Ever think that technology is moving faster than you are?
SEM: Search Engine Marketing.... as defined by Wikipedia (I couldn't resist) is: Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs). According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, SEM methods include: search engine optimization (or SEO), paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion.[1] Other sources, including the New York Times, define SEM as the practice of buying paid search listings.[2][3]
Eric Clemons, professor of operations and information management at The Wharton School for Management" says that Google's business model is all about "misdirection, or sending customers to Web locations other than the ones for which they are searching...Monetization of misdirection frequently takes the form of charging companies for keywords and threatening to divert their customers to a competitor if they fail to pay adequately for keywords that the customer is likely to use in searches for the companies' products."
So basically he is suggesting that you use your competitor's words and product lines and lead them to your site.
(That's like putting Pepsi in a Coke can and telling the Pepsi drinker that it's all the same.....)
Hard to believe -- I'm thinking that customers would figure that out pretty fast and no longer go to Google to search for the things they want.
We had some stunning success with SEM over Christmas.... what drove the numbers?
The organization's real name.
What sank success?
Using leads that brought searchers to something they weren't expecting.
I'd say that misdirection is poor use of SEM -- but there are still a lot of people out there experimenting without the benefit of knowledge, tests or marketing savvy.
If you want to read the whole article go to http://searchengineland.com/search-ads-are-misdirection-advertising-17028 (You'll have to cut and paste... the add a link button did not add a link....) (I apologize for the language!)
digital round table for marketers and communication experts
1 comment:
Great post, Gayle. I think Clemons laying blame on Google is absurd. That's like blaming GoDaddy for shady marketers who host gateway pages or link spam on their servers.
There will always be lazy marketers - so called professionals that abuse the system for short-term gain. Purchasing a brand name or trade mark of which you don't own is a violation of Google's TOS. So, responsible marketers are forced to check Google and other search engines periodically to ensure the system isn't being abused.
The reality is, SEO and SEM must work in tandem. The combination of relevant keyword buys and decent organic search placement will generate qualified leads, be it customers or donors. It's an absolute waste of money to purchase keywords that are unrelated to your website... You may gain a click in the short-term (which is great to show your boss), but you'll lose a customer quickly once they've determined your offering to be irrelevant.
Tred carefully fellow marketers.
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