The Digital Bus

Derek Mehraban reports from the Ann Arbor Ad Club talk on Google Adwords delivered by Jennifer Stone of Google Inc.
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How can I use Google in a Marketing Strategy?

You must know your audience very well. Then match the person, their habits, interests, and needs with relevant ads for products and services they need in real time.

Jen gave the example of Charles a 32 year old exec and father, and how Google can reach him throughout his entire day:

• 6 AM Workout (think about a vacation cuz it’s cold outside)
• 7 AM Read the Paper (tear out an ad for vacation deals w/ URL, ad may have been placed through Google)
• 8 AM Listen to radio on commute to work (Hears Florida “fun” package advertised on the radio)
• 12 PM Checks the internet on lunch hour (Sees relevant Google text ads for Florida hotels while searching on Google)
• 5 PM Searches on iPhone for places to bring home dinner (Sees more text ads for restaurants to takeout food)
• 9 PM Watches TV – Top Chef to be exact (and sees a commercial for car rental, ad could have been placed through Google)
• 11 PM Posts photos to Myspace of his daughter (sees a display ad for a fun car you can rent on vacation)

Thanks to Google, relevant ads surround Charles all day long – based on what he was interested in, and what actions he plans to take. This the power of Google adwords and Google in general.

There is a good chance that Charles booked his entire trip thanks to what he found on Google through web, mobile, print, radio and TV. Google even has the ability to do radio targeting so if the weather drops below 20 degrees, you can tell them to run your radio spot about Florida vacations. That’s power.

If you use Google as part of your marketing strategy you can:

• Reach People – Google is everywhere and the most popular search engine. In fact You Tube is the 3rd most popular search engine in the world. Above Yahoo! The Russian search engine Yandex is #2 behind Google. (Note: This is according to today’s presentation by someone from Google. When I went to Alexa Yahoo! was the #1 trafficked site globally with Google #1 and You Tube #3. Maybe this does not include searches – that could be the difference.)
• Be Relevant – Targeted search page results are very relevant. Also the content network uses partner sites to show your ads. you can pick your target and choose your time and place to run an ad. All this information is available on Google.
• Engage Them – Additional Ad formats are more engaging than text only – YouTube, InVideo ad content network, You tube brand channel – GADGET ADS ARE the new hotness – a web site within a web site.  Put a Google Gadget on your site, and people can interact with the ad w/o leaving your site. What is measurability on Gadget Gadgets? It shows up in your adwords account. The engagement metrics? Did they click through, what part did they click on, and how long did they play with it? Movie companies show trailers, and then take you to a place to buy movie tickets. 
• Measure Success – Robust reporting – Conversion tracking and Google Analytics. See who is visiting your site, where they come from, and why. Google allows you to measure the success of your ad campaigns and how it affected conversions on your site. A huge plus and the type of service that makes Google a great value. Suggest looking at Google Call Reporting to track customer responses.
• Be Ubiquitous: Beyond just search – Print, internet, intenret, audio, tv, print – TV reporting with Google is very fast, with ratings reports delivered the next day. Mobile is something Google is focusing on in 2009 very strong. Currently you can advertise on traditional mobile phones – and also HTML phones like iphone and blackberry. Look for mobile to grow in 2009 for Google. There is also the mobile content network- ads when you search. Small ads. Mobile will explode in 2009 and beyond. It’s still very affordable, reach a lot of people for a low price. If yoo compare to Japan where mobile usage is out of control – the US is going to follow.

Google impact in 2008. Look at Barack Obama:

• Google and the web played a major role in the successful campaign for Barack Obama.
• Barack Obama used the web to reach out to new voters.
• Obama used Google to raise money with fundraising ads.
• Obama placed targeted ads to “set the record straight” on candidate questions.
• Obama persuaided undecided voters by posting video on You Tube, and he used “get the vote out” ads based on location and time to bring people to the polls.
• Obama measured the entire success of this with analytics, and you know what – it worked!

Gems of the Talk:

• Google plans to integrate Google Trends into the Google Keyword Tool – expect this in first quarter 2009 maybe.
• Mobile is a huge push for Google in 2009.
• Google Goals: is it scalable, measurable, efficient.
• Google big partners with Facebook and Myspace.
• Content network the best way to reach b-to-b advertisers.
• Google Gadgets are The New Hotness!
• Google’s Mission “Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Featured Michigan Success – In Downtown Marquette – Getzs.com is the global leader in on-line Carhartt sales. 50% of web traffic comes from Adwords.

In Ann Arbor – Google really focuses on non-profits – CASA Court Appointed Special Advocates – use all Google Tools to redesign sign, calendar, docs, sites, and Google Grants to pay for Adwords and Google Checkout.

How does one stay on top of Google products?

• The Inside Adwords blog
• Matt Cutts – SEO Blog
• Google runs lots of Adwords webinars
• The adwords learning center
• If you’re interested in just google – visit the Google blog.
• Google Analytics Evangelist

Gold sponsor of A2AC program. Web design firm 3.7 Designs.

Silver Sponsors: Pure Visibility and iPaper.

Tags:   A2AC · Advertising · Adwords · Analytics · ann arbor · Gadgets · Google · Jennifer Merriss Stone · media · sem · seo4 Comments