Читать книгу Marketing in the New Media - Holly Berkley - Страница 8

The importance of directing potential customers to one’s website was proven during the 2006 Super Bowl. During the game, top companies spent more than $200 million with ABC to showcase their brands, but only 40 percent mentioned a website. The companies that not only mentioned their website but also made sure they had top search rankings for their product keywords reaped the most benefits.

Companies ensure high rankings on top search engines by having their website professionally optimized for specific keyword phrases (more about how to optimize your website in Chapter 7). However, those major brands that wanted immediate control over top placement and messaging simply purchased keyword phrases on top search engines such as Google and Yahoo!. Also known as PPC or pay-per-click advertising, this is a highly effective way to ensure your marketing message is up to date and at the top of search engine results.

Just days before and after the 2006 Super Bowl, Yahoo! reported an 800 percent increase in searches for Super Bowl ad-related terms (comScore Networks, February 2006). Companies that included an online video version of their Super Bowl commercials reaped the benefits of having their commercials viewed again and again. They also benefited from the Internet’s most powerful marketing tool — viral or word-of-mouth marketing — as many online commercials were forwarded to friends via email, blogs, or message boards. (More about social networks and word-of-mouth marketing in Chapter 2.)

Other companies simply made sure their brands appeared at the top of these high-volume searches. These companies included Cadillac, Honda, and Dove, which according to Yahoo! all bid on the time-appropriate phrase “Super Bowl XL Commercials” on Yahoo! Search and took advantage of the resulting increase in search traffic.

Cadillac must know that 70 percent of today’s auto buyers research online before visiting a dealer because Cadillac made sure to buy keywords related to their cars, specifically the Cadillac Escalade, which was featured during the Super Bowl. Yahoo! reported that searches for the car increased over 75 percent just after the Super Bowl ad appeared, and traffic to the Cadillac site increased by 250 percent (comScore Networks, February 2005).

Ford, on the other hand, severely missed out by not purchasing related keywords after their Super Bowl ad aired promoting the new Escape Hybrid starring Kermit the Frog. In fact, this oversight led not only to missed traffic, it actually helped their competitors! GM purchased the word “Kermit” to promote their own hybrid car line, getting the targeted traffic from Ford’s Super Bowl ad without the huge costs!