Nick Beck

Ok I’m just going to come out and say it – 2010 is the year of the mobile – at least in terms of using it as a viable marketing channel. The proof: in 2009 more internet enabled phones were sold than laptops. So consumers have the tools – we just need to use mobile marketing effectively and efficiently on behalf of our clients.

So what does that mean for Search Marketing. What is the lay of the land for mobile PPC and mobile SEO?

Mobile SEO seems a darker art than ‘traditional’ SEO – which is probably why no one is really doing it. Cast your minds back to the 90s and how the web was operating and you’ll see its happening over again with mobile – retail brands are building mobile sites, which is a great start, but they are not considering how people will find them.

When creating a mobile site you need to optimise the on page factors just like with a regular website. Good coding and content relevancy is still very important. You need to ensure a link from your main .com site is put in place to pass on some link juice. You’ll then need to set up a traditional link building campaign - but from other mobile sites, mobile directories, social networks etc.

There is a real lack of tools available in the marketplace to research keywords for popularity. For now, the Adwords tool is the best place to find keyword volumes to prepare your mobile SEO programme. Another option is to first set up a mobile PPC campaign testing for highest CTR and volumes and use the results to influence your SEO.

Forget the longtail (at least for now). Remember, this is mobile, people use less words when searching on their devices and they make many more spelling mistakes. If you were in any doubt that it really is like the 90s all over again the big keywords are ‘free’ & ‘download’!

Mobile PPC has some interesting new actions like ‘click to call’. Also ad formats can be different, having less characters in text ads, but like on the traditional Google content network, banner ads can be served on a CPC basis.

You can target specific mobile networks and specific devices with your ad formats and messages. In the US you can download an app with one click.

Again the longtail isn’t as pertinent in PPC – bidding on broad terms with a robust negative list is the best approach. Interestingly mobile web activity increases as people leave the office and at night, over PC based activity – when running a PPC campaign across both channels make sure you up your mobile spend after 8 pm.

So there are some principals we can take from traditional search marketing into the mobile space, but there are also a lot of new techniques and questions to consider. The lack of tools and apparent expertise in the marketplace coupled with those broad keywords makes it feel like the late 90s again…

Now bring on the growth!

About the author

Nick Beck is the founder and managing director of Tug. He was formerly the group account director at OgilvyInteractive and Ogilvy One. Tug is a search engine marketing agency, providing expert strategic consultancy, campaign planning and management for major brands including: Wonderbra, Dairy Crest, The Dungeons, 118800 and more. Tug’s services provide an online marketing programme that builds brands, generates new media opportunities and improves lead generation. Its search marketing team provides expertise in pay per click campaigns, search engine optimisation and social media.

www.tugsearch.co.uk