B2B marketers love search marketing and there’s a good reason. Search is a major part of most buying processes. It’s such a vital element of the buying process that it can actually be difficult for marketers to know how much of their search engine marketing (SEM) spend is worthwhile.
Given that organic search and paid search are so intertwined, it’s hard to know how much revenue can truly be attributed to marketing spend on paid search activity compared to organic search that would have led to the same outcome.
Sixty-one percent of B2B marketers claim that SEM is their most effective marketing channel, the most across all channels. However, too many B2B marketers see the presence of paid search clicks in the buyer journey and incorrectly attribute credit directly to revenue or conversion. It’s important to test the true value of SEM compared to natural conversion activity that would happen as a result of organic search (or non-search investments) so marketers can make smart budget allocations that drive true net-new revenue.
Testing Incremental Value in Search
If a B2B marketer increases investment in Google or Bing, they will likely see revenue from these platforms increase— but that doesn’t mean the investment is moving the needle on net new revenue. Understanding the importance of “lift” or true net-new revenue is a critical step in allocating budget as effectively as possible. Especially at a time when many marketers are under pressure to increase revenue and need to decide what will help them achieve their goals.
B2B marketers get a clearer picture of the search’s contribution to revenue when they set up a test that includes the following elements:
- Burst Testing. Quick but powerful burst testing is a proven testing methodology to prove impact. Rather than have to wait for a long, drawn out testing period to get answers, burst testing is a short but significant increase in ad spending that will quickly reach a large audience and deliver enough significant volume to test a wide set of keywords. This allows marketers to more quickly gather data on the direct effect of the elements tested.
- Geo-Testing. To automatically get a control, B2B marketers can use geo testing to validate performance. Paid search ads are shown to the test group but suppressed in the control group. By comparing the change in overall revenue between the two groups over a specific period, marketers can estimate the incremental revenue driven by paid search. This helps account for organic traffic and other marketing channels. Marketers should choose comparable geo-regions that have similar size and profiles such as similarly sized states.
To make sure that a test isn’t an anomaly due to a random factor like a large new client that skews the data or seasonal trends, marketers should test more than ones. Ideally, tests will be spaced out to account for business ups and downs.
Using the Right Measurement Model
Next marketers need to evaluate the results of the test correctly. Third party attribution tools have their drawbacks. It can be tricky to set up and maintain accurate tracking and many of the models are “black box” which means that marketers can’t learn and own the results to incorporate into their own models moving forward.
Ideally, marketers will build their own model or work with a partner to build a model that accounts for their specific business. A good model will be able to evaluate the true incremental “lift” that comes from paid search investment. Additionally, the model is most valuable if it can be used to help predict lift from more or less investment when fed into different media allocation scenarios. This way, marketers can make smart decisions about where to invest additional budget knowing if there will be diminishing returns.
Knowing the true value of paid search doesn’t need to be overly complicated, and it doesn’t mean that marketers have been mis-spending their budget all this time. Search is a proven channel that absolutely drives revenue. Rather, by understanding the true contribution of paid search, marketers become more confident and more precise with their budget allocation to reach overall revenue goals as efficiently as possible.
Andrea Duffy-Cabana is the Senior Director of Paid Media at Anteriad where she helps B2B marketers maximize the value of their paid media strategies.
