Posted on: Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 03:02 CST

Search Gets Clever

By Derrick, Stuart

Competition has led to innovation in search marketing that is takmgthe sector way beyond its humble beginnings. Once a basic pay- for-performance tool that propped up online ad spend during the downturn, search has developed at such a rate that its foundation of keyword-based media-buying looks set to dominate for years to come. It is offering more localised and personalised opportunities for brands to focus on consumers.

Chrys Philalithes, European marketing director at pay-per-click provider Miva, says the market is no longer simply about buying keywords - search should be thought of as performancebased marketing in a number of guises. "We believe we offer performance marketing. It's about reaching the right user, in the right place at the right time, and that could be through search results, pay-per-call or trusted content. It has expanded that much," she says.

As a pioneer of keyword search. Miva has benefited greatly from the growth of a market with an estimated value of 257.7 million. But, despite a growth rate of almost 90 per cent on last year. Miva's latest service targets a market untapped by digital media: businesses which might not have a web presence. In September, it launched a pay-per-call system that allows businesses to bid for phone leads in the same way as they can get clickthroughs to their web site. Pay-per-click serves up leads through a freephone system, which Philalithes reckons will open up the performance-based market.

According to Kelsey Group, the pay-per-call market will be worth 600m by 2009. With 2.7m UK SMEs lacking an online presence, it's easy to see why.

"They can now benefit from online advertising, and they can do so at specific moments in time," says Philalithes. "It will help to level the playing field for small, local businesses in the same way that pay-per-click has." She expects take-up to be rapid as advertisers will be prepared to make the leap of faith with pay-per- call, having seen the success of pay-per-click. The service also has a natural affinity with mobile search and Miva is in discussions with mobile operators.

Richard Firminger, UK sales director at Overture, believes the ability to service local businesses will provide new opportunities for search. "Retailers, for example, already use local radio and newspapers, particularly around sales periods. This provides an alternative."

All the major players want to provide more localised results, says Matt Paines. managing director of search engine optimisation agency XSEO. "Search engines are looking to improve local listings in a way that lets users filter results by local relevance, so if someone searches for a particular service, they can determine the level of localisation they require." For example, if you're seeking a plumber, a local trader will be preferable, whereas distance is of less consequence when hunting a book.

Localised service

Google is one of the first to offer a localised service in the UK. Google Local is the result of a partnership that combines data from Google's index of more than eight billion web pages with data from directory publisherYell.com. Users type in the service they require and a postcode, and receive results that include a company's address and phone number. The service links with Google's online mapping to provide directions.

"Traditionally, search has been based on breadth and comprehensiveness of answers, but now the shift is towards relevance. The beauty of local search is how it integrates with maps and we've had hugely positive feedback since the April launch," says Lorraine Twohill. European marketing director at Google.

If localisation is one area of advancement, the other major breakthrough is personalisation. Richard Davies. planning and client services director at Equi=Media. says search has long been a direct advertiser's dream. "For a much lower cost than you'd spend on off- the-page advertising or DRTV. you can drive significant amounts of business."

Tino Nombro, managing director of search marketing agency Ambergreen. points out that search providers have responded to users' growing reliance on engines by trying to develop a closer relationship with them. "They're all looking at personalised search, where a history of what you've searched for helps make it more relevant. Search engines are also trying to become more integrated in day-to-day usage through desktop search tools."

MSN has stated that search should learn from what you like, the pages you read and where you live, and the results should consequently be more personalised and targeted. The advantages are easy to see. If someone types a search for 'china', a search engine has no way of knowing whether the user has a query about the country or a tea set. By learning more about users, and particularly by developing a geodemographic approach, search marketing can help marketers to get closer to potential customers and target them better.

However, providers are anxious to avoid accusations of 'Big Brother' behaviour, says Fames. "No one wants to be seen to be gathering too much information. There was a bit of backlash from Gmail users when they realised the kinds of email they received affected the ads they saw."

Effective personalisation will have to work on information volunteered through sign-ups, says Paines. In that respect, despite Google's dominance of the paid-listings market, it has been at a disadvantage, given the anonymous nature of its user base. "For years. Yahoo! has had its Messenger service and has been collecting demographic information on people." he explains. "Although Google is the most used search engine, it didn't have much information on its users, so you can look at the introduction of Gmail 18 month ago as an attempt to learn more about them. All search engines are playing with it as a way to provide specific results depending on your group interests."

Personalised experience

The success of personalisation will depend as much on users' acceptance of its advantages as by its technical development. For now. a personalised search experience has a more modest meaning and providers are trying to entice opt-ins.

Tony Macklin, vice-president of European products at Ask Jeeves. agrees personalisation is the next stage for search, but says users will need to be encouraged.The firm's MyAsk Jeeves service allows users to save and archive their searches online, making it easier to find and share information. By registering for the service, users can save up to 5,000 searches, compared with 1.000 for unregistered visitors. "Our approach is aimed at making search as easy as possible," he says. "If someone is searching for a holiday online, it makes it easier to share search results with their friends or family, whose input they want."

Since integrating Teoma search technology, which it bought in 2001, Ask Jeeves' users can look at communities of sites in a way that makes it simple to narrow or widen their search. In recent months, the company has launched Zoom, a tool that helps to do this, as well as an Ask Jeeves toolbar.

Downloadable bespoke toolbars are another popular feature. Dennis Publishing has launched a branded toolbar for its Mo Express site, which serves content on topics such as new and used cars, road tests, traffic news and weather. Developed by Miva, the tool is the first in a series for the publisher's sites.

But, computer-based search is only one area of development. As pay-per-click matures, suppliers are focusing on mobile, which is the next big opportunity, especially for local search. For now, the business model is unclear and most players are still in the development stage. Google has signed a deal with T-Mobile to provide search on two new products under the Web 'n' Walk brand, while Overture has deals with Vodafone and Orange and also offers a WAP- based text-search service.

According to Google's Twohill, the business model and user experience for mobile will differ from online. "We're still investigating the advertising model. We can't just repeat what is on the web because, if the first two or three results on a small screen are ads, the user will switch off."

Firminger says Overture is exploring mobile by moving into proven categories one at a time, starting with travel. Advertisers include lastminute.com, eBookers, Expedia and Travelocity. "It's a natural extension for us, but mobile operators need to market these services. The number of WAP pages visited has grown and the system is more robust, so users will migrate."

The 'walled garden' approach, whereby operators keep users on their own mobile portals, is deconstructing, says Firminger, which will make it easier to advance mobile search.

But, some say the brands should lead the way. "Brands need to develop mobile-specific offers; sites that are designed specifically for the screen size and technical capabilities of mobile devices," says Lawrence Weber, digital project director at response agency LIDA. "This will require strategic planning and a level of investment."

Firminger feels it could be one to two years before mobile search really takes off, but, meanwhile, there's plenty to keep players occupied. "In the past year, the search market has almost doubled and it could do the same for the next couple of years. It's certainly growing very fast."

Any slowdown in the pace of innovation \seems unlikely now that MSN has deepened its involvement in the sector. September's launch of its paid-search service in France and Singapore throws down the gauntlet to existing players and promises that search marketing is likely to get even cleverer.

Retailers are already using local radio and local newspapers, particularly around sales periods. This provides an alternative

Richard Firminger

Overture

Miva.com: launched pay-per-call to attract the SME market

Localgoogle.com: finds a local service and gives directions

If someone searches for a holiday online, MyAskJeeves makes it easier to share search results with their friends or family, whose input they want

Tony Macklin

Ask Jeeves

Search innovations

Local search

The ability to link search results to a more defined geographic area is a vital advance. Not only does it allow advertisers with a wide presence to send users to their nearest branch, but it also paves the way to useful mobile search results.

Google partnered Thomson Directories' Webfinder service in May. Thomson's 500 sales staff can now sell AdWords to small and medium- sized businesses for inclusion on Thomsonlocal.com and Webfinder.com.

Google offers advertisers the ability to reach users in local markets through a variety of options, including targeting at regional or city level, by address-based radius or latitude and longitude.

The company has linked the service with its Google maps product to provide directions to advertisers' premises, which can be emailed.

Meanwhile, Overture, which launched local search in the US in October 2004, has yet to announce a European service. The company, which will be renamed Yahoo! Search Marketing Solutions next year, is also expected to link with Webfinder soon.

Pay-per-call

Miva launched its pay-per-call service in mid-September, and has signed up several media agency partners: i-Level, All Response Media, Starcom, Media.Com, The Search Works, Diffiniti, Latitude and MGOMD.

Ads carry a freephone number, which connects to the advertiser. As with pay-per-click, advertisers bid on keywords and only pay for leads received. The ads can be targeted geographically and by time, so calls are only received during working hours.

Yahoo! has introduced its own version of pay-per-call within the car category and this will soon be extended to its shopping engine, Kelkoo. Services are also available from providers such as Touch Group. Thomson Directories plans to launch pay-per-call next year.

Personalised search

Ask Jeeves offers users the ability to save searches through My Ask Jeeves. Users don't have to sign up and are limited to 1,000 saves, but if they get 5,000 if they join. Users can archive searches, add comments and email series links.

Contextual advertising

Overture offers a product called Content Match, which is used by selected partners such as The Guardian, the FT and The Independent. Ads are served automatically next to relevant content, like travel or finance stories. Overture works with partners to pick which areas are most suited to contextual listings.

Miva has a similar service.

Partner networks

Yahoo! launched Yahoo! Partner Networks in August in the US. It allows web sites to sign up to its content match product, which serves ads against relevant content. No date has been set for a UK launch.

Previews

Ask Jeeves users can get a sneak preview of a web page by moving their cursor over a pair of binoculars icon. This allows them to immediately judge if a site is relevant. The service is not available as yet for sponsored search results, although the firm hopes to introduce it.

Beyond both Google and Yahoo!, MSN's new programme will offer features like the ability to target by time of day or by a user's demographic profile.

Toolbars

Downloadable desktop toolbars use search technology to provide users with relevant content.

Mobile search

All the major players are working to improve their current mobile search services to offer results that are more relevant to users.

Overture has launched a paid-search listings system for the travel sector and plans to move into mobile content soon.

Ask.com: MyAskJeeves lets users save up to 5,000 searches