Search News: Travel Ad Net’s Publishers Conference Yields Insight into Offline Results of Search Ads
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Written By Noah Mallin | October 24, 2008 | Share This
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Yesterday I had the pleasure of checking out the Travel Ad Network’s Publisher’s Conference, which brings together many of the top on and offline publishers in the travel industry. While I was unable to talk myself into a gig as Lonely Planet’s in-country Costa Rica travel blogger I did gain some insight into how paid search can have an impact beyond what can be measured simply through PPC (pay per click) data.
Setting the stage was comScore founder Gian Fulgoni. Reprise Media has been doing a lot of interesting work with comScore and I’m always impressed with the folks there whether it be one on one or in a conference setting. Indeed, Fulgoni did not disappoint. His core argument – and it’s a very important one – is that just because you don’t get a click through doesn’t mean your ad didn’t have an impact.
This cuts across the paid search orthodoxy of verifiable measurement above all else, but it’s also undoubtedly true. After all, why should the basic tenet of all other forms of advertising not hold true for search advertising as well?
Fulgoni also showed some fascinating data that showed the powerful effect search ads had on display and other forms of advertising – making them much more effective and powerful.
Next up was Reprise Media Managing Partner Josh Stylman, who drove the point home. At the end of the day, Search can drive actions online but it can be just as powerful as a driver of online actions – whether in conjunction with other forms of advertising (on and offline) or on its own. The key for the search marketing industry is to find ways to quantify this so that clients can see the cause and effect for themselves. This can take the form of a coupon code or even specialized ads and landing pages that are region, search engine and even time and date specific so the offline purchase can be tied to very specific ad data when the coupon code is used.
Josh and Gian both agreed that at a time when marketers are squeezing every penny until Abe Lincoln pukes, search marketing is central to getting a response from your messge on and offline.
Topics: Advertising: Offline, Advertising: Online, Conferences & Events, ECommerce, Reprise Media, SEM: Paid Search, Search: How-To |