Using Hitwise toProtect Your Brand

Ché Carbis, Account Director Asia Pacific

Stuart McKeown, Search Marketing Product Director

Hitwise

13 May 2008

Why is this significant?

• Search engines account for more than 1 in every 4 visits to other sites in Australia

• Google has a significant market share: com.au and .com properties account for 88.5% of AU searches.

• Google search properties deliver over 22% of all AU Internet visits.

Branded search continues to rise

• Branded search is on the rise, partly due to the growth of navigational search.

Categorisation of Top 100 Search Terms,AU users

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2006

2005

2007

Navigational Non-Navigational

UK vs. US vs. AU

Proportion of Brand Search going to Brand Owners' Website

91.8%

84.2%85.3%

80%

82%

84%

86%

88%

90%

92%

94%

UK US AU

UK vs. US vs. AU

Proportion of Brand Search going to Brand Owners' Website

91.8%

84.2%85.3%

80%

82%

84%

86%

88%

90%

92%

94%

UK US AU

UK: US Gap = 7.6% UK: AU Gap = 6.5%

UK vs. US vs. AU

Proportion of Brand Search going to Brand Owners' Website

91.8%

84.2%85.3%

80%

82%

84%

86%

88%

90%

92%

94%

UK US AU

UK: US Gap = 7.6% UK: AU Gap = 6.5%

95.7%

88.6%

95.7%

88.6%

91.5%

SiteRank for

term% of traffic from

searches for 'expedia' Paid ratewww.smartfares.com #5 3.7% 46.2%www.cheapoair.com #6 0.7% 78.5%www.travelocity.com #7 0.1% 10.9%www.priceline.com #10 0.1% 0.0%

Competitor sites receiving traffic from US searches for 'expedia', 4 weeks ending 12 April 2008

Where does brand search go?

Where does brand search go?

Search across other engines

Non-trademarked terms

Brand term permutations

Brand term permutations

Search term suggestions

Search term suggestions

Capitalise on search results Real Estate

4% of clicks lost versus 9.82% when not bidding on brand

Why Should you bid on your Brand Name?

Maximum exposure at low cost

•52.50% Clickthrough Rate on Exact Match of Brand Name

•$0.03 Average CPC on Exact Match of Brand Name

Why Should you bid on your Brand Name?

Outbid any competitors bidding on your brand

Why Should you bid on your Brand Name?

25-50% Clickthrough Loss

10-14% Clickthrough Loss

•35%-64% Potential Clickthrough Loss on Brand Name

•Major Competitor benefiting from brand traffic

Types of Brand Management for Affiliates

Allowed

Brand Management with Affiliates

Advantages – Works well for product based trademarks.

Disadvantages – Competitors can recommend alternative products

Types of Brand Management for Affiliates

No Bid Policy

Brand Management with Affiliates

Advantages - Retain all brand traffic to its intended destination.

Disadvantages – Lose more traffic to Organic competitor listings

Mistakes when Brand Managing Affiliates

Brand Management with Affiliates

• Overwriting affiliates cookie with inhouse affiliate tracking on Branded Terms

• Not specifying Brand Bidding terms in the Affiliate Network or Program Terms & Conditions

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

Brand Monitor Dashboard

How to submit a Trademark Exclusion in Adwords

Google AdWords has a trademark complaint procedure in place to help trademark owners monitor the use of their trademarked terms by AdWords advertisers.

Towards the end of the trademark complaint form, you'll see a section where you can list the “Authorised Entities” you've approved to use your trademarked term(s).

Fill in this section and the Trademark team will note these entities during the ad review process. If you do not specifically list authorized users (by either their AdWords Customer ID or their AdWords contact email address), authorised entities may be disapproved for using your trademark term(s).

How to protect your brand with Adwords

Conclusions

• Bidding on your own brand name is crucial for maximum exposure

• Make your Terms & Conditions known to Affiliates

• Search Engines are the dominant traffic driver, with Google search properties referring significant volumes

• Search is becoming increasingly navigational highlighting the importance of monitoring brand search online

• Hitwise search tools will allow you to monitor your brand’s progress online.

• Setting up a Brand Monitor Dashboard is a great way to start monitoring your brand traffic ahead of Google’s changes.

Now You Know