by: Joshua Krafchin
The beauty of paid search marketing is that results are highly trackable. We can trace revenue back not only to the keyword and match type level, but also by the hour or even by the geography of the original search queries typed into any search engine. This extensive tracking provides us the opportunity to understand not only revenue and cost implications, but a whole host of other criteria from visitor interaction with our website to offline conversions and gross margin. With this surplus of data and choice though, many marketers run into the dilemma of how exactly to define success. Shifting general business priorities outside of search, whether or not they relate to search specifically, can directly impact how we manage a search program.
One of the big tug-of-wars is between ROI and volume. Because search is so measurable and trackable, companies have come to expect hitting and surpassing ROI numbers. In turn, this ability to consistently hit ROI makes paid search revenue highly desirable, and executives will push for more and more revenue volume from paid search. Another tug-of-war is between cost effectiveness and maximum exposure on a broad range of terms. A lean SEM program will not run on unprofitable key terms while conversely these terms may be among those typed into Google when “surveying” the company’s search presence.
Ultimately, our mission as an agency is to achieve our clients’ goals; if these goals shift from month to month or even week to week, we will be reactive and shift along with the direction clients want us to move in. That being said, it is still crucial to note that paid search is most effective as a ROI-driver. Branding and awareness, while having paid search merits, do not take full advantage of what the search engines have to offer. At the end of the day, we always prefer first to hit ROI numbers and then use excess budget to explore new profitable growth channels.
Shifting business priorities are a reality, and it’s always critical to be reactive with a paid search program, but when push comes to shove ROI rules.
Something we end up talking about just about every week. You should just copy and paste this to R&G
Paul,
Exactly! Thanks for the comment, and know that you are not alone – this is something the vast majority of search programs are confronting. Beyond just the fact of the tug of war is the question of how much incremental revenue can be achieved for X% of ROI sacrifice. This is a really important discussion we are in the midst of, and I think it is one of the primary questions that we as online marketers are having to wrestle with.
Josh