Hunch.com: Making Decisions Easier?

By Megan McDonald, Search Coordinator

I stumbled upon Hunch while perusing on Facebook one day, but I didn’t really become intrigued until reading Aaron Goldman’s post, Is Hunch The IPhone Of Search? Aaron proposed that Hunch has the potential to pull ahead of Google if they figure out how to get all the facts we would normally research through search queries and put them together for us in one ultimate decision. So, I decided to see exactly what this Hunch could really do.

When I first came to Hunch, I wondered if it was possible that a website could actually tell me what to do, and do it correctly. I went through and tested several topics, and honestly, Hunch seemed to “get” me most of the time, with a few exceptions. Hunch knew that I would prefer living in the Midwest and that I should travel to Brazil (a long time dream of mine). However, Hunch struggled with some topics, suggesting that I read To the Lighthouse, one of my least favorite books. Hunch also had the nerve to say that I have turned into my parents. Obviously NOT true.

In the end, even though the decisions that Hunch chose for me were fairly spot-on, the more interesting part to me is that Hunch holds tons of intriguing, maybe irrelevant knowledge. For example, Hunch knows that its users that prefer aisle seats usually spend more on others than themselves. In addition to all this potentially valuable data, Hunch is linking suggested products (like what GPS device you should get) to sites where you can purchase them online. What could be easier than someone telling you what to buy and then sending you to a place to buy it from? So, if Hunch can continually improve its decision making algorithm, then it would seem like Google might have something to compete against.

I’m No Einstein, but …

By David Gould, President

I’ve never been accused of being an Einstein, at least not without a healthy dose of sarcasm attached to the accusation. That said, I do admire Albert’s worldly wisdom and believe his wisdom and insight can be applied to more than just physics. In that vein, I thought I’d take the opportunity to comment on a few of my favorite Einstein quotes and how they apply to search/business world.

1. “I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

Confucius, was getting at the same idea when he exclaimed, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and understand.” Find opportunities for your people to gain hands on experience and they will learn to “understand”. When they understand, they can truly become masters of their craft.

In the business world, we often equate training or teaching with the presentation of a PowerPoint deck or WebEx. There’s a reason athlete’s don’t train for the big game simply by reading books and watching “how to” films. They simulate real world situations and practice.

2. “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”

Although this sounds similar to the first quote, the lesson here is that failure is not really failure. Formal education systems preach that there is one right way. If you don’t do it their way, you’ve failed. That attitude stifles creativity and curiosity. It makes people gun-shy. In the business world, there’s always a better way. Encouraging people to try new and innovative ideas despite the risk of failure is crucial. There is no more quick way to stagnate creativity than by condemning failure. At Resolution Media, one of our stated core values is, “not trying is worse than failing”. Nowhere is this truer than in the digital space. Those who are not afraid to try are those who continually drive this space forward.

3. “If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.”

Ah yes, Einstein’s precursor to the KISS principal, “Keep It Simple Stupid”. How many presentations have you made or sat through that take forever to get to the point … or worse yet, never even get there. If you want to make your message stick, make it straight forward and simple. Your audience will appreciate and it will have a much greater impact. In their book Made To Stick, Chip and Dan Heath reference a successful defense attorney who says, “If you argue ten points, even if each is a good point, when they get back to the jury room they won’t remember any.” Learn to be a master of exclusion (exclude the extraneous) and, for everyone’s sake, lose the fluff.

4. “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.”

Although Einstein chose to make this statement in the masculine form, it obviously applies to both genders … and, just importantly, applies to businesses as well. Believe it or not, the Beatles said the same thing, “And in the end, the love you make is equal to the love you take.” Said another way, if you want to be valued, provide some value. Success will naturally follow.

Keyword Insertion Tricks of the Trade

By Lina Nakata, Paid Search Supervisor, Advertising Solutions

Using keyword insertion is considered one best practice in sponsored search ad creation. This feature dynamically updates the ad text with the paid keyword that triggered the ad. It can make your ad more relevant to the consumer’s search intent. The keyword that triggered the ad will stand out by appearing in bold. The more relevant and bold copy tends to draw consumers to your ad, helping you increase the click-through rate (CTR) and drive efficiencies. A higher CTR should result in an increased quality score, potentially lowering CPCs and improving your ROI.

When setting up your ads with this feature there are a few items you should consider to make sure the ads make sense and the dynamically inserted copy properly represents your brand:

• Misspellings: You can and should bid for misspelled keywords, but you don’t want these to show on your ads. Keep these keywords in a separate ad group and do not use the keyword insertion in the ads.
• Trademark Terms: You can bid on trademark terms, but you might not (cannot) use them in your ad copy. Just like with the misspelled keywords, keep trademark terms you don’t want inserted in the ad copy on a separate ad group and don’t use the keyword insertion feature.
• Keyword Modifiers: There might be other type of keyword modifiers you might want to bid for, but don’t want associated with your brand ad copy. One example could be the word ‘cheap’. You might want to bid for that keyword, since consumers search for cheap products and services. However, you might not necessarily want to use the word ‘cheap’ on your ad copy. Keep these types of keywords in separate ad groups and choose a static ad title that is relevant to them. For instance for the word ‘cheap’, you can have a static title with the word ‘affordable’ or ‘economical’ instead.
• Keyword Word Order: Pay close attention to the word order. When using broad match type and concatenation tools, some keywords might be left in an odd order (e.g. ‘deals car rental’, instead of ‘car rental deals’). Skim through your keyword list and make sure all the keyword will read out correctly and make sense when inserted in the ad copy.

Use the keyword insertion feature with care. When used properly it can produce good results, if used poorly it can have a negative impact on your brand name and CTR. Hope you find these best practices useful. Share with us your experiences and/or other best practices when using keyword insertion.

Wolfram Alpha, the new computational knowledge engine

By David Barnes, Director, Business Intelligence

I was outrageously excited when I heard about Wolfram Alpha, the new computational knowledge engine designed by Stephen Wolfram. Finally Google has competition I thought. But this was a short-lived notion and confirmed to be false once I ran a hand full of queries on the Mathematica powered engine. As stated on Wolfram’s homepage, the goal of the project is to make the world’s knowledge computable (no small task and certainly something humans have been driving towards ever since the advent of the transistor).

Wolfram boasts some 10 trillion+ pieces of data, 50,000+ types of algorithms and models, and linguistics capabilities for 1000+ domains. Yet when I “ask” Wolfram for the results of last night’s Cubs game, Wolfram responds; “WolframAlpha isn't sure what to do with your input.” Partially accepting blame for the results, I adjusted my syntax. In fact I adjusted it 4 times until I was left with the most generic term: “Chicago Cubs.” But at last, results! I scanned the results page - not quite what I was looking for. Where are the scores? Where are related articles, drill downs, etc? Unlikely Google will return zero results for this query.

So what exactly is Wolfram good at? Enter a name and Wolfram will give you census data including ethnicity breakdown by surname. Enter an airport code and you could quickly educate yourself on the number of runways an airport has (don’t expect to see a list of departures and arrivals). Enter most words and Wolfram will oblige with a definition (don’t stump it with complex acronyms like L.A.S.E.R.). In other words, nothing you won’t find on Google or Wikipedia.

I know Wolfram is a new release. But releasing a product that claims to be a computational knowledge engine that falls over on 7 out of 10 questions is just frustrating to the end user. In the meantime, I’ll stick with Google.

GO, GO SEO

Appeared in the AMA's Marketing News, June 15, 2009, quoting Bryson Meunier:

As mobile marketing grows, so will mobile search engine optimization. The secret? Make it local.

In a TV ad that debuted last fall, Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint Nextel, mused, “Can you believe we still call these phones, considering all they can do?”

With so much to do on today’s cell phones, there’s little time to talk. In September, New York-based Nielsen Mobile reported that the typical U.S. mobile subscriber sends and receives more text messages (SMS) than phone calls. According to the Kelsey Group Inc., a research firm based in Princeton, N.J., 20% of U.S. mobile users, or 54.5 million people, have Web-capable phones. Worldwide, the fraction of mobile Web-capable users is much smaller, but the potential for growth is enormous: There are approximately 4 billion cell phones in use on the planet. As new smart phones and feature phones become available, mobile search is poised to surpass texting and talking.

That means, for marketers, it’s time to take mobile seriously. Mobile devices provide an opportunity to deliver customized and highly relevant messages to users who are apt to make spur-ofthe-moment decisions.

Before launching a mobile campaign, however, marketers should recognize the platform’s inherent differences from online search and consumers’ established search habits, experts agree.

Mobile devices may offer many of the same benefits as computers, but consumers don’t treat them the same. Searching the Web on a mobile device offers easy access and on-the-go portability, at the expense of limited screen sizes, data usage plans and attention spans. These expenses mean that mobile users want information that is immediately relevant—like a restaurant’s location—and may search for it via SMS, voice or mobile Web. Marketers need to understand what consumers are searching for and how they search for it to deliver the most relevant advertisement.

Most marketers assume online search engine optimization (SEO) will translate to search completed on mobile devices, which it generally does. But marketers can do so much more by creating mobile-specific content, argues Bryson Meunier, associate director of SEO at Resolution
Media in Chicago.

“Search in itself is one of the most efficient channels, and if you add mobile to that, you have one of the most efficient ways that marketers can reach consumers,” Meunier says.

To get good mobile SEO, marketers must embrace the uniqueness of mobile search. Relevancy and accuracy are critical for a positive mobile experience, notes Mike Wehrs, president and CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), based in New York.

A Web search on a computer may be cumbersome on a mobile device, Wehrs says. For example, searching for a flight schedule requires several clicks through an airline’s site, which is easy to do on a computer but a hassle on a mobile device.

“In order to be competitive, you really need to do keyword research for both mobile users and desktop users,” Meunier advises. In addition, he recommends optimizing site content—or developing technical code and keywords—for any site with a search engine. By optimizing content based on high-value queries, marketers can ensure better placement in YouTube, Facebook or Apple’s App Store search results, for example.

Good mobile SEO also requires that marketers understand what information consumers are seeking. According to a recent study by Reston, Va.-based comScore Inc., searching for local information is the third most popular activity for mobile users (behind searches for ringtones and e-mail).

Demand for hyperlocal information is a driving force behind Glendale, Calif.- based AT&T Interactive’s push to increase the brand awareness of YellowPages.com. Matt Crowley, CMO of AT&T Interactive, says that to transition to mobile, search functionality needed to be more heavily oriented around local geography.

YellowPages content is now preinstalled on all AT&T mobile devices. AT&T Interactive is transferring online business profile pages to mobile platforms to provide more content for users and ensure search result visibility that extends the YellowPages.com brand. In 2008, the YellowPages network received more than 1.8 billion local search queries, unique visitors grew by 6% and it was among the top 30 mobile sites, according to comScore.

In April, Cambridge, Mass.-based mobile ad network JumpTap launched a new, pay-per-click mobile advertising program called tapMatch, which builds mobile user profiles from multiple sources, including searches, context and clickthrough history. TapMatch users can target marketing messages by category, location, demographic, mobile carrier and publisher, and for different mobile devices. Contextually relevant ads are delivered by auction, which vary in price depending upon the keyword, category and time of day. “The idea is to build relevancy with an ad communication so it is actually a value exchange,” CMO Paran Johar says.

One major obstacle to mobile marketing is deciding how to measure effectiveness. Currently, several metrics are widely referenced—click through, click to SMS and click to call—but there are other less tangible measurements, like the number of impressions, number of times users respond to a message, number of times users respond to a message and take another action, and sales tied directly to the advertising. Wehrs says the goal is for mobile trade groups to develop a system of measurement by year’s end so marketers can build a campaign with tangible goals in mind.

In March, the MMA announced that the four largest U.S. wireless carriers— Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile—agreed to a set of best practices guidelines that unify the rules for the different wireless carriers. While the agreement only applies to the distribution of SMS messages, the association’s mobile advertising group is looking at a similar agreement.

Extending existing campaigns to mobile doesn’t have to be difficult, particularly with some education and planning, Johar says. He points to some milestones that signal mobile search is reaching an inflection point, like creative standardization and interest and investment in mobile from large holding companies. “Mobile search is going to be ubiquitous; it’s going to be a cultural phenomenon,” Johar says.

Google Riding the WAVE to Integration?

By Chris Longo, Natural Search Supervisor, Content Solutions

Google recently released news that they are working on a new communication module that integrates several of their service offerings. Individuals can communicate and collaborate with formatted text, photos, videos, map, and email to name a few.

Click to view larger image.


Participants within conversations can communicate anywhere within the message, edit content, and add other people to the thread. The best part about Wave is that all transmissions are recorded in real-time. Other functionality includes the ability to embed Wave content on any blog or website, application and extension development, and an open source API to name a few.
Information is still very scarce on this new project but two great sources are the official Google Wave Page and an article from Mashable that breaks everything down from the hour long presentation given by the Google team.

Overall this tool is very intuitive and will drastically change the way the world looks at e-mail and instant messaging. Its impact on the world of online marketing is still to be seen due to this product’s infancy. For marketers and developers it will open up a whole new world to effectively promote products due its ability to be customizable, similar to mobile iPhone and Facebook applications. However, one thing to note is how this will affect other Google application like Gmail, Picasa, and Friend Connect as these all could potentially be replaced by Wave. This could be a concern for some Google users.

Google Wave is scheduled to be released in late 2009, and is now accepting signups for updates and beta testers.

Case Study: How Search Ads Helped Pier 1 Stay Afloat

Appeared in BrandWeek, June 24, 2009:

The Challenge

The marketing team at Pier 1 Imports chose a challenging time to launch a new campaign. Bank of America had just gobbled up Merrill Lynch, several of the nation’s largest investment firms had buckled down and were receiving TARP money, and in the midst of it all, panic-stricken consumers just weren’t buying.

Pier 1 forged ahead with a search advertising campaign in partnership with Google. And, looking back, said Jeff Haddox, direct marketing analyst at Pier 1, the results defied the circumstances. “That was one of the most difficult times for all retailers,” Haddox recalled September's chain of events. “We felt we couldn’t have chosen a worse time to do the test.”

The Plan

The “test” in question referred to a series of online search ads, developed in conjunction with Google, to drive store sales in select markets. From Sept. 21 to Oct. 11, Pier 1—which advertises mainly via cable buys, newspaper inserts and direct mail—beefed up search terms for its imported furnishings line. It also ran ads on Google’s content network, where, for instance, a consumer reading an article on home design in a test market would see a relevant ad show up. The ads ran in 59 test markets, while 93 others served as control markets, said John McAteer, Google’s retail director.

Pier 1 also tapped Internet marketing services firm Resolution Media to identify key markets for the test, as well as Applied Predictive Technologies, a firm that measures the effectiveness of companies’ marketing mixes.

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The Results

In markets where stores were operating on a “performing” basis, the retailer experienced a 2 percent sales lift and a 300 percent return on advertising spend. In other words, that’s a $3 return on investment for every dollar spent on search advertising, McAteer said.

In areas where Pier 1’s same store sales were declining, the retailer experienced a 5.3 percent lift. But some of that growth, according to McAteer, may stem from a younger consumer demographic, as well as the fact that newsstand sales were likely down or flat. These stats, however, are all “hypotheses,” he said, adding that Google is looking into the specifics.

The Next Steps

Encouraged by the initial results, Pier 1 said it’s currently looking into a separate sales lift test—this time, with display ads. “The next logical step is to incorporate both search and display at the same time,” Haddox said. “We’re weighing the different channels to get an idea of [their effectiveness] in store.”