Brand Names and Search Engines
Filed Under Affiliate Marketing, Brand Name Bidding, Online Advertising, Search Engine Marketing
I just finished reading an article on a study of brand names and search engines done by Hitwise and discussed on Clickz. The article discusses how 15% of all brand searches are diverted from the company’s site:
After searchers type in a brand-name query on a search engine, only 85 percent end up at that brand’s Web site, while the rest are diverted to competitor’s sites, comparison shopping engines and affiliates. That’s according to a new study released by Hitwise, which undertook the research after determining that 75 of the most popular 100 searches in February involved trademarked brand names.
While the analysis considers a trip to an affiliate site as a diversion from the company’s site, I disagree with this analysis. The purpose of the affiliate site and the company’s site is to make the sale. Many affiliates presell the customer and then send them on the brand site. This is the whole purpose of the affiliate marketer, and the best affiliate marketers can do this better than the company site itself.
What should be of great concern to the brand managers is how many of those searching for their brand get picked up by competitors. These customers can be considered lost, because it is unlikely they will arrive back at the brand site. The article doesn’t discuss this aspect of the issue. How much revenue is lost to the competition? I would estimate at least 10 percent of the 15 percent quoted above go to competitors. It is true the company has to pay affiliates for the work they do, but only once the sale is made. The margin is slightly tighter. But when customers are lost to the competition, the sale is lost entirely. Which is better, a sale at a tighter margin or no sale at all?
To prevent lost sales such as these I advocate open search policies by affiliate managers. As I have said many times, when the search page is filled with affiliates, there is no room left for the competition. This policy can be harmonized with in-house search marketing efforts by requiring a bid cap, and reserving the number one spot for the company’s ad. The other nine ads on the page should be filled with affiliates. After all, the affiliate and the company all want the same thing, to make sales. There is no reason these two positions are mutually exclusive.
