Image courtesy of rapidsharecinema.blogspot.com
According to the ComScore figures, growth in paid-search clicks happens to be slowing down. Is it because of the economy? Is it because of the "R" word that is being used in the United States? Don't know, but there was still growth in Google. Certainly it may not have been huge growth like the numbers we are used to being reported, but still almost 3% growth year over year is substantial compared to the losses evidenced by the competitors Yahoo and MSN. Yahoo paid clicks went down by about 3% year over year and MSN went even further in the wrong direction by a note-worthy 12%. It all really does make that 3% growth in Google clicks stand out that much more, and lends that much more credibility to their reputation.
Now, the fact is that we are still going to use our favorite search engine to locate the information we deem necessary in the immediacy (how many of us actually search for information we don't need/want right now?) and the one we choose will be because of either our own experience or that of someone we trust. So, as long as we are searching, vendors will be vending and paid search marketers will be looking for any and every angle to be able to spin (or Sphinn) the best ads possible and at the best click-bid possible, and all while looking for the best conversion rates, sales rates, and ROAS numbers to be able to deliver to their clients. Also in demand will be the best usable interfaces, best measurement tools, and spreadsheets spreadsheets spreadsheets (Anyone remember working with DOS spreadsheets? ha ha! --OOPS! Just dated myself! Never mind!). Even the search engines themselves are forever working on better and more intuitive ways to build and manage ad campaigns for those who wish to leverage their usability, as well as better ways to measure the results (and for those of you who don't know it, you really can call in and make suggestions no matter how big the companies may be!). For the search engines, their reputation is their business! Lets face it, if their credibility goes, their reputation is shot and their business is done.
Now, the most important component to remember in any business, with all of bells and whistles and remaining cacophony of things that companies garner in order to boost their credibility, the people you have in place are the most important. If you are a marketer, you need to find/be the right person to intuitively target the right market and be able to deliver definable results. If you are a vendor, you need to have the right people in place to relay the needs of your business as well as the right people to interpret the information that comes back. If you are the search engine, you need to have the right people all over the place to make it all happen, and the larger your business becomes, the more you will find the need to install a relationship manager.
So, if you are that entity out there looking for the foundations of success, you have to have the right people representing you in a bright and positive way at all times. It is your ground floor and you can build up from there, no matter what type of business you have. Representation builds reputation.
Happy Thursday Everybody!
The Doug
aka Doug Gebhardt