Search Engine Marketing: Search Has a New Friend—DRTV

TV spots spice up Orkin’s SEM results

October 2007 By Kate DeBevois

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Orkin, the 106-year-old, Atlanta-based pest control giant successfully leveraged direct response television (DRTV) for SEM optimization this August, resulting in better search engine query requests and an increase in impressions and clickthrough rates. Coordinating SEM campaigns with DRTV commercials helps support the firm’s marketing efforts by capturing online orders triggered through search engines. According to Orkin’s Director of Interactive Marketing Rob Crigler, company data shows growing numbers of people are using the Internet to search for both the Orkin name and the “pest threat” concept the firm promoted via its DRTV campaigns. For Orkin, conversion rates across DRTV display URLs, “buzz” keywords and brand terms were stronger while the DRTV ads aired. Most importantly, DRTV helped support Orkin’s key brand search, which is a high-converting consideration set for consumers looking to purchase the pest control company’s services. Since implementing the SEM-oriented DRTV campaigns, Orkin has experienced an overall increase in impressions and clicks, and a strong clickthrough rate increase on display URLs, concept keywords and phrases used in the DRTV ad. Crigler also notes that the online response to the DRTV campaigns was significantly higher than the phone response.



DRTV Starts the Search

The key to success with DRTV and SEM is using advertising psychology to create key phrases that consumers will remember. DRTV’s branding power motivates consumers to go search online for more information. Crigler says, “Consumers don’t search unless there is a stimulus, such as advertising, PR, word-of-mouth, etc.” Using the same key phrases in DRTV ads, in search results listings and on a Web site reinforces brand awareness in a format that is more informative than traditional five- to 30-second advertising spots alone, he adds.

To integrate DRTV with SEM, Orkin created close working relationships with media buyers and SEM teams, then focused on choosing the best keywords and URLs to support the campaign. For companies designing DRTV creative to help drive traffic to their Web sites, creating an easy-to-remember concept URL is essential; for Orkin, that meant leveraging its free pest threat analysis offer in the campaign URL, www.12.pestthreat.com. It also displayed this URL for a longer period of time on screen so consumers would be more likely to recall it. “It is important to display the product and/or company name as well, so consumers can type it into the search box,” adds Crigler.

Crigler says ensuring his company “ultimately gets the traffic regardless of how a potential customer enters the conversion path,” is the key to success for this kind of program. To accomplish this, he secured variations on Orkin’s DRTV campaign URLs that redirected users to the intended Web site to ensure consumers would reach the Orkin landing page despite user mistakes. According to Crigler, this effort paid off with increased conversion rates.

Orkin also added all DRTV-related concepts as keywords and phrases to the SEM campaigns so the Web site is easy to reach, “regardless of whether the customer directly enters one of our unique Web URLs in a browser or starts with their favorite search engine as they respond to DRTV commercials,” Crigler says.

Be a Slave to the Details

On the search display side, Orkin created relevant search engine ranking page ad copy that ties into the DRTV campaign and promotional offer. According to Crigler, the company sees the best conversions when the SEM ad is the same as, or very similar to, the DRTV ad. “Proper alignment across channels will bring a stronger clickthrough rate, more traffic to the site and, ultimately, produce more qualified leads,” he says.

When it comes to integrating SEM and DRTV, paid search is the way to go. The long lead times required to execute an effective natural search strategy prevent it from working well in conjunction with DRTV. Crigler says, “DRTV URLs typically won’t show up organically, thus when people search on these terms, you need to have a paid search ad appear. It is essential to use paid search and to make sure you have an extensive keyword list of DRTV display URLs, ‘buzz’ keywords and brand terms with appropriate messaging.”

He also notes that when using natural search queries on key terms, the organic results may not reflect the DRTV offer or theme, potentially creating a gap in consumers’ expectations. In that case, consumers may not properly associate the DRTV campaign with the search result listing.



Advice for Testing the DRTV/Search Waters

Including immediate and latent conversion, Orkin’s DRTV program currently is “tracking nine conversion funnels and the brand impact on overall company leads,” says Crigler, who worked with multichannel marketing services firm SendTec to create Orkin’s campaign. He emphasizes, “DRTV requires extensive planning, both financial and nonfinancial resources, and the willingness to work hard to make this powerful medium work.”

He advises marketers who are launching a DRTV/SEM campaign to allow three months to plan and execute a campaign. They also should begin the search campaign at least one month prior to the launch of the DRTV campaign. This helps ensure search activity can be properly baselined “so when the DRTV campaign starts, the impact can be measured and understood,” Crigler says.

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