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Google, RKG Find Musical Chi-Chings On Tablets For Sweetwater

Sweetwater

Tablets garner conversion rates greater than 10% compared with PCs, and average order values of more than 30%, according to Matthew Mierzejewski, vice president of pay per click at Rimm-Kaufman Group (RKG), a digital marketing agency supporting paid-search campaigns. Owners tend to have disposable income for entertainment-related services, and appear to be more competent with shopping online, especially on iPads.

In an auditory world, it's all about audiophiles -- much of it on tablets -- at least for Sweetwater Sound Founder Chuck Surack. Since tablets hit the market, iPads continue to help drive double-digit sales growth of high-technology musical instruments and pro audio equipment for the company across Google properties with help from RKG. Not sure about you, but my music goes with me nearly everywhere via iPhone, iPad, or laptop.

The goals of capturing a growing segment of tablet-using customers, increasing the ability to reach a tech-savvy audience, and implementing a click-to-call feature to drive customers into a telephone service channel are all reliant on the knowledge that musicians are also likely iPad users.

So the RKG team tweaked ad copy, keywords, and bids based on performance by device. Sweetwater also implemented the click-to-call mobile feature to drive more leads by telephone, where sales engineers support customer relationships. It turns out that 4.5% of mobile phone leads choose click-to-call rather than clicking on URLs in ads.

The changes earned 30% higher conversion rates compared with desktops and laptops, and orders originating from iPads garnered a 10% higher value. Mobile traffic on sweetwater.com rose to 8%, up from 2.6% in 2008. 

There are reasons that this paid-search tablet strategy works well for Sweetwater, Mierzejewski said, such as its customer base. Most people type in music-related search terms on the mobile device, looking for information to become better educated. They spend time browsing the company's 250,000-page Web site filled with buyer’s guides, product reviews, tech tips, gear videos, an online product support center, and unique browsing features such as Guitar Gallery and Cable Finder.

Mierzejewski will keep an eye on iPad market share. "If two years from now we see a Google or Android-based tablet taking market share resulting in lower prices, we might see a shift in the stats we see today," he said. "We're seeing higher conversion rates today because of the profile of the iPad user."

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