Written By Sean McDonald | August 13, 2009 | Share This |

Profile Optimization

I have always been fond of truisms - particularly the one that goes “a rising tide lifts all boats.” According to the elves at Wikipedia, this concept “is associated with the idea that improvements in the general economy will benefit all participants in that economy.” Search marketing is affected by macro-economic shifts just like most other sectors of the economy, and sometimes we are foresighted enough to anticipate the tide coming in.

As I am sure most of you are aware, the government recently enacted the Cash for Clunkers program (CARS), which provides incentives for people with older, low-MPG cars to trade in that car for a new, more fuel efficient one. The government set aside $1 billion for the program, only to run out of money in just over a week. The government quickly realized that they needed more money to fund the program and approved an additional $2 billion for the program.

I am not here to debate if the CARS program is a good thing or bad thing. I will leave that for economists to decide. What I will say is that the effect on car manufacturers’ Search Marketing campaigns has been astonishing.

First, let’s consider the search terms around the CARS program, such as “Cash for Clunkers”, etc. When the program was initially announced, there were surprisingly few people buying that specific term; I personally counted 4 on the first day. However, soon enough, savvy marketers were taking the plunge feet first and Search Engines were pushing their “partners” towards C4C terms as an untapped vein of opportunity.

Everyone eventually realized this was something they needed to jump on and within two weeks, over 50 paid search ads were being displayed. Suddenly, the CARS SEM was nothing but very expensive white noise for many advertisers.

However, July 21 was the magic date. Not only did query volume around “Cash for Clunkers” spike to 10x’s its previous levels, nearly every car manufacturer saw a sustained upswing in search query volume on that day, a volume level that has yet to subside halfway through August. A rising tide lifts all boats indeed. The significance of the above date? That’s when the public was able to actually start making their C4C deals.

As an SEM manager, why is this particular example important? In this very volatile economic time, it is more important than ever to dig into the why behind the what. The drastic changes in major car brands’ campaigns are a less-than-subtle reminder that we need to look beyond our immediate metrics set and remember that there are going to be factors that exist outside of the current campaign environment.

Though tactical changes like creative testing and position changes are important, they don’t always tell us the information we need to ride a wave like the one created by the CARS program. Similarly measurable constants like seasonality or increased competition for keywords that are a staple of your campaign still don’t tell you the whole story.

Understanding what’s happening in the real world and responding to that early allows an SEM manager to partner with their clients to take advantage of the opportunities these changes can open up. Sometimes it’s as simple as making sure a search on fuel efficient car models leads to CARS-specific language on the landing pages for qualifying models to cut through the white noise, as we did for one of our clients, a leading automotive brand.

The first set of government stimulus packages may or may not prove to be the shot in the arm the economy needed but there is no denying that the CARS program has encouraged Americans to get out and spend money on autos, which leads to other important questions, especially for retailers. Does this mean that Americans are ready to go spend in general? On non-incentivized products? On luxury items? On home goods? Will a rising tide lift all boats once again? And as a marketer, are you set up to take advantage if and when that time comes?