Search & Display explores the intersection of traditional display media with search advertising and how online advertisers can leverage targeted keyword advertising alongside a branded display campaign to achieve greater lift, maximize click-through rates, conversion and engagement metrics. We’ll explore best practices and tactics for re-targeting, as well as share insightful data and meaningful case studies to help you navigate through the challenging, converging world of search and display.

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Programmatic Attribution Modeling – Don’t Just Measure, Execute

May 22, 2013 at 9:28am ET by Dax Hamman

The goal behind an attribution model is to understand how all of your marketing touch-points fit together, showing you which dollars are working the hardest, and subsequently allowing you to make smarter decisions next time around. Sounds simple, right? Actually, it’s very far from simple, and is actually the wrong goal to be aiming for. Firstly, most of the barriers to building an attribution solution are extremely hard to overcome, and others are simply impossible to accomplish. Technical limitations mean we can’t tie together all of our digital touch-points, human limitations mean [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

5 Keys To Success In Search Retargeting

May 15, 2013 at 9:15am ET by James Moore

When search retargeting was new a few years ago, marketers everywhere were excited about the concept. As a new audience acquisition solution, the ability to tie an advertising campaign back to a specific data set that declared a user’s intent, this was a refreshing breakthrough. At the time, of course, few online marketers even understood search retargeting, let alone used it. Yet, as word of its power spread, more and more users adopted it until there was a stampede of ad networks and DSPs eager to include search retargeting among their offerings. There’s nothing new about this. It� [...]

Why Vertical Search Is Threatening Google’s Reign

May 8, 2013 at 9:36am ET by James Green

Until recently, Google has dominated search. It has been the main stomping ground for consumers looking to buy products, visit sites, or conduct research. However, the nature of search is changing, especially on mobile devices. My own search behavior is a prime example. As a frequent traveler, I go straight to Kayak.com to search for flights. When I'm looking to buy a consumer product, I often sidestep Google entirely and go right to Amazon, eBay or PriceGrabber. Recent research proves that I'm not alone in this and that consumer search behavior is evolving. According to comSco [...]

Data: The Digital Common Denominator

May 1, 2013 at 9:00am ET by Lionel White

In April 2013, the IAB released a report that revealed double-digit growth for both search and display. Additionally, within digital, video was named the fastest-growing sector, reaching $2.3 billion. I spoke with three industry experts in display, search and video to gain deeper insights into how and why search, display and video will continue to show a positive curve. Display: Audience Buying In Prime Time When it comes to display, it’s obvious that the driving force behind its growth is data. Gerry Bavaro, Chief Strategy Officer of Resolution Media, says, “Audience-based planni [...]

Study: What Actual Marketers Feel About Retargeting, FBX & More

Apr 24, 2013 at 8:40am ET by Dax Hamman

I have very strong opinions about retargeting, as regular readers will know! Marketers seem to be on a crazy high these days, obsessed with the idea that their path to success is to spend more on site retargeting and keep finding ways to increase their audience pool or boost frequency caps to obscene levels. More spend is better? Garbage! Smarter spending is better. Over the last two years, I have discussed why marketers should cut their site retargeting budget, how programmatic marketing executions can change retargeting forever and, in a recent iMedia article, why retargeting is fund [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Search & Display | Search Ads

Unstructured Data: Turning Chaos Into Performance

Apr 10, 2013 at 11:40am ET by Frost Prioleau

As advertisers, we’re bombarded daily with new ways to work with our data, many of which promise to streamline and maximize our efforts. Yet, while all of the tools and possibilities for digital advertising can lend significant potency to our marketing strategies, they can also result in frenetic chaos. Advertisers need to find ways to tame the chaos and deliver maximum performance on their advertising campaigns. Many see unstructured data as a chaotic addition to their advertising mix, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s how to use the powerhouse of unstructured data to tran [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

How Search Retargeting Is Bridging The Gap Between Search & Display

Apr 3, 2013 at 11:37am ET by Lionel White

Recently, Harvard Business School published a working paper, Do Display Ads Influence Search? Attribution and Dynamics in Online Advertising. While I won’t go into all of the details and findings from this paper, I want to focus on a few of the findings and explore some overarching themes: How Search Retargeting Bridges The Gap Between Search & Display How Search Retargeting Can Be Useful To Marketers In Making More Efficient Use Of Their Display Advertising Spend How Search Retargeting Can Help Minimize The Risk Of Adjusting Spend In Each Of Those Two Categories In the paper [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

3 Real-Life ‘Programmatic’ Executions & What They Mean To You

Mar 27, 2013 at 12:37pm ET by Dax Hamman

Firstly, as a quick refresher, the terms ‘big data’ and ‘programmatic’ sound more complex than they are! In my last article, Why Do Big Data & Programmatic Marketing Actually Matter?, I described how big data can simply be thought of as ‘more data,' and that having more data makes us smarter marketers. Using more data can be difficult to do, and so, the way to use more data is with an approach called ‘programmatic.’ Removing all the complexity and BS from the term, at its highest level, ‘programmatic’ just means that you are writing some logical rules that combine bits [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

The Recency Bump: In Retargeting Timing Is Everything

Mar 14, 2013 at 11:46am ET by Frost Prioleau

In retargeting, as in life, timing is everything. There are two major factors that make search marketing so successful. The first is marketer control at the keyword level. That’s about as granular as intent-based advertising gets. The second is that search ads have immediate recency. Meaning, the time between user intent and ad impression is nearly zero. As soon as the consumer hits search, the relevant ad is right there for him or her to click. This is one reason click through rates in search blow away social CTR. We refer to this impact of immediacy as the “recency bump.” Now, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

Keys To Making The Most Out Of Search Data

Mar 6, 2013 at 9:06am ET by Lionel White

Search data is not one-size-fits-all – it goes way beyond search engine marketing and knowing which search led to a specific action. In fact, if search data can be used to forecast flu outbreaks, then I think we should consider the use cases beyond just an SEM campaign. There are various search entities where data resides – such as search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo!, and then other search entities including vertical sites, shopping comparison engines, e-commerce sites and social networks. The combination of all of these searches is creating opportunities for marketers to take s [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

Why Do Big Data & Programmatic Marketing Actually Matter?

Feb 20, 2013 at 10:10am ET by Dax Hamman

Did you know 2.5 quintillion bytes (25,000,000,000,000,000,000) of digital data is created every single day, the majority being centered around you? Every day, we send 145bn emails, 340m tweets and 2 million searches queries to Google. But, there is also the more invisible footprints you leave as you go about your day swiping your credit card, driving through tolls, visiting websites, etc.. So, when we talk about Big Data, we really mean it. Like many buzz terms, Big Data and Programmatic Marketing are actually nothing new, they are old ideas brought up to date to the modern need; and so [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

The Rise Of Programmatic Branding In RTB

Feb 13, 2013 at 11:01am ET by Frost Prioleau

Does RTB really stand for Real Time Branding? Since the advent of Real Time Bidding, programmatic display advertising has largely been thought of as a technique for direct-response, performance based advertisers. This is largely because RTB has worked very well for performance advertisers. The ability to buy impressions one at a time (and more recently, the ability to buy audiences with similar granularity) has enabled performance advertisers to lower their cost per action (CPA), whether those actions are leads or purchases or something else. Despite its benefits, many “brand advert [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

Facebook: The New Display & Search Channel

Feb 6, 2013 at 12:24pm ET by Gus Spathis

Facebook is the most preeminent social networking site in the world. It is not the first and probably won't be the last, but it is likely the most important. Facebook usage is massive because users spend large lengths of time on the site. If Facebook was a country, and its users were citizens, then it would be the second largest country behind China. But, Facebook has become far more than just social networking, expanding from company pages and fan pages to social gaming; the variety of ways that users interact with Facebook keeps growing. [caption id="attachment_146954" align="alignc [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Search & Display

Retargeting Tips For Highly-Regulated Advertisers

Jan 30, 2013 at 9:31am ET by Cameron Jonsson

"Should or should I not include retargeting in a media plan?" is a regular question asked by clients. Although it is a fantastic technology and when used properly can drive huge results -- clients are often oversold and promised the world -- and it is ever so difficult for them to cut through the clutter. For direct-to-consumer advertisers and agencies, retargeting may be a no brainer. But for more regulated companies -- such as those in healthcare and finance verticals -- the questions are much more complex and not as easily answered. A Quick Recap On Retargeting There are two types of r [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

What Is The Facebook Exchange Opportunity?

Jan 23, 2013 at 1:59pm ET by Dax Hamman

Welcome to 2013 folks, the year that programmatic marketing and big data will dominate the thoughts of smart marketers, now with the additive known as FBX, or the Facebook Exchange. Anything this big and new is bound to cause disruption, and therefore opportunity, and so let’s look at how you can take advantage of it. What Is The Facebook Exchange (FBX)? In some ways, FBX is another media exchange like the GDN, AdMeld, RightMedia etc., an open marketplace where display media ads are bought and sold using RTB (Real Time Bidding). As opposed to many different domains being aggregated toge [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Search & Display

How Facebook Exchange (FBX) Can Help Search Marketers Improve Reach & Performance

Jan 16, 2013 at 9:17am ET by Frost Prioleau

Since its launch a few months back, the Facebook Exchange (aka FBX) has created lots of buzz amongst companies involved in Real Time Bidding (RTB). While much of the initial discussion about FBX was centered around low-funnel tactics such as site retargeting, more companies (including my company, Simpli.fi) are now complementing site retargeting with upper funnel tactics such as search retargeting on FBX. I have written prior articles about the opportunity that search marketers have to leverage their expertise with keywords into success with real time bidding in general, and in particul [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

What Does The Re-emergence Of Display Mean For SEM?

Jan 9, 2013 at 12:59pm ET by Gus Spathis

The ‘90s – the good old days, when the Internet was new, IPOs were easy, and $50 CPMs were normal. Unfortunately, from the height of the ‘90s we saw display CPMs crater in the post bubble pop that followed. Many predicted the demise of the “banner” ad and consequent death of display, but thankfully, things have turned around in recent years. Now, display is growing at a healthy rate. I recently attended the AppNexus Summit in New York City where Joanna O’Connell, Principal Analyst at Forrester, shared insights predicting programmatic buying revenues will continue to increase thr [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

Would You Pass The End Of Year Digital Marketing Quiz?

Dec 26, 2012 at 12:39pm ET by Dax Hamman

[caption id="attachment_143052" align="alignright" width="300"] Image via Shutterstock[/caption] 2012 has been another big year for digital. And in such a fast changing industry, how do we really expect everyone to keep up? Being ahead of the game on the topics that matter will put you head and shoulders above the competition, so take the quiz below and see how you would fare. Then check out my responses below to see if you agree – extra points for disagreeing and commenting with your own opinions. What is the difference between Search Retargeting and Site Retargeting? How/Whe [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

The Most Common Misconception Of 2012: Display Looks Like Search

Dec 19, 2012 at 9:35am ET by Gus Spathis

The most common misconception over the past year has been the commonly heard statement, display looks like search. While we have all heard this a number of times (albeit it might be partially true) it’s largely based on one main factor: the rise of the auction-based marketplace in display. However, there are a number of reasons why I see this reason as misleading... read on: Display Is About Audiences & Reach The growth of ad targeting has actually led to display becoming more audience-driven than ever before. Behavioral advertising and search retargeting both focus on mid to upper [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

Reflections On Real-Time Bidding & Search Retargeting In 2012

Dec 12, 2012 at 1:45pm ET by Frost Prioleau

Looking back, 2012 was a big year for both real-time bidding (RTB) as well as search retargeting. According to a recent report by eMarketer, RTB display ad spend was estimated to grow 98% in 2012 from 2011 levels. My guess is that many in our industry (me included) feel that estimate is low. As 2012 wraps up, it is a good time to take stock of what we learned and also to make observations that can carry us into 2013. Here are some of my thoughts as I think back over 2012: Real Time Bidding Is Safe For Brands As I look back over Simpli.fi’s 10 largest campaigns for 2012, I see that 9 of [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display | Search & Display

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