Search Engine Marketing Blog: piloSEO

I am pretty sure everyone in the U.S. is aware that the Super Bowl is the most important football game of the season as well as the most important day for advertisers. The number of viewers is astounding and many are as interested (or more interested) in the commercials as the game. Instead of flipping the channels when a commercial comes on many viewers actually pay more attention. They want to see all of the crazy/funny/interesting commercials and talk about them the next day.

The next day they will see countless news stories about the commercials on TV, online, and in the newspaper. For the right to this captive audience the companies buying advertising slots during the Super Bowl will pay a pretty penny. This year it will cost $3 Million for a 30-second commercial. With that kind of money one would think that advertisers would try to make the most of the situation but far too many end their marketing efforts with the commercial.

Advertisers are getting better but are not quite there yet

Traditional advertisers have been slow to include search marketing into their overall marketing plan but some are getting better. As more and more people become more connected search is becoming more important and the savvy advertisers are leveraging search marketing to extend the message to the Internet. For the fourth consecutive year Reprise Media will conducting the Search Marketing Scorecard which will measure how well all the Super Bowl advertisers are using search to capture user attention during the game. A team of employees will watch the commercials and check the major search engines to determine how well the advertisers online presence is syncing with their Super Bowl ads. Along with a detailed report that will be released and discussed at OMMA this year Reprise will be live twittering as they judge the online integration with their television ad.

Follow the Search Marketing Scorecard

Smart companies have realized the importance of search marketing. In years past search marketing was overlooked. More and more advertisers are realizing the importance of incorporating search into their overall marketing plan but many still have a long way to go. If you are interested in following this years Search Marketing Scorecard you can follow in real time through Twitter, view the next day scorecard analysis on Feb 4, and the final analysis at the Reprise Media Search Marketing Scorecard presentation on Feb.22 at OMMA.

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What is Black Friday?

Here in the states Black Friday is what we call the day after Thanksgiving. It is a huge shopping day but contrary to popular belief is not the biggest shopping day of the year. According to Snopes it is not the busiest shopping day of the year but it always ranks near the top. Even if it is not the busiest shopping day it is extremely busy and all of the stores attempt to lure shoppers with promotions and big discounts to increase sales and profits. For a long time many of the big retailers have relied on Black Friday to bring move out of the red and start to show a profit. But there seems to be a new trend in the retail sector, which capitalized on the Black Friday hysteria but is an attempt to get shoppers into their stores before Friday.

Some retailers are attempting to lower their reliance on Black Friday sales.

Part of the problem with Black Friday is that there are far too many people out there shopping. Because the stores are so busy more and more people are staying home to avoid the hustle and bustle. Many of these consumers would still like to get some of the great deals being offered but they don’t want to deal with the crowds. Some retailers have recognized this and have begun to offer sales prior to Black Friday. This could help them attract customers who will come out on Black Friday as well as others who refuse to enter any retail store that day. It is an interesting idea and I am interested in finding out if it was successful. I have seen some TV ads touting Pre-Black Friday sales and an article at Yahoo expands on the recent trend to offer discounts earlier.

What can Search Engine Marketers Learn from This?

The main lesson is to constantly try to innovate. Too many SEO’s use the same techniques over and over again. Many techniques seem to work fine but there may be a better method. If you don’t attempt to implement new ideas and test new methods you could miss out on a huge breakthrough. Black Friday is generally a huge day for retailers but by testing some new ideas like the Pre-Black Friday sales they may never know if they are maximizing their potential. The same goes for search marketers. If you don’t experiment with different ideas and constantly test them you will never know if you are missing out on a huge opportunity.

Don’t rest on your laurels.

Black Friday sales are time tested marketing tools in the retail industry. They attract customers and increase revenues. They won’t be going away for a long time. But the smart companies are always innovating and looking to supplement their effectiveness with new ideas. The basics of SEO and search marketing are time tested but the best search marketers should always try new ideas and techniques to increase the effectiveness of the traditional methods.

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