London, 13 July, 2011 - A survey*
on the current state of Natural Search (Search Engine Optimisation,
SEO), Paid Search (Pay-Per-Click, PPC) and Social Media
integration conducted by Hydra, a SaaS provider, reveals:
- There are benefits to sharing keywords and phrases across
digital channels
- Technology is a necessity for managing, reporting and
implementing digital campaigns
- There is a need to simplify benchmarking against and
understanding of competitor data
Advantages of
collaboration
Measuring performance for terms at a
granular level and discovering new high value keywords is
challenging for most marketers. Nevertheless, Hydra's survey
shows that teams sharing terms between disciplines display greater
confidence in dealing with them when compared to their peers
working in isolation.
Those that do are more confident:
- The keywords and phrases in their campaigns reach their target
audience (73% vs. 64% of the general sample and 54% of those that
do not share keywords) [pp. 9];
- Their team is 'on trend' when handling new keyword trends (47%
vs. 42% of the general sample and 28% of those that do not share
terms) [pp. 10].
Although most respondents (55%)
answered 'no' when asked about knowing which new words or
expressions are worth spending money on, there was a palpable
difference between these subgroups: of those that share terms, over
half replied 'yes' (54%); whereas a great majority of those that do
not share terms answered 'no' (80%) [pp. 11].
Consolidated
technology
The use of technology in online marketing has become ubiquitous.
However, marketers are in need of a more consolidated
technology landscape where single-task tools can be replaced by
more comprehensive multi-functional systems.
29% of respondents indicated under 50% of their needs are met by
their current toolset [pp. 12]. Unsurprisingly, however,
those with a greater number of tools (10 or more) had the highest
percentage (39%) of replies within the '75+% of needs met' band
[pp. 13].
In contrast, a resounding majority (90%) saw an advantage in
having digital teams use a common reporting and campaign
implementation platform.
Desire for competitive intelligence
Benchmarking performance against competitors is crucial for most
online marketers. Yet there is a palpable need for facilitating
access to competitor information.
The majority of respondents (77%) regularly benchmark their site
against competitors. This was relatively consistent
regardless of the number of keywords they managed [pp. 15].
However, 56% admitted accessing competitor data was either
'moderately difficult' or 'difficult'; the most prevalent answer
across the whole sample was 'moderately difficult' at 45% [pp.
16].
Those with tens of thousands of keywords displayed the highest
percentage of respondents finding access to competitor data
'moderately difficult' [pp. 17].
Conclusion
"Hydra's survey show teams that share terms and work
collaboratively have greater confidence in their success than those
who don't because they can consider the whole picture", says Ruth
Zohrer, Solutions Consultant at Hydra. "Across the board, however,
there is an obvious desire to gain greater insight into competitor
data easily and efficiently. These two challenges justify their
request for better, more comprehensive technology that meets most
of their needs: an all-encompassing solution that can replace a set
of multiple tools."
In response Hydra has launched the One Platform.
It enables enterprise marketers to strategically and proactively
monitor, report and participate in the conversation existing and
potential customers are having about their brand online. 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.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
*The report 'Natural Search, Paid Search & Social Media
Integration 2011' - Hydra surveyed over 300 digital marketers in
April 2011 and focussed on how digital marketing teams currently
operate, based on collaboration, use of technologies and competitor
analysis. The aim of the survey was to address three key areas:
- Assess the level of integration between Natural Search, Paid
Search and Social Media teams through keyword sharing across
disciplines
- Measure the number of tools currently used by in-house and
agency teams and the percentage of needs met by these
toolsets
- Gauge the appetite for benchmarking against competitors and the
level of ease for accessing competitor information.
To arrange an interview or for further information 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.http://www.onehydra.com/