The growing interest in search marketing, and a greater understanding of its value, are intensifying competition online. For companies with multiple brands, this competition is even more extreme as brands compete with each other for valuable search “shelf space.†In this interview, Catalyst Account Director Ann Kane discusses strategies and tactics for managing multiple brands online.
Q: Has search competition reached a plateau?
Ann: No, there is ever-increasing competition across search. We can look at it from two perspectives. First, more competitors are entering the space and more players are becoming savvier about search. Even for companies who have historically invested in search, there is no guarantee that they are going to stay leaders online and ahead of the competition.
Second, in addition to direct competitors, companies have to consider their indirect competitors. A search competitor is anyone that is competing with you for the top 5 to 10 spaces on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This may be an organization that does not share your industry or your target market. Companies need to look at substitutes as competitors. Even your own retail partners and distributors become your competitors online.
Another factor is how search has evolved. We are seeing more types of competitors because of universal search. With blended search results, in addition to text, consumers may now select from images and videos posted by other consumers. These results require marketers to optimize a broader set of digital assets as search engines test integrated results.
Q: Is it common to see companies with multiple brands in the same online space?
Ann: Yes, it is very common, especially when a company has a core competitive advantage in the space and wants to maximize the value of search. For example one of our clients has three different drugs for the same condition, each treating a different population. For this client, ownership of the space means that doctors and patients recognize that the company has a product portfolio with a drug for everyone. Search captures people across the decision-making process, from the top of the funnel when they may just be learning about a condition to those already in treatment. Therefore, it is not just relevant to one specific brand in their portfolio.
Companies with multiple brands need to employ different tactical strategies to differentiate brands from each other and from their competition. That is when it becomes even more valuable to have a single search strategist managing both Paid Search marketing and Search Engine Optimization efforts. A dedicated team can stay on top of the space, analyze where you reside and determine where the growth or white space is.
Q: What are the challenges of managing search campaigns for multiple brands?
Ann: One challenge is internal competition. In Paid Search that equates to overall cost impact. If both brands are aggressively bidding on the same top keyphrases for the top position, you are driving up your own costs.
Another challenge is balancing visibility and engagement. With proper differentiation, your click-through rate may actually drop and cost-per-click may creep up, but when you look at the brand level you may be getting a higher quality visitor. You need to make sure that you target an audience that is more specific to your solution set.
Another challenge is the narrow space restrictions of the Search Engine Results Pages. With advertisers limited to 25 characters in a headline and 70 in the body copy, you have to be very targeted in your claim and adhere to best practices. These restrictions complicate the overall management.
For example, best practices dictate that an ad should run as much of the actual search query in the ad copy as possible. And this means a portion of the headline or descriptions lines will be bolded so that eyes track to it. However, with three different products we can’t necessarily adhere to that because of space constraints and the need to differentiate between brands.
Q: How can an advertiser with multiple brands differentiate brands from each other and from their competitors?
Ann: Sometimes it is on the long tail where consumers are looking for niche products. When the problem that the consumer is searching on is the same for multiple brands, the differentiation must lie in the solution. For example, if a company offers several brands of cleaner, it must differentiate whether it is a floor or dish cleaner, liquid or detergent. It is also important to layer in different calls to action. This way you will funnel consumers to your site that are more apt to be looking for your specific solutions. You need to differentiate product benefits, call to action, category, product type, and the specific offer in the ad copy.
Q: Do tandem paid search campaigns cannibalize each other?
Ann: With multiple brands you have to expect a certain level of cannibalization across the board. You will compete for some of the top of the funnel searchers. The benefits of tandem campaigns are that at the franchise level you own more of the search shelf and the searchers that do click-through are likely to have a higher purchase intent.
Q: What are strategies you recommend for these advertisers?
Ann: With multiple brands speaking in same space, the ads need to be as targeted as possible. As search becomes a larger share of the marketing platform, it has to be integrated earlier in the process. Online advertisers must capture the value of the offline holistic messaging. Whatever the company is saying the major claim is has to be integrated into the ad copy. For example, if you offer a treatment with an annual versus a monthly dosage, you must make sure you can incorporate that point of differentiation into the ad copy. Another benefit of incorporating the offline message is that searchers will be predisposed to interact with the online ad because they have already been exposed to it.
Q: Is it more challenging to manage multiple brands online or offline?
Ann: All media has limitations — TV and radio ads are typically 30 or 15 seconds and billboards are only 5 seconds of exposure. Every advertiser would like more time and space. But we do the best we can within these limitations.
With multiple brands online it is even more crucial to test the messaging. For example, you may think the product benefit is annual versus monthly dosage. But with proper testing you might find that consumers prefer pill versus liquid form. No matter how small the issue, you must be willing to test and let consumers drive back what they see as the value.
Q: Are the strategies different for Paid Search and SEO?
Ann: We are always looking for opportunity and white space — where are people going to be receptive to our message? When you have multiple brands, you have the opportunity to balance paid and organic search in order to extend your ownership of the channel.
There is only space for thirteen paid ads on Google. It is a fixed space; you cannot add another page like you can to a magazine. And with new competitors, if they all run best practice ad copy, the messaging becomes a commodity. And if you offer three brands with the same search terms you are part of setting the market price on those terms. But organically we find you have 15 to 20 words to build on. So if you have a limited paid budget for one product, or you want to lessen competition on the paid side, leverage that with another product on the organic side.
About Ann Kane
Ann Kane is an Account Director dedicated to Procter & Gamble and Novartis brands. She has nearly a decade of advertising and marketing experience, including work on brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Kayem Foods. During this time, she has worked collaboratively with clients, creative teams, and advertising partners to create effective, integrated plans. She recently earned her MBA from the Carroll School at Boston College.
