By Aaron Goldman,
Managing Partner, Connectual
In my forthcoming book, “Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned From Google,”I’ll share twenty simple yet elegant lessons Google has taught the marketing world. Here are five such “Googley Lessons.”
Mindset Matters. Advertising on Google works because consumers are in a commercial mindset when they use it. People search when they’re looking for something and, often, that’s something to buy. Marketers must be mindful of mindset when deciding where and how to target their ads. For example, people on social networks want to chat and poke, not transact. By the same token, people consuming news aren’t in “buy mode” and, thus, not very receptive to commercial interruption. I elaborate on the importance of mindset, the challenges facing newspapers and Rupert Murdoch’s showdown with Google here: Bit.ly/NewsSearch.
Act Like Content. Many people can’t tell the difference between the paid and unpaid links on Google. The reason is that Google ads “act like content.” The content is blue links. The ads are blue links.
Furthermore, Google rewards brands that feature rich, relevant content on their websites by giving them top organic — aka “unpaid” — rankings. On the Internet, marketers must create compelling, “link-worthy” content to stand out. The same rules apply offline. Give people what they want, don’t sell them. Help them solve their problems. Be what they’re looking for. Be the answer. Be the content. Or at least act like it.
Let the Data Decide Google launches products in beta and lets the usage data tell it what to tweak. It once
tested over forty different shades of blue for its toolbar! Marketers should forget focus groups or the CMO’s gut feel and do what the numbers tell them.There are myriad ways to capture data about your target audience and build customized segments to market against. Last year, I sold my Internet surfing data to marketers on eBay raised over $300 for charity. More on my “highly targeted” experiment here: Bit.ly/HighlyTargeted.
Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is Critical. On Google, you have 95 characters to stand out from the crowd and capture a click. Marketers must distill their entire offering down to one clear and concise USP. And remember to “Keep it Simple, Stupid” — that’s another Googley lesson — as it’s the only way to touch off viral word-of-mouth. A good exercise is trying to condense your “elevator pitch” to 95 characters. I like to call this Haiku 2.0. I’ve had some fun with this over the years. See: Bit.ly/SearchHaiku and Bit.ly/SearchHaiku2.
Don’t Rely on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Alone. Searches don’t happen spontaneously. There needs to be some other stimulus. Often that comes from another marketing channel. Google’s multi-million dollar investment in a Super Bowl commercial underscores the importance of good ‘ole brand advertising. For better or worse, with search you reach people one at a time and with venues like the Super Bowl, you can reach 100 million folks in one fell swoop. More thoughts on Google’s Super Bowl ad here: Bit.ly/GoogleSuperBowlAd.
Connectual was founded in early 2009 by Aaron Goldman, a ten-year veteran of the digital media space, to help companies cut through the clutter of various digital marketing solutions and make meaningful connections that can grow their businesses.
This guest column is part of our month long focus on Search. Interested in writing a guest blog for TechJournal South? Contact the editor: Allan at TechJournal South dot com.
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Tags: Five marketing lessons from Google, Marketing, Search
In my forthcoming book, “Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned From Google,”I’ll share twenty simple yet elegant lessons Google has taught the marketing world. Here are five such “Googley Lessons.”
