Performics Performance Marketing Blog: SEM, SEO, Social & Display

How to Engage Tweens Online

BACKGROUND

For some brands, tweens are an extremely valuable demographic. Tweens are defined as being 8 to 12 years olds, in essence, the “in-between” years between being a child and a teenager.  According to the U.S. Census, the tween population is projected to hit 23 million by 2020; and the tween segment is growing. 

But engaging tweens online is often challenging for advertisers.  For instance, many parents limit tweens’ access to the Web.  Sites like Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube require users to be at least 13 years old.  And, under the law, websites aren’t allowed to collect personal information on tweens (i.e. for ad targeting) without parental consent.  However, brands have many opportunities to engage online tweens to start building brand loyalty prior to tweens’ adult years.  The key for brands is to understand exactly how tweens want to participate across platforms and how they engage with their ecosystem of peers and branded content.

Tweens’ Online Behavior

Social & Video

Tweens are constantly seeking new places to connect with friends.  These places include parent-approved social networking sites like Everloop, content creation sites like FashionPlaytes.com (where girls can design clothes with their friends) and video-sharing sites like KidzVuz.  Haul videos—where people show off what they’ve recently purchased—are also popular among young people.  However, keep in mind that users must be 13 or older to join and upload videos to YouTube.

Gaming

In addition to social networking, tweens are big online gamers.  According to Mashable, half of girls aged 8 to 12 use the Web for entertainment and social gaming.  Tweens spent 38 minutes/month gaming in 2011 vs. 78 minutes/month in Q1 2012.

Mobile

Many tweens are social networking, gaming and otherwise entertaining themselves on their own smartphones and tablets.  In fact, Mashable reported that 35% of girls aged 3 to 12 own a smartphone.  Of these users, tweens prefer iOS devices over Android devices:

• 24% use iPads
• 19% use iPod touches 
• 11% use iPhones

Yahoo! Axis’s Potential Impact on Paid Search, Organic Search & Display

BACKGROUND

On May 24th, Yahoo! announced its new light-weight browser, Axis.  Axis is a plug-in to desktop browsers and a stand-alone app on mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad.  It’s only available in the U.S. and is still in development for Android devices.  Axis combines searching and browsing.  It populates instant answers and highly-visual previews as searchers type.  On mobile devices, Axis’s visual experience has received rave reviews; CNET wrote, “On the iPad, Axis is simply a great browser.  The integrated search feature is intuitive, and being able to move through search results without having to go back to search makes sense”:

 
Axis works slightly differently on desktops.  People use their preferred browser, and the Axis search box sits on the bottom-left corner of the user’s window, expanding as the user searches:

Performics Weekly Digital Research Recap

Posted by Cristina Lucero & Christina Mannarino, Performics Research & Insights Team

United States

Channel Insights

Social

-Google+ a Ghost Town as Brands Decamp for Pinterest (AdAge)

• Rather than challenge Facebook and Twitter for mindshare, Google is a distant fourth to Pinterest, with its "pin it" button now appearing alongside Facebook and Twitter
• According to comScore, the average Google+ user spends three minutes on the platform every month, compared to 405 minutes for Facebook users. The average time spent by each Pinterest user per month is 50 minutes, per comScore
• Nevertheless, Google+ still has potential to have an impact on paid search
• Read the full article here

-Proof That Pinterest Drives Sales, And Its Fans Spend Big (Pinterest)

• Visits from Pinterest have jumped 145% since January this year, and, as a source of revenue for stores, Pinterest now contributes 17% of social media traffic--up from 1% in Q2 last year
• Pinterest shoppers are 10% more likely to make a purchase compared to those who arrive from other social sites
• Pinterest pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without
• Read the full article here

Performics Mobile Search Benchmarks and Trends (Q1 2012)

Today, we released our Q1 2012 mobile paid search benchmarks, which includes spend, clicks, impressions, CPCs and CTRs for our aggregate client base.  Mobile spend, clicks and impressions continue to soar while smartphone and tablet CPCs remain below desktop.  For our benchmarks, trends and insights, please see the below slides:

Performics Mobile Search Benchmarks & Trends (Q1 2012)

View more PowerPoint from Performics

Performics Weekly Digital Research Recap

Posted by Cristina Lucero & Christina Mannarino, Performics Research & Insights Team

United States

Channel Insights

Social

-Pinterest is now the third most popular social network after Facebook & Twitter

• According to a new Experian report, Pinterest’s traffic surged 50 percent between February and January of this year, which is growth that’s stunning in itself.  That surge has allowed the site to overtake services like Tumblr, LinkedIn, and Google+ for what Experian says is the third-highest number of visits in February.
• Pinterest attracted 17.8 million unique visitors in February from the U.S. alone. In terms of engagement, Pinterest is winning as well, with users spending an average of 89 minutes per month on site. However, the social network still lags behind Facebook, which has users spending an average of 405 minutes per month on its site.
• Read the full 2012 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report here

-Now pinning: Vimeo videos on Pinterest (VentureBeat)

• Pinterest has expanded the functionality of its popular “pin it” bookmarket to support “pinning” Vimeo videos
• Users can click the “pin it” button to fetch Vimeo videos embedded anywhere on the web and add them to their boards
• Vimeo pinning functionality will do more for the video service, which also appeals to connoisseurs of design, than for Pinterest. The inspiration focused social network has earned a reputation for driving tons of traffic (and purchases on e-commerce sites).
• Read the full article here

Google’s Privacy Policy Update: Paid Search, Display & SEO Implications

Topic: Google’s integration of user data across all Google properties
Opportunity: More relevant paid search and retargeting opportunities; more personal organic SERPs
Channels Impacted: Paid search, display, SEO, social, video

Last week, Google announced that—as of March 1, 2012—it will be updating its Privacy Policy to enable the combination of user data from one Google service with user data from other Google services.  Google currently has 70+ different privacy policies covering its various products.  With the March 1st update, Google will have a new main Privacy Policy that treats each signed-in Google user as a single user across all Google products, including Google Search, Android, Gmail, Google+ and YouTube.  Google notes that the update will allow it “to integrate our different products more closely so that we can create a beautifully simple, intuitive user experience across Google.” 

In order to sign in to Google, users must accept the new Privacy Policy.  However, users can opt out of the customized experience or adjust/delete information that Google has collected on them via the Ads Preferences Manager.  Additionally, since Google’s announcement, sites like Gizmodo have outlined alternative options in search, email, social, calendar, photo, docs, and video for privacy-concerned Google users.  The update has also generated a request by lawmakers for Google to explain why the changes are necessary and how user privacy will be protected.

Implications for Advertisers

The point of the new Privacy Policy is to allow Google to gain user permission to share valuable user-interest data across all Google properties.  This sharing enables Google to better customize ads and search listings to each individual user.  The key is user data, including demographics and interests.  Google is already a powerhouse in search, video (YouTube) and display.  With the Privacy Policy update, Google is positioning itself as a one-stop shop for targeted advertising and exclusive use of data for buying media via its advertising channels.

As Google is able to link more user data across its properties, it will be able to provide more relevant, tailored paid search ads, display ads and organic listings.  For example, Google can tailor advertising based on each user’s interests—interests that Google discovers through what the user is talking about on Gmail, sharing on Google+ or watching on YouTube.  For search and display marketers, this could increase relevancy, thus boosting conversions and lowering advertising costs:

Paid Search & Display

Google can now leverage cross-property user data to create more unique, relevant search engine results pages (SERPs) for each user.  Let’s provide a real-life example: Informed by interests that a user expresses on Google+, Gmail and YouTube, Google can better understand which version of “Delta”—airline or faucets—a user is searching for, and provide more relevant results.  If that user has been talking to his Google+ friends about replacing his sink faucets, Google could display a Delta Faucet paid search ad on top of a Delta Airlines ad.  This can increase performance for Delta Faucet as the brand will drive more relevant clicks.  Relevancy fosters better Quality Scores, thus lowering paid search costs.

Multiply the Effect of Your Brand’s Super Bowl Commercial through Digital Integration

Topic: Digital strategies to support your Super Bowl commercial
Opportunity:  Maximize your Super Bowl commercial investment
Channels Impacted: TV, paid search, organic search, mobile, social, display

This year, Super Bowl advertisers will spend a record $3.5 million per 30-second spot.  This investment positions advertisers in front of the largest television audience of the year; for instance, Super Bowl 2011 drew a record 111 million U.S. viewers.  And this year—for the first time ever—the big game will air online (including on mobile devices).  Football fans—and commercial fans—won’t miss a second of the action, even as they run to the fridge and the bathroom.

A Super Bowl commercial buy is the ultimate branding play.  But getting your product/service in front of 100+ million people doesn’t mean your job as a marketer is done.  Your Super Bowl ad boosts brand awareness, thus spurring people to search online for your brand or talk about your commercial on social networks.  Once this happens, you must maintain the connection that your Super Bowl commercial created with your participant.

We’ve provided five tips to strategically optimize your Super Bowl investment and position your brand to capture the demand created by your 30-second spot:

1.  Ensure 100% Search Coverage, Especially on Mobile

This year more than ever, Super Bowl viewers won’t be glued to their television screens.  They’ll be multi-viewing—using their tablets and smartphones to see online-only camera angles, in-game highlights, live stats, commercial replays and behind-the-scenes access.  Since last Super Bowl, we’ve seen an explosion in mobile device usage, and smartphones and tablets were among the top holiday gifts.  Super Bowl 2012 is the perfect time for viewers to complement their TV with tablets and smartphones. 

In particular, we expect mobile search usage to spike during the game as viewers seek out their favorite commercials.  This means that brands must support their Super Bowl commercials with paid search campaigns on desktop, smartphones and tablets.  Ensure that you have ample paid search budget allocated to support potentially huge traffic spikes—Super Bowl commercial keywords are always among the hottest Google search terms during and after the game.  Bid on brand and brand + “Super Bowl commercial” keywords on the engines and YouTube.  Align your Super Bowl search campaign with marketing/PR plans to ensure coverage and ad rank during commercial launch, as well as two to three weeks post-Super Bowl to extend shelf life.  Test your commercial on smartphones and tablets to ensure an optimal mobile experience for your viewer.

2. Beware of Hijackers

You’re the one investing $3.5 million for your 30-second spot.  But your competitors may seek to steal your thunder.  The most notorious example of hijacking occurred in 2006 when Pontiac ran a Super Bowl commercial that encouraged viewers to Google “Pontiac.”  Competitor Mazda took advantage, aggressively bidding on the “Pontiac” keyword and driving searchers to a landing page that compared Pontiac to Mazda.