The sweet spot in effective search engine spending will change as the holiday shopping season progresses, and search engine marketers can squeeze the most out of their budgets by following the trend if conversion is the primary goal, says Stuart Larkins, vice president of search for DoubleClick Inc.’s Performics performance marketing division.
In early December, shoppers may still be looking at general or category keywords, but as the holiday draws near, searches on brand- or product-specific keywords will grow, notes Larkins. Typically, while category keywords aid in the purchasing process, it’s the more specific queries that most often convert directly, he says.
Larkins adds that different web site metrics will diverge as the holiday season progresses. Click-through rates are likely to stay high through the end of December and traffic will likely continue running heavy past the Christmas holiday. However, conversion rates will likely plummet after the holiday, “drastically reducing the cost effectiveness of the search program,” Larkins says.
As a result, Larkins advises online retailers to cut off search spending just before the holiday to preserve program profitability. “If you use monthly search budgets, spend your month’s budget between December 1 and the last day you can ship in December to still reach people before Christmas,” he says.
Back...
