New York based Brand Connections has an exclusive license for selling ads on a patented tray table advertising system for passenger Airlines.
Imagine traveling with some brand’s message for 8 hours to Europe.
brand connections
Tray Table Advertising gives new meaning to marketing to a “captive audience.”
Gian Fulgoni chairman of comScore, recently wrote about his firm’s research on the impact online display and search advertising have on in-store retail sales.
How does comScore measure the impact online advertising has on retail offline sales? According to Fulgoni, “using the comScore panel, off line sales impact can be measured by linking panelists’ exposure to online ads with their in-store buying (through the use of retailers’ loyalty card data).’
Fulgoni draws two interesting conclusions from comScore’s
research:
1. “Search advertising provides higher sales lift than display advertising, but when combined, the synergy provides the highest lift…”
comScore Shoplocal.com Lift
Search and Display Ads Lift
2. “While search advertising results in a higher sales lift than display advertising among the people exposed to the ads, the number of people reached by display advertising is typically markedly higher than the number of people reached by search advertising …
comscore shoplocal.com reach
Online Advertising Reach
For media buyers planning to increase their brand message reach and lift consider the following;
1. An online display advertising campaign often reaches further than a search advertising campaign but online display ads will have less lift than search ads.
2. Search advertising will have more lift than online display ads but search ads may not reach as far as online display advertising.
Brand managers buying either online display advertising or search advertising but not both online display advertising and search advertising are likely diluting their brand’s message power – and along with it the ability to maximize their return on either form of online advertising they may have invested in.
Google has begun inviting internet ad agencies into their display ad buying product called Google Ad Planner.
Google Ad Planner is still in Beta.
Google Ad Planner’s available US internet audience is 230 million visitors via 160 billion page views.
For brands looking to broaden their web reach and add lift to sales both online and off, Google’s Ad Planner product offers media buyers a simplified internet display advertising research and media buying tool.
The following audience segments are available for brands planning to target and increase their message touch points online.
Google Ad Planner
You can request a Beta invite at Google Ad Planner.
Defined Internet Audience
Unique Visitors 230 M
Country Reach 100%
Page Views 160 Billion
Gender:
Male
Female
Age:
0 – 17
18 – 24
25 – 34
35 – 44
45 – 54
55 – 64
65 or more
Education:
Less than HS diploma
High school
Some college
Bachelors degree
Graduate degree
Household income:
$0 – $24,999
$25,000 – $49,999
$50,000 – $74,999
$75,000 – $99,999
$100,000 – $149,999
$150,000 or more
From MarketingCharts.com:
Nielsen Online, AdAcross
Month of February 2008
* Internet spending estimates are from AdRelevance. All others from Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Different methodologies employed by each company may lead to disproportionate comparisons.
Ad Spending by Medium
Medium Share of Spending
Network Television 25.5%
Cable Television 21.7%
Local Television 16.0%
National Magazines 12.4%
Internet 7.3%
Local Newspapers 4.9%
Syndicated Television 3.0%
Hispanic Television 2.8%
Local Radio 2.4%
Outdoor 1.4%
National Newspapers 1.1%
National Sunday Supplement 0.8%
Network Radio 0.5%
Coupon 0.2%
Local Magazines 0.1%
Local Sunday Supplement 0.0%
As I mentioned in my last post, Google has begun taking additional steps to bridge the gap between web search traffic and their advertiser’s foot traffic.
In researching the different types of Local OneBox results found both here in the United States and abroad, I found an Adwords ad format I hadn’t yet seen – an Adwords Ad with a Google Maps icon embedded within the Google Adwords advertiser’s ad.
By adding Google Maps images to local advertisers ads, Google has simplified and reduced the searching online to visiting off line and in person to three steps.
Step 1. The search for local products or services : Oklahoma City Web Design
The search for “Oklahoma City Web Design” produced the usual sponsored links both those above the new 10 OneBox results and those found along the right rail. However, after closer inspection I noticed the second listing had a maps icon embedded in the ad.
Step 2. Local product or service providers advertisement selected. Selection factors could include brands or services offered and their convenience to the searcher.
Step 3. After placing a call to the advertiser to verify their products availability and price, the searcher can then complete the three step process from searching online to buying off line by then getting directions to the advertisers location through Google Maps.
By adding the Google Maps feature to local Google Adwords advertisers ads, Google has bridged the gap between web search traffic and foot traffic in a fresh, unique and beneficial way.
Google’s First Step…
As reported and since confirmed by Greg Sterling, Google is now showing up to 10 local business results for geographic specific queries.
Google told Greg the reason it’s showing more links is because usability testing revealed that many people didn’t realize there was additional local content available beyond the three listings, despite the “more results . . .” prompt. Accordingly, Google said that with the 10 links it is hoping to signal people that there is much more local content a click away.
Google also said that it wouldn’t always show 10 results; it might still show three sometimes or one if the query is very specific.
As Mike Blumenthal has noted, it has been nearly a year since Google last upgraded their Local OneBox. At the time it led to a significant increase in Google Maps usage.
It will be interesting to see if and how Google’s worldwide roll out of their new Local OneBox increases Google Maps usage like it did after implementing their last Local Business OneBox changes.
In my previous post about Google’s local business results being expanded, I wrote about how the listings appeared locally and some of the factors I thought contributed to the listings.
Sterling reported the ten results are based on a range of factors, including the “query, proximity, availability of ratings/reviews and their quality and several other variables.”
Since Google doesn’t publish exactly what factors influence their list, all we can do is study what they publish and draw our own conclusions as to which variables may matter the most.
The following are examples of searches I have ran, Google’s Local OneBox business results and my analysis of what variables I think generated the list.
Google Local Business Results: Internet Marketing Oklahoma City –
This query for a service (internet marketing) followed by the location (Oklahoma City) produced a “top of page” 10 listings OneBox result. I also found some Google Adwords ads displaying the recently discovered business address on the fourth line of the Adwords ad.
Google Local Business Results: Oklahoma City Internet Marketing –
Searching for the same terms in a different order; placing the location first (Oklahoma City) and the service (internet marketing) last, produced a OneBox result with only three business listings. Some local Adwords advertisements still appeared with their specific address on the fourth line, which as mentioned previously only displayed a city or state.
Google Local Business Results: Business Marketing Oklahoma City –
A slightly different search for a similar business category yields a new clue to at least one of the factors Google uses to generate its OneBox 10 local business listings.
A search for the service (business marketing) and the location (Oklahoma City) produces a different yet seemingly innocuous list of businesses. However, in this particular query and in addition to the expected listing for my business “Advanced Marketing Consultants” appearing, “Cohn, Tim” also appears as one of the results.
Cohn, Tim is one of my business phone listings in my local Bell telephone directory. The phone company apparently can’t sort and digitally publish business listings with an individual’s name like they can an individual’s residential phone data.
A search in YellowPages.com produces “Cohn, Tim” for my business phone number –
Yet, a search in Google for “Tim Cohn Oklahoma” produces both of my residential phone numbers and listings in correct order: Tim (first name) and then Cohn (last name) –
I haven’t investigated whether the phone company automatically reverses residential phone records before they are published to the web or whether Google reverses the data before they publish it.
Regardless, it looks like the business listing for “Tim Cohn” will remain forever memorialized in the vast telephone company data and its Internet counterpart as the business listing: “Cohn, Tim”.
Having accepted the fact that the telephone company seemed incapable of changing their listing results years ago, I decided to turn this particular piece of flawed data into my “control”.
When Cohn, Tim appears in print – whether online or off – its source is always local phone company data.
Thus at least a portion of this particular Google local OneBox list origins lies in business telephone directory data.
To its credit, Google has become proactive in allowing users to modify incorrect Google data as Barry Schwartz recently reported.
And unlike my attempts to get the phone company to correct how my business phone listing appears both in print and online, I am sure Google will let me append my business listing in their Google Local Business Center, but that will have to be the subject of another post.
Google Local Business Results: Chevy Oklahoma City –
Unlike with an old fashioned yellow pages search for listings with “Chevy Oklahoma City” keywords whether in the yellow pages or through directory assistance, Google can return results most likely relevant and matched to the searchers or callers intent.
Whereas, a yellow pages search or directory assistance call would take a couple of “passes” to yield the similarly accurate and desired result – businesses listings most likely to be known as “Chevy Oklahoma City”.
Brilliant!
If the telephone company can’t arrange and organize my single business listing correctly in their digital directories, how will they ever be able to compete with Google’s ability to anticipate and even provide multiple possible answers to each searchers question?
Google Local Business Results: Double Glazers Chelsea London (England) –
Google’s local business results aren’t just appearing in the US. A search for “double glazers” in the Chelsea section of London produces a list of double glazers midway down the search engine results page. I am not sure why some OneBox results appear at the top of the page and why others appear in the middle of the page but I believe it too must be based on Google’s understanding of the searchers intent.
Google Local Business Results: Travel Agents Sydney (Australia) –
This search in Sydney, Australia for travel agents also produces a OneBox result. Here the OneBox appears again at the top of the page above the organic results.
In my next post, I will show how Google’s local business results have taken a second step closer to bridging the gap between paid web search traffic and foot traffic…
Google is now showing ten results for businesses under city, retail and service related queries instead of three.
This does two things:
1. It provides local businesses more exposure in local related searches. This in turn may aid Google’s efforts to generate more locally targeted advertising from retail and service businesses.
2. It reveals the lack of forethought shown by most businesses when it comes to choosing their free yellow pages category when ordering their phone line. If I had not spent years studying potential yellow pages categories for both mine and my client’s businesses, I too probably wouldn’t have given it much thought either. The data displayed under each query is only as informed as the person who placed the original order with the phone company.
In the following example under a Google search for “marketing oklahoma city” you can see about half of the businesses listed are probably not in the business of providing “marketing” services in Oklahoma City.
However, in a search for “marketing consultant oklahoma city” you can see nearly all of the businesses listed likely provide marketing consultant services in Oklahoma City.
Fortunately my business listing – Advanced Marketing Consultants – appears within both searches today.
Yes, every business with a phone line will probably now appear in a local search result.
One question remains – will their listing be shown to the right audience?
comScore Media Metrix has released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at top online properties for December 2007.
According to comScore’s Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking: “Advertising.com continued to lead the Ad Focus ranking of ad networks and sites accepting advertising, reaching 86 percent of the more than 183 million Americans online in December. Specific Media gained four spots to capture the fourth position reaching 77 percent of the online population. Collective Media gained seven spots to position 14, while Amazon.com climbed three spots to 34. YuMe Video Network, About, and Disney Online all entered the ranking this month capturing positions 37, 44, and 48, respectively.”
comScore’s Top 50 Ad Focus list is a great overview of the internet advertising market.
It also serves as a great starting point and road map for any business looking to expand their marketing presence online.
The following are the Top 50 Sources for Marketing and Advertising your business online according to comScore Media Metrix:
1. Advertising.com**
2. Yahoo! Network**
3. Google Ad Network**
4. Specific Media**
5. Yahoo!
6. ValueClick Networks**
7. Blue Lithium**
8. Tribal Fusion**
9. Google
10. Casale Media Network**
11. AOL Media Network
12. DRIVEpm**
13. MSN-Windows Live
14. Collective Media**
15. interCLICK**
16. Traffic Marketplace**
17. Yahoo.com Home Page
18. adconion media group**
19. Tremor Media
20. AOL
21. 24/7 Real Media**
22. Burst Media**
23. ADSDAQ by ContextWeb**
24. AdBrite**
25. Centro
26. Vibrant Media**
27. MySpace.com*
28. CPX Interactive**
29. Ebay.com
30. Gorilla Nation Media
31. Undertone Networks**
32. MSN.com Home Page
33. YouTube.com
34. Amazon.com
35. AdDynamix.com**
36. Ask Network
37. YuMe Video Network
38. Business.com Network
39. Ebau.com Home Page
40. Kontera**
41. PrecisionClick**
42. Mapquest
43. Walmart.com
44. About
45. The Nabbr Network
46. Facebook.com
47. Weather.com
48. Disney Online
49. Vizi Media**
50. Real Cities Network
Over the past several months I have received telemarketing calls from MerchantCircle.com.
Each call has come after hours with the caller leaving the following voice mail message:
“Calling to let you know that after searching Google, a satisfied customer found your website on MerchantCircle.com and gave you a positive rating for being a good local business. To see your rating, go to MerchantCircle.com and enter your business telephone number into the blue box. Again, that’s MerchantCircle.com.”
Although flattered, I am highly certain after having visited their website after each voice mail – no such thing occurred.
To Merchant Circle’s credit, using an auto dialer to drum up local advertising business is somewhat innovative but in my particular case whom does MerchantCircle.com think they are kidding?
Search Marketing Communications 
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