30 search 2.0 DMNews • search engine Marketing guide 2009
Get ready to test the mobile search waters in 2009
From one search query, there are ten ways to get an answer
By GreGG Stewart esearch seems to say that this is the year of everything mobile. Smartphone use is increasing and manufacturers are slashing prices, making them available to the masses. So, although wireless carriers still need to offer non-prohibitive data plans, this may prove an important year for mobile search. Soon, most of the expected 191 million Americans carrying a mobile device will be searching for everything local on their phone — an opportunity for marketers to dip their toe into the mobile search waters. According to TMPDM research, two out of three Wi-Fi-enabled consumers already look up local listings and maps on their smartphones. This doesn’t mean that you need to revamp your whole campaign, but you do need to extend it slightly to diversify your media mix. Invest in Google’s adwords for mobile Most businesses have not tapped into Google’s offering because it is so new, but this service is an easy extension to your existing Adwords campaign. ensure that your listings are correct Businesses often find their local listings inaccurate, from their phone number to the physical business address. Many Internet yellow pages offer mobile applications for smartphones, so ensuring your business listing is accurate for the mobile searcher is critical to boosting sales. Investigate social/mobile search behavior Look at local search sites that invest in mobile as well as social search tools. Citysearch lets Facebook users Gregg stewart read and write reviews on their tMP directional Marketing devices. These reviews are then broadcast in Facebook, allowing you to read Citysearch reviews from your Facebook News Feed. Businesses can track Facebook reviews of their establishments, to take easy advantage of local, word-of-mouth promotion. consider mobile voice search With a possible 2.1 billion ad-sponsored directory assistance calls to be made by 2012, voice search is a wise tool to examine. Mobile phone searchers are in an advanced phase of the buying cycle — typically with an immediate need — so you can target specific messages and even offer coupons to searchers receiving listings via text. As more people buy smartphones and carriers offer unlimited data plans at little cost to the consumer, it will be imperative for advertisers to weave mobile into their search strategy. Early adopters of mobile local search will have the benefit of testing the platform and building loyalty without a huge investment.
By DaviD Berkowitz hile the vision of search activity reaching past the desktop has been around for a while, the proliferation of mobile devices and new technologies makes “anytime, anywhere” search easier. Marketers may not need all of them, but it’s increasingly crucial to be aware of the disparate ways to reach consumers when, where, and how they search. Here are ten different ways of conducting a search query. We’ll say that Alex in Dallas is looking for flowers for his girlfriend. home Pc Query: “flowers dallas tx.” Alex uses Google and Yahoo to look for flowers in his area. Twitter search Query: “flowers dallas.” Thinking he might not have many followers in or from Dallas, he checks search.twitter. com to see if anyone has mentioned local florists recently. sMs: search engines Query: “flowers 75248.” Alex enters the ZIP code to narrow the results. Plus, with his phone’s keypad, he can enter as few characters as possible. sMs: Q&a services Query: “anyone know where to get the best flowers in dallas” sent to 242242, the shortcode for ChaCha. A guide responds via SMS with suggestions. Alex can also seek answers via ask@mosio.com, a rival service. WaP (mpobile Web) Query: “flowers 75248” entered in Google Mobile on his phone. Voice search Query: “flowers,” then “dallas texas.” He dialed 1-800-FREE-411, or could have used 800-GOOG-411. car: GPs Query: “florist.” On his device, Alex selects “search nearby” and picks the closest match. It doesn’t return the most David Berkowitz comprehensive results, working 360i better for other searches. airplane Query: “flowers san francisco.” On business, Alex flies on a Boeing 767-200 plane with in-flight Wi-Fi. His girlfriend is meeting him for the weekend. On Google on his laptop, he finds Rossie & Rovetti Flowers near his hotel. TV Query: “flowers 75248” entered on his Samsung with Intel software with Yahoo widgets. Alex finds the initial technology frustrating compared to PCs and mobile devices. Word of Mouth Query: “Know any good florists in Dallas?” Search is anchored in word of mouth. But it might take time to think of people Alex knows who live in the right area who know of good florists. But when he calls his flower-loving friend and gets a recommendation, there’s no question where he’ll wind up.
Gregg Stewart is SVP of interactive, TMP Directional Marketing. Reach him at gregg.stewart@tmpdm.com.
David Berkowitz is director of emerging media and client strategy, 360i. Reach him at dberkowitz@360i.com.
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