When developing an effective integrated marketing plan, marketers should integrate both search and display media. Close to 50% of marketers (with revenues reaching up to $50 millions or more) use these channels. Moreover, search and display user experiences are converging. Videos and images are now being incorporated into sponsored and natural search results, resembling banner ads.
Forrester research recommends integrating search and display media for three reasons. Firstly, the convergence of both efforts is fast, smart and efficient. Advertisements on the Web, such as ad exchanges and supply-side platforms, can financially access unique audiences. Traditional search marketing vendors also purchase and optimize search and display media, thus securing a number of partners needed for online media management for their clients.
The convergence of search and display media not only saves money, but makes it. Efforts include an increase campaign results through a variety of channels, reduced buying paths, and a decrease in convergence time. Additionally, search and display media highlight customer insights by uncovering their interest and intent information that shapes a company’s strategic plan.
To begin convergence both media, Forrester advises to first target display ads based on relevant search query data. It further advocates creating coherence message across search and display efforts. This includes aligning creative banner ads with search ad copy, but not in a closely related manner. One way is to manually craft deviations that support display images or messages alongside key groups of search keywords. An active ad generator, such as Tumri, is useful.
Another way you can begin to utilize search and media display is to facilitate communication between paid search and display teams. Message and tactic harmonization is the most simple and effortless way for paid search and display personnel who work together throughout the campaign process.
After completing these steps, marketers need to measure their results. Forrester advocates for a combination of paid search and display information into a single report. Marketers who perform these endeavors have a more holistic perspective on search and display convergence. Tracking conversion rates through a single ad server will remove the task of counting identical conversions over and over again.
Implementing an attribution model is another way for tracking metrics. Modeling the influence and correlation search and display media have on each other and their end outcomes is a better approach than the traditional strategy that tributes the final marketing effort responsible for a conversion.