The Rocket Newsletter

April 2008

Another month rolls by with huge news in the world of Search. Yahoo and Google working together? Microsoft still trying to buy Yahoo! Google changing the rules on AdWords brand bidding. Check out our tips on corporate blogging in client corner, stay in the know with our Networking briefs, and find out how the change at Google will affect your paid search campaigns and reputation management strategy.

There's always loads going on to fuel the Rocket at Propellernet. We're staying on top of it all, and condensing the most important bits for you here. If you do have anything you want to find out or see in next months newsletter then we'd like know. Infact we dare you to ask us rocket@propellerent.co.uk.

Google allow AdWord bidding on competitors company and brand names

Google have announced that from 5th May 2008, it will once again be possible to bid on third party trademarked brand names via Google AdWords. This means anyone could pay to appear on Google for searches for your company or product names.

Why now?

Speculation revolves around a recent case brought against Yahoo! by catering business owner Victor Wilson, the owner of the trademark 'Mr Spicy'. The judge found in favour of Yahoo!, though in this case Yahoo's broad-matching technology was responsible for showing a third parties listing having bid on the single word "spicy" and not the protected "Mr Spicy" brand. This change to Google's policy for now only affects the UK and Ireland. The USA and Canada have had a similar policy in operation since 2004.

So what does this mean for your business?

Reputation management has been a hot topic for a while now, and this certainly presents further issues.
If third parties are bidding on your brand, then what are they saying? The immediate consideration has been competitors biting into your brand traffic (people searching by your brand names) and siphoning-off sales based upon your brand strength. It's certainly a risk, which re-emphasise the importance of appearing in paid search listings for your own brand.

However it's not just your competitors that you need to watch out for, but brand detractors also. Earlier this year Marks and Spencer were threatened by a union campaigning about staffing policies. Their planned method of attack was through keyword Google AdWord campaigns using the brand name - brand bidding - around their own messages.

Within the industry, we recognised this was doomed to failure due to Google's restrictions on trademarked brand bidding. Ironically the campaign achieved substantial press coverage due to its 'innovative' approach, and perhaps could be considered a PR success, despite it not working as originally intended. With the new policies in place from May, M&S and other brands will be susceptible to this type of campaign once again.

If your company has picked up some enemies along the way, you'll need to watch this space very carefully and consider your own reputation management strategy.

What about the Quality Score?

You don't need to hit the panic button quite yet. Back in summer 2006 Google introduced a Quality Score system to the AdWords platform that influences the price you have to pay for clicks based upon a relevancy algorithm. What this means is that along with the long term AdWords pricing factor, click through rate, Google also consider the relevancy of your creative. That is the text that appears in your listing and your landing page that the keyword bid upon links to.

Rest assured then that the brand owner will always be more relevant to their own brand terms than any third party. The Quality Score should ensure that click costs are considerably less expensive for brand owners than brand hijackers.

Brand wars or keyword amnesty?

So come 5th May, will it be all out war, with brands bidding on all their competitors brand terms and vice versa? Possibly not. There is some suggestion that there will be a number of 'gentlemen's agreements' in place whereby companies will respectfully agree not to bid on one another's brand terms.

Affiliates may seize the opportunity with both hands however, unless merchants insist on competitor-brand restrictions similar to merchant-brand restrictions that have been common place in recent years.

As stated, reputation management is a key part of the planning behind an effective Paid Search strategy. If you have a concern that this could affect you or you simply aren't sure of what it all means to you then speak to one of Propellernet's expert search marketing team and they will be happy to advise you.

Best regards,

Client Corner - Avoid the blog standard

Successful blogging for business by Lauren Fisher

Last month I attended a training course on social media for business. The focus of the course was on how companies can find a way to interact within social media and, refreshingly, this didn't centre around Facebook.

Among the talk of fancy widgetry, slick marketing campaigns and sophisticated user interaction was a focus on the written word, and in particular online blogs. Once thought of as a space for those wishing to record the minutiae of their daily lives, blogs have evolved into a crucial marketing tool and have given birth to the increasingly powerful super blogger. See an interview with Al Carlton writer of one such blog that has 72,000 RSS readers, for his valuable insights in to blogging successfully.

Benefits of blogging for business

The value of a blog for businesses must not be overlooked. A blog...

is the most effective way to reduce the distance between consumer and producer.
provides your business with a face - online transactions often take place no human contact.
builds brand trust - it is an opportunity to shout about the good (and the bad)
is your communication tool between you and your customers / potential customers.

Managing a blog

There are basic requirements that are going to make your blog effective.

Resource - choose the right person/people in your organisation to write it. Ensure they have...
- the relevant experience and passion for the company.
- the writing skills and personality to engage with readers.
- the time to dedicate the necessary focus.
Copy - ensure content is fresh and meaningful. If it looks half-hearted, then so do you.
Visual & audio - enhance the content and appearance of your blog. Blogs do not have to centre solely around text - the use of audio and video (a vlog) will significantly add to the user experience.

While the course provided a real insight into how brands can contribute to the 'social' circle, I felt that an understanding of the psychology of the user was missing. The traditional concept of marketing to an online audience is changing. It is no longer based on a one too many model. Social media is, by definition, an area designed for personal use - to contact friends, to share tips and to distribute yourself to the online world. I don't doubt that businesses can interact in this space, but there needs to be an understanding of how it will benefit the user - what will a user be looking for in a blog that your business can provide?

Writing blog content

The challenge for a business blog is to engage individual users in a way that is meaningful and useful.

Have a goal - define the outcome you want to get from your blog. This will then steer your content creation.
Choose an audience and define what they need - then you can be sure you're giving it to them.
Create unique, relevant and interesting content - give your audience something of value. Don't waste their time with repetitive, regurgitation of other stories. Add comment, keep it topical, link to relevant content on other sites and forward the conversation.
Don't use jargon - if you use language that can't be understood you will alienate people. If you use a technical term make sure you offer a definition.
Keep it consistent - if you have different writers then make sure they all keep to a similar tone and structure. It helps your readers and shows a professional approach.
Measure and improve - watch the traffic on your blog. See what topics are popular and generate comment. Reflect on why others are not. Use this to plan content for the future.

Search strategy benefits

Producing a blog can have a powerful impact on your search engine results.

Improve your rankings - search engine spiders like a website that stays fresh and is constantly updated. A blog does exactly this.
Uses the language of searchers - blogs can improve your ranking for long-tail search terms as the writing style of your blog is likely to be more day to day conversation than your site's current content.
Creates topic relevant links - most importantly, a commitment to ensuring your content is exciting, useful and fresh, may just be rewarded with a big fat juicy link.

Staff Profile

Name: Lauren Fisher
Role: Onlnie PR Consultant

Why Propellernet?
Besides working with such a fantastic group of people, I feel I am given the freedom to explore & develop new opportunities in an industry that is constantly changing.

Interesting Fact:
A few years ago I beat the old world record for cream cracker eating.

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