The IAB’s Search Council has released guidance to help retailers increase their visibility and generate buzz around their brand more effectively through search marketing.
The recent H1 2011 IAB/PwC bi-annual ad spend survey showed that paid for search increased 12.6% on a like for like basis to £1,313 million, representing a share of 58% of online advertising. These figures emphasise the continued popularity of the channel as well as the importance of education and further understanding of the discipline in order to get the most out of it.
The IAB’s Search Council has released this toolkit specifically for retailers providing detailed tips, hints and insights to give retail brands all the information they need to ensure they are fully visible online. The toolkit concentrates on 5 key themes to help retailers maximise the return from their paid for search campaigns:
1. The role of search in retail and how to maximise paid and natural search
2. Exploring and capitalising on the mobile opportunity
3. A look at some search tools available to retailers
4. How to measure success in retail
5. Some current trends and opportunities in the retail space
The toolkit also includes case studies from high street brands Carphone Warehouse and WH Smith proving just how effective search is when utilised correctly, with the Carphone Warehouse using Image Search effectively to achieve 59% less for each sale generated.
IAB’s project manager, Chris Probert said: “According to figures from the British Retail Consortium and Google, mobile search volumes for retail were up 216% year on year, boosting total retail search volumes up 27%. This toolkit is specifically designed to help retail brands capitalise on the mobile opportunity as well as to highlight some key trends and opportunities in the retail space.”
