Marketers Need To Better Align Search, Online Goals

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Marketers need to better communicate how revenue acquisitions goals and results contribute to the companies' bottom- and top-line revenue growth, according to a recent study.

The Forrester Research study commissioned by Marin Software says 83% of marketing participants believe their online advertising efforts are held accountable to revenue outcomes. Only 6% said their companies are less focused now on driving revenue from online ads than they were in 2011. And 80% expect revenue targets for online ad campaigns to increase slightly this year.

Although marketers are aware that search contributes to a company's growth, data analysis needs to improve.

"I can't tell you how many companies have their search marketing team in a little separate silo, or the CMO comes up from the display site of the business," said Matt Lawson, VP of marketing at Marin. "Search budgets are nearly half of the $98 billion online advertising marketing."

Forrester expects brands will spend more than $33 billion on search marketing by 2016, up from $24 billion this year.

More accurate ad targeting, followed by improved efficiencies in marketing operations and better campaign measurement, are the top three benefits of online advertising, marketers believe. Still, Lawson said many marketers sidestep processes, although most survey respondents said they take responsibility for revenue outcomes.

Ad goals and metrics lack alignment, with nearly two-thirds of marketers admitting they are focused on driving sales, 65%, and leads at 64%. While marketers track conversions, their top metric is site traffic.

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1 comment on "Marketers Need To Better Align Search, Online Goals".

1. Kevin Lee from Didit
   

   commented on: January 28, 2013 at 5:47 p.m.
   Search is as much a metric as it is a form of media when looking at an online campaign holistically. Both paid and earned media (in particular earned social media and PR) have a direct influence on both brand and non-branded keyword search behavior by consumers. Getting a handle on the big picture, particularly as it relates to the intersection of paid and earned media is a non-trivial task, particularly when one looks at paid social campaigns designed specifically to amplify social media (like Twitter Sponsored Tweets and Sponsored Stories on FB). It's one of the reasons Didit got back into SEO and into earned media social after years of a focus on PPC and Display.

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