eM+C recently spoke with Rick Van Velden, the global online marketing manager for Trend Micro, a leader in Internet content security, about its search engine marketing strategies.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company's mission, according to its mission statement, is to "develop, deliver and support the most flexible and customizable Internet security solutions to address the ever-changing threats on the Web."
Here are highlights from the discussion:
eM+C: What is the benefit to using paid search as part of your marketing mix?
Rick Van Velden: Paid search, or search engine marketing, allows companies to leverage their company's brand equity by opening a direct channel to consumers and prospects. SEM offers a powerful means of engaging with target audiences at the exact moment when shoppers are considering your brand in their purchase decisions.
eM+C: I understand that you use a combination of organic and paid search. Can you offer some examples about how you use this?
RVV: We have found that paid search can act as a hook that informs visitors of the opportunity to buy. However, not all shoppers are prepared to purchase at the first point of contact. A percentage of shoppers resume their searches some time later and then opt to travel down the organic path to our corporate Web site, where they finally make a purchase.
eM+C: How has using search engine marketing and optimization effectively improved your business? Do you have any ROI numbers you can share?
RVV: SEM has allowed us to capture a large percentage of branded searches for our products and take that business direct. Direct online sales delivers an average gross return of more than five-to-one revenue to ad spend. Few, if any, marketing programs are that profitable.
eM+C: Can you share any search tips/best practices with our readers?
RVV: If your company name and/or its product possess any degree of brand equity, strive to maximize returns around keywords. Build a complete list of branded keyword extensions, and group them into logic subsets where you can fully leverage those words in your ads. Manage these groups separately from the non-branded keyword lists to best understand their monetary value.
Use "Official Site" in the title of your ads served on your brand. This usually pulls best. Subdivide your list of words into smaller lists to allow for targeted messaging and testing. Invest in creating attractive and compelling landing pages. Professionally polished landing pages instill greater confidence in shoppers, especially where brand recognition is lacking. Focus on the English-speaking markets first, then consider translating into others. The time and cost of localizing keywords, ads and landing pages can be considerable.
