One of the most common topics we encounter when planning a new paid search engagement is how much focus should be placed on the competitive landscape. More specifically, is it prudent to bid on competitors’ branded and/or product terms? There are a lot of considerations to make when answering this question.

First off, the major paid search venues use some form of Quality Score or ranking system based on relevancy. Always keep in mind that the search venues get paid based on the click, not the conversion goal. Your profitability is secondary to theirs. As such, always consider – “Is my product/service/company more relevant for my competitors brand than they are?” If you answer “yes” than either you’ve found a utopian business or you are deluding yourself. Since your competitor will almost always be more relevant for their brand name and products, you will find yourself bidding higher just to maintain visibility. You are fighting an uphill battle with this one.

So should you even bother to bid on competitor terms? Yes, if you can commit to it. Strategy becomes crucial in this endeavor. Here are some tips to point you in the right direction:

#1 Make sure all your competitor-related terms are separated from the rest of the terms. Assign a specific budget to these competitor terms. Bear in mind that branded searches of any kind indicate that some preliminary research has been done or a familiarity exists. Because of this you are faced with the challenge of persuading someone who may be quite far down the decision making path to consider a different alternative. In order to convert these customers with a high degree of success, you likely need the perfect storm of: 1) better value 2) lower price 3) stronger call-to-action 4) and a reasonable degree of brand strength. It is not often a prospect will abandon what they are familiar with for an alternative they are not without 1, 2 and 3 being in place.

#2 Focus on what you can control. Often, when aggressively targeting competitors’ terms, you can expect lower Click Through Rates and a higher Cost Per Click than the campaign average. However, this doesn’t mean this traffic can’t or won’t convert. It does mean you need to focus on what you can control. Most prominently, your landing page and user experience. The traffic that is generated by this segment needs to be hit hard and fast with the information needed to ideally make a new buying decision, or at the very least, reset the buying process. Since the latter situation is far more likely, conversion measurement may need to be treated differently.

For instance, in the case of an e-commerce Product A and Product B: A certain percentage of the searchers for Product A will buy Product B if presented with the right value proposition. A larger percentage, which remains largely unknown or unidentified, will take a step back in their buying process and will start to consider Product B alongside Product A.

The first step is to create this audience by establishing credibility and proposing Product B as a worthy alternative to Product A. A word of warning: This cannot be done by disparaging Product A or its source, and it will take more than “Before you buy A, take a look at B.” If you do this, you will decrease your chances of converting these customers and will solidify their buying decision to purchase Product A. Give your potential customers/clients a little more credit.

This is a perfect opportunity to deploy a specifically targeted landing page, with an objective Features Matrix or some other tasteful comparison tool. It is our job as marketers to play to our strengths so definitely highlight what is better about Product B. Testimonials and third-party validation and accolades are appropriate to use here as credibility builders. Don’t be shy, but don’t be over the top either. There is plenty of research surrounding how to appropriately use testimonials, etc. and when to use them.

If you can build enough value in Product B’s strengths, then it is possible to overshadow its shortcomings. Not to point out the obvious, but if Product B has no positive comparisons to Product A, find a new job. In this day and age if you aren’t as good as your competitor, you better be cheaper, and if you aren’t cheaper you are out of business – you just may not know it yet.

MySpace just launched a new ad platform called MyAds.com.

The platform allows advertisers to:
• Create display/banner ads using provided templates or allows the upload of custom ads
• Target Audiences down to the specifics (Interest and Occupation, Demographics, Geography)
• View your audience reach of unique users as you narrow your target audience, this system also adjusts suggested bid

Payment Options and Who Can Advertise
Payment is on a CPC (cost per click) basis. Currently they are only accepting credit cards and are only running in the U.S. They are offering a $25 credit to new users for 1 week. Use CODE web06250925 during checkout.

Reporting & Tracking
I asked several times whether they would be providing any type of conversion tracking to advertisers but received no answer. I will follow up with Lisa Carrieri later this week to see if I can get details. Currently, the platform does offer basic reporting on impressions, clicks, and CTR.

Why You Should Try Myads.com
The CPC model and the targeting and uploading of ads allows the advertiser to have more control of their ads. This will open up a whole new methodology for testing and launching ad campaigns. With the ability to test which ads are performing best and the ability to gain a better understanding of who your target audience will be highly cost effective. MyAds can also serve as a valuable testing platform before launching a National offline campaign.

Let’s hope they don’t have the same click fraud problems as Facebook.

Let us know if you have used the platform and what your thoughts are.

As we rapidly approach March of 2009, what have you done to stay ahead of the recession? How are you shifting your focus, marketing strategies and messaging to adapt to the new state of mind of your customers?

We’re offering up some basic tips on how to market smarter online and in-house:

• Fix the weaknesses. Invest time internally to understanding your weaknesses. Most of the time, when business is good we are too busy to fix those thorns in our sides that often reduce productivity, efficiency and creativity. A great place to start is your Web site. Review Web site statistics to see how people are getting to your site and review your conversion (sales) process online to see if it can be improved with regard to ease-of-use for the user. Understand your Web site’s visibility online, could you be getting streamlining your online efforts to get more targeted traffic and less riffraff?
• Become great at what you are now good at. Don’t change who you are, don’t try to be everything to everyone but focus on your specialty. We always jump at the chance to work with business that have a niche. Niche businesses thrive online because the Internet is the quickest and best way to find a specialty service or unique product. Folks looking for these niche products or services are more likely to engage with you, thus making it more likely to convert them into a sale or customer. The right mix of online marketing strategies coupled with a good online user experience creates a recipe for success.
• Find a way to change your messaging that still coincides with your brand without jeopardizing what you stand for AND find a way to change your messaging that demonstrates to clients the value of your product or service. A niche client of ours was toiling with the idea of adding a less expensive line to her product offering to accommodate for the down economy. Until now she only focused on offering boutique high-end products. In the end she decided this was not best for her company because this was not representative of her brand. She found a way to reach consumers by changing her messaging and providing reasons for why consumers should purchase this type of quality product in a down economy. Sales have continued to increase since November 2008.
• Work with smaller companies who specialize in specific areas like online marketing, specifically PPC management strategies. You’ll find that often times you will get better service, better results, and overall more value from your investment. Understand, especially with PPC management, that this is a “managed media” and not “placed media.” If you are spending less than $100k/month on PPC and your Internet Marketing agency or current service provider is taking a percentage of ad spend then consider that your first red flag. With smaller specialized Internet marketing companies you have a better chance of stretching your dollar and spending less to get more.
• Focus on relationship marketing. First focus on how much you know about your current and past customers. What are their needs and preferences? How can you adjust your product or service to meet their needs now? If you are suffering from a loss of staff, look to initiatives like email marketing, trigger emails and personalized (yet automated) customer service strategies to make a one-to-one connection with your customers. Invest in reviewing your site statistics to gain a basic understanding of what is and isn’t working so that you can make adjustments that will capture the right customer.
• Be innovative. “Why did so many great companies and products come from the Great Depression? While there’s no question that a bad economy makes it tougher to raise capital and launch new products, the reality is that good ideas executed well always have room to succeed. A different way to look at it, a shrinking wallet means that more attention is given to every purchase, and therefore the best customer value equation have a better chance of success during a downturn.” – Idris Mootee, FutureLab Read the post by FutureLab here.