Posted by Justin Champion

All great things must come to an end – It’s my last day reporting live from SES NY. I’ve had a fantastic time, met a lot of interesting people, and learned many new SEM tips and tricks.

How do you use search marketing to build trust and brand awareness? Well, my first session today entitled B2B Search Marketing Tips, gives insights into this process.

Lauren Vaccarello, Sr. SEM Manager, Salesforce.com (@laurenv)

Marc Englesman,VP Clinet Programs and Services, Digital Brand Expressions (@marc_engelsman)

How to use search marketing to build Trust and brand awareness (Vaccarello)

• Breakdown search
• branded keywords
• Head terms

Q. Who is the B2B buyer?

• No single decision maker
• Longer conversion cycle
• Value of leads varies dramatically
• Relationship driven
• Need to trust the seller

Be there before prospect raises their hand

According to Vaccarello, “Start thinking of search before the potential propsect knows they want to buy your product.” BE SEEN! Use the Google display network to appear where users are getting information. “Use contextual targeting to start appearing when prospects are reading articles about your industry,” Vaccarello concludes.

Educational Keywords

• Research related keywords (reviews, whitepapers)
• Use broader industry topics

Look at the metrics

You always need to justify your spend. Vaccarello emhpasizes, “You need to have metrics no matter what it is you do.” This will make the process more complete and efficient.

Q. Have these keywords influenced the purchase path?

• Track through Google
• Track bidding tool
• Track analytics provider

Look for which keywords are influencing this path – they’re IMPORTANT!

View through conversions

Someone sees ad, doesn’t click ad, but still ends up on your website and makes a conversion. This is a great way to measure influence so you can optimize based on website or ad. Also, this give a clear picture on where your customers are consuming content.

Brand awareness study

• Brand recall
• perception of your brand
• unaided awareness

An awareness increase

+27% more likely to search for the brand/product after seeing display ads

+355% increase in pages viewed per unique visitor

+31% average conversion lift

You’re getting these leads, now CONVERT them.

How do you make money?

• Don’t focus on keywords that drive form completion
• Identify top keywords
• Identify top demand generating keywords

Be found. Be engaged. Be successful (Engelsman)

Tip 1. Have a Specific Plan

• Start with a plan that assumes integration, not digital silos.
• Assign specific roles to each marketing component and measure its success according to the forecast
• This will help identify the value of these leads (it’s not about visits to the website, but the actions they perform when they get there)

Tip 2. Think “Need-Based” keywords

• Informational research (looking for product)
• Resource recommendations (looking for research)
• Competitive research (looking for price, comparing)
• Ready to purchase (longer tail, answering users questions)
• Post-purchase/customer service (Following up)

Tip 2A. Think “Need-Based” beyond search

• Just looking for information (Look to answering the consumers question in real time)
• Ready to buy (Communicate in their desired area, where post comes from)
• Post-purchase (Look for reviews of customers to renew customer attention)

Tip 3. Target niche audiences

Think about who you’re talking to. There can be small, powerful markets that can drive a lot of value. Once you find them, communicate on their terms.

Tip 3A. Leverage niche audiences

• Take advantage of all connections, no matter how small. You may get a great story (review) that has enormous value for the company.
• Use influencers like industry media to spread the word

Tip 4. Customize the message

Land people where they will receive the best information possible for what they’re looking for. If you want the conversion, give them what they want!

Tip 5. Rinse, Wash, Repeat, integrate

Don’t just set it and forget it. Find new ways to communicate with users. See what trends! See what works!

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 28th, 2011 at 8:02 am and is filed under Uncategorized. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

About the Author: Justin Champion joined Search Mojo in December 2010 as a Sales Consultant. Justin assists companies in deciding their search marketing needs. He works closely with Search Mojo's partners as well as prospective clients to determine each company's individual search engine marketing goals and devises a fitting solution. Justin graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Mass Communications with a Strategic Advertising concentration.