The Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB's) latest research on search engine marketing's (SEM's) effect on branding may have been an eye opener to some but for those of us who have been beating this drum, it's great news!
It's always nice to have solid research to back up your ideas.
The study, designed by IAB staff and Nielsen//NetRatings measured changes in branding metrics based on exposure to a SERP and contextual search placement. And it clearly shows that Internet users are influenced by where you come up in a search engine results page.
We have known for some time that if you are not on the first three pages you probably wont get any traffic off that search term. Stats show that 80% of all the traffic goes to the first three on page one of a search result, but now it shows just how much these results influence how a Net surfer perceives your name or company relevant to your search page results.
Puts a slightly different spin on the importance of search engine marketing for PR professionals who are tasked with building and protecting the reputation of the business. The marketing department should sit up and take notice too. Brand value influences buying decisions.
Just one more good reason to use the MyST Technology platform that gets you cruising up the results.
Web developers who say that their clients are not interested in search results better take another look too. It's not just a method of getting traffic to the site anymore (though why a business would not want that is beyond me)
A well designed site, with excellent content based on properly researched keywords, is a great online brand enhancer. But of course it has to be found and seen by the right public.
And when they go searching, where you show up in the results is becoming a big part of how they perceive your brand value.
