The tentacles of search are everywhere

Whilst we are all aware of the role of search in a digital environment, the impact of consumer’s clicks is making itself felt in traditional advertising channels. Yesterday at a meeting with Google Japan we heard of a new trend amongst advertisers of pushing search terms across all forms of advertising. For instance, TV ads are now being developed that feature keywords (as well as actual visuals of a search box) that users should enter when they search, driving them straight to the campaign site or landing page, rather than feature the URL. There are several learnings here for advertisers. By featuring a keyword that is close to the consumer’s intent it makes it easier to remember, rather than a long www address. Advertisers also know that there is a correlation between people watching TV and using their mobile at home, rather than using their PC. So, if an ad runs and the user notices the search term or call to action, they are more than likely to enter it on the spot via their mobile, driving them to the targeted site. Finally, it means that advertisers can track the performance of the TV ad far more effectively rather than relying on viewing figures.

This technique is also being used on outdoor advertising we've seen on the metro - an actual search box with the suggested keywords and an arrow with the text "Click" next to it. Again, tracking effectiveness and performance of the spot is vastly improved. The one downside to this would be a potential increase in bidding activity on the keywords, thus a higher search spend with a potentially decreasing ROI, but worthy of further investigation.