Local Reign Marketing

Google Personalised Adverts – Help Or Nuisance? Will Search Engine Optimisation Still Be A Good Advertising Tool?

It is reported that Google has released a system for advertisers that personalises online adverts. Apparently the scheme allows enterprises to modify advertisements inspired by the user’s browsing history. It is believed that several large partner enterprises have already begun to use the facility.

How often does the typical person use a search engine? If you are a search engine optimisation consultant, probably every day! But to normal people, once a week is probably a lot. The user may perform search within a site such as Wikipedia or a newspaper, but a real web search? Rarely. Thus, this targeted media is not going to be very visible if it is limited to the search engine results pages. Plus someone who is performing a real search is going to be more interested in the organic search engine positioning of what he is really looking for than just another advert. Then again, Google is diversifying away from just the search engine into other services where these adverts can be seen.

So how is this mechanism going to use the browsing history? How much history does it need? Most users default to keeping only a week. Some users explicitly clean down the history on a regular basis. When someone’s interests are a combination such as ballet and ice hockey (not as rare as it appears), what sort of advert will that create?

On first impression, this re-marketing scheme is no worse than retailers such as Amazon attempting to recommend new items defined by the business’s purchasing history. Then again, many Amazon customers use up many hours trying to adjust the suggestions that can be totally spurious.

This new advertising scheme is another weapon in the armoury of online media that is unrealistic for many enterprises. For smaller enterprises, applying search optimization strategies to the business’s domain is still going to be cost effective. search engine optimisation has a long term effect that does not depend on more obvious publicity customers have become blasé about advertising. To them, a well optimized domain is going to be more effective than another banner or sidebar advert that is there to be overlooked. When a potential buyer is using a search engine for its given reason, the natural search engine positioning of your business’s domain is more significant than anything else. It doesn’t matter what the client’s interests are, he wants the services that your business has to offer, and search optimization can aid that.

There may be the odd advert that has an effect beyond its purpose. Those tend to be expensive television productions way beyond the dreams of most enterprises. Online media is never going to have that social impact, but then again it can be considerably cheaper. search optimization strategies can help your business’s domain reach a broad spread of new buyers who are really interested in what you have to offer anywhere at any time of day.

Personalised advertising could work for larger enterprises. For them, it will have enough visibility to be worthwhile. For the smaller business, search engine optimisation strategies applied to your domain to increase its natural search engine positioning can still have wide-ranging benefits.