Adapting To The Search Environment
Have you adapted to the current search environment? In the current economic state it is very likely that your customers have changed their search patterns to match the tough times.
Hitwise US have reported that in a 12 week window there has been 1,746 searches including the term “cheap” being used in Canada. The top 9 out of 10 terms were also travel related, eg; cheap flights, cheap hotels etc.
What can I do with this information from Canada?
It is very likely that this trend is relevant to your market as well. What it does show is that consumers are still looking to consume, but everyone is sensitive to their budgets! Tailoring offers and online marketing campaigns around this keyword modifier (eg; “cheap” is the keyword modifier and “travel holiday” is a keyword) could really boost your sales quickly and produce a higher return on investment (ROI).
What do I do next to adapt to the new search environment?
- Address your pay per click advertising campaigns first – Create a new campaign or ad group with “cheap” added to your keyword phrases. Also, highlight “cheap” in your ad copy.
- Use your favorite keyword tool to produce other similar keyword modifiers to test in other campaigns or ad groups.
- Watch and learn - Determine which keyword modifier is outperforming the others.
- Time to upscale – Increase your daily budget and work on increasing your ad click through rates to get every possible click available. It is also time to start modifying page elements to increase search engine rankings based around the winning keyword modifier and website conversion rates.
- Email campaign – Incorporate your new super performing keywords in your next email marketing campaigns. Use them in the email headline, offers and the links that funnel readers back to your site.
Before you go
Stop and consider if the above example is in-line with the image that you have built for your brand. If it does not fit your brands image, consider adding value to your offers to increase sales. In the long run adding value will allow you to return to your normal price structure after the economy has recovered. 
Related posts:
Great points about watch, learn and then upscale. Not enough Adwords users do this and end up wasting their money and complaining.
Nice article. I like how it flows from research to integrating into the other forms of the online marketing mix.
@Craig – I agree!
Brad I thought you sold that car? hahaha
@ Craig – very true. wasting money in ppc is one of the biggest complaints you hear when talking to companies about their campaigns that don’t use professional Adword management companies. The process is one of the most important elements of ppc or any marketing campaign for that matter.
@ John – Thanks John. Integration is key for really boosting up conversions and sales on proven data.
@ Kash – I kept it just for this blog post!
Thought you would like it!
Adding value I think is the better option for capturing sales in the current economy. Often creating a perceived level in value will produce an increase number of sales over discounting your product.
Nice article posted, I liked the image that posted in this article.
Great Tourism Marketing stuff, please keep up the great work you are doing for the industry.We all need to keep learning.
Hi Cliff,
Glade to see you found the article useful and thank you for the kind words. Hope to see you around the blog more.
Kind Regards
Brad Davis