Leading on from my article about identifying hot search trends, one of the more interesting PPC topics right now is Paid Search without keywords. Search Engine Land got a really good write up of a recent SES seminar where a Google rep discussed the topic. In short keywords would still play a part, but as a mere proxy for relevance rather than on a keyword-for-keyword basis.
The reasons for moving towards a keyword-less advertiser experience are basically two-fold:
- User Sophistication which can be seen in the longer query lengths, increased percentage of unique search queries and the seemingly infinite variations of searching for the same thing
- Advertisers Resistance to Self-serve. Let’s face it, managing a paid search campaign takes a lot of effort and know-how to get right.
Winners and Losers in Keyword-less PPC
Pure play technical search specialists have so far thrived on the barriers of entry due to the complexity of paid search; the Full-Service agencies haven’t been perceived has having enough specialism and technology to compete with the experts, and the In-House teams haven’t got the time it takes to optimise to full potential. This fact is firmly proven as no less than four out of the top 20 fastest growing tech companies in the UK are working in the paid search space.
With the impending introduction of keyword-less paid search, the emphasis will change from fixating on keyword ROI and focus on real business objectives.
Many new technology driven paid search agencies that are good at delivering against keyword level ROI objectives in todays highly complex PPC landscape, will possibly struggle with competing with the more experienced traditional media agencies out there when it comes to a world that requires bigger picture thinking.
If your business USP is proprietary technology that tracks granular information on a keyword level, now is the time to consider how you can compete in this possibly brave new world of paid search; you need to be more strategic, innovative and dare I say – a marketer and not a technologist.
Traditional agencies and in particular media neutral full-service offerings, got a wealth of know-how in understanding business objectives, consumer behaviour, formulating strategies and execution across different channels to achieve synergies. These are skills that should become key in successful paid search delivery.
Is this the death of the PPC Specialism as we know it? Quite possibly if we take a hard look at the world today. However, this is just my first thoughts based on a loose concept and looking at the players in the field I’m sure many of them have both the drive, talent and culture to innovate themselves through to the next chapter of paid search. Remember – change is a good thing!
You might also like:
- The Death of Yahoo Paid Search Inclusion gives Birth to a Fairer SERP
- Top Tools and Techniques for Capturing Hot Search Keywords
- Search Considerations for Synonyms and Plural Keywords
- Paid Search Affiliate Marketing Guide – Affiliate Brand Bidding or Not?
- Google Product Ads Lowers the Barriers of Entry to Paid Search
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Do you think the focus will shift solely to the website optimization side? Do you consider that side being the (or toward the) “real business objectives”? We’ll be following your blog. Thank you.
I believe that as search matures and the ad platforms become more advanced (on the inside) with more intuitive interfaces, this will create more time for search marketers to take a step back from the day-to-day management and it’s typical short-term focus, and think more strategically about search and how to further integrate it as part of overall marketing mix.
To me that just means more ways for algorithm to mess up. That means agency working on brain 1.0 software can outperform the “automated” solutions even more.
Hehe… Like the algorithm on my iPhone that just automatically spell checked my web address in the previous comment. That’s EXACTLY the sort of thing that will help to drain a client’s budget.
Hi Dixon. I agree that for the foreseeable future this will probably not be done in a very efficient way compared to today’s keyword-by-keyword matching. In practise it does sound like more or less sophisticated broadmatching.
Looking forward seeing how this develops…