For the past decade, since Google mastered the search algorithm and created the AdSense and AdWords profit machines, brands have been investing countless resources to optimize their Search Engine Marketing (SEM) practices. Pursuing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – often referred to as Natural Search – offered opportunities to drive highly efficient traffic. The vast majority of online marketing was – and continues to be – focused on SEM and SEO, with Google dominating the conversation.
This Google-centric online marketing strategy is changing in dramatic ways. The change is giving hope to brands that are looking for ways to diversify their traffic sources and drive better efficiency in their marketing spend. It’s the network effect that’s crashing the Google party.
No longer are consumers defaulting to a search box to answer their questions, particularly when it comes to shopping. Rather, they’re developing networks that are always accessible and always connected to one other. And some stats bear this trend out with the network enablers now accounting for an increasing share of the time spent on the Web. Facebook’s 500 million users are now accounting for 17% of time spent on the Web. This #1 ranking is followed by Google-owned YouTube, which accounts for 10% of time spent. Add sites like Twitter and LinkedIn and you find that time spent on the Web will soon be dominated by these network enablers.
In the device world, the other network enabler is the rapid ascent of mobile. Apple’s success with iPhone 4 and the activation of 160,000 Android devices every day bear out the importance of mobile in the network ecosystem.
So now when I’m walking down the street and notice a display for an HDTV, I’m just as likely to scan the bar code, review deals from online and offline merchants, check out user reviews and product demos, fire off a post to my various friend networks to see if they have tips, immediately view Twitter conversations about the product in question, instantly download a coupon to my smart phone and make a purchase decision. All of this happens within moments of me seeing the display. And all of this potentially bypasses a traditional Google search box.
Even if I do start my shopping experience using mobile search, the differences in the user experience between mobile and desktop is upsetting the status quo. Mobile search results on smaller formats means different copy treatments and different contribution from SEO…you just can’t fit as many results on the screen that’s 20% the size of typical desktop display. What’s more, the click off the search results are hitting landing pages that are difficult to optimize for the mobile platform. Even if these pages are mobile-optimized, brands are realizing that there are limitations in the user experience that impact their conversion rates and, ultimately, their efficiencies from mobile search. It seems that only Amazon, with $1 billion in sales coming from mobile, has effectively navigated the mobile shopping world. This is largely due to their superb integration of one-click and how they have wrapped other cutting-edge capabilities into the mobile experience.
But the shift away from traditional search isn't explained by social and mobile alone. Display advertising is also carving into search dominance as networks of consumer profiles and behavior data are linked with targeted advertising to drive efficiencies. Layer on top of this the hot market for real-time bidding and other demand-side aggregation technologies and display advertising has rediscovered its mojo.
Even in the display advertising space, Facebook is creating a machine of their own. Their built-in network of friend relationships, which is accounting for their #1 ranking in time spent, also translates into 16% share of the roughly $9 billion market. Google’s share is well under 3%.
Am I suggesting the demise of Google as a major source of online traffic? Of course not. But I am suggesting that brands wake up to these changes and move quickly. Brands need to build networks of interconnected audiences, each interacting with networks of content that deliver unique and relevant user experiences. Marketers need to aggressively move into the world of multi-channel online marketing, placing particular emphasis on mobile and social so that the end-to-end user experience - between desktop and mobile device - is optimized.
While not an easy transition to make, there are some concrete actions that will give marketers the platform necessary to exploit this network effect.
Starting with Facebook, brands need a strategy that distributes their brand experience across Facebook and increases reach among their 500 million members. Activating the Facebook API on your site for login and “Like” purposes, developing a feature-rich Facebook app and developing a strategy to increase your fan base are the three legs of the Facebook stool. Monitoring social conversations and sentiment about your brand across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and delivering relevant messages into these conversations, is another way to improve the network effect.
On the mobile experience front, brands need to develop their mobile platform with a keen eye towards the entire user experience. Mobile optimized web sites are mandatory. Smart phone apps should be an important part of your arsenal with two important caveats…unique functionality using smart phone apps and a distribution strategy that gets your app into shoppers’ hands. This second part is often overlooked – but must be given proper attention if you expect mobile experiences to gain traction. With the Apple AppStore now boasting over 100,000 apps, getting your app noticed in this noise is increasingly difficult..
The final step in this network strategy is to build a data, analytics and messaging management platform, supporting each of your digital channels. Harnessing your customer interactions across these channels and using this data to drive relevant messaging will ensure your network becomes a vibrant and valuable asset. New tools for multi-channel campaign management, embedded analytics, real-time decisioning and ultra-powerful data warehouse systems using the latest data appliance technology make all this possible. But it requires investments and commitment at the most senior levels of the company.
The network effect is upon us. That is undeniable. Marketers need to embrace the change. Otherwise, consumers will seek out brands that are consistent with how they shop and buy products and services.
