The Clickable Gurus have written dozens of posts for our Blog in 2009 covering everything from new Google Ad Formats to CPC advertising on social media. Their award-winning contributions have been recognized across the industry and an anthology of their teachings has been listed in Search Engine Land’s roundup of 2009’s Best Search Advertising Books.Recently, we asked the Gurus: What are your predictions for Search Advertising in 2010?
1. What is the most important thing that businesses should do differently in 2010 with respect to online advertising?Andrew Bernero: Businesses should invest more in technology platforms that offer incremental targeting flexibility for local advertising, as this space has really matured in recent years. If local advertising applies to your business, you could benefit by investing more in local organic optimization, advertising on social networks, user-generated-content review sites, and geo-targeted, sponsored search listings.Ehren Reilly: Businesses should be prepared to expand beyond standard text ads on Google. Consider new ad formats, banner ads, and other networks. Sometime in early 2010 we'll see the effects of the Microsoft – Yahoo deal. You will be able to access Yahoo’s search inventory from Microsoft adCenter. If you don't have an adCenter account, now is the time to create one. Hanny Hindi: 2010 may well be the year social media advertising breaks through. For years, people have marveled at Facebook’s growth, while wondering about its revenue plan. The answer may lie in “Self-Serve ads.” Ned Desmond at Silicon Alley Insider says these ads will be “as big as Google AdWords.” Businesses should pay careful attention to this platform. (How? See Ehren’s series of tutorials on CPC advertising on social media networks.)Tony Soric: Advertisers should focus on growing conversion rates by optimizing their site’s user experience. In the past, conversion testing was often an afterthought - CPCs were relatively low and acceptable ROIs were easily achieved. As competition stiffens, generating ROI has become challenging. Contributing factors include additional competition for top SERP positions, Google's ability to manipulate CPCs through Quality Score and minimum bid requirements, and aggressive advertisers who understand the true value of their keywords based on analytical data. 2. What should marketers do now that real-time results are entering the indexes of major search engines?Andrew Bernero: Marketers should test ads on the Google content network if they are not doing so already. It will be important to establish a presence on news-related sites as these will receive a boost in search-related traffic from Google real-time search results referrals. Ehren Reilly: I am very skeptical about the longevity of this new feature. Right now, tweets show up above traditional search results, which for many queries results in a worse user experience, since tweets are often less relevant than full Web page results -- except in cases of breaking news stories and gossip. In the mean time, take advantage by tweeting positive things you want customers to read when they search for you on Google. Hanny Hindi: One of the risks of search marketing has always been rapid price fluctuation: as terms spike in popularity, related ads can suddenly become significantly more expensive (but also significantly more lucrative.) In the past, this has often been the result of seasonality (predictable) and news events (unpredictable.) But with Google and Bing indexing tweets, we have an even more-rapidly shifting keyword marketplace. Now, more than ever, pay very careful attention to your bids and budgets, on a daily and even hourly basis. (Clickable Pro’s email alerts and Firefox widget can help.)Tony Soric: The inclusion of real-time search results is both a blessing and a curse for advertisers. I encourage advertisers to see the inclusion of real-time results as an additional opportunity to promote their business. By leveraging social media and news outlets advertisers will be able to reach users in a more timely fashion. On the other hand, advertisers should be aware that real-time results give customers an opportunity to praise or criticize all aspects of their business - so it will be even more important to build and maintain a good relationship with your customers. 3. What’s the most important investment a marketer should make in 2010?Andrew Bernero: More companies now realize the importance of search engine exposure, but there are too many sites out there poorly optimized for SEO and conversion. Investing in correctly testing and optimizing your site should be a top priority for marketers in 2010.Ehren Reilly: Invest time in understanding the advertising technologies that drive your marketing. It can be difficult, but as more of your ad budget shifts online, you really need to understand how it works. Your ad campaigns will be more effective the more knowledgeable you are. Hanny Hindi: The “Testing Phase” of a new campaign is always expensive. You don’t yet know which keywords will convert, so you can’t optimize bids accordingly. And you’re not sure which ads and landing pages will be compelling to users, so a lot of work will necessarily be discarded down the line. Of course, you should plan intelligently before starting, but doing anything new involves an element of the unknown—which means additional costs. This has always been true within the confines of traditional search networks, but in 2010 advertisers will need to make the same sorts of investments on social media sites. Everything is up for grabs on Facebook and MySpace, but the long-term potential is too great to pass up. A long-term investment in these new platforms may be the wisest one an advertiser can make next year. Tony Soric: Marketers should invest in understanding how users navigate their site and how to drive conversions by creating a better experience. A small increase in conversion rates translates in major lifts to bottom-line revenue. 4. What are you most excited about in 2010?Andrew Bernero: I look forward to seeing how social networking and mobile applications continue to evolve by finding creative ways to increase advertising revenue. On a related note, I am curious to see how consumer behavior trends in terms of transacting with advertisers on mobile phones – whether through search or through mobile application ads. Ehren Reilly: I am excited about Microsoft taking over Yahoo's inventory and investing in search. I think they will give Google stiffer competition, which should be good for the advertiser and the consumer. Hanny Hindi: As an avid Web user I’m excited to see ads become more targeted, more relevant, and more valuable—to the point where we won’t think of them as “intrusive advertisements” at all. The great value of SEM and online advertising for marketers is the same as the great value for users of the Internet: a tight connection between what users want and what businesses have to offer. That connection is already manifest in search results pages. I’m excited to see the same thing become a reality on my social media sites, in and around my Twitter feed, and on my mobile phone.Tony Soric: I'm looking forward to seeing how companies continue to integrate mobile advertising into their marketing mix. After several years we are starting to see interesting innovations in social marketing through sites like FourSquare. Another interesting technology in the eCommerce space is augmented reality - a few online retailers have begun allowing users to visualize their products (mostly clothing) in a real-time virtual environment, bringing the in-store experience a step closer to online. What are your predictions for Search Marketing in 2010? Let us know your feedback on the official Clickable Blog!
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