How has search marketing evolved in recent years?
Paid search is the most valuable channel for customer acquisition among 86 per cent of digital marketers. New ad formats such as Google Shopping Ads, coupled with growth in mobile search and better tools for measuring performance and return on investment, have made search marketing a powerful element of any marketing strategy. The channel reaches customers no matter where they are in the buying cycle and can influence their purchasing with creative offerings. Google has put increasing focus on growing paid search as a platform for advertisers and as a result aggregate paid clicks grew 8 per cent in first-quarter results for 2018. This sustained growth in paid search ad spend is a testament to the pace of change and impact the channel is having on consumer experiences.
How is Google search going to change going forward?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning are beginning to make a significant impact on the way consumers experience search. Research and development at Google is making incredible strides in improving the capability of the search engine to increase understanding of consumer intent faster and more powerfully than ever before. The latest developments in the space are seeing the search engine move away from keyword-driven search. With machine-learning, the search engine is able to unlock the plethora of signals beyond keywords to discern user intent in search even when the specific keywords aren’t included. This kind of machine intelligence will shape the future of search and is integral to Adthena’s approach.
What are the key challenges CMOs face?
CMOs are under constant pressure to acquire new customers, a task which is becoming more and more difficult as industries are increasingly disrupted by new innovation and agile startups. A robust approach to big data is required to be successful across all digital channels. The nature of search is such that advertisers have the potential to tap into huge amounts of data, which reveal powerful insights that can inform cross-channel strategic decision-making. At a more granular level, competitive data-driven insights also enable advertisers to refine, iterate and optimise campaigns.
How can CMOs overcome these challenges to increase customer acquisition with search marketing?
The key is being able to manage the breadth and depth of campaigns at scale. Marketers need smarter, more informed search intelligence that sheds light on competitor behaviour and strategies, as well as the overall search landscape. The volume and scale of data in search means machine-learning is a prerequisite for managing campaigns globally, and with the necessary scale and personalisation advertisers need.
How is Adthena helping businesses do search marketing better?
To win in the space requires an earnest commitment to quality data, and the insights and strategic intelligence this provides. Adthena is the market leader in machine-learning and competitive intelligence for the search industry. Our innovative and unique technology enables advertisers to scale campaigns, informs decisions and helps defend existing equity in search. This is enabled by cutting-edge technology that allows advertisers to leverage AI-driven insights and solutions. Our recent AI categorisation feature, for example, automatically categorises millions of keywords using a machine-learning technique known as convolutional neural networks. This segments the entire search industry into specific market categories and verticals, enabling advertisers to drill down and find specific insights around owned or competitor campaigns within their own niche or vertical. Our clients include global brands and their partner agencies that depend upon search, such as Hotels.com, ASOS and Mazda. Results speak for themselves; Mazda’s partnership with Adthena has led to a 31 per cent improvement in cost-efficiency for the brand’s search operations.
For more information please visit
www.adthena.com/cmo
