• by Craig Swerdloff , October 26, 2006

A successful demand generation strategy requires a multichannel effort.  Marketers who rely too heavily on search and affiliate programs could be headed for trouble.  Smart marketers are learning how to apply the knowledge they have garnered through SEM to other channels, including e-mail list rental. 

You can do this in three ways:

1. Use high-performance keywords in subject lines. Experienced search engine marketers are now sitting on a wealth of data about keyword performance.  Test your most effective keywords in e-mail subject lines. 

2. Optimize your landing pages. Again, leverage your knowledge of landing page performance by keyword.  Use the most appropriate landing pages by subject line, and then optimize accordingly.

3. Use contextual targeting to send relevant offers via e-mail to a highly receptive audience.  There are many online activities beyond search that hint at buyer intent.  While a bride-to-be will enter "wedding dress" into a search engine, she will also read articles on The Knot site, and sign up for "wedding" offers and newsletters.  Renting these e-mail addresses within a short timeframe after sign-up has shown to increase response and conversion significantly.  Look for interest categories that match up to your top keywords.

Diversifying your media spend across channels becomes increasingly important as the search market matures.  By leveraging your search learnings in other channels you will actually increase your ROI, even in the face of increased competition.