Search engines in Guerrilla marketing

Using search engines for fast finding of information has become a usual for absolute majority of the Internet users. Search engines are used over 8 billion times a day for searching websites, photos, videos or other data. As the table below shows, Google keeps the majority of the users however local Czech companies cannot forget about the Seznam search engine that keeps to be the most popular search engine on the Czech market.

Search Engines usage in 2008

Image 27 Search Engines usage in 2008, Nielsen Online, MegaView Search, (Johnson, 2009)

Guerrilla Marketing campaigns should always be unexpected, drastic, humorous, temporary, and cheap and they should provide a benefit for the customer. The environment of search engines, no matter which one specifically, are limited to display only search forms, search results, usual pay-per-click advertising, classic ads (like banners) and supportive links. Therefore, it is necessary to use one or more of those elements and use them in such a way that attract the attention more than the usual content.

The margin progress of search engines in the Czech Republic

Image 28 The margin progress of search engines in the Czech Republic NAVRCHOLU.cz, the margin is presented in percentage points, translated from Czech language; CZE (Antos, 2007)

* the margin between January 2007 and July 2006, in percentage points

In order to make the search engines successful resource for website traffic on the organisational website an efficient strategy for search engine optimization has to be applied, because there is low probability that a business could raise massive attention when the search result would be displayed on fifth or thirteen’s page, for example. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a special marketing field aimed to search engines.

Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine Marketing refers to search engine strategy which includes search engine optimization (SEO) and use of PPC (pay-per-click) Engines to maximize Return of investment (ROI) from search engines. A typical effort of small company in the Czech Republic is to gain the maximum targeted visitors to the company´s website and record their conversion – even if its purchase of a product or just getting information about how to contact the right person for make an contract.

Experience shown that search engine traffic can make (or break) an organization’s success. Targeted visitors to a website can provide publicity, revenue and exposure like no other. Investing is SEO, whether through time or finances, can have exceptional rate of return (SEOmoz, 1996-2009).

Pay-Per-Click advertising

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is an advertising model in which advertisers pay for click-through to their website. Ads are served based on keywords or themes (NotePage, Inc., 2003-2009). The most well-known PPC systems are in the Czech republic, according to secondary research, as follows:

• Seznam Sklik, www.sklik.cz
• Google Adwords, www.adwords.google.com
• AdFOX by Centrum, www.adfox.cz
• ETARGET, www.etarget.cz

The advertising model and format of the ads is similar and therefore it is very common that even small businesses use more PPC systems in the same time for one campaign. Guerrilla Marketing campaigns objectives should be, based on the presented guerrilla marketing principles and primary research findings, different than other campaigns - uniqueness should build attention, increase attractiveness of the product and help to build desire for the product with consequent action of purchase. Using PPC to be different is not simple task because several rules for designing a PPC ad have to be respected, as it is depicted on following diagram:

Image 29 Rules for creating a PPC ad, Viktor Sevcik, Lupa.cz,  http://www.lupa.cz/clanky/co-nabizeji-dnesni-ppc-systemy/, CZE, Designed by Vit Horky

Ambush marketing in search engines

Ambush marketing, whose principles were already described in the Literature review, can be used in online environment, especially in search engines where a competition is presented usually at the same format and style with no particular possibility to be differentiated (now speaking only about search engine results; possibilities of differentiation can be found in using extra paid advertising space etc.). Therefore, there is an opportunity to ambush the brand name and create a link between the search query by the internet user and a business website.

Using PPC advertising campaigns for ambush marketing is usually connected to creating keywords that would successfully link the campaign to the competitive campaigns. However, the marketer has to be aware that using a name of the competition in the PPC campaigns is restricted. In reality, the campaigns have to be agreed by the provider (Seznam, Google ...) before they appear in the search engines. The control mechanism usually discovers such problems and the advert are sent for change. However, careful research of keywords that are relevant to the target group may enable to use wide variety of such key phrases that will make the ad successfully shown in many unexpected search results. Following example introduces the concept of using PPC advertising with thoughts of guerrilla marketing online.

Creative concept #10
Ambush Pay-Per-Click advertising for top-quality handcrafted beds manufacturer
 

About client

Hästens is brand of luxurious beds.  In more than 150 years Hästens has hand crafted beds using only natural filling materials. Hästens is currently established in 25 markets and continues to expand organically in existing markets as well as initiating sales in new markets. The brand is exclusively represented in the Czech Republic by the Vagner Design company; their website is accessible on www.postele-hastens.cz.

The campaign

In order to raise the website traffic to the company website Karel Vagner, the Vagner Design director, wants to promote efficiently the company on Internet in a stylish and unique way that would represent the Hästens corporate image accordingly. The Pay-Per-Click textual advertising is assessed as an appropriate promotion channel and Seznam Sklik and Google Adwords are chosen for the campaign however particular tactic for differentiation has to be developed in order to raise attention and build significant click-through-rate (CTR) – large number of visitors interested in the marketing message in the PPC advert coming to the company website.

Objectives 

Image 30 Ambush PPC Advertising for Hastens beds, Campaign objectives, created by Vit Horky

The strategy

It is assumed that top-quality luxurious beds may be compared to other top-quality products which may be for example cars, furniture or accessories. Therefore, the campaign includes such a keywords like names of the brands and companies producing such a products and keywords relevant to the top quality luxurious products no matter a category they are in. To ensure, that the PPC provider will not ban the advertisements because of the rules infringement a special landing page of the Hastens website is designed containing a cover story explaining a different types of products that the Hästens clients are used to use in their daily life.

Image 31 Ambush PPC advertising for Hastens beds, visualisation of the PPC model, print screens of Google Search, Google Inc. And Hastens beds website, designed by Vit Horky.

The desired outcome

The campaign should appear in the search results after visitor search for products he is planning to buy, such as a car, furniture or ear-rings. When the Hästens advertisement appears the Internet user unconsciously makes the link between the requested luxurious products and the Hästens beds and moreover a click-through to the website will show the visitor why it is smart to buy the Hästens beds. The potential risk of this campaign is minimized by the process when PPC advert is always approved by the PPC provider and therefore no potential loss of breaking rules can not be identified as well as any other potential risks. The positive outcome highly depends on proper research of target group, its behaviour on Internet and characteristics and positioning of product communicating via PPC advertising with Guerrilla Marketing principles.

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