London, 3 August, 2011- Keyword research - identifying the
potential words and phrase combinations consumers could potentially
type into the search box when they go online to find products and
services, is vital to the success of digital marketing campaigns.
However, a white paper "Where to begin - the discovery phase",
published by Hydra,
a provider of Software-as-a-Service marketing technology, says
digital marketing teams (internal of third party), simply do not
have the resources to conduct it thoroughly. Moreover, monitoring
and keeping up to date with terms as they change is almost a
mission impossible.
"Keyword research makes the difference between the vendor's
goods and services being immediately visible to the searcher or
their being swallowed up and lost in the myriad of returned search
results," says Ruth Zohrer, solutions consultant at Hydra.
"Ultimately, the lack of thorough keyword research can prove costly
as it leads to vendors failing to maximise on the online
opportunity both in terms of directing potential sales
leads/traffic to their site and garnering revenues from the online
channel."
In April, Hydra undertook a survey*of over 300 UK-based digital
marketers and focussed on how digital marketing teams currently
operate, based on collaboration, use of technologies and competitor
analysis.
Asked how current they feel their teams are at handling new
keyword trends, less than half (42%), of digital marketers
indicated they feel they are 'on trend' when it comes to keyword
trends.
However, one of the greatest contrasts highlighted by the survey
involved new words or expressions being used in the market. Asked
whether they know which are worth spending time and money on, over
half (55%) of respondents said 'no'.
With the uncertainty surrounding return on investment (ROI) from
keywords reaching their target audience and handling new keyword
trends, it is unsurprising that over 70% of respondents to Hydra's
survey specified that if they had more time to spend, they would
review the keywords or phrases in their campaigns much more
regularly.
According to Hydra's
white paper, any new Natural Search* project should begin with
a discovery phase with the first challenge being to uncover what
potential customers will use when they go online to find the
products or services the vendor is promoting on their site i.e.
Keyword research.
Next is keyword-page mapping, a valuable exercise which allows
the vendor to understand how its site and the target keywords
relate and highlights any gaps that may need to be addressed for
optimum performance in search engines for a specific term.
Once the effort that each keyword will demand is known, they can
be prioritised based on the size of the opportunity they offer. In
essence, does the potential reward warrant the spend in that
keyword.
"Completing the discovery phase thoroughly, however, is an
onerous process for which most Natural Search specialists today
employ multiple technology solutions to help speed up certain
steps," says Zohrer. "As such, even when the discovery phase is
undertaken by the same person, the process and its outcome may vary
significantly. At Hydra, we have considered this problem quite
carefully and developed an intelligent solution to fill this gap
through Hydra's One platform WordBank."
Zohrer concludes:
"The discovery phase is essential in ensuring campaign goals are
met within budget and within a reasonable timeframe and in
preventing costly mistakes like targeting the wrong keywords or
overlooking your own site's limitations."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
A full copy of Hydra's White Paper "
Where to begin - the discovery phase" 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
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.
Through the One platform's WordBank, Hydra simplifies:
- Collating keyword lists from multiple sources;
- Expanding and grouping your keyword targets with
auto-suggestions and templates;
- Mapping and ranking keyword-page pairs by automatically
identifying and sorting the best matches;
- Prioritising keyword opportunities for you to make informed
decisions on how to spend your online marketing budget;
- Reporting on ongoing performance for each keyword across
different metrics.
http://www.onehydra.com/