London, 5 September, 2011- Digital marketing channel specialists
who continue to work in silos are taking a risky approach, warns a
white paper by Software-as-a-Service marketing technology provider,
Hydra.
Titled "Natural Search Specialist, should Paid Search matter to
you?", the white paper highlights why it is in the natural search
specialist's best interest - be they in-house or agency-based, to
plan and execute campaigns with other disciplines in mind, as
opposed to working in isolation.
"Today, it is simply unacceptable for Natural Search specialists
to plan budget optimisation without considering Paid Search", says
Ruth Zohrer, solutions consultant at Hydra. "If Natural Search
specialists want to be successful in improving returns, it is
imperative they move away from looking at Natural Search metrics
alone and start looking at the big picture."
The white paper focuses on five key points from keyword
research, competitor benchmarking to budget optimisation, two of
which include:
Omitting to consider the Paid Search competitor landscape in
natural search competitor analysis is a mistake
Few channels are driven by competitor activity as much as
Natural Search. A competitor's overhaul of their pages or
back-link profile can lead to dramatic changes in the composition
of search engine results pages (SERPs) and cause movements up or
down the web rankings for other sites. Hence competitor
research is an integral part to successful Natural Search campaign
management. By regularly monitoring competitors, Natural
Search specialists assess the success of their strategies, identify
new methods and benchmark performance fluctuations.
Few Natural Search specialists, however, consider the Paid
Search competitor landscape in their Natural Search competitor
analysis and therefore only get a fraction of the overall picture
that they must consider. Zohrer points out strong brands are
increasingly running campaigns on both channels, and historically,
most brands have used Paid Search to substitute for Natural Search
performance when not in the Top 10 SERPs.
"Natural Search specialists should supplement their competitor
list with cross-channel key performance indicators (KPIs) to
identify true leaders in their industry, as well as uncover
weaknesses of vulnerable competitors," says Zohrer. "This
information is particularly useful in choosing which battles to
fight: if a site is considerably difficult to outperform in Natural
Search, resources could be allocated to another keyword instead of
wasting them in pursuing a rank that is not realistic."
In Natural Search, sudden drops in performance can often be
puzzling. Are competitors boosting their pages to outperform
rival sites? Or might this drop in performance have resulted
from recent changes implemented? Has the search engine
released another update to the algorithm? Is this caused by
other issues like industry-wide trends? Without the
appropriate frame of reference, Natural Search specialists can
spend a lot of time trying to answer the unknown. In worst
case scenarios, misleading evidence can result incorrectivemeasures
that worsen performance further, another aspect the white paper
raises for adding Paid Search into the equation.
Natural Search specialists should make the evaluation of both
Natural and Paid Search data a permanent habit when evaluating
performance
Natural Search specialists should take a step back and analyse
Natural Search performance in conjunction with Paid Search
performance. According to Hydra's Zohrer, this will help
pinpoint if any sudden drops might be a channel-specific issue or a
wider phenomenon affecting performance such as seasonal variations
or industry-wide trends. Additionally, since search is
experienced as one channel by users (Natural Search + Paid Search),
a sharp performance improvement in Paid Search paired to a sharp
decrease in Natural Search performance may also hint at potential
strategy cannibalisation between channels.
"None of the above alternatives can be properly considered
without incorporating Paid Search into the analysis, which is why
Natural Search specialists should make the evaluation of both
Natural and Paid Search data a permanent habit when evaluating
performance."
Hydra undertook a survey* of over 300 UK-based
digital marketers focussing on how digital marketing teams
currently operate, based on collaboration, use of technologies and
competitor analysis. A resounding 90% said they would see an
advantage in using a common reporting and campaign implementation
platform, indicative of an innate need for greater collaboration
between these disciplines within digital marketing teams. The
survey also highlighted that those firms with multiple digital
marketing disciplines whose teams interacted regularly, displayed
greater confidence in their success.
The One platform from Hydra aims
to encourage this positive cross-pollination of ideas between the
two disciplines by allowing Natural Search specialists to easily,
efficiently and accurately derive insights from Paid Search
campaigns. Its live data reports uncover the most important
search terms and trends - from the largest keyword opportunities to
the top performing companies across multiple sectors in Natural and
Paid Search.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
A full copy of Hydra's White Paper "Natural Search Specialist,
should Paid Search matter to you?" is available for download.
*The report "Natural Search, Paid Search &
Social Media Integration 2011" - Hydra surveyed over 300
UK-based digital marketers in April 2011 and focussed on how
digital marketing teams currently operate, based on collaboration,
use of technologies and competitor analysis.
** Natural Search - Listings in search engine
results pages that appear because of their relevance to the search
terms
Paid Search- an Internet advertising model used on websites, in
which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked.
With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases
relevant to their target market
To arrange an interview or for further information about the
report please contact:
Krishna Rao
T: +44 0(20) 3326 6232
E: krishna.rao@onehydra.com
About Hydra:
Hydra is a provider
of SaaS tools established in 2011. The One platform enables
enterprise marketers to strategically and proactively monitor,
report and participate in the conversation that existing and
potential customers are having about their brand online. Gathering
the collective requests and feedback of marketing executives,
digital specialists, and agency professionals, One from Hydra is
focused on driving revenue and return on investment (ROI) through
integrated, efficient and optimised management and implementation
of Phrase
Marketing campaigns across online disciplines - Natural Search,
Paid Search and Social Media.