Opinion
The new landscape of search
16 January 2012
Search is changing. It’s no longer simply being used to direct people to buy a given product at the last stage of the purchase funnel but has acquired a much wider role.
When we’re talking to clients about search in 2012, we’re talking about its use for driving footfall in bricks and mortar stores or building awareness for brands.
It has historically been too easy to paint search into a corner as something for e-commerce brands or lead collection but we are developing its role into something far wider.
As ever, such tasks can take advantage of the classical advantages of search, the ability to tested and adapt using small budgets before they rolled out once they have proven their ability to deliver.
The rise of mobile search has made search far more useful for bricks and mortar retail brands for example. Because consumers are now looking for information on the move (smartphone penetration is 44% in Denmark) that makes search relevant for retailers who can target relevant information seekers in the vicinity of their physical stores with offers and incentives.
Social search is a more complex equation as it generally works better for brands that have a well-developed and successful strategy (it also relies partly on Google+ penetration, which is yet to catch on in Denmark on a large scale).
It remains rare for both these channels to have separate budgets and moves into these areas tend to be funded from brands’ more general commitment to search (although as in many other markets, overall spend has continued to rise in search despite the current economic concerns in Europe).
Search is also being used to boost awareness. In the Danish auto-market for example, car brands are keen to communicate that they offer leasing terms to individuals not just to companies. Many have used their search strategies to ensure that consumers are aware that they provide great terms on such deals.
As a result of this wider vision of search, we are seeing a broader range of clients successfully using the channel and developing new approaches to a powerful, accountable, communications tool.
Kent Madsen, head of search, Mediacom Denmark