Search marketing is at a critical crossroads.
More consumers than ever before are relying on search for every stage of the buyer journey, from initial research to to final purchase.
However, with the increased reliance on search comes increased expectation from consumers.
Consumers want to find what they’re looking for no matter where they begin their search. And they expect that brand messaging will remain consistent across platforms.
According to a recent study by Google, 75% of smartphone owners turn to search as their first step in the buying process.
To add to the complexity, search has comes to mean more than just text. Buyers are increasingly interested in easier to use voice and image searches as well.
All this means that mastering search marketing at an enterprise or global business level is more complicated than ever before.
Differences across countries, regions, business units, platforms, and partners create complicated barriers to business results.
How do you overcome these challenges to create a well-oiled (and insanely successful) search marketing machine?
Together with Catalyst, ClickZ will be hosting an exclusive breakfast club for CMOs, “Mastering Search Marketing at Your Enterprise Business.”
Content produced in collaboration with Catalyst.
Here are a few of the enterprise search marketing topics we’ll cover:
The macro view of consumer search trends (organic and paid)
Let’s take a personal example from my life as a consumer.
After this morning’s workout, I decided that my sweatpants just weren’t cutting it anymore.
I knew what I wanted: Athleisure wear that would be more aesthetically pleasing than the ill-fitting sweats I’ve held on to for years.
So I googled “Women’s Athleisure Track Pants.” From there, I compared the offerings from Nordstrom, T.J. Maxx, and Amazon. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, so I made sure to compare all my options.
According to a recent study by Catalyst and ClickZ, my search was pretty typical.
Consumers in the research stage of their buyer’s journey regularly compare products at Walmart, prices at Target, and reviews at Best Buy before ever making a purchase.
However, the study also found that while marketers increasingly sell their products on myriad ecommerce platforms, they limit marketing budgets and metrics to a scant few (Amazon).
In our exclusive breakfast roundtable, we’ll talk about how to diversify your marketing strategy and think outside the (Amazon) box.
How to get buy-in and investment from the rest of the C-suite
70% of brands who participated in the study have increased their marketing budgets in the past year. However, they could be leaving money on the table by simply focusing on Amazon spend.
In fact, only 25% of US brands have a strategy for ecommerce retailers beyond Amazon. And 17% are actually planning to decrease their spend in sponsored products through third-party retailers.
Shifting to a more holistic marketing strategy to keep brands consistent across all ecommerce platforms might sound a bit unconventional. Most of us have been told that Google and Amazon mark the be all end all of ecommerce strategy.
At this CMO breakfast, we’ll also discuss ways to make sure the entire company is on board with a plan to entice buyers in those critical early stages.
How to align your search strategy across multiple companies and regions
For enterprise companies, aligning your search strategy across the business presents a whole new set of challenges.
It’s one thing to manage a paid search campaign for a few locations or regions.
But say you’re a global hotel chain, or grocery store, or Starbucks?
Hilton, for instance, has 570+ properties across six continents.
As of 2017, Walmart operated 11,695 stores worldwide.
And in 2018, there were 29,324 Starbucks stores in the world.
Try handling all those local listings pages. Or managing reviews for each individual location. Or organizing your website’s hreflang tags.
But for enterprise companies, these are challenges that must addressed.
At this CMO breakfast, we’ll discuss best practices for aligning, executing, and perfecting your SEM strategy across the enterprise.
Are these search marketing topics on your business’s mind?
If these are challenges and opportunities your team grapples with, this event will help clarify and improve your search marketing strategy.
You’ll hear actionable ways to improve your business’s holistic approach to SEO and paid search, from streamlining processes to securing investment, managing stakeholders to scaling campaigns.
Most importantly, you’ll leave this session ready to take your search marketing ROI to new heights.
To learn more about the event and to register your interest, visit our event-specific landing page here.