{"id":117112,"date":"2011-05-31T00:19:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-31T05:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/is-search-engine-marketing-advertising\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T16:40:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T21:40:10","slug":"is-search-engine-marketing-advertising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-ca\/insights\/blog\/paid-media\/is-search-engine-marketing-advertising\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Search Engine Marketing Advertising?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Yahoo engineer and current agency CEO, Josh Shatkin-Margolis, is stirring the digital marketing pot at Ad Age.A few weeks ago Shatkin-Margolis declared that Search is the Worst Form of Advertising<\/a>,\u00a0 essentially arguing that paid search can’t really persuade (more on that below). He’s followed that up with another piece, where he asks digital marketers to Stop Pretending That Search Engine Marketing is Advertising<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My initial reaction was to completely disagree. What Shatkin-Margolis is really saying, though, is that search marketing is most effective when paired with other forms of advertising like online display retargeting (not surprising, since the agency he founded deals exclusively in forms of retargeting). I largely agree with that sentiment; you will always get more bang for your search buck when it’s backed up by solid positioning through awareness advertising.<\/p>\n

However, he loses me when he makes the point that search marketing is not persuasive. Done correctly, search engine marketing can be highly persuasive throughout the purchase cycle. For instance, a manufacturer of desktop printers can serve a search ad to a consumer who is researching which printer to buy, using those precious lines of text to communicate the features and benefits that make the product attractive to the consumer. When that consumer makes a decision and indicates through their search query that they are ready to buy, that same manufacturer can serve an ad that directs the consumer to a deal on that printer at a local retailer. What could be more persuasive than that?<\/p>\n

\n \n
\n
\n

\n Stay Forward <\/h2>\n

\n Get exclusive insights into digital
media's top-trending topics delivered
directly to your inbox. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n \n