Change of Heart

Before reading the lecture notes for this week’s discussion, if someone had asked me what I thought about Paid Search, and I would have told you that as a consumer I thought they were annoying and as an advertiser in my particular field they were unnecessary. We were asked to discuss what value Paid Search may have as part of our homework this week, which at first I would have said not much; however, I started digging deeper into the material and made some conclusions which told me my initial inclinations may have been slightly off.

Some products or services are a good fit for Paid Search. For instance, a widely demanded product, like clothing, would extract a higher value from Paid Search. Why? Paid Search would be advantageous for that company if their organic SEO is not great (leaving them further down the results page) and if they are competing against a wide range of other companies. Paid Search is also good because it offers actual metrics to measure ROI, something that print advertising cannot. The most important advantage that I discovered this week, is that people are finding your ad because they are actively searching for your product. Jeremy Hull pointed this out in his article titled “What’s the Value of a Paid Search Impression?” 

It has been difficult for me to accept that Paid Search is truly a valuable tool, but Hull’s point that this is a way to connect with people who are actively searching for your product has made me switch my viewpoint. I agree that print advertising not only can you not measure true ROI, but you are also working extremely hard to get the attention and inspire action from a passive consumer. With a Google search, for instance, a person is specifically looking for the product or service you offer, therefore, it makes much more sense to use a Paid Search.

So, although I don’t believe Paid Search should be the only avenue to market a product or service, I now see that it can be valuable in certain situations. One company that is relying on Paid Search, though, is Google. During my research I found this chart by Dan Frommer at SplatF.  Dan researched which companies most heavily rely on one particular product. It shocked me to see that Google receives 97% of its revenue from Adwords. Even though it may not be the best marketing strategy for a company to put all its “eggs in one basket” with Paid Search, it is seemingly working well for Google to rely on for revenue!

Hoping To Never Lay a Flower on Gmail's Grave

This week, as we talk about search engines and Google, most specifically, a thought occurred to me…

“What did I do before Google?!”

Pulling from recent memory, I could not immediately come up with that answer. So, I decided to Google it – because I cannot think of a better way to get the answer I’m looking for. My initial search of “what did we do before Google” brought up a long list of editorial articles in which other people have asked the exact same question. I started to see names like “AskJeeves” and “MSN Search” that jogged my memory. I remember they were hard to work with, but the best I had access to at the time. As I continued to read through various editorials, one sentence caught my attention – a blog post titled “Do We Rely on Google Too Much?” 

In the post, the author Gordon says, “their sudden and surprising decision to axe Google Reader, throwing RSS fans across the globe into chaos, it makes you wonder if we’re starting to rely on their services just a little too much for our own good.” My answer to that question is yes, absolutely. I rely on Google not only for daily searches, but also for personal email service and driving directions.

It is hard to imagine what I would do if Google decided that Gmail was no longer relevant. I have years of information stored within my Gmail account that would need to be relocated. Not to mention updating every subscription I have used my Gmail username to receive notifications (i.e. school, banking information, personal contacts, etc.). In addition, how would I know directions to drive somewhere without Google Maps? Sure I could find another map site, like MapQuest, and I could create a new personal email with Yahoo, but the time to switch these behaviors and use a new service that may not be as good is not something I want to do.

I have come to terms with my reliance on Google. I do not plan to use a different provider until Google decides they will no longer offer the services I regularly use. And just in case they do decide to get rid of Gmail or Google Maps, I know I can join other mourners at the Google Graveyard and leave a flower in the application’s memory.

Stop & Smell The Roses

I was surprised at how much I didn't know about the internet before reading through the class notes for Week 1. For instance, I never thought about how messages were delivered and received – they simply "just happened." I now know this occurs thanks to the TCP/IP protocol.

I come in contact with the internet on a daily basis, yet I knew very little about its history and what makes it work. To say I rely heavily on the internet is an understatement, which brings a thought to my mind that was mentioned in our lecture via Geoge Santayana "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (Week 1 Class Notes pg 21 http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/27300.html). 

As I write this post, I am starting to consider how much information do I ignore, and because of this, how many past mistakes others have made do I repeat.

How have I gotten here?

I like to get things done quickly – so it is a lot easier to skim through emails and articles, rather than read through every sentence and pause to consider what information is being presented. Every day I am bombarded with hundreds of emails, text messages, social media posts, etc. that I have gotten into the habit of glossing over the details. Perhaps it is time to slow down and see what I may be missing.

I made the realization that I need to be more conscious of my surroundings, like the internet. Are the activities I am engaging in at work being done more efficiently by someone else, and if so, I need to learn from that. It’s time to become more aware and use that information to grow myself not only at work, but in my personal life too. I am looking forward soaking up as much information as I can during these 10 weeks in MKT 595. It’s time to become more aware – to stop and smell the roses.