge.”

To read the full article from Gord on the Search Insider Blog, please click here

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