How should I explain Paid Search to my boss?

Think of search as a conversation. A customer initiates conversation when they enter a keyword or phrase into a search engine box. You have an opportunity to respond by presenting an advertisement that matches up to that keyword, and, based upon how effective that ad is, you can further elevate the discussion with that person based upon the contents and relevance of your website to what they’re looking for.

Most marketing channels are based upon a push model. That is, you create your positioning, find where your targets are behaving and try to address that market in a way that is appealing enough that someone raises their hand and asks for more information. Before search, Marketing at its core can be defined as trying to figure out where your consumers are and then presenting messages as they travel along that path. But search is almost the inverse of that model. With Search, the consumer has initiated the engagement by typing in a keyword, and you as a marketer have a unique opportunity at that exact moment they are interested. It can be argued that search marketing isn’t even the presentation of an ad – it’s a response to a question, and your message is the content they are looking for.

Besides, Paid Search delivers the best ROI on the Internet, according to a recent poll by the American Advertising Federation: 42 percent of the 140 respondents chose search advertising, compared to just 24 percent who said email advertising. For more information about Paid Search and a full list of our services, check out the Paid Search Section of our website.